Revisiting 3rd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo

On the afternoon of April 17, the Promotion Conference for the 3rd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo was successfully held in Guangzhou. Chen Huaming, Deputy Director General of the Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce, and Zhou Yue, Deputy Director General of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, attended the event. More than 120 representatives from the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, Africa Guangdong Business Association, other related business associations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, export industrial clusters and renowned enterprises engaged in China-Africa trade were present.

Two other sessions of the CAETE Promotion Conference have been held in Beijing and Jiande, Hangzhou. The third session, held in Guangzhou, aims to pool the business resources at the Canton Fair and leverage the growing trade between GBA and Africa to expand channels for attracting international traders and buyers, with participants from various industries such as construction engineering, energy and mining, information technology, trade and logistics.

Chen Huaming, Deputy Director General of the Trade Development Bureau, MOFCOM, highlighted that the CAETE serves as a national platform for China and Africa to focus on economic and trade cooperation, policy exchange and experience sharing, and welcomed all interested parties to actively participate in the 3rd CAETE and make greater contributions to further expanding China-Africa economic and trade cooperation in the new era and building a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

The Deputy Director General of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, Zhou Yue, said the 3rd session will be enriching, exquisite, effective, and exceptional, so as to make a larger number of participants feel more engaged and fulfilled and deliver a distinctive and far-reaching event that is well-conceived, fruitful.

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The Vice President of the AGBA, Huo Jiangtao, expressed her anticipation for a more robust Hunan-Guangdong-Africa economic and trade service network by innovating the service model for China-Africa SMEs, which will help more Chinese companies in developing trade and economic cooperation with African nations. Additionally, representatives from Transsion Holdings and JUMIA, a renowned cross-border e-commerce platform in Africa, shared their valuable experiences of successfully starting and growing their businesses in the African market.

As the host city of CAETE, Changsha will organise the China-Africa Cities Forum, with the theme of “Deepening China-Africa Cooperation for a Bright Future”, to bring into play the city’s strengths and promote diversified cooperation. The sub-venue of the exhibition is located at the China-Africa Economic and Trade Innovation Park in the Yuhua District of China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

It is a hub of six national platforms, including the core area of the Pilot Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation. In the past two years since its completion, focused on building “three centres”, the park has been improving its functions and supporting facilities and forming a cluster of Africa-related industries for better development, which has successfully facilitated cross-border RMB settlements with 22 African countries in areas such as cross-border trade, clearing and settlement, investment, and financing. The park has also promoted a new pilot barter trade model.

Li Xinyu is an international observer based in Beijing, China.