Second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo Kicks off in Changsha

The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) and China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum opened on September 26 in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the opening ceremony. He also visited some CAETE exhibition halls before the ceremony.

Director Yang said that China and Africa are good friends, partners, and brothers, coming together as one community with a shared future. President Xi Jinping put forward the principles of sincerity, affinity, good faith, and real results in strengthening cooperation with Africa, upholds the values of greater good and shared interests, and promotes the building of an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future. Political mutual trust between China and African countries is becoming stronger, and pragmatic cooperation in trade and investment, infrastructure, and emerging industries has yielded fruitful results.

The expo has become a new platform for implementing the economic and trade measures of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and promoting economic and trade cooperation with Africa at the local level. Hailing the increasing mutual trust and fruitful cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, infrastructure, and emerging industries between China and Africa, Yang said that China will unswervingly support Africa's search for strength through unity, and support the economic and social development of African countries. He called on the two sides to align development strategies, work jointly to fight the pandemic, and strengthen pragmatic cooperation on economy, trade, interconnectivity, green development, human resources development and other fields.

China will build a new higher-level open economic system and create a more attractive business environment, which will open a broader space for China-Africa cooperation, Yang said.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Senegalese President Macky Sall, and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune addressed the opening ceremony via video link, vowing to jointly build the Belt and Road, implement the Initiative on Partnership for Africa's Development, and further advance bilateral cooperation. They unanimously affirmed the good results achieved in Africa-China cooperation, especially the cooperation with Hunan Province since the first CAETE. They hoped to continue to strengthen the pragmatic cooperation between the two sides in such fields as industrial development, economic and trade exchanges, technological innovation, epidemic prevention and control, and cultural tourism. We could share development opportunities, improve cooperation efficiency, and benefit the people of both sides, they added.

Xu Dazhe, secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and director of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. He said, “President Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Africa will always be good friends, partners, and brothers, standing together through thick and thin, and sharing a common fate. In recent years, Hunan Province has conscientiously implemented the spirit of his important speech, and has taken solid steps to promote the high-quality development of Hunan-Africa cooperation by successfully hosting CAETE and building the Hunan Pilot Free Trade Zone. This year's expo, themed ‘New Start, New Opportunities, and New Accomplishments’, will forcefully promote the development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation to a higher level, broader field, and deeper level. Hunan will take it as an opportunity to strengthen coordination around the implementation of eight major initiatives announced at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, highlight development as the key, deepen sound cooperation, promote people-to-people bonds, actively explore new paths for Hunan-Africa cooperation, and open up new collaboration growth points. We will work with all parties to successfully host the never-ending China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and contribute to the development of a China-Africa community of shared future for win-win cooperation, security, and cultural prosperity.”

Before the opening ceremony, Secretary Xu met with leaders from other provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities) who came to attend the expo.

Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and governor of Hunan Province, presided over the opening ceremony. He introduced that since the first CAETE held in 2019, China and Africa and Hunan and Africa have achieved remarkable results in strategic matchmaking, ideas exchange, experience sharing, exhibition and display, and project cooperation. The expo has become an important platform for pursuing win-win cooperation between China and African countries. Hunan government will thoroughly implement President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic thoughts, Director Yang Jiechi’s requirements for promoting the high-quality development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, and eight major initiatives for China-Africa collaboration. We will strengthen all-round and multi-field exchanges and cooperation with Africa, and strive to make CAETE become a grand economic and trade event that inherits the past, is pragmatic, innovative and fruitful, and contribute to the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future.

The four-day event, themed “New Start, New Opportunities, and New Accomplishments”, closely followed the eight major initiatives to promote China-Africa cooperation proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, focusing on such sectors as food and agricultural products, medicine and health, infrastructure, and financial cooperation. There will be 22 supporting exhibitions and activities, including the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Achievements Exhibition, African Brand Commodity Exhibition, Domestic and Foreign Trade Integration Exhibition, China-Africa Food and Agro-Products Cooperation Forum, China-Africa Medicine and Health Development Forum, and China-Africa Industrial Park Promotion Conference.

Six African countries—Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Senegal—are invited as the guests of honor, with Zhejiang and Jiangxi serving as theme provinces. It has attracted nearly 900 enterprises from nearly 40 African countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, and Sudan, and 26 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in China. The expo is organized by the People’s Republic of China, undertaken by the Hunan Government, and supported by provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) nationwide. A series of theme promotion meetings and trade fairs between China and African countries are held.

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn