Flowers from Kenya can arrive at the Changsha Huanghua International Airport in as little as 14 hours. Chili from Rwanda is added to spicy Hunan dishes. The Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea express train has been officially launched. Changsha is playing an increasingly important role in the increasingly close economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa.
Hunan officially launched its first regular direct flight to Africa on June 12th, 2019. The photo shows passengers preparing to take flight CZ6043 on the early morning of that day. (Photo/Chen Sihan, Xinhua News Agency)
The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo opened in Changsha on September 26th. More than 40 African countries and nearly 900 Chinese and African enterprises participated. As the permanent location of the expo, Changsha has long become an important market for African commodities and enterprises in China.
The photo, taken on September 26, 2021, shows the Changsha Pavilion at the exhibition area of the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. The expo kicked off in Changsha on that same day. (Photo/Chen Zeguo, Xinhua)
Changsha and Africa have long been bound by ties of friendship, even though geographically they are far apart. In August 1982, Changsha established a sister city relationship with Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. Since then, Changsha's “circle of friends” has gradually expanded. In April 2003, Changsha and Entebbe, Uganda, became sister cities. In June 2019, the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo was successfully held in Changsha.
As the China-Africa economic and trade cooperation mechanism becomes more and more mature, Changsha has gradually become the “vanguard” of Hunan's cooperation with Africa. Statistics from the Changsha Bureau of Commerce show that during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period, Changsha’s foreign trade with African countries totaled 3.788 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 30.7%. From January to August 2021, Changsha’s foreign trade with African countries reached 8.77 billion yuan, up 86.1% from the same period last year.
The China-Africa Livestreaming E-commerce Incubation Center and the Manggo Public Livestreaming Base were officially inaugurated in Changsha on December 25th, 2020. The photo shows foreign actors performing at the China-Africa Livestreaming E-commerce Incubation Center. (Photo/Chen Sihan, Xinhua)
Cross-border e-commerce has put Changsha-Africa economic and trade exchanges on the fast track. The platform Kilimall, headquartered in Changsha National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, has been put into service for 7 complete years. Its service system covers three fields: e-commerce transactions, mobile payment, and cross-border logistics. It has more than 10 million African users and achieved a transaction volume of 154 million dollars in 2020.
In recent years, several Changsha enterprises have invested in Africa. In the northern Moroccan city of Kenitra, the Changsha Dicastal Technology Co., Ltd. invested 290 million dollars in the construction of an automobile aluminum alloy wheel hub factory, which is Changsha's largest investment project in Africa. The first and second phases of the project were completed and put into operation in June 2019 and December 2020, respectively.
According to the Changsha Bureau of Commerce, Changsha has carried out 24 overseas investment projects in Africa since 2016, adding an extra Chinese contractual investment of 440 million dollars. The projects mainly involve automobile manufacturing, agricultural, and service industries, and are distributed in Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and other various countries.
The China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Institute was inaugurated in Changsha on September 25th. Positioned as a high-level think tank, the institute aims to pool wisdom and contribute to strengthening China-Africa economic ties and building an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future.
“Hunan has two major national platforms for economic and trade cooperation with Africa: the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and the Pilot Zone for In-depth China- Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation. It has unique advantages in researching Africa,” said He Song, deputy director of the Department of Western Asian and African Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce. He added that the vivid practice of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation provides fertile soil for academic research, while academic research also helps to serve the high-quality development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
“Changsha and Africa are highly complementary in economic development, and their economic and trade exchanges are ushering in high-quality and high-level development,” said Zheng Ping, director of the Changsha Bureau of Commerce. He noted that Changsha enterprises are becoming more and more active and willing to invest in Africa. They are constantly adapting to and meeting the changing investment needs of Africa, showing a pattern of wider scope and higher level.
Source: en.changsha.gov.cn
