YINCHUAN, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- A total of 45 African officials from partner countries of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the African Union participated in a training course focused on poverty alleviation, held in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region from October 19 to 26.

During the event, they will engage with local experts, scholars, entrepreneurs and frontline workers. The program will include special lectures, on-site visits, and educational sessions covering topics such as poverty alleviation and reduction, economic and trade cooperation, rural revitalization and green development, according to the organizers.

Ningxia is one of main battlefields of China's poverty reduction efforts. Over the years, continuous efforts of anti-poverty from the national and regional governments lifted all 1,100 impoverished villages out of poverty. A total of 803,000 people have shaken off poverty since 2011.

In the meantime, active exchanges between Ningxia and Africa have been maintained over the years. Since the first medical team sent from Ningxia in 1978 to provide medical assistance in the Republic of Benin, more than 660 doctors in 28 batches have been dedicated to the country's medical service -- three even sacrificed their lives.

Ningxia's trade volume with Africa reached 1.61 billion yuan (226.8 million U.S. dollars) in 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 27 percent. The regional enterprises have carried out industrial and mining investment and infrastructure construction in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia and Ethiopia.  ■