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Addis Ababa August 10/2023(ENA):- African countries should exert more efforts to adequately tap the huge market in China by improving their productivity, Chinese officials at Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
A panel discussion on China-Africa cooperation in economy, social and political spheres was held in Beijing today.
Department of African Affairs Counselor at China’s Ministry, Wang Ke said at the panel discussion that China and Africa have a friendly and strong diplomatic relations.
The two sides have, therefore, been supporting one another on issues of mutual interest in multilateral arenas, she added.
The establishment of China-Africa Cooperation Forum in 2000 has in particular opened a new chapter for China-Africa relations by strengthening cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people interaction.
Wang Ke pointed out that the trade relation between China and Africa has increased as 3,700 Chinese companies have been engaged in various sectors in the continent, in addition to construction projects such as railways, roads, ports and bridges.
According to her, the total investment of Chinese companies in Africa has currently reached 56 billion USD.
Noting that the market in China is a great opportunity for African countries, she stressed the need for Africans to give the utmost attention to their industries in order to supply export product items with high quantity and quality to the huge Chinese market.
African Affairs Counselor at the ministry, Wang Bangfu explained that in the first five months of 2023 China’s total import and exporter volume with African reached 113.5 billion USD.
He added that 21 African countries have been enjoying zero customs tax offered by the Government of China, noting that the General Administration of Customs of China signed protocols with 10 African countries for 15 agricultural products to enter Chinese market.
University of China Institute of International Affairs Director, Professor Wang Yiwei on his part underlined the need for African countries to use the opportunities of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for their products to reach the world market.
According to the professor, giving attention for industrialization and agriculture development is quite important in creating jobs for Africa’s young population.
