China, Ethiopia Aim to Boost Economic Ties
Ethiopia and China held an investment and trade cooperation forum that aimed at further augmenting trade and economic ties on May 12. The China-ethiopia Investment and Trade Cooperation Forum was co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Investment Commission and the Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce of China in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
During the forum, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Investment Cooperation was signed between the two countries, which will serve as a new cooperation mechanism to promote investment cooperation and inject new impetus to the collaboration between the two countries.
The forum, held offline and online, brought together senior Ethiopian government officials, the business community from the two countries, as well as the Chinese diplomatic community in Addis Ababa. Senior Chinese government officials also took part in the high-level investment and trade forum virtually from China.
While addressing the forum, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen emphasized that the East African country has become one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa, in which Chinese engagement has injected a much-needed momentum to the country’s drive.
He said Chinese investment in communications technologies, large-scale infrastructure, industrial parks and manufacturing sectors has certainly augmented the efforts of the Ethiopian Government to create a competitive and sustainable industrial development base.
Net FDI Inflows Continue In April
China has continued to record a net inflow of cross-border capital, and has maintained the yuan’s generally stable exchange rate as Chinese banks reported a large net foreign exchange purchase in April, official data showed on May 17.
Chinese lenders bought
$229.7 billion worth of foreign currencies and sold $210.6 billion worth in April. That resulted in a net purchase of $19 billion, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
China’s development pattern of a stable forex market and balanced cross-border capital flows has remained unchanged, said Wang Chunying, the administration’s deputy head.
The tightening of monetary policies in major developed economies will have a spillover effect on the flows of international capital, but China’s forex market has become more mature and resilient to allow it to adapt better to changes in the external environment, Wang said.
Flagship Economic Conference Concludes
Africa’s flagship economic conference, the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, has concluded with a call for a new global financial architecture that would better serve Africa’s financing needs.
The 54th session of the Conference of African
Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (COM2022) was held in a hybrid format in Dakar, Senegal, and virtually from May 11 to 17.
Organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and hosted by Senegal under the theme “Financing Africa’s Recovery: Breaking New Ground,” the high-level conference emphasized the need for finding innovative financing solutions for Africa.
Stabilizing Growth
China has accelerated the implementation of a slew of fiscal and tax policies to shore up economic growth, a senior official said on May 17.
To spur the vitality of market entities, the country has ramped up efforts to carry out new combined supporting policies through tax and fee cuts, Vice Minister of Finance Xu Hongcai told a press conference.
The issuance of value-added tax (VAT) credit refunds to micro and small enterprises has been in place since April. Meanwhile, work toward refunding outstanding VAT credits to medium-sized and large companies will start ahead of schedule, Xu said.