China’s stock of direct investment in Africa exceeds 47.4 billion U.S. dollars. The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held in Changsha.

China’s stock of direct investment in Africa exceeds US$47.4 billion

The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held in Changsha

The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held in Changsha, Hunan from September 26 to 29 this year. On September 3, the State Information Office will hold a press conference to introduce the relevant situation. Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming said that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has been promoted to achieve leapfrog development.

Bilateral trade reached a new high. From January to July this year, China-Africa trade volume was 139.1 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 40.5%, reaching the highest level in the same period in history. In particular, the Chinese market’s recognition of African products has continued to increase. Imports from Africa have increased by 46.3% to 59.3 billion US dollars. Imports of agricultural products such as rubber, cotton, and coffee have doubled over the same period last year.

Investment in Africa remained stable. From January to July of this year, China’s direct investment in non-industry sectors reached 2.07 billion U.S. dollars, exceeding the level of the same period in 2019 before the epidemic. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the business environment in African countries, the enthusiasm of Chinese companies to invest in Africa has continued to rise, and China-Africa investment cooperation has achieved rapid development. As of the end of 2020, China’s direct investment stock in Africa has exceeded 47.4 billion U.S. dollars, covering more than 50 African countries. In addition, the investment platform and industrial agglomeration effects of the economic and trade cooperation zone continue to appear. As of the end of 2020, there were 25 Chinese enterprises registered by the Ministry of Commerce in the non-economic and trade cooperation zones, with 623 enterprises entering the zone, with a total investment of 7.3 billion U.S. dollars, paying 1.47 billion U.S. dollars in taxes and fees to the host country, and employing 42,000 foreign workers.

Infrastructure cooperation continued to deepen. From January to July this year, the value of China’s newly signed contracts in Africa and the completed turnover increased by 8.2% and 7.8% respectively. At the same time, the cooperation has further shifted to an integrated model of investment, construction and operation, fully demonstrating the importance of Chinese companies on the African market. confidence.

Regarding the preparations for the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, He Baoxiang, vice governor of Hunan Province, introduced that the current expo is based on the theme of “new starting point, new opportunities, and new actions”, and is based on the integration of internal and external, long-term and short-term integration, and online and offline integration. The principle is to set up the main exhibition hall in Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center and the sub-exhibition hall in Gaoqiao Market in Hunan. The innovative launch of “Cloud Conference, Cloud Exhibition, Cloud Transaction” will provide domestic and foreign enterprises with convenient and efficient display transactions and Project negotiation platform. Among them, the main exhibition hall has an exhibition area of ​​64,000 square meters, an increase of 24,000 square meters from the previous session. The sub-exhibition hall has an exhibition area of ​​30,000 square meters, including a permanent exhibition hall, and five special exhibition areas including coffee, nuts, cocoa, agricultural and sideline products, and exports to Africa.

Up to now, there are 50 African embassies in China, 6 international organizations, 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, 5 cities with separate plans, and more than 900 central and local enterprises have signed up to participate in the exhibition, and the total number of participants has exceeded 9,700. People, the scale is larger than the previous one. A total of 385 cooperative projects were solicited with a total value of 59.46 billion U.S. dollars, covering 41 African countries. The number of projects has also exceeded the previous one and the coverage is wider. In terms of procurement negotiations, a preliminary intention of US$200 million has been reached. In terms of cooperation cases, a total of 185 case plans submitted by 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities were collected, covering 41 African countries and eight major economic and trade fields. In addition, this expo will directly transmit real-time signals of the opening ceremony to African countries for the first time, and some forums will link African dignitaries and guests to participate in the conference. (Reporter Luo Shanshan)