In the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion and Innovation Demonstration Park in Yuhua District, Changsha City, fresh flowers airlifted from Kenya are in full bloom, the rich aroma of Ethiopian coffee fills the air, and live streamers are busy promoting a dazzling array of specialty African products... This demonstration park serves as a permanent exhibition platform under the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), tasked with exploring new mechanisms and models for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

The CAETE, held biennially, has been successfully held four times since it was permanently based in Hunan in 2019, with a cumulative total of 512 signed projects worth 64.71 billion USD, yielding practical and fruitful results.

Leveraging this national-level platform, Hunan has been intensively implementing the three landmark projects for becoming a hub of reform and opening-up. The province has promoted collaborative and win-win opening-up through independent opening-up, advancing steadily towards the goal of becoming the "national team" for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

African Treasures "Fly" into Thousands of Households

"Thump, thump, thump..." The urgent and powerful rhythm of African drums rings out, as dancers stomp their bare feet and colorful skirts flutter in the river breeze.

On May 1, Hunan's first commercial "African Treasures" market kicked off vibrantly by the Xiangjiang River in Changsha, showcasing over 200 direct-source specialty products from more than 10 African countries. Fine wines, jewelry, accessories, and handicrafts were a feast for the eyes; interactive experience zones for coffee DIY, bracelet making, and tribal face painting were bustling with people, as residents strolled through, fully savoring African charm right at their doorsteps.

Hunan's efforts to bring quality African goods into the Chinese market have never ceased. During the 4th CAETE last year, the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province and the Changsha Municipal People's Government jointly organized a series of "Quality African Goods Online Shopping Festival" activities, successfully building the "Quality African Goods" public brand. Concurrently, a physical "African Treasures" store was established at the CAETE's permanent exhibition hall, and an exclusive live-streaming room was set up, creating a "fast lane" for connecting African specialty products with the domestic market through an "online + offline" integrated model.

"Relying on the national-level CAETE platform, more high-quality African products are being seen and recognized by Chinese consumers," said Yang Yi, the spokesperson of Hunan Yufei Industrial Investment Co., Ltd. Currently, "African Treasures" brand has incorporated over 400 specialty products from 12 African countries, including South Africa, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and has cumulatively served more than 3,000 enterprises engaged in China-Africa trade.

According to data from the provincial commerce authority, the "African Treasures" brand has continuously carried out series of activities such as pop-up stores, supermarket entries, and live-streaming festivals, achieving online and offline sales exceeding 20 million CNY in 2025.

"We will continue to cultivate deeply under the broad CAETE framework, promoting the sustainable commercialization of the 'African Treasures' public brand," Yang Yi hoped that by 2027, "African Treasures" will be built into a landmark brand in the domestic African specialty goods sector, cumulatively introducing 500 products from more than 15 African countries, with annual sales growth averaging 20%.

Barter Trade Unblocks Trade "Bottlenecks"

On April 29, Hunan Construction Investment International Trade Co., Ltd. shipped a batch of Hunan-produced mineral processing equipment to Africa via waterway, while simultaneously, a batch of South African chrome concentrate was being shipped from Africa to China. The values of the two batches of goods were matched, flowing in both directions, marking another successful practice of new-type barter trade in Hunan.

Africa wants to import Chinese products, but some countries face issues of declining foreign exchange reserves and insufficient payment capacity.

Hunan people, known for daring to think and try and for their pioneering spirit, took the initiative to break the deadlock. Hunan has taken the lead nationwide in piloting new-type barter trade with Africa, seeking new paths to expand the scale of Hunan-Africa trade.

"What flows is not just commodities, but also the beautiful vision of Hunan and Africa joining hands for mutual development," said Yi Yaqin, director of Hunan Construction Investment International Trade Co., Ltd. She noted that the company exchanges Hunan's equipment, technology, and standards for Africa's high-quality minerals and agricultural products. To date, the cumulative transaction volume has reached 230 million CNY, covering seven African countries,  which fully demonstrated the feasibility and vitality of this model.

In recent years, Hunan has continuously deepened its exploration of new-type barter trade with Africa, with cooperating countries expanding to 11, including Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Since 2024, 338 barter trade transactions have been completed, with a total value of 346 million CNY. Among them, 185 transactions were completed in 2025, worth 186 million CNY, ranking first in the nation in total transaction volume.

If barter trade solves the "transaction bottleneck" in China-Africa cooperation, then building an independently controllable international logistics system is the key move to break through the "circulation pain point."

Yi Yaqin introduced that Hunan Construction Investment International Trade Co., Ltd. has set up 11 overseas warehouses in Africa, establishing an independently controllable logistics network covering 50,000 square meters. One end enables "Hunan products" to go global efficiently, distribute quickly, and reach end-users directly, while the other facilitates high-quality African agricultural and mineral products to enter Hunan with guaranteed quality and smooth circulation, making China-Africa trade more efficient, safer, and more sustainable.

While the logistics network expands, the model of Hunan-Africa cooperation is also continuously upgrading.

The Republic of the Congo is rich in oil resources but has weak infrastructure, with poor roads and aging railways, preventing resources from being converted into development momentum. Hunan Construction Investment International Trade Co., Ltd. proposed a plan: using future oil revenues as credit support to leverage the construction of local livelihood infrastructure like roads and railways, constructing a "resources for infrastructure, infrastructure for development, and development for revenue" closed-loop cooperation model.

"This is a 'strategic investment' based on long-term trust and common development. What we gain is not just resource rights, but more importantly, a crucial opportunity to deeply participate in the local industrialization and modernization process," Yi Yaqin said.

Data shows that in 2025, Hunan's trade volume with Africa was 58 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, maintaining the top scale in central and western parts of China for seven consecutive years. In the first four months of this year, Hunan's trade volume with Africa grew 8.8% to 18.16 billion CNY.

Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport Builds a "Fast Lane" Connection

Early this year, 2,000 TEU of SANY Group fire trucks were shipped to Indonesia via the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport channel. This is the largest single-batch machinery export project since the opening of this logistics channel, demonstrating its strong transport capacity.

As China's first logistics channel specifically designed for Africa, the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport channel has formed a logistics pattern with Zhuzhou as the main consolidation center and Hengyang and Chenzhou as secondary consolidation centers. It has become an important hub connecting Hunan and even the central and western regions of China with the world.

"We launched the 'Hunan-Guangdong Maritime Silk Road' express line, operating on a fixed weekly schedule, with business now covering over 80 countries and 170 ports globally," said Tang Cong, deputy general manager of the Hunan Hunan-Guangdong-Africa International Logistics Co., Ltd. In recent years, the channel has been continuously expanded and upgraded. The transport time from Zhuzhou to Nansha Port has been compressed from 72 hours to within 20 hours, reducing overall logistics costs by nearly 20%.

The data confirms tangible results: Since its launch in September 2021,  the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport has cumulatively dispatched 4,100 trains and 330,000 TEUs as of March this year, saving over 200 million CNY in logistics costs for local manufacturing enterprises. Notably, in 2025 alone, it dispatched over 1,200 trains and 100,000 TEUs, achieving leapfrog growth.

To integrate into the "Belt and Road," logistics channels must take the lead; to step onto the world stage, logistics serves as the foundation.

As an inland hinterland, though landlocked and far from the coast, it proactively broke through limitations, continuously expanding its network for external connectivity. In 2019, the first regular flight from Hunan to Africa was launched. In 2022, the first direct cargo flight route from Hunan to Africa was opened. In 2024, the "Addis Ababa-Liège-Changsha-Addis Ababa" route made its maiden flight at Changsha Huanghua International Airport, marking Hunan's launch of a "One Route Connecting Three Countries, Reaching Four Continents" cargo model. In 2025, the full cargo route from Changsha to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, once again set a record for handling oversized special cargo.

From an inland hinterland to a hub of opening-up, from passive adaptation to proactive action, Hunan is using channel construction as a fulcrum to find breakthroughs and open new markets. The province has helped more Hunan products and services reach a broader international stage, steadily advancing on the path to building a "national team" for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

Chinese source: swt.hunan.gov.cn