Africa expects new financial cooperation opportunities with China: banking chief

Chinese and African financial institutions are expected to play a pivotal role in investment promotion, industrial cooperation and the internationalization of Renminbi, deputy head of Africa's supranational multilateral financial institution said.

"Chinese financial institutions and African financial institutions will have to work together to bring the investors in and export the products back to China," said George Elombi, Executive Vice President of the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), at a forum titled "Building Bridges: Collaboration for Growth between China and African Multilateral Financial Institution" held in Beijing on Saturday.

During the 2024 Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that concluded on Friday, the Chinese government unveiled a series of practical cooperation initiatives that garnered significant attention from African financial leaders.

They expressed hope that these efforts would create bridges for bilateral collaboration and seize new development opportunities.

Attendees at the Saturday forum emphasized that China's proactive measures to expand market access would attract Chinese businesses and enterprises from other countries to invest and establish manufacturing facilities in Africa, and they will export products made locally back to China. In that case, the Chinese market will become a significant opportunity for Africa.

The Afreximbank, a pan-African supranational multilateral financial institution set up in 1993, has maintained a strong partnership with Chinese financial entities over the years.

Last year, the China Development Bank and Afreximbank signed an agreement for a special loan program worth 2.8 billion yuan to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.

China will work with Africa, in the next three years, to implement ten partnership initiatives for joining hands to advance modernization of China and Africa, which includes industrial chain cooperation.

Elombi said that both Chinese and African multilateral financial institutions could play a crucial role in implementing these plans.

"All the leaders referred to small and medium sized enterprises because of their capacity to generate work and create tax base. The rule of the African multilateralism then becomes extremely important. And their capacity to participate jointly with a Chinese counterpart also becomes extremely significant," Elombi said.

Participants of the Saturday forum also discussed the increasing significance of the Chinese currency Renminbi in the global monetary system, proposing that African multilateral financial institutions should explore opportunities like issuing Panda bonds to enhance operational flexibility.

Financial institutions expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation with China in areas of Renminbi payment and settlement systems.

Africa expects new financial cooperation opportunities with China: banking chief

Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), held talks with speaker of the Finnish parliament Jussi Halla-aho in Beijing on Monday, to discuss relations between their two countries.

Noting this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Finland, Zhao said China stands ready to work together with Finland to deliver on the important consensus reached between the top leaders of the two countries, and promote continuous development of the China-Finland future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership.

China is further deepening reform comprehensively and expanding high-standard opening up, which will bring new opportunities for bilateral cooperation, Zhao said, noting China is willing to make joint efforts with Finland to expand win-win cooperation and cement public support for bilateral relations.

China hopes that Finland will continue to play a positive role in boosting mutual promotion and common development of China-Finland relations and of relations between China and the European Union (EU), Zhao said.

Zhao said that the NPC is ready to carry forward the traditional friendship and implement close exchange and cooperation with the Finnish parliament.

As China and Finland each have their own characteristics in national governance and development concepts, the national legislatures of the two countries can learn from each other and play their legislative and supervisory roles to create a sound and stable legal environment for practical cooperation between the two countries, he said.

For his part, Halla-aho said that Finland stays committed to the one-China policy, noting the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.

On the basis of mutual respect and trust, Finland is willing to promote practical bilateral cooperation, safeguard free trade and tackle common challenges, said Halla-aho, noting that the Finnish parliament hopes for enhanced exchange with China's NPC, so as to play a positive role in deepening the relations between Finland and China.

China's top legislator holds talks with Finland's parliament speaker on relations