The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) will take place in Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, from September 26 to 29, 2021. About 176 projects in trade, investment, project contracting and strategic cooperation with a value of $15.93 billion are expected to be signed during the Expo. Among them, 115 have passed the preliminary review.  

Hosts: It's a biennial event organized by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Hunan Provincial People's Government.

History: CAETE was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. It's a platform for both sides to deepen economic and trade cooperation. The first expo was held in June 2019 with 84 cooperation deals worth $20.8 billion signed. The deals covered trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, aviation, tourism and establishing friendship cities.

Theme: "New Start, New Opportunities, New Accomplishment." Six African countries, comprising Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, are this year's expo's guests of honor. Information on their investment environment, trade policies, key products and tourism will be highlighted.

Venues: Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center hosts the main exhibition area, featuring commodities, specialties from China and African countries and milestones in China-Africa cooperation.

The China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Innovation Demonstration Park (Hunan Gaoqiao Grand Market) hosts a parallel exhibition. The Park is Hunan's pilot zone for bilateral cooperation and a permanent exhibition platform. 

Visitors can find African products, brands and five dedicated showcases: the Coffee Exhibition Area; Nut Exhibition Area; Cocoa Exhibition Area; Agricultural and Sideline Product Exhibition Area and the Exports to Africa Exhibition Area.

What else to expect: Twenty-two events including forums and business match-making activities will be held. For those who are unable to make it in-person to Hunan, there will be "Cloud Conferences" featuring live webcasts; 2D or 3D "Cloud Exhibitions" and "Cloud Transactions" that will enable visitors to make purchases through e-commerce. Goods worth 85 million yuan ($13.1 million) for export and around 100 kinds of African products for import are now available on Kilimall and KiliSelect, two e-commerce platforms. About 386 projects are expected to be booked via the Expo platform.