General

The 7th China Africa Industrial Cooperation and Development Forum was held on March 29, 2023 at the Futian Shangri La Hotel in Shenzhen. More than 200 envoys and business representatives from more than 10 African countries, including Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Botswana, attended the forum. Lesotho Ambassador to China Rabalai, former Party Secretary of the Metallurgical Services Bureau of the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council Zhao Keding, and former Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Chongli delivered speeches.

Cheng Zhigang, Secretary General of the Forum on China Africa Industrial Cooperation and Development, stated that the Forum has been committed to promoting and developing international trade relations between China and Africa, integrating the production capacity of industrial parks and trade parks, and promoting the development of the China Africa industrial chain. In recent years, China has supported African countries to improve their investment soft and hard environments based on their own national conditions and development needs, with industry docking and production capacity cooperation as the leading factors, to assist Africa in its industrialization and economic diversification process. This forum focuses on promoting the cooperation and signing of projects such as African industrial parks and overseas warehouses for China Africa international trade.

Lesotho's Ambassador to China, Raballe, talked about the environment for investing and building factories in Lesotho and said, "Duty free transactions are implemented among members of the South African Customs Union. The SADC Free Trade Area has a total of 10 members and a market capacity of approximately 130.6 billion. Lesotho has joined the African Continent Free Trade Agreement At the same time, the Southern African Development Community, the European Union, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have granted Lesotho duty-free and quota-free entry into the European Union and the United Kingdom, enjoying preferential policies under the Generalized System of Preferences

  China is vigorously building a "green channel" for African agricultural products to be exported to China, and expanding the scope of zero tariff treatment for importing African products.

Joseph Timor, Minister Counselor of South Africa to China, stated that there has been more cooperation between China and South Africa after the pandemic, such as in the trade of manufacturing products with high added value, encouraging Chinese enterprises to invest in the manufacturing industry in South Africa, and better utilizing Africa's rich natural resources. China and South Africa will work together to establish effective and modern economic infrastructure.

The Tanzanian Consul General in Guangzhou, Khatib Makenga, mentioned that Tanzania has always been ready to cooperate with Chinese enterprises to implement the "the Belt and Road" initiative, especially in terms of production capacity. As part of these initiatives, Tanzania has taken necessary measures to make private sector development and business environment more convenient.

The project "China Trade Mall Overseas Warehouse Project" released at the meeting sparked widespread interest among everyone.

Under the "the Belt and Road" initiative, China International Trade Mall Overseas Warehouse is a commercial project set up to follow the market-oriented principle for better economic and cultural cooperation between China and Africa. The purpose of the project is to become a base for Chinese enterprises to develop export-oriented economy and participate in the construction of Africa. China Trade Mall can provide comprehensive and systematic solutions and one-stop services for Chinese enterprises to go global, quickly alleviate the fierce competition situation of domestic enterprises, and open up international trade channels for domestic brands. At the same time, we purchase high-quality products from Africa, and through in-depth understanding of each other, we can work together with domestic brands and enterprises to participate in the international economic systemic circulation.