Official: China-Africa economic, trade cooperation scaling new heights

China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has continued to scale new heights since the 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), delivering tangible benefits to the people of both China and Africa, Assistant Minister of Commerce Tang Wenhong said on Tuesday.

"In 2021, the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC was held successfully. At the opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China and Africa had jointly prepared the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035. Under the first three-year plan of this Vision, China will work closely with African countries to implement the nine programs," Tang said.

Since the conference, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency, together with other members of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of FOCAC, have strengthened coordination and worked closely with Africa to fully implement the nine programs with utmost effort, taking China-Africa trade and economic cooperation to new highs and substantially increasing the well-being of the peoples of both regions, Tang added.

Tang made these remarks at a press conference on the 2024 FOCAC Summit, focusing on economic, trade, and development cooperation, held by China's State Council Information Office.

The nine programs under FOCAC have consolidated China-Africa cooperation in traditional areas, Tang said, noting that with initiatives like trade promotion, investment promotion, and poverty reduction and agricultural development programs, China-Africa trade and investment cooperation has made steady progress.

In 2023, China-Africa trade reached $282.1 billion. China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. A number of infrastructure and manufacturing projects have been implemented, including the Lekki deep sea port in Nigeria, the airport expressway in Nairobi, solar power stations in South Africa, and home appliance factories in Egypt.

"These projects have elevated China-Africa cooperation along industrial and supply chains. Egypt issued Africa's first panda bond. These efforts have enriched the financing channels for China-Africa trade and economic cooperation. To support Africa's agricultural modernization, China has sent over 500 agricultural experts to Africa and provided nearly 9,000 training opportunities for agricultural professionals from Africa," Tang said.

The 2024 FOCAC Summit will be held in Beijing from September 4 to 6, when China and Africa will renew their friendship and discuss ways to promote cooperation.

China said it will expand institutional opening-up towards Africa and deepen industrial and supply chain cooperation, with a view to promoting China-Africa economic integration, interconnected development, and shared outcomes, reinforcing China-Africa strategic synergy, and making a greater contribution to a stronger China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.