A visitor (left) inquires about African products at the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, Hunan province, on Sept 28. More than 300 African enterprises displayed their products offline during the offline-and-online expo.[Photo/Xinhua]
Investments up; focus shifts from resources to foods, processed goods
Zhu Shenghong, sales director of Pianyu (Beijing) International Trade Co Ltd, was extremely busy during the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province.
The company owns a winery called Havana Hills in South Africa and sells as many as 13 labels of wines from the winery that cover premium, midrange and low-end markets in China.
During the expo that was held from Sept 26 to 29, Zhu not only took care of the company's exhibition booth to demonstrate wine products to visitors, but also attended quite a few African wine-tasting events and promotions.
"It was quite a span of busy time, but I was glad to see expo visitors' intense enthusiasm for African wine, especially among Chinese young people aged 20 to 35," Zhu said, adding she is very bullish about the prospects for African wine in the China market, especially that from South Africa, a major wine-producing hub in the continent that has quite distinctive offerings.
The South African authorities are stepping up efforts to promote their produce in China, and the country's government even paid for the exhibition and boarding expenses for Zhu's company to take part in the wine-themed exhibition at the expo, she said.
Zhu's company is just one of the many that benefit from the deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and African countries.
The four-day event, themed "New Start, New Opportunities, and New Accomplishments", was held both online and offline to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 300 enterprises from more than 40 African countries displayed their products at the offline exhibitions, and 135 projects worth $22.9 billion were inked, both surpassing the corresponding figures of the first expo, which was also held in Changsha in 2019.
The event had a series of forums, conferences and exhibitions to showcase the achievements and potential of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, in areas like food and agricultural products, medicine and health, infrastructure and finance.
The main venue, the Changsha International Conference Center, held exhibitions on China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, displaying images of African countries and commodities in a space of about 64,000 square meters, up by 24,000 square meters from the first expo.
The second venue, Changsha's Gaoqiao Grand Market, with a total exhibition area of about 30,000 square meters, had a permanent exhibition pavilion, and five specific areas for coffee, nuts, cocoa, other agricultural products from Africa and Chinese products exported to Africa.
Experts and business owners said the expo is a major platform for strengthening economic and trade cooperation between China and African countries, and China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has maintained its dynamic momentum despite the impact of the pandemic, bringing benefits to people on both sides.
Sany Group, a Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer, displays high-end excavators at the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. [Photo/Xinhua]
"Today, China is without doubt Africa's most important and consequential commercial partner. (It is) a significant source of capital for Africa, laying the foundation for African economic growth, development and industrialization," said Jeremy Stevens, chief China economist at Standard Bank, Africa's largest bank that is headquartered in South Africa and operates in more than 20 economies.
"The most obvious and leading edge of China-Africa relations has been bidirectional trade, which has surged in the past decade," Stevens said.
"Recognizing the supportive diplomatic scaffolding and the robust and vibrant underlying opportunities across Africa, which complement China's own internal economic transformation and rebalancing, more and more Chinese and African firms have flourished in the corridor," he said.
Data from China's Ministry of Commerce showed China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years. Bilateral trade between China and African countries surged by 40.5 percent year-on-year to reach a record $139.1 billion during the first seven months of the year despite the pandemic.
Last year, Africa's trade with China reached $180 billion, accounting for about 21 percent of the continent's total foreign trade.
The flow of China's direct investment in Africa has grown by more than 25 percent annually on average over the past 20 years.
By the end of 2020, about 623 Chinese companies had operated in 25 economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa, with combined investments of more than $7.3 billion. They have contributed $1.47 billion in taxes to host countries and provided jobs to 42,000 locals, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Copper and cobalt mining giant Sino-Congolaise des Mines, or Sicomines, a joint venture between enterprises of China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is just another example of the mutual benefits China-Africa cooperation brings about.
Jointly created by the Gecamines Group appointed by the DRC and a consortium of Chinese State-owned companies composed of China Railway Group Ltd, also known as CREC, and Power Construction Corp of China, or PowerChina, Sicomines is currently operated by China Railway Resources Group Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CREC.
As one of the most prominent Chinese projects in Africa, the Sicomines deal sets an innovative one-in-all cooperation model involving resources, investments and economic growth.
Chinese enterprises are obliged to provide $3 billion for the DRC's infrastructure. The two sides co-established the joint venture, for which Chinese enterprises will invest $3.66 billion. Mining revenues from the joint venture will be used to repay the infrastructure financing.
That is to say, the urgent needs of African countries for construction and infrastructure will be met to promote local economic development, without putting a burden on local governments.
Visitors choose African seafood at the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo held from Sept 26 to 29. In all, 135 projects worth $22.9 billion were inked during the expo. [Photo/Xinhua]
The first phase of the mining project, which kicked off operations in October 2015, achieved full-capacity production and became profitable in April 2016.
In August 2019, the second phase of the mining project started construction, and is expected to be operational by the end of the year, with annual copper output reaching 250,000 metric tons if it runs on full capacity.
As of Aug 31, 43 contracts were signed for infrastructure projects like road, hospital, plaza and hydropower plant projects in more than 10 provincial regions in the DRC, with accumulative investments exceeding $1 billion.
Among them, the Busanga hydropower plant project in the town of Busanga, with a total investment of $656 million, is the largest infrastructure project under construction in the DRC.
The plant, which will have an installed capacity of 240 megawatts, can power for nearly 10 percent of the total electricity demand in the DRC when at full operation and will significantly contribute to the nation's economic development and the improvement of local people's lives.
China also has become Africa's second-largest agricultural export destination.
During the January-July period, China's imports from Africa grew by 46.3 percent year-on-year to $59.3 billion, while imports of agricultural products such as rubber, cotton and coffee all doubled year-on-year.
Giare B. Fernades, vice-president of the Angola-China Chamber of Commerce, said countries in West Africa near the Atlantic Ocean are rich in marine fishery resources, and many locals rely on fishing and selling seafood to feed their families.
Fernades said they have seen more Chinese businesspeople keen on importing seafood products from Africa over the past few years.
Tang Peng, who has been engaged in the African seafood supply chain business since 2016, said fresh African lobsters, for example, are at least 10 percent cheaper than Australian ones even after shipping costs. Frozen lobsters are about 20 percent cheaper when shipped by sea.
"Imported products from many African countries, including seafood, are exempt from tariffs in China," said Tang, adding that as a direct flight route from Angola to Changsha now operates, fresh African seafood will soon reach more Chinese foodies.
Tang's company subsidizes local fishermen's oil costs to fund their deep-sea fishing and purchases their catch for rough processing before shipping it to China, which gives African fishermen a more stable source of income.
