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The white paper on China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation， recently issued by the Chinese Government， underlines the latest achievements of the mutually-beneficial cooperation between China and African countries. This is the second government white paper on this topic published after 2010. It shows that， in 2012， the total volume of China-Africa trade reached $198.49 billion， a year-on-year growth of 19.3 percent. Total China-Africa trade， China’s exports to Africa and its imports from Africa all reached new highs. Wu Fang， author of the white paper and a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce， noted in a recent interview with people.cn that both China and most African countries are under economic transformation and their economies are complementary in many aspects. With bilateral trade and economic ties increasingly diversified， China is attaching greater importance to supporting African countries beef up their self-development capacities. Excerpts of her thoughts follow：
The ever-increasing trade highlights the rising importance of China and Africa in their respective foreign trade ties. What is noteworthy in the latest development is the change in China’s investment in Africa. While increasing its aggregate investment， China has expanded investment in the sectors like manufacturing， construction， commercial logistics， service， telecommunications， and radio and television. Chinese enterprises in Africa are attaching greater importance to their social responsibilities， doing their best to provide more jobs to local people， contribute to local tax revenues and participate in local public welfare undertakings. China’s assistance programs are more focused on the infrastructure projects that are closely related to the improvement of local livelihoods， and also on helping African countries build up their own capacity of independent development. Despite the diversified cooperation， agriculture and infrastructure development remain the main focuses of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
As bilateral trade and economic relations become clos- er， China-Africa relations have experienced changes which provoke a mixed reaction across the international community. Some comments are positive， while some are negative， accusing China of practicing neo-colonialism and overseas land grabs. While highlighting achievements， the white paper shows the characteristics of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation， and presents facts and figures in response to these misunderstandings. Sino-African bilateral trade has great potential due to the complementary conditions on both sides. Since 2009， Africa has seen a decrease of foreign direct investment， but an accelerated growth of direct investment from China during this same period. From 2009 to 2012， China’s direct investment in Africa increased from $1.44 billion to $2.52 billion. The rapid growth of China’s direct investment in Africa is indicative of Africa’s development potential and investment appeal. Of China’s total investment in Africa， 30.6 percent goes to the mining sector， 19.6 percent to finance， 16.4 percent to construction and 15.3 percent to manufacturing.
In recent years， African countries have drawn on the experience of other countries， realizing that infrastructure development plays a significant and irreplaceable role in promoting regional economic growth， attracting foreign investment and expanding regional economic integration in Africa. Therefore， they have attached great importance to infrastructure investment.
With the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation， the aid to Africa has expanded in scale with faster pace. Meanwhile， changes have been seen in the sectors for China’s investment， with more investments being put in the deep processing and service sectors， rather than merely in Africa’s labor-intensive sectors.
China is expanding its cooperation with African countries from the sectors of agriculture and infrastructure construction to finance， aviation and service， in accordance with African countries’ need for development and its own capabilities. China is also changing its aid initiatives to help solve the problems of health care， and clean tap water and transportation in remote areas， to better meet the needs of local people.
Currently， Chinese investments in Africa are concentrated in some low value-added and intensely competitive sectors. Some enterprises are yet to standardize their business operations. Those factors are affecting their sustainable development.
With increasing common interests and mutual needs， the two sides have great opportunities to accelerate their economic and trade cooperation. First， Africa has become one of the world’s fastest growing regions， while China has maintained upward momentum in its development. Second， Africa will continue to give priority to infrastructure and labor-intensive industries that will bring more opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Third， Africa’s economic integration in recent years will bring an even bigger market for both sides.
China will take multiple measures to promote the healthy development of China-Africa trade. These include implementing the Special Plan on Trade with Africa， which will expand the scope of the zero tariff treatment for African products exported to China and increase China’s imports from Africa， and improve the brand building， marketing channels and quality of China’s commodities exported to Africa， the white paper says. In addition， China will help African countries improve their customs and commodity inspection facilities by mobilizing aid for trade， provide support for African countries to promote trade facilitation， and push forward trade development within Africa.
The ever-increasing trade highlights the rising importance of China and Africa in their respective foreign trade ties. What is noteworthy in the latest development is the change in China’s investment in Africa. While increasing its aggregate investment， China has expanded investment in the sectors like manufacturing， construction， commercial logistics， service， telecommunications， and radio and television. Chinese enterprises in Africa are attaching greater importance to their social responsibilities， doing their best to provide more jobs to local people， contribute to local tax revenues and participate in local public welfare undertakings. China’s assistance programs are more focused on the infrastructure projects that are closely related to the improvement of local livelihoods， and also on helping African countries build up their own capacity of independent development. Despite the diversified cooperation， agriculture and infrastructure development remain the main focuses of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
As bilateral trade and economic relations become clos- er， China-Africa relations have experienced changes which provoke a mixed reaction across the international community. Some comments are positive， while some are negative， accusing China of practicing neo-colonialism and overseas land grabs. While highlighting achievements， the white paper shows the characteristics of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation， and presents facts and figures in response to these misunderstandings. Sino-African bilateral trade has great potential due to the complementary conditions on both sides. Since 2009， Africa has seen a decrease of foreign direct investment， but an accelerated growth of direct investment from China during this same period. From 2009 to 2012， China’s direct investment in Africa increased from $1.44 billion to $2.52 billion. The rapid growth of China’s direct investment in Africa is indicative of Africa’s development potential and investment appeal. Of China’s total investment in Africa， 30.6 percent goes to the mining sector， 19.6 percent to finance， 16.4 percent to construction and 15.3 percent to manufacturing.
In recent years， African countries have drawn on the experience of other countries， realizing that infrastructure development plays a significant and irreplaceable role in promoting regional economic growth， attracting foreign investment and expanding regional economic integration in Africa. Therefore， they have attached great importance to infrastructure investment.
With the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation， the aid to Africa has expanded in scale with faster pace. Meanwhile， changes have been seen in the sectors for China’s investment， with more investments being put in the deep processing and service sectors， rather than merely in Africa’s labor-intensive sectors.
China is expanding its cooperation with African countries from the sectors of agriculture and infrastructure construction to finance， aviation and service， in accordance with African countries’ need for development and its own capabilities. China is also changing its aid initiatives to help solve the problems of health care， and clean tap water and transportation in remote areas， to better meet the needs of local people.
Currently， Chinese investments in Africa are concentrated in some low value-added and intensely competitive sectors. Some enterprises are yet to standardize their business operations. Those factors are affecting their sustainable development.
With increasing common interests and mutual needs， the two sides have great opportunities to accelerate their economic and trade cooperation. First， Africa has become one of the world’s fastest growing regions， while China has maintained upward momentum in its development. Second， Africa will continue to give priority to infrastructure and labor-intensive industries that will bring more opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Third， Africa’s economic integration in recent years will bring an even bigger market for both sides.
China will take multiple measures to promote the healthy development of China-Africa trade. These include implementing the Special Plan on Trade with Africa， which will expand the scope of the zero tariff treatment for African products exported to China and increase China’s imports from Africa， and improve the brand building， marketing channels and quality of China’s commodities exported to Africa， the white paper says. In addition， China will help African countries improve their customs and commodity inspection facilities by mobilizing aid for trade， provide support for African countries to promote trade facilitation， and push forward trade development within Africa.