Building a communication platform to promote cooperation, upgrading, and innovation | Changsha | Cooperation

On June 29th, guests at the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center were selecting products.

Photo by Fu Cong

On June 29th, representatives of merchants visited the China Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation and Innovation Demonstration Park at the Gaoqiao Market in Changsha.

Photo by Xuxing

The main exhibition hall of the 3rd China Africa Economic and Trade Expo is Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Yehua

Those who share the same aspirations do not consider mountains and seas as distant. The 3rd China Africa Economic and Trade Expo was held in Changsha, Hunan from June 29th to July 2nd. 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations, 12 international organizations such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the African Union, 30 domestic provinces, regions, and cities, and more than 1700 Chinese and African enterprises, business associations, and financial institutions actively participated in the conference and discussed cooperation. Nearly 130 ministerial level officials, ambassadors to China, and heads of international organizations from African countries attended, with 1700 foreign guests and over 10000 domestic guests, making the conference the largest in history.

As the largest economic and trade cooperation platform under the framework of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, the third exciting appearance of the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo has attracted the attention of the world: nearly 1600 categories of goods from 29 African countries participated in the exhibition, an increase of 166% compared to the previous session. There are 1500 exhibitors, an increase of 70% compared to the previous edition.

Crossing mountains and seas, traveling thousands of miles; Meeting for a grand event, thousands of miles apart. Gathering multiple forces, further stimulating local roles, building exchange platforms, the third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo promotes the continuous upgrading of China Africa economic and trade cooperation.

Connect with market demand

Deepen economic and trade negotiations

Entering the Madagascar themed exhibition hall located at the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center, there are over a hundred carefully selected products from the exhibitors, including tempting red pepper in color, fragrant cocoa fruits, and delicious chocolate.

"Give it a try!" Exhibitor Rama enthusiastically presented chocolate produced by his own company. His company is located in Madagascar and has a complete industrial chain from cocoa fruit cultivation, rough processing to chocolate production and sales. Although not large in scale, it targets the Chinese market. "The chocolate market in China has enormous potential, and we hope to find partners or investors in China through exhibitions to bring delicious chocolate to China."

At the expo, "African goods" received continuous praise, while "Made in China" was widely favored.

In front of the Shaoyang Pavilion located in the main exhibition hall, inspection teams from Benin and Ghana stopped in front of fashionable and textured hair products. Liu Wanlu, Deputy General Manager of Shaoyang Beautiful Hair Products Co., Ltd., immediately stepped forward to introduce the product features and leave contact information for each other. Liu Wanlu told reporters that Meili has been deeply cultivating the African market for many years. This is her third time participating in the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and she has personally felt the huge business opportunities brought by the Expo since its inception. Last year, the trade volume between enterprises and Africa exceeded 250 million yuan.

On the side of Loudi Pavilion, merchants from Nigeria are interested in learning about the smart small home appliances exhibited by Loudi Chuangwide Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. "We participated in the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo for the first time, and a continuous stream of merchants came to negotiate, which made us very excited." Chairman Long Zhixian told reporters that the company's smart home appliances such as window cleaning robots, floor scrubbers, and high-speed hair dryers have been sold to African countries such as Tanzania. Having a positive outlook on the vast African market and increasingly convenient trade conditions between China and Africa, the company hopes to leverage the Expo platform to expand into markets in South Africa, Kenya, and other regions.

The market demand contains a vast space for cooperation. Strolling through major exhibition halls, each one showcases African red wine, coffee, handicrafts, as well as Chinese engineering machinery, medical equipment, and daily necessities. In a series of interactions, there are both first-time meetings with "new friends" and in-depth exchanges with "old friends"; There are both Fortune 500 large enterprises and rapidly growing small and micro enterprises. This year's China Africa Economic and Trade Expo signed 120 projects with a total amount of 10.3 billion US dollars. 99 docking and cooperation projects with a total amount of 8.7 billion US dollars have been released, of which 11 African countries have released 74 docking projects, the highest number in history.

Release series of achievements

Deepening pragmatic 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. What has been the path of China Africa's economic and trade in the past 10 years?

In the eye-catching position of the main exhibition hall, the first China Africa high-quality joint construction "the Belt and Road" achievement exhibition of this Expo attracted many guests to stop. Here, nearly 80 representative cooperation projects between China and Africa in transportation, agriculture, and other fields are showcased, including the Gambian agricultural technical assistance project participated by Hunan, the Madagascar hybrid rice project, the Morocco CITIC Decca aluminum wheel hub factory, and the aluminum casting factory project.

The scale of cooperation is constantly expanding, the areas of cooperation are becoming more diverse, and the cooperation mechanism is becoming increasingly perfect. Based on a new starting point, this year's Expo will hold a series of forums, seminars, and special events, focusing on releasing 34 cooperation achievements, covering eight categories including standard specifications, research reports, and declaration initiatives.

During the Expo, the General Administration of Customs released the "China Africa Trade Index" for the first time, comprehensively showcasing the achievements of China Africa trade development, providing scientific basis for government departments to formulate and improve trade policies, providing information support for import and export enterprises to make business decisions, and helping China Africa economic and trade cooperation to reach a new level.

At the high-end seminar on in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, a series of research results were unveiled to the society for the first time. For example, the Changsha Initiative on "Innovation, Exploration and Deep Cooperation" in China-Africa Economic and Trade and the 2023 Report on China-Africa Economic and Trade Relations were released, resulting in a number of plans to promote in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa and a compilation of proposals for national initiatives for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa. Reports such as the Report on the Use of RMB in Africa in 2022 and new books were also released at the same time.

At the press conference on the achievements of cooperation and innovation with Africa in the Changsha area of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Changsha area released eight major achievements in cooperation and innovation with Africa. This includes the opening of a comprehensive service center for the post export market of non engineering machinery, the implementation of convenient measures for the long-term residence of the first batch of foreign innovative and entrepreneurial talents in Hunan, and the release of innovative achievements in the research and evaluation base for non-technical trade measures.

At the project negotiation meeting and signing ceremony of the China Africa Economic and Trade Deep Cooperation Pilot Zone, Hunan Grain, Oil and Food Import and Export Group Co., Ltd. signed strategic cooperation agreements with four companies to carry out multi-dimensional and deep level cooperation in key areas such as nut subdivision, industrial chain and supply chain construction, and establish comprehensive strategic cooperation relationships.

Consolidate consensus among all parties

Together for a better future

At the Monkey Creek Restaurant in Algeria's National Forest Park, the four red Chinese characters "Welcome" are very eye-catching. Behind the carefully designed restaurant manager Najem, there is a heartwarming story.

The story starts with the construction of the north-south highway in Algeria. Originally, according to the past road construction plan, the century old building of the Monkey Creek Restaurant had to be demolished, causing great concern among the locals.

After understanding the situation, project personnel from the general contracting company of China Construction Fifth Engineering Bureau visited the site and conducted multiple on-site inspections. They found a solution that could complete the construction while avoiding the restaurant, and implemented it, demonstrating the responsibility and responsibility of Chinese enterprises.

The overseas image of Chinese enterprises has received widespread attention from the international community. For the first time, this Expo has included the topic of corporate social responsibility, held a summit dialogue on corporate social responsibility and China Africa cooperation, and launched the "China's Joint Action Initiative for Corporate Social Responsibility in Africa".

Think in the same direction, use your strength in the same direction. To achieve a better future together, communication, cooperation, and consensus are indispensable——

The joint initiative launched by the China Africa Women's Forum to jointly build and share a better world for all women and people outlines the common aspirations and dreams of Chinese and African women. The initiative is clear: to further strengthen exchanges between Chinese and African women, effectively strengthen experience sharing and practical cooperation in the field of women, enhance friendship and mutual trust through mutual learning and mutual learning, promote people to people communication, and pass on and carry forward the spirit of friendly cooperation between China and Africa from generation to generation.

Youth is the hope and future of China Africa relations. The China Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum released the "China Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Story Collection", and the Xiangjiang New Area China Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base was officially unveiled. China Africa youth innovation and entrepreneurship, common development, and a promising future.

At the China Africa New Energy Cooperation Forum, Chinese industry experts provided practical suggestions on accelerating the cultivation of the new energy industry chain in Africa. The forum initiated the establishment of the "China Africa New Energy Industry Alliance", in which China and Africa work together in the fields of new and renewable energy to seek a "green future".

At the Forum on Quality Infrastructure Interconnection between China and Africa, attendees offered suggestions and suggestions on how to strengthen quality infrastructure and promote smooth trade between the "two major markets" of China and Africa, jointly helping to improve the quality and efficiency of trade between China and Africa.

Starry cicadas chirp, summer has arrived. The grand event came to an end, just like a new start. Consolidating consensus and enhancing confidence, the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo will further promote development and create a better future.