Sino-African trade enjoying golden age

China and Africa achieved several cooperation deals earlier this month and the signed projects are expected to help Africa further promote its green development, infrastructure connectivity and industrial transformation, and boost the continent's economic growth, industry players said.

The two sides signed 176 projects at the fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, Hunan province, involving a total value of $11.39 billion, said the Hunan provincial government and the Ministry of Commerce, the organizers. The expo concluded in mid-June.

Compared with the previous edition, the number of signed projects jumped 45.8 percent year-on-year, and the total value of the signed projects grew 10.6 percent. More than 4,700 domestic and African companies — as well as business associations and financial institutions — participated in the event, with its scale reaching a new high this year, said the organizers.

At different pavilions at the expo, African delicacies such as agricultural and food products, beauty and clothing items, and dazzling jewelry were showcased along with Chinese products such as medical equipment, engineering machinery and daily necessities, indicating a booming scene of China-Africa trade growth.

China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. Last year, bilateral trade reached $295.6 billion, up 4.8 percent year-on-year, setting a record high for the fourth consecutive year, said the Ministry of Commerce.

In the first five months, China's imports and exports with Africa amounted to 963.21 billion yuan ($134.2 billion), up 12.4 percent year-on-year, hitting a new high for the same period historically, said the General Administration of Customs.

"China will assist Africa in promoting industrialization and digital transformation, and take China-Africa cooperation to a higher and deeper level and a wider range of fields," said Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, at the opening ceremony of the expo, adding that the expo has become a new mechanism for Sino-African economic and trade cooperation.

"No matter how the global situation changes, China will stand firmly with Africa and provide strong support for the modernization of Africa," Wang said.

In particular, infrastructure cooperation has been a major sector for cooperation between the two sides. During the expo, 28 agreements were signed at an event, and the total amount of signed projects reached $5.27 billion, involving agreements in transportation, energy, communications, water conservancy, industry and agriculture between China and multiple African countries.

Since 2022, the continent has been the largest market for China's export of goods for foreign contracted projects. From January to May, China's exporting value to Africa through foreign contracted projects reached 12.59 billion yuan, up 46.5 percent year-on-year, said the GAC.

During the five-month period, China's exports of ships and marine engineering equipment; construction machinery; and electric motors and generators to Africa jumped by 41.6 percent, 58.5 percent and 51.1 percent, respectively, promoting economic growth and improving people's livelihoods in Africa, data of the GAC showed.

At Yantai Port in East China's Shandong province, an average of two to three cargo ships transporting Chinese machinery and equipment to African countries sail every week. In the first five months, shipping volumes of China-Africa liners reached 2.46 million metric tons, up 83.7 percent year-on-year, said Qingdao Customs.

"The China-Africa liners accurately satisfied Africa's demand for economic development. The operation of the liners has helped set up a transportation network connecting China with more than 20 countries and regions in Africa, including Guinea, Tanzania, South Africa and Namibia," said Li Jun, deputy director of the production and dispatch center of Yantai Port.

Since the launch of the China-Africa route at the Yantai Port in 2015, the transport volume of goods has been growing on a yearly basis, with an average annual growth rate reaching 117 percent in the past three years. The exported goods include 200 types of products such as wind power equipment, engineering building materials and construction vehicles.

In response to rapidly growing demand for Customs clearance, local Customs authorities have launched an export supervision model that includes classified supervision and concentrated inspection. The clearance and inspection time for the entire ship's cargo has been shortened from the original five to six days to two to three days, said Qingdao Customs.

Over the past decade since China and Africa jointly participated in the building of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese companies — including centrally administered State-owned enterprises — have cooperated with African countries to build and renovate over 10,000 kilometers of railways and nearly 100,000 km of highways in Africa, as well as nearly 1,000 bridges and nearly 100 ports, said the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

"These infrastructure construction projects have helped strengthen cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and African enterprises, and effectively unleashed the potential of Africa's economic growth," said Li Zhen, deputy director of the SASAC.

"These projects have also helped accelerate the process of modernization in Africa, and become important historical witnesses to the consolidation and development of the traditional friendship between China and Africa," Li said.

Next, the SASAC will support centrally administered State-owned enterprises to seize new opportunities brought about by digitization, networks and intelligent services on the continent. Chinese enterprises are encouraged to carry out new types of infrastructure cooperation such as international submarine cables, and next-generation mobile communication networks in Africa, and assist the continent in cultivating new drivers of economic and social development.

Environmental conservation and green drivers represent the foundation of high-quality development and a distinct symbol of sustainable infrastructure.

"We support centrally administered enterprises to actively participate in the building of clean energy infrastructure, and use more energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies in design, construction, operation and maintenance to help Africa achieve green and sustainable economic growth," Li said.

State-owned China Communications Construction Co has been operating in the African market for more than five decades. Its business covers 52 African countries and it has set up 93 overseas institutions on the continent. The company has completed building over 1,500 infrastructure projects, more than 7,000 km of highways, and over 800 km of railways in Africa.

Next, the company will continue to make efforts to build a complete transportation network system, and help make the flow of people and logistics more efficient and convenient on the continent, it said.