Madagascar's President Andry Nirina Rajoelina has called for more agricultural cooperation with China, saying the two countries will set an example for China-Africa cooperation.
In an interview with the China Central Television (CCTV) after attending the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September, Rajoelina shared his plan on expanding cooperation with China.
"Madagascar is Africa's largest island. When you browse the world map and take a closer look at Africa, Madagascar, as the largest island in southwestern Africa, cannot be overlooked. Its location is of great strategic significance. We urgently need to promote multiple cooperation projects, especially in the fields of agriculture and agricultural transition. Madagascar will play a demonstrative role in China-Africa cooperation," Rajoelina said.
As the world's fourth largest island, Madagascar is one of the world's prime biodiversity hotspots and approximately 90 percent of its plant and animal species are endemic, including its lemurs and baobab trees.
China and Madagascar established diplomatic ties in 1972. On September 6 this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Rajoelina in Beijing. The two leaders announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
Madagascar was one of the first African countries to sign a Belt and Road cooperation document with China and one of the founding countries of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
Madagascar to play demonstrative role in China-Africa cooperation: president
China's new energy passenger vehicle market continued to see robust growth in September, with its penetration rate, a gauge of popularity, in the domestic market climbed to 53.3 percent, according to the data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Saturday.
This marks the third consecutive month that the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicle has surpassed 50 percent.
During the first nine months of 2024, total retail sales of new energy passenger cars amounted to 7.13 million units, representing a 37.4 percent increase from the previous year, the CPCA data showed.
Experts attribute the growth to the country's trade-in policies.
Last month, China issued a new circular that increased financial incentives to encourage consumers to scrap their old vehicles and buy new ones.
According to the circular, subsidies for trade-ins of new-energy passenger vehicles have doubled from 10,000 yuan -- a figure stipulated in an April document -- to 20,000 yuan.
Afterward, several local administrations have introduced corresponding subsidy schemes.
"The automobile trade-in policy promoted by the country and the relevant measures introduced by local governments have boosted the confidence of domestic consumers, leading to noticeable increase of retail sales. New energy vehicles have exceeded expectations, further solidifying their global leadership position. The new quality productive forces in auto industry are rapidly shifting from quantitative to qualitative changes," said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
During the January-September period, China's auto production reached approximately 21.47 million units, up 1.9 percent year on year, according to the data released by the CAAM on Saturday.
Auto sales totaled 21.57 million units, marking a 2.4 percent increase from the same period of last year. Notably, both production and sales of new energy vehicles surpassed 8.3 million units, with year-on-year growth exceeding 30 percent in both categories, the data showed.
China's new energy passenger vehicle sales surge in September
China's new energy passenger vehicle sales surge in September
