Hunan to host 2nd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo

The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held from Sept 26 to 28 in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan province, according to its organizers.

The grand event, co-organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Hunan's provincial government, is the only economic and trade cooperation platform under the mechanism of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

The expo is expected to draw around 5,000 participants. It will consist of forums and seminars regarding topics of food and agricultural products, healthcare, infrastructure, and cooperation during the post-pandemic era. The expo will also have online and offline exhibitions to showcase the development of China and African countries as well as their cooperation programs.

Ren Hongbin, assistant minister of commerce, said the expo serves as an important platform to deepen China-Africa economic and trade ties. China is confident in hosting the expo this year as COVID-19 has been gradually put under control, while China-Africa economic and trade cooperation is witnessing robust rebounds.

Trade between China and Africa surged by 27 percent on a yearly basis to 52.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs.

"Hunan province highly values cooperation with African countries," said He Baoxiang, Hunan's vice-governor, adding the province has been promoting demonstration projects, upgrading service facilities, and launching new pilot reform programs to elevate their cooperation to a higher level.

He said that building a pilot zone for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa is one of the three strategic tasks of the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The province vows to create new growth drivers for China-Africa cooperation and set up an example for bilateral cooperation at the local level.

The first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo was held in Changsha in June 2019.