The Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) kicked off Friday morning with Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail taking part.

The summit, to focus on ways to enhance China-Africa cooperation in the coming stage, was co-inaugurated by South African President Jacob Zuma and President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China.

Addressing the participants, both leaders highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation in a way that would serve the best interests of both parties.

Some 40 heads of state and government are taking part in the second round of the summit. The first round had been held in 2006.

An industrial exhibition on railways, aviation, electric power and communications is being held on the sidelines of the summit.

FOCAC was formally established at a ministerial meeting in Beijing in October 2000 under a joint initiative of China and Africa with the purposes of further strengthening friendly cooperation between the two sides, jointly meeting the challenges of economic globalization and seeking common development.

Egypt co-chaired the FOCAC with China from 2006 to 2012.

China is the world's biggest aid provider to Africa and first trade partner to the continent with a trade exchange volume, estimated at dlrs 300bn in 2015. In 2000, the volume had been estimated at dlrs 10bn.