General

China and Africa are a community of shared destiny and a community of mutual benefit through cooperation, and their cooperation has enormous potential and broad prospects.

China and Africa are a community of shared destiny and a community of mutual benefit through cooperation, and their cooperation has enormous potential and broad prospects. Since the beginning of this year, China Africa economic and trade cooperation has accelerated. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to April, the import and export volume between China and Africa reached 648.25 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.5%. Among them, exports to Africa reached 404.71 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.9%; RMB 243.54 billion from non imports.

Strengthening all-round cooperation between China and Africa

The international trade and economic cooperation between China and Africa has developed rapidly in recent years, especially after the adjustment of China's epidemic prevention and control measures, the import and export volume between China and Africa has significantly increased, which is also due to the strong complementarity of the two sides' economy and trade. Wang Yiwei, a member of the Expert Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, said in an interview with reporters that China and Africa are currently strengthening comprehensive cooperation, starting from China's export of industrial products and manufactured goods to Africa, Africa's export of raw materials and energy to China has led to the development of various aspects such as trade, investment, engineering, infrastructure, and financing. From government driven and foreign aid to a significant increase in private capital investment, from national cooperation to local strengthening of cooperation, such as the upcoming Third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, Hunan.

Tahyana Lazanamahaifa, the head of public relations at the Indian Ocean Trading Company in Madagascar, an exhibitor of this year's exhibition, said that the company will showcase agricultural products such as vanilla and peanuts at the exhibition. As a partner in promoting Chinese hybrid rice in Madagascar, the company hopes to engage in more cooperation with China in fields such as agricultural mechanization and hybrid rice seed production. Patrick Nyangueso, CEO of the National Federation of Industry and Commerce of Kenya, stated that Kenya should make good use of the upcoming Third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo to explore new markets for agricultural products while seeking investors. He also revealed that the National Federation of Industry and Commerce of Kenya will open an office in Hunan Province this year to help its member enterprises establish connections with Chinese traders and promote economic and trade exchanges between China and Kenya.

Relying on the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo and the pilot zone for deep cooperation in China Africa international trade and economy, Hunan Province has become one of the most active provinces in China's economic and trade cooperation with Africa. In 2022, Hunan's import and export to Africa reached 55.66 billion yuan, an increase of 42.8%. Among them, exports reached 40.86 billion yuan, an increase of 60.7%; Import reached 14.8 billion yuan, an increase of 9.2%. Changsha has a comprehensive range of manufacturing industries and a relatively developed level of manufacturing. It has manufacturing enterprises represented by Sany Heavy Industry, and cooperation with Africa has thriving development potential.

It is reported that among the approved free trade pilot zones established in China, Hunan Free Trade Pilot Zone is the only reform and innovation pilot zone positioned as a leading zone for deep economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa. Since its approval for construction, with a series of institutional innovations and exploration practices, the economic and trade exchanges between its "main battlefield" Changsha and Africa have become increasingly active. We have laid out 6 industrial chains for imported African products such as coffee, cashew nuts, and green root fruits, cultivating over 100 African brand products, "said Xiao Xiangdong, Secretary of the Yuhua Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee in the Changsha area of the Hunan Free Trade Zone.

The platform mechanism plays an important role

The Forum on China Africa Cooperation is an important platform mechanism for international trade and economic cooperation between China and Africa, "Wang Yiwei said. In recent years, from the" Ten Major Cooperation Plans "to the" Eight Major Actions "and then to the" Nine Projects ", China Africa cooperation has kept pace with the times. It is reported that the "Digital Innovation Project" is one of the "nine projects" determined at the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation. Currently, China and Africa are accelerating digital economic cooperation, and Africa itself is building a free trade zone, with great potential for economic development, especially in digitization.

Against this backdrop, Chinese digital technology companies are actively entering the African market, driving the accelerated development of the local digital economy. Huawei's "Rural Network" plan launched in Nigeria has significantly increased the coverage of optical fiber, allowing people in remote areas to enjoy high-quality network services; The ICT college jointly established by Huawei and universities in Uganda introduces advanced technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and big data into university classrooms; Chuanyin Company has specially designed smartphones for the African market that offer high-quality products, greatly improving the mobile network usage rate of local people; Alibaba and other Chinese e-commerce platform enterprises help African enterprises strengthen the construction of digital information systems and promote the rapid development of e-commerce

Kilimall, an e-commerce platform under Changsha Feituo Information Technology Co., Ltd., was established in 2014 and currently operates e-commerce businesses in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. According to Liao Zhengrong, the platform brand director, Kilimall has established an overseas warehouse of over 10000 square meters in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi. The self built logistics system can achieve the fastest delivery of goods on the same day, and the independently developed online payment system supports multi-channel transactions in multiple international trade currencies.

While Chinese enterprises are deepening their expansion into the African market, more and more African specialty products are also entering the daily lives of Chinese consumers through cross-border e-commerce and live streaming e-commerce platforms, including coffee from Ethiopia, chili sauce from Rwanda, black tea from Kenya, chocolate from Ghana, cashew nuts from Tanzania, and so on.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the "the Belt and Road" initiative. In recent years, despite the adverse effects of the COVID-19, China Africa economic and trade cooperation has become increasingly close. In particular, under the promotion of cooperation mechanisms such as the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, Africa's infrastructure construction has undergone earth shaking changes. Nowadays, China Africa cooperation has built over 10000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100000 kilometers of highways, nearly a thousand bridges, and nearly a hundred ports, with network services covering nearly 700 million user terminals. At the end of January this year, the opening and operation ceremony of Nigeria's Laiki Deepwater Port, constructed by Chinese enterprises, was held. Laiki Deepwater Port is the largest port in Nigeria, capable of accommodating the world's largest container ship and is expected to generate nearly $360 billion in overall economic benefits and 170000 jobs over a 45 year franchise period.

As for how to further strengthen China Africa mechanism platform cooperation in the future, relevant experts said that China Africa "the Belt and Road" cooperation is not only for China and Africa, but also for other third-party countries. China can complement its advantages with European countries and cooperate together in Africa. Wang Yiwei stated that the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China mentioned that "we should adhere to the direction of socialist market economy reform, adhere to high-level opening up to the outside world," and steadily expand institutional openness in rules, regulations, management, standards, and other areas. "The China Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Platform should also strive for institutional innovation and construction to promote high-quality development of China Africa's international trade and economy, and accelerate cooperation between the two sides in fields such as digital economy, health, emerging industries, green and low-carbon.