China-Africa relations have “gone from strength to strength” since the start of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000, Ireland’s former Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, also co-chairman of InterAction Council, told CGTN’s Michael Voss in an exclusive interview days before the opening of the 8th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC. Ahern, who has been on many visits to China and African countries, acknowledged the positive role of the forum in strengthening China-Africa relations and pointed out that ties have been deepening through the decades.
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About This Source - CGTN
This story is an English language news item from CGTN. CGTN is a Chinese state-funded broadcaster.
China is the third largest country in the world by area and the largest country in the world by population. Properly known as the People’s Republic of China, the political territory of the country includes Tibet and Hong Kong. The capital is Beijing.
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George’s Channel.
Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2016, 4.8 million people live in the Republic of Ireland, and 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.
A strong Irish culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music and the Irish language. The island’s culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, and golf.