China-Africa economic and trade cooperation will be upgraded to a new level

Source: China Trade News Author: Our reporter Zhou Dongyang 2021-01-07 08:48:50

The relationship between China and Africa is extraordinary.

China's foreign minister will make his first New Year's visit to Africa this year, Xinhua reported. This is the 31st consecutive year that China's foreign minister has made his first New Year's visit to Africa since 1991.

Experts interviewed said African countries are China's natural partners in building a community of shared future.

Under the influence of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the African Free Trade Area (AFTA), China-Africa economic and trade cooperation will be upgraded to a new level and its influence will be further enhanced.

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) plays an important role

"Every year, the foreign minister chooses Africa for his first overseas visit, which reflects China's position, mission and responsibility as the largest developing country."

Ccpit expert committee, professor of international relations at renmin university. "China mast in an interview with the China trade news reporter said that the African continent is most concentrated in developing countries, China is the world's largest developing country, the two sides established china-africa cooperation BBS is a new type of south-south cooperation, china-africa cooperation BBS in international order plays a maintainer, reformers, leading role.

More than 80 percent of the world's population live in developing countries, but their voice in global governance is seriously underrepresented. The establishment of FOCAC will enhance the voice of developing countries and make the international political order more inclusive, sustainable, just and rational.

The year 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of FOCAC.

Over the past 20 years, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has followed the trend of peace, development and cooperation of The Times, guided China-Africa cooperation and set a good example of multilateralism and win-win cooperation.

Wang Yiwei said that China and Africa are a new type of complementary cooperation.

In 2001, the second year after the establishment of FOCAC, China joined the World Trade Organization and witnessed rapid economic growth. Some of the experience of industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization in China's reform and opening up can be shared with Africa, the continent with the largest concentration of developing countries.

In particular, since the "One Belt And One Road" initiative was put forward, FOCAC has witnessed rapid development. China's advantages in technology, capital and experience complement and complement Africa's advantages in market and human resources.

China's "One Belt And One Road" initiative, ten cooperation plans and eight actions with Africa focused on development, helping Africa build over 6,000 kilometers of railways and roads, nearly 20 ports and more than 80 large power facilities.

In December 2020, China and the African Union signed the Cooperation Plan on Joinly Promoting the One Belt And One Road Construction between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the African Union (AU), which is the first cooperation document on jointly building the BBB1 between China and a regional international organization.

The signing of the cooperation plan will effectively promote the synergy between the "One Belt And One Road" and Agenda 2063 of the African Union, enable the two sides to draw on each other's strengths, jointly address global challenges, create new opportunities for global cooperation and add new impetus to common development.

"FOCAC is a forerunner in building a community with a shared future."

Wang Yiwei said that the concept of building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind has been written into UN documents time and again, and African countries are China's natural partners in building such a community.

At the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), President Xi Jinping elaborated on the objectives, connotation, path and driving force of the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future, as well as the new type of South-South cooperation and how developing countries can promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is held every three years. The year 2021 will mark the conclusion of the implementation of the outcomes of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit and the year of the new plan for China-Africa cooperation and development. This year, the Forum will be held in Senegal, a West African country.

China-Africa cooperation has embraced new opportunities for development

At the beginning of the New Year, China-Africa cooperation has ushered in a new period of development opportunities.

The Free Trade Area (FTA) on the African continent, which covers 54 countries and 1.2 billion people, was officially launched on January 1, adding new impetus to China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. More Chinese companies will promote trade through investment and make "Made in Africa" stronger and stronger.

"The significance of the African continent free trade zone is extraordinary.

In the past, FTAs were mostly initiated by developed countries and there was little connectivity among developing countries, but the establishment of African FTAs has strengthened the interconnectivity within Africa."

Wang Yiwei said that in addition, the "One Belt And One Road" cooperation memorandum signed between China and the African Union will enable the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the China-EU Investment Agreement to benefit the construction of African free trade zones.

Francis Mangani, head of trade promotion and programmes at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFTA), said there are currently many Chinese investment projects on the African continent, especially in infrastructure projects.

With the free trade area on the African continent, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation will be lifted to a new level and its influence will be further enhanced.

The Free Trade Area on the African continent not only means business opportunities and development for China and Africa, but also China will benefit from investment in African countries.

Ojakol, Director of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Zone, said that Chinese enterprises investing in Africa can also enjoy preferential policies in the Free Trade Zone if their products comply with the rules of origin. This has created conditions for more enterprises to conduct localized operations in Africa.

Over the years, many Chinese companies have invested and set up factories in Africa, seeking mutual benefit and common growth with the African market.

Huajian Group is a good example of Chinese enterprises entering Africa.

It is reported that Huajian Group has more than 7,000 employees in its factories in Africa and accumulated exports of more than $100 million. Huajian Group has become China's largest shoe exporter in Ethiopia with an annual output of more than 5 million pairs of women's shoes, accounting for more than 65% of Ethiopia's shoe exports.

Transsion, a Shenzhen-based handset maker, has been exploring the African market since 2007, and a research report shows that its phones are the market leader in Africa, with smartphones accounting for 44 percent of the market.

In the future, China and Africa can carry out more practical cooperation in areas such as e-commerce, telemedicine, digital economy, new agriculture, Marine economy and industrial park construction, Wang said.

"China is on its way to fully realizing socialist modernization, and Africa is in the process of rapid development. There are broad prospects for cooperation between the two sides."

Editor in charge: Ge Yan