Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has praised the country's long-standing relationship with China as "mature" and rooted in mutual respect, integrity and tangible cooperation.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) which aired on Friday, Mohamud said that China has supported Somalia since independence in 1960 and the major projects of China-Somalia cooperation remain visible and tangible.
"China and Somalia have a long relationship on all these decades. The relationship has always been a very good relationship, mutual respect and integrity based on. So China was supporting Somalia since the first days of the independence, even after 30 years, more than 30 years of difficult eras, civil war, different destructions that happened in Somalia, but still the major projects of the China-Somalia cooperation and relationship and China's support to Somalia is still visible and tangible. And some of those projects are still serving the people like the hospital, the stadium and all these, the highways, are still working for the people of Somalia. So this is a very historic relationship that has now, I can say, matured, and we're working together to further enhance and develop the relationship between Somalia and China," said Mohamud.
Among the projects the president highlighted is the Banadir Hospital, a mother and child hospital that was built with Chinese support in the country's capital, Mogadishu. The hospital has operated continuously for more than 50 years.
"The hospital service [is] not only an ordinary hospital, but it's a mother-and-child hospital. Since 1970s, [for] more than 50 years, that hospital is serving. Even during the Civil War, that hospital remained open and it was serving the people," said Mohamud.
The president also recalled a personal family memory tied to China-Somalia relations. His sister, then a student, was among the children who welcomed Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during a historic visit to the country decades ago.
China-Somalia ties mature, based on mutual respect, integrity: Somali president
The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.
The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.
Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.
All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.
He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.
The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.
2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results
