Second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo Concluded

On September 29, the 4-day Second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) concluded in Changsha. The Information Office of the People’s Government of Hunan Province held a press conference to release the achievements. It announced at the conference that the expo gathered the strengths of all parties in both China and Africa to jointly promote the high-quality development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. During the expo, 135 projects were signed on-site or online, with a total amount of 22.9 billion USD, all exceeding the first session.

Both the quality and quantity have been improved. A total of 569 cooperative projects were solicited for this year's expo, and 135 were signed on-site or online during the expo, with a total value of 22.9 billion USD. Both the number and amount of signed projects exceeded the first session, with a more balanced structure and more diverse funding sources. Meanwhile, nearly 500 Chinese and African trading companies have carried out consultations and matchmaking before and during the expo, with an intentional turnover of 200 million USD reached.

The online expo has accelerated the digitization process. This year’s expo created a “cloud conference, cloud exhibition, and cloud transaction” model. For the “cloud conference”, the real-time signal of the opening ceremony was directly transmitted to Africa for the first time, with 9.81 million views. As for the “cloud exhibition”, the merchandise exhibition had 10.68 million views, providing exhibition and presentation, matchmaking, and online negotiation for both parties. The China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Achievement Exhibition, the Exhibition for the Pilot Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, and the Guests of Honor of African Countries welcomed 2.15 million visitors. In terms of “cloud trading”, the “China-Africa Online Shopping Festival”, set up based on well-known e-commerce platforms in Africa, witnessed over 900 million page views and a transaction volume exceeding 250 million CNY.

Holding the expo via a marketization model has made a breakthrough. The expo started market-oriented exploration. The Sany Group has become its chief strategic partner, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Changsha have become financial service strategic partners. Through the market-oriented approaches, the expo has explored a sustainable development way, and the enterprises enhanced their brand value and market influence, realizing a new win-win situation.

The “China-Africa Trade and Economic Relationship Annual Report 2021” was released for the first time at the 2nd CAETE. It systematically sorted out the progress and achievements of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation since the first expo, and looked forward to future development trends. In addition, the expo once again released the “China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation: Case Studies and Plans”.

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn