BEIJING - Senior officials from China and 48 African countries met here on Wednesday, making final preparations for the upcoming Beijing Summit scheduled for Nov. 4-5.

This was the fifth senior official meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

"The meeting is to review the work of the preparation for the Beijing Summit, and the 3rd Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC that will be held on Nov. 3," China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun told the opening ceremony of the meeting.

"The meeting will also map out plans for China-Africa friendly cooperation, " Zhai said.

The summit, the largest and the highest-level gathering of Chinese and African leaders in the annals of China-Africa relations, will propel the China-Africa friendship to a new high, Zhai said, adding it features "friendship, peace, cooperation and development".

The FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development.

Since the launch of the FOCAC in 2000, two ministerial conferences have been held in Beijing and Addis Ababa.