From 29th June to 02nd July, China will be hosting the third Sino-Africa Economic and Trade Exhibition in the city of Changsha, an exhibition held every two years.
The exhibition aims to promote high-quality economic and trade cooperation between Africa and China.
At a press conference, vice-minister of Commerce Li Fei said that China is the fourth-largest investor in the continent, stressing that cooperation between China and African countries has expanded into emerging fields such as digital infrastructure, green development, aviation, and space exploration.
The China-Africa Expo, therefore, seeks to be an important economic and commercial platform within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
The organizers have reported that the number of exhibitors at this year’s event will increase by 55% compared to the last exhibition, reaching 1,350. They have also reported that potential agreements and other cooperation projects under discussion at the exhibition have already reached 10.7 billion dollars
According to official data, Sino-Africa trade amounted to $282 billion in 2022, with exports to Africa up 11.2% year-on-year to $164.5 billion and imports up 11% to $117.5 billion. In the first four months of 2023, new Chinese direct investment in Africa reached $1.38 billion, up 24% year-on-year.