China and Africa have a huge potential for trade and business cooperation, Chinese and African officials, as well as businessmen said at the Seminar on China-Africa Bilateral Trade Promotion in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province on Thursday.

Talking about current trade, performance and future prospects between Africa and China, Ugandan Minister of State for Trade Michael Kafabusa Werikhe said the two enjoy a win-win trade situation.

Africa's exports to China are increasing, and its overall trade deficit with China has declined, from 40.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to 21.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

To boost China-Africa trade, the minister said connectivity in transport and infrastructure was essential to move raw materials, finished products and people. Enhanced financing and human capital development were also critical to promote trade and investment.

Ashish Shah, director of country programmes at the International Trade Centre (ITC), highlighted the importance of internationalizing African SMEs.

Improving the competitiveness of SMEs has great significance and relevance for the socio-economic development of Africa, as SMEs form the backbone of the economy in the region, representing more than 90 percent of businesses and employing about 60 percent of workers, he said.

China-Africa trade can be further promoted with the platform of the China International Import Expo (CIIE). Last year, ITC worked with 74 SMEs from developing countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, and supported the enterprises with advisory services on export sales, cross-border contacts, transports and logistics, and trade fair participation in China, Shah added.

Hunan eyes greater cooperation opportunities with Africa

Changsha, the host city of the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), is the provincial seat of Hunan. The Hunan government eyes greater business opportunities with African countries by giving full play to the CAETE platform.

Zhou Yue, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, said that trade volume between Hunan and Africa reached 2.8 billion U.S. dollars last year. Hunan investors have injected nearly one billion U.S. dollars into more than 120 enterprises in Africa.

The Hunan government will upgrade the bilateral trade promotion mechanism, make good use of Internet expos, and explore ways to promote trade in services, said Zhou.

The city will also establish a China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Institute with the help of well-known domestic universities and relevant enterprises and research institutions. Intellectual and human resources from China and Africa will be collected to help build a think tank on China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation.

When it comes to the potential market opportunities for China-Africa business cooperation, Luo Xiao, general manager of Hunan Gaoqiao Grand Market, said there is a growing demand for African products, and the two sides see broad cooperation potential in this aspect.

Echoing the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, a two-way trade and consumption platform for import and export between China and Africa has been built by the Gaoqiao Grand Market, an integrated market and industrial cluster, aiming to open the channels of high-quality products between Africa and China.

The platform is the only long-term exhibition and sales platform for the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. To date, it has introduced about 2,000 kinds of African products such as coffee, handicrafts and wine, said Luo.