Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu showed two of the paintings — the first, from Nigeria, titled Shared Aspirations and the other, from Egypt, called China Is Africa's Hope to Realize Its Space Dream. In the latter, an African astronaut is seen shaking hands with a Chinese astronaut on another planet, with the Earth in the backdrop, where China and the African continent can clearly be seen.

"Your paintings show the enthusiasm of African youth for manned space missions, giving me confidence in China-Africa space cooperation in the future," Zhu said. "Exploring the unknown universe and developing space technology is the common cause of mankind, which cannot be separated from the cooperation of all countries in the world, including from Africa."

Another painting titled L'Unification, from Mali, shows colorful pieces of cloth being sewn together, which is symbolic of peace and unity. The idea is "to eliminate differences and rifts, and build a peaceful and beautiful world together", Zhu said.