info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
Photo from Xinhua
Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Qian Keming said at a briefing held by the State Council Information Office on August 28 that the trade volume between China and Africa reached US$170 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 14%. China has become Africa's largest trading partner for nine consecutive years.
Trade volume between China and Africa rose 16 percent on a yearly basis to $98.8 billion in the first half of the year, the vice-minister said, adding that average direct investment from China to Africa stayed at $3 billion annually in the past three years.
Major investment projects witnessed proactive development with new breakthroughs in cooperation in manufacturing, finance, tourism, and aviation industries, he said.
After "the 10 major programs" are completed, Africa will have 30,000 km of new roads and 85 million tons of harbor capacity per year, as well as more than 9 million tons of clean water treatment capacity annually.
These programs will also create about 900,000 local jobs for African countries, the vice-minister said.
Besides training more than 40,000 African officials and technicians in China, the country also set up two dozens of regional vocational education centers and capacity-building institutes in Africa, and cultivated more than 200,000 professional and technical personnel for African countries.
Hundreds of programs, ranging from agriculture, poverty reduction, public health, and trade and investment facilitation were launched in Africa as well. About 1,500 medical team members from China diagnosed and treated 460,000 patients in African countries, added the vice-minister.
China's aid to Africa will also turn from the past "blood transfusion" model into "blood production" model, said Qian. In the past, China has aided the Africa in multiple aspects, including people's livelihood, and it will continue to cultivate Africa's endogenous growth capacity, which determines Africa's future development potential and prospects, said the vice-minister, adding that core infrastructure and talent training are all important measures in achieving the goal.
