China-Africa: record-breaking trade show and shared ambitions

The 4th China-Africa Economic and Trade Fair, held in Changsha, reached a historic milestone with over 30,000 participants, including representatives from 53 African countries, 27 Chinese regions, as well as 4,700 enterprises and 11 international organizations.

Organized under the theme “China and Africa: Together Towards Modernization”, the fair embodies the progressive strengthening of Sino-African relations. China has been the continent’s leading trading partner for 16 years, and is stepping up initiatives to structure more technological and industrial cooperation.

On the African side, agriculture remains at the heart of trade. Uganda, for example, is banking on exporting its agricultural produce to China, while 70% of its population lives from this sector. A strategy welcomed by Uganda’s Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, who sees this showcase as an opportunity to conquer new markets.

In the zone dedicated to Chinese innovations, industrial technologies, such as rescue robots, attracted keen interest from African delegations. This growing appetite for cutting-edge technologies could open up new prospects for industrial cooperation and skills transfer.

The exhibition, to be launched in 2019, has established itself as a major lever of economic diplomacy, at a time when China is seeking to strengthen its commercial influence on a continent in search of modernization and structuring investment.

source: Xinhua