Opening doors
The strong domestic demand in African countries not only is an important driving force for their economic growth, but also creates opportunities for Chinese companies to invest in Africa.
“I think China is ready to work with Africa to face all the challenges, and African countries will also open their doors wider to Chinese enterprises for cooperation and investment,” Osman told ChinAfrica.
Allan Chintedza, Malawian ambassador to China, said that as a landlocked country, Malawi’s vast territory means that transportation and logistics costs are very high. But with the orderly implementation of the BRI infrastructure projects, Malawi’s domestic transport costs will be further reduced and the business efficiency will continue to improve.
Chintedza stated that his country has been committed to promoting economic integration among member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, thereby breaking down trade barriers between member countries and creating a more attractive investment environment for Chinese enterprises.
Mohammed Hassanali, economic counsellor at the embassy of Sudan in China, said, “It is not difficult to overcome obstacles and challenges in cooperation because China and African countries have the will and determination.” In an interview with ChinAfrica, he noted that during the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue held in August 2023 in South Africa, China unveiled the Initiative on Supporting Africa’s Industrialisation, stating that it would strengthen knowledge sharing and technology transfer with Africa, and optimise trade facilitation measures with Africa, which will create good opportunities for further improvement of China-Africa cooperation in industrialisation.
He Wenping, researcher at the Institute of WestAsian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, talked about three major bottlenecks in development facing Africa, namely outdated infrastructure, inadequate funding, and insufficient talent. However, as China-Africa cooperation continues to deepen, both sides are taking measures to actively address these difficulties.
“Economic development always brings opportunities and challenges. In the new era, China-Africa cooperation is the only way for both sides to achieve common development. It is beneficial for African countries to respond to the three major bottlenecks and improve their debt repayment ability,” she said.
Over the past decade, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has yielded fruitful results. China has always maintained its status as Africa’s largest trading partner and has become Africa’s fourth-largest source
In 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the launch of the Initiative on Supporting Africa’s Industrialisation to better harness its resources for cooperation with Africa, and encourage businesses to support Africa in growing its manufacturing sector and realising industrialisation.
of investment and an important infrastructure partner.
According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, there are currently more than 3,000 Chinese companies investing in Africa. As of the end of June 2023, the number of Chinese-funded industrial parks in Africa that were included in the Ministry of Commerce’s database reached 25, which collectively attracted more than 620 companies and total investment of $7.35 billion. The industrial parks had hired 42,000 local employees and paid a total amount of $1.48 billion in local taxes. In the process of investing in Africa, Chinese companies have contributed to Africa’s industrialisation and improvement of people’s livelihood, and have become one of the driving forces for inclusive economic development in Africa.
In fact, African countries are trying to attract more Chinese investors to support their industrialisation drive.
Gabonese Ambassador to China Baudelaire Ndong Ella said at the meeting that although the country is rich in natural resources, the development of its agricultural and sideline products processing industry lags behind. “China and Gabon have a profound traditional friendship. Gabon encourages local companies to actively strengthen cooperation with Chinese companies,” he said. The country offers tax incentives for foreign companies investing in industry, mining, agriculture and forestry, hoping to attract more Chinese companies to invest in Gabon.
Ahmed Zaki, minister plenipotentiary of the Egyptian embassy in China, said that the Egyptian government has implemented an ambitious economic reform programme which includes the 2030 economic development strategy aimed at high GDP growth. To encourage foreign investors, the country will adopt sound economic policies aimed at attracting more foreign investment and will provide a package of incentives and more investment guarantees, he said.
Last year, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (TEDA Zone) celebrated its 15th anniversary as it unveiled its 2030 Vision-Strategic Upgrade Plan. Under the joint efforts of the two countries, the TEDA Zone is labelled as a model project of the Suez Canal Economic Zone and all of Egypt.
“As of June 2023, 150 Chinese companies have established investment projects in the TEDA Zone, with a total investment of more than $1.65 billion,” Zaki said. He said the TEDA Zone is currently the industrial park in Egypt with the best overall business environment. It hosts the largest concentration of Chinese-funded enterprises.
In recent years, with its appearance at the China International Import Expo and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, Rwanda’s specialty products such as coffee, tea, chili, and honey have won the favour of more and more Chinese consumers. “The Rwandan government is actively promoting more high-quality products to enter the Chinese market. Rwanda attaches great importance to all-round economic and trade cooperation with China, especially in the field of digital trade. I believe that in the future, Rwandan enterprises will establish connections with more Chinese partners and open up a new situation in trade,” Samuel Abikunda, commercial counsellor of Rwandan embassy in China, told ChinAfrica.