Xinhua Beijing, February 26 — Recently, Reference News published an article titled "Central China Building a New Height for Opening Up to Africa". The full text of the Article is as follows:
Recently, the State Council approved the Master Plan for Building a Pilot Zone for In-Depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the "Master Plan"). The Approval mandated Hunan to formulate supporting policies and implementation plans as per the Master Plan's defined strategic positioning, development goal and key tasks as soon as possible and advance the China-Africa in-depth economic cooperation pilot zone methodically.
Hunan is a key frontier for China-Africa people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, as well as one of China's most active provinces in economic and trade collaboration with Africa. The China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo has been permanently hosted in Hunan. In 2023, Hunan's import and export with Africa reached cny 55.67 billion, ranking first in central and western China, with an average annual growth of 23.1% over the past three years, showing a continuous upward trend in economic and trade. Of the 21 national pilot FTZs, Hunan Pilot FTZ bears the strategic mission of building a model hub for local cooperation with Africa.
Mr. Shen Yumou, Director of Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, stated that the construction of Pilot Zone for In-Depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation is not only a significant measure to the implementation of the "Nine Programs" of the FOCAC, but also an important initiative for Hunan to build an highland for reform and opening-up in the inland region of China.
The China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo has been successfully held for three sessions, and its platform effect has been actively leveraged to establish a new mechanism for China-Africa cooperation and a local window for engagement with Africa; focusing on salient issues like market access, standard, capacity and finance, systematic and active exploration of new solutions: enactment of localized special policies for economic and trade cooperation with Africa, construction of an African non-resource product distribution hub, and multimodal transport systems integrating air-freight service and rail-sea multimodal service... Hunan is building a new height for opening up, attracting and retaining African businesses through diverse approaches.
It is reported that the Madagascar-China mutton export access agreement signed during the 3rd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will witness its first shipment completed in 2024. In 2023, Hunan imported African agricultural and food products worth of cny 340 million, with a year-on-year increase of 351.2%. Market procurement trade with Africa has also achieved rapid growth. In 2023, Hunan's market procurement trade volume with Africa reached cny 2.335 billion, accounting for 34.46%, increased by 11 %.
After the approval of the Master Plan, several experts in China-Africa trade and economic relations believe that the establishment of the Pilot Zone for In-Depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation will bring new opportunities for bilateral economic development and inject fresh vitality into Hunan's efforts to build an inland hub for reform and opening-up. Mr. Xu Xiangping, President of the Hunan Provincial Research Association for China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, stated that the Plan focused on bottlenecks in market access, inspection and quarantine, standard certification, production capacity and finance, strengthening institutional innovation and policy integration, and exploring new models and pathways for cooperation with Africa; proposed establishing a consultation mechanism by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Hunan Provincial Government in conjunction with competent authorities to provide a working mechanism for considering and advancing priorities and pilot tasks in in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. "This is of great significance in driving Hunan to make greater breakthroughs in trade with Africa."
Hunan-Africa Economic, Trade and Cultural Exchanges Reaching a New Height
Hunan-Africa economic and trade carriers yield effective results, logistics corridors expand and trade figures refresh continuously... In recent years, Hunan and Africa have deepened partnerships, now taking the center stage in sub-national economic cooperation.
"At the beginning of the new year, we received orders for dozens of combine harvesters from Nigeria and are currently ramping up production," said Li Yuanxiang, Head of Hunan Xiangyuan Jinsui harvester Manufacturing Co., Ltd. based in Shuangfeng County, renowned for developing small agricultural machinery suitable for hilly terrain. Riding the momentum of Hunan-Africa economic and trade ties, his company has actively expanded into African market over the past years and is scheduled to further enhance product performance in adaptability, durability and fuel efficiency to precisely meet the need of African customers.
Small agricultural machinery is "popular" in the African market, hair care series "beautify" African girls, hybrid rice seeds are sown in African fields, Kenyan dried anchovies have become the preferred ingredient for Hunan-style "spicy snacks", and Ethiopian coffee beans "cross boundaries" with Changsha "new Chinese-style" tea-based drinks... Leveraging platforms such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and Hunan Pilot FTZ, Hunan's economic and trade cooperation with Africa is going deep and solid.
"Currently, Hunan's competitive industries — equipment manufacturing, energy and mining, infrastructure construction and agricultural development — are collectively entering Africa, where hybrid rice and engineering machinery technologies and products are well-recognized," said Shen Yumou. He noted that Hunan-Africa economic and trade cooperation continued expanding, with ongoing exploration of new opportunities in digital economy, aerospace and biomedicine.
Strong state-to-state relations are built on people-to-people connections. Hunan has advanced multi-faceted exchanges with Africa in health, education and technology: organizing experts to implement maternal and child health programs in Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe, promoting cervical cancer screening, and co-establishing a cervical disease diagnosis center with Zimbabwe's largest public hospital; aligning with the "Future Africa" initiative to develop "Luban Workshop" and "Chuyi Workshop" for developing African talent in intelligent manufacturing and engineering machinery; launching the first China-Africa Partner Institute exchange programs with Tanzania and Sierra Leone to facilitate scientific collaboration... These deeper economic and cultural ties have forged genuine friendships between Hunan and Africa and expanded the Circle of Friends.
Build a high-quality pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation
In the eve of the Spring Festival, African goods such as coffee and nuts were in high demand on the Gaoqiao Grand Market in Changsha Block of Hunan Pilot FTZ. At a store numbered "Peninsula Nut", its owner Li Haili with 20+ years' experience noted that import of African nuts previously involved multiple procedures through intermediaries, typically taking 2~3 months including the time for communication.
Today, the ordering cycle for African nuts has been greatly shortened. Li Haili explained that by ordering through the FTZ supply chain platform and leveraging an efficient logistics system, a single nut can complete its "transoceanic" journey in just one and a half months.
New mechanisms and explorations will accelerate logistics, expedite customs approval, and bolster corporate confidence, driving Hunan-Africa economic and trade cooperation to "gain momentum" and "maintain enthusiasm."
Currently, Hunan has become one of China's most active provinces in economic and trade cooperation with Africa. How can we further advance the qualitative improvement and upgrading of Hunan-Africa cooperation in this new era?
The journalist has learned that Hunan will further expand bilateral trade, build a supply chain system encompassing procurement, processing, inspection, warehousing, logistics, financing and distribution, deepen capacity cooperation with Africa, and promote the alignment of national foreign trade transformation bases (e.g., engineering machinery/parts and accessories, medical devices, agricultural machinery, fireworks or ceramics) and county-level specialty industrial clusters with African market, and will also provide cross-border investment, M&A and trade financing services for enterprises in the pilot zone.
Industry insiders believe that currently, the construction of the pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation still faces challenges such as inadequacy of management mechanisms, insufficiency of financial support, bottlenecks in investment and trade, and shortcomings in platform development. It is recommended to focus on building a multi-center landscape including the China-Africa industrial chain incubation center, establish a permanent "Expo Bureau + Exhibition Group" institution and daily operational mechanisms, create a cooperation hub for China-Africa industrial chains, while further improving factor guarantees to enhance the level and quality of Hunan's economic and trade cooperation with Africa.