Editor's note: Adhere Cavince, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a scholar of International Relations with a focus on China-Africa cooperation.The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily those of CGTN. 

The third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo opens this week, from June 29 to July 2, in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. Started in 2019, the expo has emerged as a strong platform to promote trade and economic cooperation between Beijing and different African capitals. For 14 years in a row, China has become Africa's largest trading partner, after displacing the United States in 2009. The trade and economic partnership has not only deepened but also expanded with an overall healthy balance, delivering shared prosperity for both China and Africa.

The volume of trade between China and Africa reached $282 billion in 2022, four times the volume of trade between the United States and Africa in the same period. In the last ten years, China has also maintained the lead as Africa's largest investor, boosting economic growth of the continent by up to 20 percent. In the first quarter of 2023, China's new direct investment in Africa improved by 24 percent year on year hit $1.38 billion.

Trade and economic partnership presents one of the most rational ways out of poverty and underdevelopment. In appreciation of this fact, Chinese and African leaders, since the founding of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000, have prioritized economic globalization as a key indicator of their partnership. The same has been formalized into various tools and avenues including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Under the theme of "Common Development for a Shared Future," 53 African countries will attend this year's expo with deals and other cooperation projects under discussion already surpassing $10.7 billion.

China's open door trade policy has seen an implosion of African products in the Chinese market. Kenya, which is sending ministerial level delegation to Changsha, became the first Africa country to export fresh avocadoes to the Chinese market. In the three months between March and May 2023, exports of the commodity to China hit $64.38 million, benefiting thousands of smallholder farmers. Today, 21 African countries enjoy zero-tariff treatment for 98 percent of the exports to the Chinese market.

There are a number of drivers to the dynamism and productivity of China-Africa trade cooperation. China's engagement with Africa tends to prioritize economic cooperation and trade facilitation. This is in drastic contrast to U.S. approach to the continent marked by emphasis on so-called "democracy," "governance," and "human rights."

China's trade ties with Africa are also premised only on demand and supply. Similarly, Chinese investors have often looked to Africa as a place of opportunity. On the other hand, Western countries and investors often see Africa only as a security buffer zone with little economic value.  Washington's direct investment in Africa for example, fell from $69 billion in 2014 to $47.5 billion in 2020.

Drawing from the resolutions of the 8th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC in 2021, China and Africa have a chance to leverage the expo and deepen cooperation on priority areas such as healthcare, poverty reduction, agriculture and food security, trade promotion, investment, digital innovation, and green development.

The Changsha expo is taking place at a critical time for both China and Africa. Both sides are working hard to wean off the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic. Africa is implementing the ambitious continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which brings together a market share of 1.4 billion people with a combined gross domestic product in excess $3 .7 trillion. 

At the same time, China is pushing the frontiers of economic globalization through flow of goods, capital, technology and responsive governance norms. Without China's strong partnership, Africa's industrialization bid can only remain a pipe dream. Similarly, Africa offers China not just a market for industrial products but also an enduring investment space with enormous natural resources needed for the next generation of industries.

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