Trade frameworks linking China, Africa set to broaden

Employees work on a solar thermal power project in Northern Cape, South Africa, on August 20. ZHANG YUDONG/XINHUA

In the face of a turbulent global landscape, characterized by escalating geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism, China and Africa should lean toward embracing globalization and win-win cooperation more than ever before, to benefit their own populations and catalyze the modernization of the broader Global South, experts said.

As an industrialized nation partnering with less industrialized counterparts, the deepening cooperation between China and Africa has emerged as a model example for other developing regions seeking to emancipate themselves from the constraints of the traditional North-South divide, they added.

Their comments came after the overall characterization of China-Africa relations was elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era during the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in early September.

Collaboration between the world”s largest developing country, China, and the continent with the highest concentration of developing nations, Africa, transcends mere economic development, said Ye Hailin, dean of the China-Africa Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Through channels such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the FOCAC, the two sides have been expanding trade and investment ties, enhancing infrastructure connectivity, and fostering cultural exchanges, Ye added.

For the 15th consecutive year, China has firmly cemented its status as Africa’s number one trade partner, with the volume of China-Africa trade continuing to account for a steadily increasing share of the continent’s overall foreign trade.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that the trade volume between China and Africa surged to a historic peak of $282.1 billion last year, marking an increase of nearly 35 percent compared to 2013 figures.

To ensure greater market openness and trade facilitation with Africa, China announced its decision at the summit to grant 100 percent tariff-free treatment on products from all the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China — 33 nations across the African continent.

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