Expo advances China-Africa ties
New dynamics emerge amid upgrade in industrial cooperation with the continent
Atotal of 135 projects worth $22.9 billion were inked at the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo which concluded in central China’s Hunan province on Sept 29.
The four-day event, themed “New Start, New Opportunities, New Accomplishments,” was held both online and offline to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 320 companies displayed their products online and over 250 million yuan ($38.7 million) worth of products were traded at an online shopping event during the expo, the information office of the Hunan provincial government told a press briefing on Sept 29.
“With the strong support and active participation of all parties in China and Africa, this year’s expo has achieved fruitful results. A number of new cooperation initiatives made their debut, and both the contracted projects and amounts exceeded those of the first edition,” said Shen Yumou of the expo’s organizing committee.
First launched in 2019, the biennial expo, also known as the Forum on China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, is a major platform for strengthening economic and trade cooperation between China and African countries.
The second expo kicked off on Sept 26 in Changsha, capital of Hunan province. Chinese and African political leaders, heads of international organizations and entrepreneurs attended the opening ceremony held in the Changsha International Conference Center which included the launch of China’s Corporate Social Responsibility in Africa.
“China-Africa economic and trade cooperation is at a critical period of transformation, upgrading, and improving quality and efficiency,” said Wang Bingnan, China’s vice-minister of commerce, at the expo’s opening ceremony.
Conferences and exhibitions showcased the achievements and highlighted the potential of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
A second venue, Changsha’s Gaoqiao Grand Market, boasts a permanent pavilion for exhibitions and five specific areas for coffee, nuts, cocoa, agricultural products from Africa and products exported to Africa.
The expo has gathered multiple countries, including Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, to join hands with provinces like Zhejiang and Jiangxi.
China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years. Since 2000, China-Africa trade has witnessed a 20-fold increase.
The share of China-Africa trade in Africa’s total foreign trade has been rising year after year and exceeded 21 percent in 2020, totaling $180 billion.
Statistics showed 25 Chinese economic and trade cooperation zones have been established in 16 African countries so far. As of 2020, the cooperation zones, registered with the Ministry of Commerce, had attracted 623 enterprises with a total investment of $7.35 billion, which has created over 46,000 jobs.
The TEDA Cooperation Zone, a trusted platform for investment and cooperation between enterprises of China and Egypt, is upgrading after more than 10 years of development.
“In the coming five years, we will upgrade the zone into a green modern industrial town featuring perfect infrastructure, complete supporting service systems, a complete industrial chain and sustainable development,” Wei Jianqing, executive general manager of China-Africa TEDA Investment Co, Ltd, the China-funded developer of the zone, said during the expo.
Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos, Nigeria, has been built as a modern satellite city integrating production, living, leisure and entertainment.
After 15 years’ development, the zone has 161 registered enterprises operating in sectors such as oil and gas storage, furniture manufacturing, engineering construction services, industrial real estate and automobile assembly. The accumulated investment of enterprises in the park has exceeded $337 million.
Tapping business opportunities in emerging industries, the zone is aimed at attracting more enterprises in logistics, e-commerce and overseas warehousing, said Lai Siqing, expatriate executive of China-Africa Development Fund, or CADFund, and director of Nigeria Lekki Free Trade Zone, while moderating a discussion on sustainable investment in Africa during the expo.
Aiming to be a high-quality industrial park, the Sino-Uganda Industrial Park has set strict standards for selecting enterprises, turning down companies engaged in industries that are not environmentally friendly, said Zhang Zhigang, chairman of the industrial park.
China-Africa cooperation in infrastructure and investment is stabilizing and picking up across the board. Cooperation in the digital economy, smart cities, clean energy, 5G and other new businesses is thriving.
Cooperation in the pharmaceutical industry between China and Africa has been growing rapidly over the past decade. Sansure Biotech Inc, based in Changsha, has supplied 46 African countries with nearly 5 million COVID-19 reagents and instruments, Pierre Zhu, vice-president of Sansure, told Xinhua.
Since the spread of COVID-19 in African countries, BGI Group has participated in prevention and control in Africa and promoted effective regional public health cooperation, building 10 COVID-19 testing laboratories in six African countries, according to Terence Xiong, vice-president for the global development of BGI Group based in south China’s Guangdong province, during a medicine and health seminar at the expo.
“We also hope to use genetic testing technology to promote scientific research cooperation, such as pathogen research and biodiversity conservation,” Xiong added.
Infrastructure cooperation is the traditional advantage of China-Africa economic cooperation and has been a highlight of the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road between China and Africa.
During the expo, 17 cooperation contracts in transportation, energy, water conservancy, industry and agriculture were signed to help Africa boost green development and facility connectivity and foster endogenous impetus for development. The deals had a total value of $6 billion.
In Africa, a key region of machinery giant SANY Group’s international development, the company will focus on major engineering projects and infrastructure construction to provide cost-effective products and more efficient and perfect services, said Liang Wengen, chairman of China’s SANY Group. The Changsha-based company first exported its products to Africa in 2002 and has long been a leader among Chinese exporters of machinery to the continent.
“The company will also actively share its experience in industrialization development with African enterprises, especially SANY’s experience in exploring intelligent manufacturing, to contribute more wisdom to Africa’s industrialization development and industrial upgrading,” Liang added.
The restructuring of the global industrial chain driven by the pandemic will bring great opportunities to Africa, and its position in the global industrial chain will be effectively enhanced, Song Lei, chairman of CADFund, said at a forum on industry chain cooperation during the expo.
“Digital transformation of China’s economy has brought great help to agriculture, transportation, logistics, manufacturing and other key industries in the development of industrial chain, created a rapid development opportunity for China-Africa digital economy cooperation, and opened up new ideas for China-Africa industrial chain cooperation,” Song said.