China Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation has yielded fruitful results, promoting mutual benefit and mutual benefit in Africa
Kenyan black tea, Ethiopian sesame, Madagascar geranium, Namibian baobab fruit powder... At the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center in Hunan, batches of goods from African countries have arrived and will be displayed at the 3rd China Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which will open on June 29th.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" initiative, as well as the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the concept of true, friendly and sincere policy towards Africa and the correct concept of righteousness and benefit. In the past decade, China and Africa have closely cooperated, and a large number of key cooperation projects have been orderly promoted. The trade volume between China and Africa and China's investment in Africa have steadily increased, and China Africa's economic and trade cooperation has entered a new stage of high-quality development.
Data shows that in the past 10 years, China has maintained its position as the largest trading partner in Africa. In 2022, the trade volume between China and Africa reached 282 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 11.1%. Calculated in RMB, China's imports and exports to Africa increased by 16.4% year-on-year in the first five months of this year.
The scale of trade has repeatedly reached new highs. From 2000 to the present 23 years, China has imported a total of 1.42 trillion US dollars from Africa and exported 1.58 trillion US dollars to Africa. "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.
Entering the Gaoqiao Market in Hunan, there is a wide variety of specialty products from African countries, and African friends are live streaming to promote their hometown's good products. "Coffee beans produced in Ethiopia have arrived at the Takahashi Market and will soon reach consumers," said Jiang Shoufang, Executive Vice General Manager of Hunan Takahashi Market Co., Ltd. In 2022, Takahashi Market imported $10 million worth of coffee beans from Africa, and it is expected to grow to $20 million this year.
As the core area of the pilot zone for deep economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, the permanent exhibition hall of the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo, the China Africa Live E-commerce Incubation Center, the China Africa Medical and Health Industry Park, and the China Africa Economic and Trade Enterprise Headquarters Base... Gaoqiao Market is constructing a demonstration park for China Africa economic and trade cooperation, creating and constructing various types of comprehensive service platforms for China Africa economic and trade, and introducing more than 1000 China Africa economic and trade enterprises. In 2022, Gaoqiao Market achieved a trade volume with Africa of 3.27 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 325%.
The investment field is constantly expanding. From engineering construction, equipment manufacturing to wholesale and retail, agriculture, finance, e-commerce and other industries, the driving role of Chinese enterprises in non economic and trade cooperation zones continues to strengthen, and the agglomeration effect of industries continues to emerge. As of the end of 2022, China's direct investment stock in Africa exceeded 47 billion US dollars, making it the fourth largest source of investment in Africa. Currently, there are more than 3000 Chinese enterprises investing in Africa.
In Algeria, photovoltaic power plant projects will continuously deliver green and clean energy to the Sahara Desert; In Ghana, rural communication and digital network coverage projects provide high-speed and stable information and communication services to local people, benefiting over 3 million people in rural areas of Ghana; In Benin, it helped to build four China Benin friendship schools and the public lighting facilities project in Llosa... "In recent years, General Technology Group has been deeply involved in the construction of the 'the Belt and Road' and international production capacity cooperation, and has built a number of infrastructure and social livelihood projects in Africa." The relevant person in charge of General Technology Group introduced that in the field of health, General Technology Group has also continued to promote China Africa public health cooperation through medical assistance, co construction of facilities, remote services and other modes.
The cooperation mechanism is increasingly improving. At the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation in 2021, China proposed to jointly implement "nine projects" with African countries, including health and health, poverty reduction and agriculture benefits, trade promotion, investment driven, digital innovation, etc., which pointed out the direction and blueprint for China Africa cooperation in the new era.
Driven by the "Nine Projects", 16 agricultural products from 11 African countries have been granted entry to China under the "Green Channel". 21 African countries have already enjoyed zero tariff treatment for 98% of products imported to China. China and Africa have cooperated in standards, quality inspection, and mutual recognition to accelerate the market access process for African products. The China Africa Private Investment Promotion Platform and the China Africa Cross border RMB Center have been officially established.
The Ministry of Commerce stated that this year is a crucial year for promoting the implementation and effectiveness of the "Nine Projects". China will actively operate multiple bilateral economic and trade cooperation mechanisms to further enhance the level of trade and investment cooperation liberalization and facilitation. Continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to rely on economic and trade cooperation zones established and operated in Africa to strengthen cooperation in the industrial chain, supply chain, and value chain between China and Africa. At the same time, we will also establish various exhibition platforms, strengthen policy communication, promote personnel exchange, connect cooperation needs, and further explore and stimulate the potential for cooperation between both parties.
