The launching ceremony of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Headquarters Building was held in Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone on the morning of June 13, 2024. Zhou Haibing, vice governor of Hunan Province and mayor of Changsha City, attended. Maria Gustava, Mozambique's ambassador to China, attended and addressed the ceremony via a video link. Livingstone Wahuro, Kenyan commercial counselor to China; Bokary Bocoum, Malian commercial counselor to China; Shen Yumou, director of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province; Shen Dawei, director of the Changsha Customs; municipal leaders Xiao Zhengbo and Kang Zhenlin; and Xu Fan, secretary general of the Changsha Municipal People's Government, were present.

On June 13, the launching ceremony of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Headquarters Building kicked off. (Photo/Guo Yudi, Changsha Evening News)

As a new window for economic and trade cooperation with Africa, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Headquarters Building is an important carrier for building a Pioneering Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation. It is also a bridge and bond for China and Africa to deepen exchanges, enhance understanding, and expand cooperation. The building, with a total area of more than 100,000 square meters, incorporates office, exhibition, and communication functions, and its construction will be gradually implemented in three phases.

Upon operation, it is expected to achieve a total foreign trade of over 70 billion yuan in the next three years. Since being approved this April, the first phase of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Headquarters Building has attracted more than 60 enterprises and business associations and organizations engaged in economic and trade cooperation with Africa, with over 30 having settled down. They are engaged in a wide range of fields such as communication and multimedia, science and technology research and development, engineering and construction, international exchanges, and trade incubation.

Changsha is now accelerating the building of a demonstration hub for in-depth cooperation with Africa. Its trade with Africa totaled 60 billion yuan in the past three years, with an average annual growth rate of 37%, covering 53 African countries and regions.

In the future, Changsha will:

- Follow an innovation-driven development strategy to actively explore new ways of trade with Africa and steadily expand institutional opening up in rules, regulations, management, and standards, facilitating "going global" with full strengths;

- Adhere to resource complementarity to comprehensively upgrade the new modes of diversified consumption, and establish a trade chain for "African products entering Hunan", paving the way for "bringing them in"; and,

- Insist on improving policies to continuously deepen and substantiate practical collaboration between China and Africa and between Hunan and Africa in the private economy, guaranteeing "common development" and jointly creating a bright future for the China-Africa urban partnership in the new era.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: Changsha Evening News