Addis Ababa, Jul 21 (IANS): Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has reiterated the AU's keen interest to further deepen the already strong and long-standing China-Africa partnership.

Mahamat made the remarks on Wednesday as he received the letter of appointment from Hu Changchun, the new head of the Chinese Mission to the AU, at the headquarters of the AU in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, the Chinese Mission to the AU said in a statement.

During their meeting, the two sides held cordial and friendly talks on further deepening China-Africa relations, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mahamat, who spoke highly of the traditional friendship between China and Africa as well as the achievements of practical cooperation with the AU, emphasised the relations between Africa and China are the exemplar of the times.

The AU is ready to work closely with China to speed up the implementation of the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and Belt and Road cooperation so as to bring more benefits to the African and Chinese peoples.

For his part, Hu acknowledged the AU's important role in leading Africa's integration, coordinating a united continental fight against the Covid pandemic and tackling regional hotspot issues.

China, Hu said, attaches great importance to developing its relations with the AU, and is willing to deepen strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation between the two sides and push the China-AU relations to a new level.