China, Africa enjoy broad cooperation opportunities in the financial sector, said officials of Chinese financial institutions at the Dialogue between Executives of Chinese Financial Institutions and African Coordinators of the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Beijing Summit of FOCAC on Monday.

Chinese banks are playing an increasingly important role in the African financial sector, with bank leaders introducing the development of current businesses in Africa at the dialogue meeting.

What have Chinese banks done?

Executive Vice President of China Development Bank, Zhang Xuguang, said the China Development Bank launched the China-Africa Development Fund, an equity investment fund of 10 billion U.S. dollars.

The China Development Bank has conducted extensive cooperation with Chinese and foreign financial institutions in Africa, with all investment funds being channeled, said Zhang.

Zhang said that the bank he works with is a financial institution, and it has played an important role in China-Africa cooperation for many years. By 2018, it had provided over 60 billion U.S. dollars for nearly 500 projects in 43 countries, covering infrastructure, energy, mining and many other areas. 

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) came into force this May, bringing great opportunities to bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, Zhang added.

Executive Vice President of Export-Import Bank of China, Xie Ping, said the business of Export-Import Bank of China covers 46 African countries, and the loan balance accounts for one-third of its overseas business.

The Export-Import Bank of China has also implemented projects to support the infrastructure development of African countries, and guided Chinese enterprises to build a complete industrial chain there, Xie said.

Lin Jingzhen, Executive Vice President of Bank of China, said that his bank has paid great attention to localization of its business in Africa, as 70 percent of its staff there are local people.The bank has also made great efforts to enhance financial innovation in Africa.

Lin told CGTN that Chinese companies there should integrate into the African continent, which is vital for them to do the risk control. For example, Chinese companies should operate under the local legal systems and follow the principle of commercialization.

Against the backdrop of trade protectionism and unilateralism, Chinese officials say they have upheld international order and attached great importance to avoiding debt risks.

In addition, the Silk Road Fund, China-Africa Development and China-Africa Fund for Industrial Cooperation have brought impetus for China-Africa trade and economic cooperation, according to officials of these funds at the meeting.

Trade and economic development in full swing

Last year, trade volume between China and Africa amounted to 204.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 20 percent year-on-year. China has been the largest trading partner of Africa for 10 consecutive years.

As of 2018, China had set up over 3,700 enterprises in Africa with a direct investment of over 46 billion U.S. dollars. China's financial institutions have established more than 10 branches in Africa, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Voices of Africa

James W. Macharia, Cabinet Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development and Public Works, said that although there are some countries moving on their own and adhering to protectionism, Kenya believes that cooperation with China is mutually beneficial. 

Nabeela F. Tunis, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone, said: "I believe that China is playing a very pivotal role in the social and economic development of Africa, especially in my country, it's estimated that about a million Chinese people are actually working and living in Africa, and recently, it's estimated that there are 200,000 Africans living and working in China, and if you basically assess what China has done through the FOCAC Forum for the past couple of years, there has been increased investment from China."

The dialogue meeting is part of the Coordinators' Meeting on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) which is scheduled for June 24 and 25 in Beijing.

The opening ceremony of the Coordinators' Meeting will be held on Tuesday morning, and after the closing ceremony in the afternoon, there will be a joint press conference on the outcomes of the meeting. It's believed that through these bilateral and multilateral activities, China and Africa will boost high-quality and sustainable cooperation, safeguard multilateralism and build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future. 

(CGTN's Su Yuting also contributed to the story.)