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.