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xinhua news agency, beijing, september 6th, title: china-africa all-round pragmatic cooperation has strong momentum - observations from the china-africa entrepreneurs conference

xinhua news agency reporters pan jie, xie xiyao and zhang qianqian

as the highest-level economic and trade event of the chinese and african business communities under the framework of the forum on china-africa cooperation, the 8th china-africa entrepreneurs conference, co-hosted by the china council for the promotion of international trade and the ministry of commerce, kicked off on september 6. about 1,000 african leaders, chinese and african business representatives, and representatives of relevant international organizations and institutions gathered in beijing to exchange ideas and share opportunities.

what cooperation topics did chinese and african entrepreneurs discuss at the conference? what signal did the conference send to the chinese and african business communities?

fruitful achievements of china-africa practical cooperation benefit the people of both sides

the scale of trade has repeatedly hit new highs, investment cooperation has grown steadily, and infrastructure construction has achieved remarkable results... china-africa economic and trade cooperation has achieved tangible results, which resonated with the guests.

"the african market, mainly in zambia and the democratic republic of the congo, is our most important and successful overseas business area." zhang jinjun, general manager of china nonferrous mining group co., ltd., said at the conference that since entering the african market in 1998, china nonferrous group has invested more than us$4 billion in these two countries to build copper mines, copper smelters and economic and trade cooperation zones.

in recent years, from the "ten cooperation plans" to the "eight actions" and then to the "nine projects", china-africa mutually beneficial cooperation has continued to improve and upgrade. in 2023, china-africa trade volume reached a historical peak of us$282.1 billion; by the end of 2023, china's direct investment in africa exceeded us$40 billion, making it one of the largest sources of foreign investment in africa.

tan jiong, president of the china development bank, said that as of the end of august this year, the china development bank had issued a total of us$65 billion in loans in africa, and its china-africa development fund has guided and driven companies to invest more than us$32 billion in africa, effectively promoting local economic and social development.

melome patrice barthelemy, general manager of cameroon's kribi port authority, said that china is an important trading partner and source of investment and financing for cameroon. china's provision of funds for the construction of kribi deepwater port and other projects will help reduce africa's trade costs and improve supply chain reliability.

at present, the number of chinese enterprises in africa has exceeded 5,000. from transportation, energy to electricity and housing, chinese enterprises have implemented a number of landmark projects and "small but beautiful" projects in africa, improving the livelihood of local people. in the past three years, chinese enterprises have created more than 1.1 million jobs for local people.

"in africa, we have built more than 15,000 kilometers of railways and urban rail transit and more than 5,000 kilometers of roads, and effectively connected transportation infrastructure with mining areas, free trade zones, industrial parks, ports, and cities," said dai hegen, chairman of china railway construction corporation limited.

china-africa cooperation continues to expand into emerging areas

from clean energy to the digital economy, from aerospace to financial services, in recent years, china-africa cooperation has continued to extend to emerging fields.

zte entered the african market in 1997 and has witnessed and participated in the iterative evolution of african communication technology from 2g to 5g. "with the joint efforts of china and africa, africa's information and communication infrastructure has been continuously improved, and the digital divide has been narrowed year by year," said li zixue, chairman of zte corporation.

not only information and communication infrastructure, but also smartphones, mobile payments, e-commerce platforms, digital transformation... the digital economy is becoming a new highlight and new engine of china-africa cooperation.

prime minister trovoada of sao tome and principe appreciated china's valuable experience in using new technologies to improve economic and social governance, and hoped to enhance africa's economic and social governance capabilities through digital transformation, and to improve the level of modernization in education and training, medical services, and power construction.

"currently, 18 african countries have joined the framework initiative for international economic and trade cooperation on digital economy and green development. we welcome more african countries to join the initiative and jointly promote the development of emerging industries between china and africa," said wang shouwen, china's international trade negotiator and vice minister of the ministry of commerce.

foreign guests attending the meeting generally mentioned that africa is rich in resources and has huge development potential, but instability, poverty and technological gaps have hindered africa's modernization process. they look forward to continuing to expand cooperation with china in emerging areas.

"renewable energy technology, information and communication technology, and agricultural modernization are all key needs for africa," said alaa izzi, secretary-general of the union of african chambers of commerce and industry. investment and technology from china are driving africa's industrial upgrading and promoting the development of the entire african continent.

zimbabwean president mnangagwa said that zimbabwe is creating better conditions for enterprises in scientific and technological research and development in industries such as engineering construction, biomedicine, and new energy, and hopes to attract more investment in high-tech industries, new energy components and equipment.

china and africa join hands in pursuing the dream of modernization and have broad opportunities

at present, china is further deepening reform in an all-round way and promoting chinese-style modernization with high-quality development. africa is also accelerating towards the goals set by the au's agenda 2063. the guests at the meeting believed that the resonance between china and africa in a wider range and more fields will inject a steady stream of strong impetus into their respective modernization construction.

"at this summit, china proposed many new initiatives for practical cooperation with africa. china-africa economic and trade cooperation will usher in new and greater opportunities," said zambian president hichilema.

alan majuru, ceo of the zimbabwe trade promotion council, was particularly impressed by china's proposal to "give zero tariff treatment to 100% of tariff items of all least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with china, including 33 african countries." "china is an important importer of agricultural products in the world, and we are very much looking forward to sharing the opportunities of the huge chinese market."

working together towards modernization, china-africa cooperation has huge potential.

"africa is rich in natural resources, has broad prospects for industrialization and huge room for development." mo dingge, chairman of china national chemical engineering group co., ltd., said that china national chemical corporation will combine the development needs and resource endowments of african countries, make full use of its own advantages, and help africa transform its resource advantages into industrial advantages, so as to achieve resource optimization and value maximization.

many african guests expressed admiration for china's achievements in modernization and looked forward to further strengthening exchanges and mutual learning with china to promote common prosperity.

"we are not just doing business with china, we are also strengthening mutual learning and learning from china's advanced technology and management experience to help our own economic development," said allen majuru.