On September 7, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye paid a visit to Foshan, Guangdong, right after his attendance at the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Burundian President Ndayishimiye and high-level officials toured around two key industries in Nanhai District of Foshan, at the Grandblue Electric Solid Waste Treatment (Foshan) Co., Ltd (hereinafter mentioned as "Grandblue"), a flagship waste management base and the Nanhai (Foshan) Hydrogen Energy Exhibition Hall in Danzao Xianhu Hydrogen Valley.
During his visit at the Grandblue power plant, President Ndayishimiye saw through the glass wall how loads of garbage were collected in a warehouse.
"It's mind-blowing to actually not smell anything from it, through just a glass," fellow delegates expressed their curiosity. As noted, the harmful gas off the garbage is pumped into the furnace, through the exhaust system, as the combustion air of the incinerator.
During the visit, around the topic of disposal of solid waste, President Ndayishmiye exchanged and discussed ideas with Chinese representatives with great interest. He praised the model here where domestic waste can be turned into treasure after treatment here.
With 3 domestic waste incineration plants at Grandblue, 4,500 tons of garbage can be processed every day for power generation. That goes out to 600,000 residents nearby and helps cut down local pollution and carbon emission.
Afterwards, President Ndayishmiye walked in Nanhai (Foshan) Hydrogen Energy Exhibition Hall, where he was provided with insights into various hydrogen-related exhibits. He was shown locally developed hydrogen automotive products, which include sweepers, water sprinklers, cold chain logistics vehicles, and passenger cars.
"How much is one kilogram of hydrogen at the hydrogen station?" President Ndayishimiye and his fellow officials were intrigued to see how this new energy is applied now in different scenarios, and talk about the possible application of hydrogen energy in Burundi.
Foshan Nanhai excels among most areas in China as one of the earliest to breed hydrogen energy industry. In recent years, Nanhai has proactively formulated energy industry blueprints. The area has laid focus on infrastructure such as hydrogen refueling stations, and created scenarios where the energy can be applied.
To this date, Nanhai has home to a well-rounded industrial chain of hydrogen energy, which spans from the development and hydrogenation of hydrogen-rich materials and hydrogen production equipment to hydrogen fuel cells to core components, powertrain and vehicle production.
Burundi and China have enjoyed a stable and friendly relationship and become all-weather friends and good partners who work together for development, since the two countries established diplomatic relations on December 21, 1963.
From January to April 2024, the total value of China's exports to Burundi registered at 27.898 million US dollars. The total value of China's imports from Burundi reached US $4.156 million, marking an increase of US $951,000 or 29.7 percent, compared to the same period last year.
At the center of the China-Burundi relationship are several solid foundations, including strong political mutual trust; socio-economic cooperation in the fields of education, health, agriculture, energy, transport and communication.
As announced at this year's FOCAC, China-Africa relations would be elevated to an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the new era, which signals that Burundi and China will continue to strengthen ties on what's pressing.
Burundian President's trip to Guangdong came with a will to seek cooperative efforts with the province in terms of top-notch green technology solutions, which specially taps into closer relation with innovation partnership with Guangdong. Burundi, with its good effort towards technological innovation and clean development, is expected to benefit from more mutual learning and positive engagement with China.
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