Ｂｅｎｉｎｅｓｅ Ｍａｙｏｒｓ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ

In early November when the season of autumn brought us pleasant weather and clear sky， the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in Beijing. The warm atmosphere of Sino-African friendship deeply moved the Beninese mayors from Africa.

Led by Blaise Ahanhanzo-Glele， president of the National Association of Communes of Benin and mayor of Abomey City， the Beninese Mayors’ Delegation visited Beijing， Xi’an and Shanghai from October 31 to November 7， 2006. Members of the delegation included Mayor of Porto-Novo， the capital city of Benin， Mayor of Parakou， the third largest city of the country and Mayor of Seme-Podji， a Beninese port city. They said， eye-catching posters of the summit were found at every corner of Beijing， and at night the picture boards showing the African natural beauty were shining under the blazing lights. The mayors were glad to be invited to China during the time of the summit for they regarded the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as a historical gathering which would definitely further promote the development of cooperation between China and Benin.

Wang Yunze， vice-president of the CPAFFC， Chen Gang， deputy mayor of Beijing， Zhou Muyao， deputy director of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress， and Liu Xianlian， vice president of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries met with and entertained the delegation respectively. The delegation also visited the vegetable farm in He Village of Gaoling County， Xi’an， the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre， the sewage treatment system of Chongming County of Shanghai and the plan of Dongtan Eco-City. After the one-week visit， the mayors were greatly inspired by China’s development and hoped to learn from Chinese experiences. Beninese President Boni Yayi attached great importance to the Sino-Beninese exchanges and attended this November’s summit after his official visit to China in August. When he assumed the post， President Yayi decentralized the power of the central government. Now， over 70 Beninese cities enjoy the freedom of international exchanges. China and Benin have signed the agreement on mutual exemption of service visas， creating a good climate for exchanges and cooperation between the local governments of the two countries.

As an agricultural country， Benin is endowed with humid climate and adequate rainfall. The delegation members wished to enhance exchanges in agriculture with China. In Xi’an， the mayors visited the vegetable farm in He Village of Gaoling County， which mainly grew vegetables in greenhouses for city consumers. The annual income per capita of the village was 8，000 RMB， making it a provincial agricultural model village. The delegation hoped that Chinese agriculture specialists could come to Benin to help them analyze the composition of their soil， set up greenhouses and accelerate the growth of vegetables. In Chongming County of Shanghai， they were keenly interested in the ecological agriculture there， and asked Shanghai to send aquaculture experts to Benin to improve their freshwater aquaculture and rice production. Head of the delegation， Blaise Ahanhanzo-Glele said， in the first place， Benin should provide food and clothing for its people. In the 1970s， the country was about equal to China in the level of development， but now the gap has been immensely widened. China’s experience in construction is very valuable to Benin and worth learning.

The mayors said， in his speech at the Beijing Summit of the Forum， President Hu Jintao announced 8 steps to help Africa. He mentioned that in the next three years， China will train 15，000 African professionals， send 100 senior agricultural experts to Africa and set up 10 special agricultural technology demonstration centres in Africa. They thought these measures meet the actual needs of African countries like Benin， and hoped Chinese agricultural technological personnel would come to Benin as early as possible， helping them plan and develop the Beninese agriculture and forging a new type China-Benin strategic partnership.