BRAZZAVILLE - China has contributed greatly to the defeat of fascism and has become an indispensable force for world peace, President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso has said.

The victory in World War II (WWII) was achieved through the joint efforts of peace-loving and justice-cherishing nations worldwide, Sassou said. He made the remarks in a recent written interview with Xinhua ahead of his visit to China for the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

"Imagine for a moment if fascism and Nazism had won that war. What would have become of humanity? It required global mobilization and the participation of all peoples aspiring to peace and justice, including the Chinese people," he said. "Africa, too, suffered hundreds of thousands of losses. They crossed the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean to join the Allied forces in Europe and contribute to the liberation of the world."

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Sassou said his visit to China will not only be an opportunity to learn more about the country's achievements in science and military matters, but also serve to consolidate the friendship and bilateral cooperation between the two sides.

Meanwhile, he also said he hoped to exchange views with the Chinese side on major international issues of mutual concern.

Noting that rising geopolitical tensions and extremism have made multilateralism more important than ever, Sassou urged countries to pool efforts to promote the rise of the Global South and a "fairer, more united and more prosperous international order."

Recalling that the Republic of the Congo voted in favor of the restoration of China's lawful seat in the United Nations (UN) in 1971, Sassou said the friendship between the two countries runs deep. "Today, China is indispensable in the community of nations," he said.

He added that cooperation between the two sides has yielded remarkable results and holds broad prospects.

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"China's strong participation in our development efforts, both in human resources training and in technical and financial support, has provided great impetus and accelerated the implementation of programs dedicated to the transformation and modernization of our country," he said.

Sassou also praised the consensus reached at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). He highlighted that the China-proposed 10 partnership action plans at the summit and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are beneficial to the welfare of the African people.

As co-chair of FOCAC, the Republic of the Congo is ready to work with China and other Global South countries to "resist unilateralism and protectionism, and to promote a more inclusive and mutually beneficial globalization," he said.