Mozambican minister lauds China's tech-led poverty reduction program

China’s agricultural modernization drive can help countries like Mozambique tackle poverty and unemployment while spurring growth, Mozambican Planning and Development Minister Salimo Ismael Vala said at a global poverty reduction forum in Beijing.

Speaking to China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the 2026 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum, Vala pointed to cooperation programs such as Africa Bridge that aim to boost productivity, strengthen technical capacity and support small producers.

"This Africa Bridge program is an ongoing program in partnership with the Chinese government in the area of agricultural development in Mozambique, and several actions are being carried out: technical assistance, extension, research, support and access to improved technologies. This will allow for increased productivity in agriculture, in the main crops, particularly cereals, vegetables, and tubers, with great support from China's experience in modernizing agriculture, including extension, mechanization and agricultural irrigation, which are some of the challenges we have today to increase production, increase productivity, and allow small producers to have higher incomes by developing agriculture," he said.

The Mozambican government has projected an average annual growth rate of 5.5 percent when gas-related income is included, and will strive to reduce the national unemployment rate from 18.4 percent to 14.7 percent, according to its economic goals for the 2025-2029 period.

Throughout the process, China can provide important support in infrastructure upgrading and producing capacity improvement, according to the minister.

"We believe that China can provide significant support to the Mozambican government, to support production and productivity, in order to create greater dynamism. So, infrastructure replacement and improved producer capacity building through programs like Africa Bridge can be an important catalyst, enabling training, technical assistance, promotion of market linkages and financing so that rural producers, not only in agriculture but also in fishing, who develop small businesses and small industries, can increase their income, but also meet a very important challenge we have faced, which is the generation of more jobs," he said.

Since its establishment in 2024, the Chinese-aided Africa Bridge project has focused on sustainable development and livelihood projects, building innovation platforms for enterprises and promoting resource sharing to ensure project implementation. The program has already launched agricultural poverty reduction projects in several African countries.

Mozambican minister lauds China's tech-led poverty reduction program

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday visited the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC, learning about the history of the CPC over more than a century.

At the memorial, Vucic reviewed The Communist Manifesto and was amazed by an old photo of Pudong, which used to be occupied by farmland 36 years ago.

"It began to be built in the early 1990s. Just 36 years ago, there was nothing here. Now, it is the best city in the world," Vucic said.

Vucic then visited the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC, the birthplace of the CPC, and said it had been a long-held wish of his to see it.

"I wanted to see the place where the CPC was born, and it was here in Shanghai. Yesterday, I heard a story about the Red Boat and I wanted to get to know something more about CPC and its history, because I admire Xi Jinping and his leadership, and I believe that not only him, but some other people throughout Chinese history were delivering the very best results for Chinese people under the very, very difficult circumstances," said Vucic.

Asked about the outcome of the visit, Vucic said he was very satisfied and very happy.

"I'm very satisfied. I'm very happy and there to say I am jubilant about the results. First of all, about my meetings and getting the medal of friendship from President Xi. We reached a lot of important consensuses and arrangements and for the sake and for the benefit of both Chinese and Serbian people. And our cooperation will be strengthened and improved, and this is why I came here to prove the ironclad friendship between our two countries," said Vucic.

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Vucic arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a state visit to China from May 24 to 28.

Serbian President Vucic visits birthplace of CPC