This photo taken on May 9, 2024 shows a view of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) activities in Africa (Kenya) 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
CHANGSHA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hunan Province has unveiled an 11-measure policy package to strengthen the high-quality development of a national pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, with initiatives targeting supply chain integration, logistics and financial support.
Jointly issued by provincial departments of commerce and finance on Feb. 14, the policy package aims to support trade facilitation system development, promote high-quality trade and investment, enhance financial services, and strengthen economic and trade exchanges between China and Africa.
China's trade with Africa reached 2.1 trillion yuan (about 293 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, up 6.1 percent from a year earlier, customs data showed. Nearly half of African countries registered double-digit year-on-year growth in trade volumes with China.
Despite being separated by thousands of miles, the central Chinese province has drawn closer to Africa through expanding trade ties. China's State Council has approved a general plan to establish a pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. According to the plan, China will establish the pilot zone as a platform for opening up and cooperating with Africa with a certain level of international influence by 2027.
The new policy package focuses on five key aspects: strengthening China-Africa industrial and supply chain integration, building self-controlled logistics systems, ensuring a stable supply of key resources, enhancing financial support, and establishing long-term cooperation mechanisms.
Key measures include supporting testing laboratories and public warehouses in Africa, promoting imports from Africa, encouraging industrial capacity cooperation, and establishing a dedicated China-Africa trade cooperation fund.
The framework also emphasizes developing new forms of barter trade with Africa and specialized financial products to help enterprises expand their African operations.
Hunan province's annual trade with Africa has exceeded 50 billion yuan for three consecutive years starting in 2022. It maintains its position as the leading trade partner with Africa among China's central and western regions, as shown by customs data.
Trade between Hunan and Africa grew at an average annual rate of 14.3 percent from 2021 to 2024, outpacing the national growth rate by 5.3 percentage points, according to Wu Xianggang, an official at Changsha Customs, the customs authority of Hunan's capital city.
Africa now ranks as Hunan's third-largest trading partner, with trade volumes doubling in 2024 with several nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco and Zambia.
Connectivity gains underpin this growth. The Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal transport service, the first rail-sea intermodal transport channel in China featuring connections with Africa, has cut shipping time to major East African ports by about 10 days compared to traditional river-sea routes. The service saw over 1,000 train trips in 2024, a new milestone in China-Africa logistics.
In a parallel development, Hunan's first direct air route to Africa, connecting Changsha with Nairobi, Kenya, has carried nearly 100,000 international passengers since its launch. The service has been increased to two flights a week to meet growing demand.
Hunan's new policy package also aims to enhance the influence and impact of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo platform. The expo has been consecutively held in Hunan for three sessions and has emerged as a new window for China's local economic and trade cooperation with Africa.
The fourth expo is scheduled to take place in June 2025 and is believed to further boost bilateral trade and investment.
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