Youth | China Africa | Economic and Trade Cooperation

On July 2nd, the third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo officially came to an end. Over the course of four days, 53 African countries, 12 international organizations, 30 domestic provinces, regions, and cities, as well as more than 1700 Chinese and African enterprises, business associations, and financial institutions, actively participated in the exhibition, with over 100000 visitors. A total of 120 projects have been signed by all parties, with a total amount of 10.3 billion US dollars, showcasing the strong vitality and resilience of China Africa economic and trade cooperation.

Gathering development forces

On June 30th, at the high-end seminar on deep economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce released the "Report on China Africa Economic and Trade Relations 2023". The report shows that China has maintained its position as Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. In 2022, the trade volume between China and Africa further increased to 282 billion US dollars, reaching a historic high.

"China's direct investment in Africa has exceeded 10 billion US dollars in the past 20 years. Especially the cooperation in infrastructure between China and Africa has greatly promoted our country's poverty reduction efforts." Dr. Alkabe Okbe, who served as the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, stated at the seminar that 27% of the global manufacturing industry comes from China, and Africa needs to learn from China's manufacturing experience.

"Chinese investors have full courage and perseverance. Some of our projects have very difficult conditions that foreign companies avoid, but Chinese companies have faced difficulties and are willing to come and invest in development, successfully completing the projects." Niger's Minister of Commerce, Ahmad Akachi, shared the investment stories of Chinese people in the local area in his keynote speech.

In order to expand the breadth and depth of China Africa cooperation, the Changsha Initiative for "Innovative Exploration and Deep Cooperation" in China Africa's economic and trade was also released during the Expo, advocating for consolidating development consensus, strengthening practical economic and trade cooperation, and sharing friendly partnerships. The China Africa Corporate Social Responsibility Alliance has released the "China Africa Corporate Social Responsibility Joint Action Initiative", calling on Chinese enterprises in Africa to actively practice their mission and responsibility, strive to integrate into African development, and work together with African people and international parties to draw a blueprint for sustainable development in Africa.

"What China is doing is not teaching people to fish, but teaching people to fish." Malawi, located in the inland of Southeast Africa, is one of the guest countries of this year's Expo. Malawi's President Chakovira stated that as an important platform for deep cooperation between China and Africa, the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo will deepen the connections between people, industries, and countries.

Expand the circle of friends among young people in Central and Africa

"Is there a possibility to build a platform to bring Chinese people in Africa together? With this idea in mind, we founded the Overseas Home Platform and embarked on the path of entrepreneurship." On June 30th, at the China Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, Lei Ting, founder of Hunan Overseas Home Information Technology Co., Ltd., shared his entrepreneurial feelings. On the forum, young people from China and Africa gathered together to tell entrepreneurial stories and share innovative experiences.

After innumerable reflections, Wang Shuangyin, a Chinese boy, created the play Hujiambo, Africa, which shows that the Chinese and African people are watching and helping each other in life, and won the most distinctive award in the "the Belt and Road" Cultural Creation Competition; In order to solve the transportation problem of medical supplies in sub Saharan Africa, Zambian youth Kliwet Meba has created a digital platform, which uses convenient conditions such as drones and motorcycles to deliver basic medical supplies such as drugs and blood to medical institutions that are difficult for pure human labor to reach

There are still many entrepreneurial stories of young people from China and Africa like this. The "Collection of Innovative and Entrepreneurial Stories of Young People from China and Africa" released on site at the forum records and composes their stories into volumes, allowing the stories of young people from China and Africa to move forward side by side and be known to more people.

"The China Africa Economic and Trade Expo is a great platform for communication, and the Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum has built a bridge for youth exchanges between China and Africa." Mendu, founder of the China Africa Youth Federation, said that in the future, the advantages of the Youth Federation will be leveraged to promote more exchanges between young people from China and Africa, and to enable more African youth leaders to understand China.

Let everyone share the fruits of development

On June 29th, the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo held its first China Africa Women's Forum, with over 80 foreign guests from 23 African countries attending. The forum passed the Joint Initiative of the China Africa Women's Forum on site, calling for closer cooperation along the fundamental direction of building a closer community with a shared future between China and Africa.

"Empowering women through mycorrhizal technology, women have become an important component of productivity. The progress of every rural woman will bring improvement and progress to the family, ultimately promoting rural progress. As a participant and witness of friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa, Lin Dongmei, Deputy Director of the National mycorrhizal Engineering Technology Research Center, shared the story of using mycorrhizal technology to change the face of poverty in Africa.".

Through the implementation of the Chinese government's foreign aid project and the China United Nations Fund for Peace and Development Fungal Grass Project, the National Fungal Grass Center in South Africa has pioneered the model of a "10 square meter mushroom farm" where all women can participate and benefit. "After earning money by studying mushroom cultivation, they were able to send their children to school, open a grocery store in the village, and even buy a car to hire people for transportation, which changed their own and their families' destinies."

"Today's forum event is a rare opportunity for us to exchange experiences, and it also brings new hope to the poverty reduction plans of thousands of African people living in suffering." On site, Joanna Thomas, General Secretary of the Women's Organization of the Angolan People's Liberation Movement, said.