Beijing, 20 August 2024 (TDI): 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 sides, Assistant Minister of Commerce Tang Wenhong said Tuesday.
Tang made the remarks at a media conference detailing the progress and achievements that have been made under the 9 cooperation programs Beijing announced during the FOCAC’s 8th Ministerial Conference held three years ago in Senegal.
These 9 programs span categories such as medical and health, trade and investment promotion, digital innovation, poverty reduction and agricultural development, green development and capacity building, among others.
According to Tang, driven by programs aimed at investment and trade promotion as well as poverty reduction and agricultural development, China-Africa investment and trade cooperation has developed steadily. “China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for fifteen consecutive years.”
The official said a series of cooperative projects, such as the Lekki port in Nigeria and the Nairobi expressway in Kenya, have materialized over the past 3 years.
China has also dispatched over 500 agricultural experts to Africa and trained about 9,000 agricultural talents, providing strong support to Africa’s agricultural modernization process, he said.
Driven by digital innovation, green development, and other programs, Chinese companies have implemented a large number of clean energy projects in Africa, while exports of photovoltaic products and lithium batteries to Africa have increased significantly, Tang said.
He said China and Africa will continue to deepen friendship and discuss cooperation plans during the upcoming FOCAC 2024 Summit, scheduled to be organized in Beijing from September 4 to 6.
“China will expand institutional opening up to Africa and enhance cooperation in industrial and supply chains, so as to further advance China-Africa economic cooperation and development linkage for common benefits,” Tang added.
