BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A signing ceremony was held online on June 17 for the agreement of economic and trade cooperation between Wendeng District in Weihai City of east China's Shandong Province and the East Africa Commercial and Logistics Center (EACLC).
Ambassador of Tanzania to China Mbelwa Kairuki addressed the ceremony, noting that the cooperation between Tanzania and Shandong Province has covered comprehensive sectors including trade, investment, health, education and culture. The newly-signed agreement will serve as an effective platform and booster for the development of bilateral trade, said the ambassador.
In recent years, Wendeng District has been making increasing efforts to enhance economic and trade ties with African countries, striving to engage itself in Belt and Road (B&R) cooperation, according to Qiao Xinyue, Party chief of Wendeng District.
Last year, the district saw its trade volume with African countries increasing by 215 percent, and that with Tanzania exceeded 100 million yuan (about 14.96 million U.S. dollars) for the first time, Qiao introduced, noting that the agreement signed with the EACLC will further promote interaction between the two sides.
Through the newly-signed agreement, the EACLC will provide a broad platform for cooperation between the two sides in infrastructure construction, economic and trade cooperation, agricultural production, cultural exchanges, among other fields.
Representing an important achievement of building an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future as proposed on the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, this agreement is also a reflection of Wendeng's active efforts in the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and a vivid example of the district's practical efforts in expanding the B&R markets.
In the future, relevant departments in Wendeng will work with enterprises to comprehensively integrate the supply chain network in Wendeng District and other areas in Shandong, making good use of overseas trade platforms including the EACLC and contributing to the construction of international business environment.
(Edited by Yu Huichen with Xinhua Silk Road, yhc0267@163.com)
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