Sino-Africa future is bright

By Chen Deming

THERE are a lot of encouraging scenes unfolding as China fulfills its commitments on economic cooperation and trade announced at the fourth ministerial conference of the forum on China-Africa cooperation in 2009.

At the meeting, which was held amid the rampaging financial crisis, China announced eight new measures to advance its practical cooperation with Africa, including development assistance, credit and financing, training and trade promotion.

Steered by Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and stimulated by these promotion measures, the two sides have withstood the test of the financial crisis. 

As a result, the trade and economic cooperation has witnessed faster growth across wider areas in more diversified forms.

The trade volume between China and Africa hit $166.3b in 2011, growing by 83% from 2009. China is the largest trading partner of Africa.

China’s direct investment in Africa reached $14.7b by the end of 2011, up 60% from 2009. More than 2,000 Chinese companies have invested in Africa. 

They have helped diversify the African economy, contributed to local tax revenue and job creation and also found a promising land for their overseas expansion.

Africa has become China’s second largest overseas market. In 2011, the business turnover of Chinese contractors in Africa grew by 28% in 2009 to $36.1b, accounting for 30% of China’s total turnover in overseas markets.

China increased its aid to Africa by more than 60% from 2009 to 2011. China built a large number of welfare projects, including schools, water supply and clean energy projects, and trained more than 20,000 personnel in various fields for Africa over the three year period. 

These programmes focus on enhancing the welfare of the local people. In the second decade of the 21st century, trade and economic cooperation between China and Africa finds itself standing at a new starting point but as China and Africa both need to restructure economies and transform growth patterns, there is a pressing need and great potential for the two sides to collaborate on industrial relocation.

Africa’s economic integration initiative creates even more opportunities for cooperation with China. The July 19-20 fifth ministerial conference of the FOCAC ushered in a new era of China-Africa trade and economic cooperation. 

China will adhere to the philosophy and principle of ‘equality and mutual benefit, cooperation and win-win, and common development’, restructure and upgrade bilateral trade and economic cooperation, strengthen the bond and broaden the basis of shared interests with Africa to solve the ‘growing pains’. 

The two sides will work together to tackle external challenges and inject new vitality to the intensified South-South cooperation.

China will continue to expand investment cooperation with Africa and migrate to Africa industrial chains so as to extend the value-added chain for “Made in Africa” products and create more job opportunities for Africans. 

We will deepen cooperation with Africa on infrastructure development. With these efforts, we seek to turn Africa’s potential into development strengths, and share the benefi ts of the relocation of the global industrial chain.

China supports the two sides to strengthen cooperation on deep resource processing, agricultural development and manufacturing and explore opportunities for cooperation in finance, commerce, logistics and aviation to create synergy in a wide range of industries. 

We will actively engage with Africa in its integration initiative by encouraging competent Chinese companies and financial institutions to participate in cross boarder and inter-regional infrastructure projects in Africa, enhance exchange and cooperation on regional trade facilitation and gradually establish a comprehensive, diversified and multi-layered China-Africa trade and economic cooperation system.

China will remain committed to deepening South-South cooperation, and continue to provide aid to African countries with a focus on areas that most affect people’s welfare. 

These efforts are aimed at helping African countries improve their development capabilities and enable African people to benefit more from China’s development assistance.

We will work to see more investment protection agreements and double taxation avoidance agreements signed and have the existing ones implemented, and enhance cooperation on consular protection. 

We will create a fair, transparent, safe and convenient business and investment environment for Chinese and African companies.

We will further strengthen coordination with African countries in promoting the establishment of an open and free global trading system. We support African countries’ positions in the Doha Round of negotiations to protect their own interests.

Twelve years ago, China and African countries launched the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation, which unveiled a new page in China-Africa trade and economic cooperation. 

Today, China will continue working with African countries to consolidate the Forum’s achievements, seize development opportunities, identify breakthrough points for mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, promote the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of China-Africa trade and economic cooperation, further substantiate the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership, and contribute to the economic development of both China and African countries as well as global economic recovery.

The writer is the Chinese minister of commerce