On November 18, Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), met with Emmanuel Sinzohagera, President of the Senate of Burundi, who came to China to attend the China International Friendship Cities Conference 2024 in Kunming, Yunnan Province. They engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on China-Burundi relations, people-to-people friendship, and subnational cooperation, and reached positive consensus.

Yang Wanming welcomed Emmanuel Sinzohagera to the conference and commended the Burundian government for its strong commitment to relations with China and its firm adherence to the one-China policy. Yang described China and Burundi as all-weather friends who have shared good and challenging times together and as trusted partners in their shared pursuit of common development. He highlighted that, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and Burundi have maintained high-level development of bilateral relations, built strong political mutual trust, achieved remarkable results in various fields of cooperation, and maintained close coordination in international affairs, making their partnership a model of South-South cooperation. Yang emphasized the CPAFFC's willingness to actively serve as a bridge to promote the establishment of more sister-city partnerships between China and Burundi. He expressed a commitment to deepening exchanges and cooperation in areas such as economics, culture, and youth engagement. Additionally, he invited the Burundian side to participate in institutional activities organized by the CPAFFC, including the Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges and the China-Africa Future Leaders' Dialogue.

Emmanuel Sinzohagera congratulated on the successful convening of the conference and expressed his sincere gratitude for the warm reception provided by the Chinese side. He reiterated Burundi's unwavering adherence to the one-China policy and reaffirmed its long-standing support for China in safeguarding its core interests. Sinzohagera highly praised the important role played by the CPAFFC in fostering people-to-people friendship and advancing subnational cooperation. He expressed his intention to work closely with the CPAFFC to facilitate the establishment of sister-city and sister-province partnerships between all Burundian provincial-level administrative regions (following the administrative division reform) and Chinese provinces and municipalities. He also emphasized Burundi's willingness to strengthen practical cooperation with China in key areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and mining. These efforts, he noted, would support the goal of common development and contribute positively to the deepening of bilateral relations between the two countries.

CPAFFC Vice President Yan Dong and Director-General of the Department of Asian and African Affairs Ji Yongjun accompanied Yang Wanming at the meeting.