2.4.7 China actively supports African countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and is prepared to use the China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund and the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to support African countries in pursuing sustainable development. 2.4.8 China will stay in close communication with African countries under the frameworks of the Group of 77 plus China, the United Nations Economic and Social Council as well as the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, and maintain coordination and cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, food security, COVID response and vaccines, climate change and green development, connectivity, digital economy, industrialization, and financing for development, so as to safeguard the common interests of developing countries. 2.4.9 The two sides believe that Africa is a major partner for international cooperation, not an arena for big power rivalry. They call on more countries and organizations, especially Africa’s traditional partners, to join the Initiative on Partnership for Africa’s Development launched by China and some African countries, with a view to creating effective synergy among the international community to enhance Africa’s quest for sustainable development. On the basis of mutual partnership, China is prepared to conduct third-party and multi-party cooperation with relevant sides. 2.4.10 China and Africa will work together to uphold the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core and foster an open world economy. They support necessary reform of the WTO and greater liberalization and facilitation of international trade and investment to better safeguard the development rights and interests of developing countries and their space for development. They call for an early resumption of normal functioning of WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism and efforts to increase the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system. 3. Economic Cooperation 3.1 Agriculture, Food Security and Food Safety 3.1.1 The two sides will give full play to the China-Africa agricultural cooperation mechanism, hold the second Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Agriculture, and convene the first meeting of the China-AU Joint Committee on Agricultural Cooperation, to innovate cooperation methods, enrich the content of cooperation, and ensure the effective implementation of agricultural cooperation in fields of shared interest. 3.1.2 The two sides will further strengthen food security cooperation by giving full play to the China-AU coordination mechanism for Belt and Road cooperation and making good use of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund. The two sides will launch trials in such areas as reduction of post-harvest grain loss in light of the AU’s needs and China’s strengths, in order to support African countries to improve their food supply capacity with existing production capabilities. 7/36