JINAN, China, Sept. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Sept. 22, the Shandong Dialogue on China-Africa Good Governance was held in Jinan, drawing over 200 guests, including diplomats and government officials from 21 African countries, the WFP Representative in China, scholars, entrepreneurs, and youth representatives. Co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Shandong Provincial People's Government, and organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shandong Provincial People's Government and other organizations, it is China's first Africa-focused exchange program themed on good governance, marking the 70th anniversary of China-Africa diplomatic relations.
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The dialogue began months earlier with online "cloud salons" connecting Chinese community workers, scholars, and young people with African counterparts for conversations on youth employment and women's participation in local governance. Two African friends of China went further: a Cameroonian professor at the University of Jinan and an Egyptian journalist spent days in villages and neighborhoods in Zaozhuang and Binzhou, working alongside community staff to experience China's grassroots governance firsthand.
At the main event, the spotlight stayed on ordinary people. A community Party secretary from Dongying shared her daily work: mediating disputes, organizing elderly care, running volunteer services. At the roundtable on "Grassroots Governance and Security," African officials and Chinese community leaders compared notes on shared challenges, from rural development to public services.
Young people played a big part. Over 100 Chinese and African teams joined the Afridge Young Makers Challenge, designing practical solutions to real governance problems; winning projects will be matched with enterprises and industrial parks. Chinese and African youth representatives read out the Jinan Action Initiative for China-Africa Subnational Good Governance Cooperation.
Two publications were released: Good Governance in Shandong: Case Studies , a trilingual collection of real stories from villages and communities; and Priority Sectors for Cooperation with Africa: A Shandong Business Guide , mapping what each of Shandong's 16 cities offers African partners. A Good Governance Dialogue website went online, hosting the case studies, podcasts, and short films, so the exchange continues beyond the event.
African guests visited communities in Jinan and Linyi to see local governance in action. As one guest noted, Shandong and African countries face many similar questions in grassroots governance — and each other's experience is worth learning from.
Contact person: Ms. Zhang E-mail: ceisc@xinhua.org Tel: 86-10-63074558
