Promoting China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation to a New Level through "Authenticity, Affinity, and Sincerity"

The China Africa "Hunan" Association will move forward hand in hand. The third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo, with the theme of "seeking common development and sharing the future," will be held in Changsha, Hunan from June 29th to July 2nd, gathering new impetus for China Africa economic and trade cooperation.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal to jointly build the "the Belt and Road" initiative, the policy concept of sincerity, sincerity and sincerity towards Africa, and the correct concept of righteousness and benefit. Over the past 10 years, China Africa economic and trade cooperation has achieved remarkable results. All sectors are looking forward to pushing China Africa economic and trade cooperation to a new level through this Expo.
Practical cooperation: fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation
Kenya's moisturizing cream, Namibia's macaque Breadfruit fruit powder, Uganda's horn handicrafts... Recently, batches of African goods arrived in Changsha by sea, and will meet Chinese consumers after the opening of the third China Africa Economic and Trade Fair on June 29.
At the same time, Chinese enterprises are poised to further explore the African market through the exhibition platform.
"With the east wind of the China Africa Economic and Trade Fair, the annual growth rate of business volume in Africa has reached about 50%." Wu Weiheng, deputy general manager of Zoomlion Overseas, said that Zoomlion will bring agricultural machinery, concrete machinery and other products to the Expo.
The main exhibition hall, located in Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center, has a total area of 100000 square meters, an increase of nearly 30000 square meters over the previous one. It will focus on the display of Africa's red wine, coffee, handicrafts and other special commodities, as well as China's engineering machinery, medical equipment, general merchandise, agricultural machinery and equipment. The sub exhibition hall is located in the China Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Innovation Demonstration Park, mainly relying on the permanent exhibition hall of the Expo to create a never-ending China Africa Economic and Trade Expo.
Compared to previous editions, this year's exhibition platform has a greater influence, with more and more beautiful exhibits and a significant increase in participating countries. As of June 26th, 1590 exhibits from 29 countries have registered for exhibition, an increase of 165.9% compared to the previous edition; 1500 exhibitors, an increase of 70% compared to the previous edition; During the meeting, 218 cooperation projects were planned to be signed and coordinated, with a total amount of 19.1 billion US dollars.
The China Africa Economic and Trade Fair is the largest economic and trade cooperation platform under the framework of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation. It has been held every two years since 2019, boosting and witnessing the fruitful results of China Africa economic and trade cooperation——
In the past 10 years, the total trade volume between China and Africa has exceeded 2 trillion US dollars, and China has always maintained its position as Africa's largest trading partner. Chinese enterprises have signed contracts for non new contracted projects with a total amount exceeding 700 billion US dollars and completed a turnover exceeding 400 billion US dollars; China's cumulative flow of direct investment in Africa has exceeded 30 billion US dollars, making it the fourth largest source of investment in Africa.
We have implemented zero tariff treatment for 98% of African least developed countries' goods exported to China, set up a "green channel" for African agricultural products exported to China, signed the "the Belt and Road" cooperation document with 52 African countries and the AU Commission, and jointly set up several special working groups in the fields of unimpeded trade, investment cooperation, production capacity cooperation, e-commerce, etc, The cooperation mechanism is increasingly improving.
China Africa trade is mutually beneficial and highly complementary, providing strong support for the economic and social development of both countries and benefiting the people of both sides, "said Jiang Wei, Director of the West Asia and Africa Department of the Ministry of Commerce.
Keeping up with the times: Continuously expanding cooperation areas
In June, Kilimall, an e-commerce platform under Changsha Feituo Information Technology Co., Ltd., celebrated its 9th anniversary with more than twice the usual order volume.
Kilimall was founded in 2014 and has developed into one of the popular shopping websites among African people. As of now, more than 8000 Central African enterprises and individuals have started businesses in Kilimall, opened more than 12000 stores, and sold about 1 million types of products. Kilimall has created over 5000 jobs in Kenya alone.
Silas Musiyoka, an African boy born in the 1990s, has been working on this platform for 5 years. In his view, China's successful exploration in the field of e-commerce can help Kenya fill the gap in supply chain and technology.
The "digital innovation project" is one of the "nine projects" determined at the eighth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation. Relying on the China Africa Economic and Trade Fair, it is making continuous efforts in the field of e-commerce.
From the "Ten Major Cooperation Plans" to the "Eight Major Actions", and then to the "Nine Projects", China Africa cooperation keeps pace with the times, each of which reflects the true, friendly, and sincere policy concepts towards Africa and the correct concept of righteousness and interests, leading the continuous expansion and deepening of the field of China Africa economic and trade cooperation.
In 2022, China's new direct investment in Africa reached 3.4 billion US dollars. As of the end of last year, China's stock of direct investment in Africa exceeded 47 billion US dollars. Currently, there are more than 3000 Chinese enterprises investing in Africa, with private enterprises accounting for over 70% of China's total number of enterprises in Africa.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, based on the cooperation projects to be signed and coordinated at this Expo, the proportion of projects in the fields of agriculture, transportation, power and energy, and manufacturing is relatively high, which indirectly reflects the key directions of China Africa economic and trade cooperation.
Huawei and Ugandan companies jointly launched the country's first 5G digital cement factory project in the capital Kampala, Botswana and Chinese enterprises announced the joint promotion of the smart diamond mine project, and the first overseas science and technology center of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences was unveiled in Congo (Brazzaville)
Nowadays, Chinese enterprises are actively participating in the construction of digital infrastructure in Africa, promoting the rapid development of industries such as e-commerce, mobile payment, media and entertainment in Africa. The field of economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa has continuously extended from traditional trade and engineering construction to emerging fields such as digital, green, aerospace, and finance.
Broad prospects: promising economic and trade cooperation
In 2022, the company's sales in the African market exceeded $36 million. As of the end of May this year, despite the slowdown in other markets, the sales in the African market still reached $18 million, "said Xiong Yidong, a director of Hunan Aichen Technology Group Co., Ltd.
This leading professional health industry chain service group in China has exported its products to over 100 countries and regions, and has established business relations with markets in over 20 African countries. We hope to create more business cooperation opportunities through this expo.
The performance of Aichen Group in the African market confirms that Africa not only has a wide market, but also has a fast growth rate.
In 2022, the trade volume between China and Africa reached 282 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.1% year-on-year. From January to April this year, China's new direct investment in Africa reached 1.38 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 24%.
Industry insiders pointed out that Africa has superior resource endowments, huge Demographic dividend, accelerated urbanization, and the manufacturing industry is in the ascendant. China has the advantages of capital, technology, and development experience. China Africa cooperation can greatly improve the efficiency of resource allocation and has broad development space.
The Vision for China Africa Cooperation 2035 proposes that by 2035, China will become an important partner in Africa's development agenda, and China and Africa will become closer partners in jointly building the "the Belt and Road". The top-level design and mechanisms of China Africa cooperation will be more abundant and improved. By 2035, the annual trade volume between China and Africa will reach 300 billion US dollars, and China will increase its investment in Africa by 60 billion US dollars, with a focus on supporting areas such as agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, environmental protection, digital economy, and blue economy in Africa.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Vital Camere, recently stated that there is broad prospects for cooperation between the Democratic Republic of Congo and China in fields such as energy, mining, railways, and agricultural machinery, and hopes that more Chinese enterprises will come and invest in the industry.
Zambia's Minister of Commerce and Trade, Mullenga, said that Zambia has abundant raw material resources and is eager to add value to its raw materials. I hope to attract more Chinese investment at the Third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and I don't want to miss out on the opportunities China provides for African countries.
The third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo is gathering confidence and practical measures from all parties, and will definitely become a new starting point for China Africa economic and trade cooperation, injecting new impetus into the high-quality development of China Africa economic and trade cooperation in the new era. (Reporter Xie Xiyao, Wei Yukun, Cheng Xin, Zhang Yujie, Zhou Nan)