China and African countries have witnessed a flourishing bilateral trade relationship, with the trade structure continuously optimizing and green development becoming a key focus, contributing to the record trade volumes between the two sides, said a Chinese expert.
In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Yu Jia, director of the Department of International Development Cooperation at the Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University, noted that the trade volumes between China and African countries have continued to break records, with exports and imports showing strong growth.
"The General Administration of Customs released the China-Africa Trade Index for the first time in 2023. Starting from the benchmark of 100 points in 2000, the index reached a record high of 990.55 points in 2022, indicating a substantial increase in trade volume between China and Africa," said Yu.
This growth is also attributed to an optimized trade structure, said Yu, highlighting significant changes in both exports and imports.
"China-Africa trade is not only seeing a rise in total volume but also steadily improving in structure. In the beginning, China mainly exported traditional industrial products, such as light industrial products and textiles. Now the exports have evolved to include more machinery equipment, high-tech products, and high-value-added products. Particularly noteworthy is the significant increase of the export volume of the 'new trio", namely electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products since last year. In terms of imports, products like the sugarloaf pineapple from Benin showcased at last year's China International Import Expo, have gained popularity among Chinese consumers. This growth is supported by the policies promoting Chinese imports from African countries," said Yu.
Yu also mentioned that Chinese investment in Africa is largely driven by private enterprises, with about 70 percent of funding coming from the private sector. Additionally, new opportunities in China-Africa cooperation are emerging.
"Around 70 percent of Chinese enterprises investing in Africa are private. Currently, there are 3,000 Chinese companies operating in Africa, engaged in sectors like manufacturing, industrial zones, and infrastructure. In recent years, we've seen promising developments in the areas of healthcare, e-commerce, and logistics in China-Africa cooperation," said Yu.
China has also played a key role in improving African infrastructure to drive local economic development.
"Over the past 11 years, China has been involved in building or upgrading more than 10,000 km of railways and 100,000 km of roads, as well as constructing thousands of bridges and hundreds of ports. During these projects, Chinese standards were adopted for the first time, significantly improving the efficiency of railway operations. These infrastructure projects have enhanced local systems and driven economic growth in regions along the railways," said Yu.
Looking ahead, Yu believes that China-Africa cooperation will increasingly focus on green projects.
"Future cooperation will emphasize green initiatives. So far, we have signed over 100 green or clean energy projects with many African countries. Green projects will stand out as a highlight of the future China-Africa cooperation," said Yu.
Optimized trade structure, green development contribute to record China-Africa trade volumes: expert
Optimized trade structure, green development contribute to record China-Africa trade volumes: expert
