Sino-African ties poised to prosper

Shared economic interests to spur growth in green, innovation-led collaboration

The diverse nature of Sino-African cooperation and its highly complementary trade structure will play a key role in supporting the economic and social development of both sides in the years ahead, government officials and business executives have said.

The optimistic outlook is underpinned by shared economic interests on both sides and their efforts to enhance synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the many national development programs of African governments, such as Kenya Vision 2030, Ethiopia's Growth and Transformation Plan II and Egypt's Vision 2030.

These plans aim to boost economic growth and job markets in their respective countries, they added.

Since China and Africa are keen on green and innovation-led growth, they will expand cooperation in production capacity, infrastructure, new energy, agriculture and modern services, as well as new and high-tech industries, opening up new prospects for a mutually beneficial relationship in the coming years, said Jiang Wei, director-general of the department of western Asian and African affairs at China's Ministry of Commerce.

China's accumulated investment in Africa exceeded $47 billion by the end of 2022, making it the fourth-largest source of investment on the continent.

Over 3,000 Chinese companies, such as China Railway Construction Corp Ltd, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Great Wall Motor Co Ltd, have invested in Africa and employed a large number of locals, data from the ministry showed.

Jiang said Chinese investments in Africa encompass a wide range of sectors, including construction, mining, manufacturing, technology, wholesale and retail operations, agriculture, real estate, finance and e-commerce.

Moreover, there has been a surge in equity participation, mergers and acquisitions, and investments through private companies.

Private enterprises account for over 70 percent of Chinese businesses operating in Africa, and have established themselves as a significant driver of investments in this fast-growing market.

Capital invested by Chinese companies soared 24 percent year-on-year in the first four months of 2023, highlighting the resilience of economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, as well as the confidence of domestic businesses in the African market, according to the commerce ministry.

China Southern Airlines, which began operating its first direct flight from central China's Hunan province to Kenya in June 2019, increased the frequency to twice per week in April.

The Chinese airline, recognizing the escalating trade volume between China and Africa, and the exponential growth of e-commerce, said rising demand for goods delivery services presents favorable prospects for logistics companies to extend their operations into Africa.

China consistently supports the process of African integration as well as its urbanization and industrialization.

Li Fei, vice-minister of commerce, said the nation is willing to sign or update agreements related to investment promotion and protection, as well as avoidance of double taxation with several African countries. The aim is to enhance liberalization and facilitate trade and investment cooperation.

China has maintained its position as Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. Their total trade value surged 11.1 percent year-on-year to $282 billion in 2022, with imports from Africa amounting to $117.5 billion, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed.

Bilateral trade continued its strong momentum in the first five months of this year, with total import and export value of 822.32 billion yuan ($114.7 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 16.4 percent.

Encouraging domestic firms to strengthen collaboration in Sino-African industrial and supply chains through trade cooperation zones in Africa, Li said Chinese companies will be actively backed in effectively utilizing the China-Africa Development Fund and the China-Africa Fund for Industrial Cooperation.

China has undertaken concrete partnerships that address Africa's requirements.

The resulting benefits of this cooperation have permeated throughout Africa, manifesting in clear and undeniable advantages for its people, said Gao Yu, chairman of the Counsellors' Office of the State Council.

Both China and Africa can work toward win-win cooperation as China's remarkable success in pursuing high-quality development and achieving sustained economic growth can inspire African countries, said Ashish Shah, director of country programs at the Geneva-based International Trade Center.

This is in line with the latest data.