JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The China International Import Expo (CIIE) will enable African businesses and Chinese manufacturers to interact and reach business deals, which will help Africa's economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, a senior executive at South African financial institution Standard Bank Group said Thursday.
"The third CIIE arrives at a time when the facilitation of trade is crucial to offsetting the economic consequences of COVID-19," said Philip Myburgh, head of Pan-Africa China Banking at the group that takes part in this year's expo.
"African businesses are looking for opportunities to diversify and make up for losses experienced during the year. At the same time, Chinese importers are considering new markets to source products from amid geopolitical uncertainty," Myburgh said.
"It is critical that we find new ways of connecting our customers to the markets that hold potential for African businesses to expand and grow," he said, adding he hopes that Chinese and African businesses will be more engaged with each other in the future, which could yield positive outcomes for the African continent as a whole. Enditem