China, Africa stepping up economic, trade cooperation as expo opens

CHANGSHA/NAIROBI - Earlier this week, the first batch of Kenya's dried anchovies arrived at the Changsha Huanghua International Airport in Central China's Hunan province, adding to a long list of African products that were granted access to the Chinese market.

The small dried fish has become the latest epitome of prospering China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. And as the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo kicked off in Changsha on Thursday, a further boost is widely expected in China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

COOPERATION BOOMING

At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in September 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the decision to establish the China-Africa economic and trade expo.

Over the years, the biennial expo has become an important platform for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

The current edition of the expo has witnessed remarkable growth, with the main exhibition hall occupying a larger area and over 1,500 exhibitors participating, a 70 percent increase compared to the previous event.

Grace Njapau, director of Kakanga Food Suppliers in Zambia, is attending the expo for the second time. This time, she treats Chinese customers to organic honey and moringa seeds.

"Every time we come to China, we discover new business opportunities. The Chinese market is a land of opportunity, and we are also willing to bring higher quality African goods to China," said Njapau, who has been doing business with her Chinese partners since 2001.

Over the past more than 20 years, Njapau has witnessed and experienced the progress of China-Africa economic cooperation towards prosperity.

In a congratulatory letter to the expo in 2019, Xi said it is hoped that the two sides will actively explore new paths for cooperation, open up new points of growth for collaboration, and promote China-Africa economic and trade cooperation to a new level.

Over the years, the expo has become a booster for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. The previous two editions have witnessed the signing of 216 cooperative projects or agreements worth a total of 43.02 billion U.S. dollars.

From the trading and processing center for African non-resource products to the China-Africa cross-border RMB center, the expo is expanding the scope of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.