A worker assembles an electric minibus at a factory in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, March 6, 2024. The Chinese Golden Dragon Company supplies components to the local company, which assembles both EV minibuses and 12-meter-long big buses to meet the country's ever-growing demand for EVs. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Extensive investments by Chinese enterprises in Africa are driving the continent's industrialization, according to a report released Friday by the China-Africa Business Council (CABC).
"Through market-oriented investment, infrastructure investment and investment in new fields, Chinese enterprises are improving Africa's industrial system, promoting the progress of Africa's industrialization and upgrading its quality," stated the report titled "China-Africa Investment Cooperation: A New Impetus to Africa's Industrialization."
The report, an outcome of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024), has been released annually since its inaugural edition in 2021. The 2024 report was published ahead of the upcoming FOCAC summit, scheduled to take place in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6.
According to the CABC, the report aims to promote pragmatic China-Africa economic and trade cooperation by focusing on Africa's realities and economic diversification, and serve as a platform to highlight the fruitful outcomes and potential of China-Africa cooperation.
In his opening remarks at Friday's report launch, Wang Xiaoyong, executive chairman of the CABC, described FOCAC as a "valuable asset" for both China and Africa.
"We believe that over the next three years, driven by policies from both Chinese and African governments and supported by diplomatic, commercial and financial sectors, China-Africa economic, trade and investment cooperation will contribute to Africa's modernization," Wang said.
This photo taken on May 18, 2024 shows the interior of the Chinese-built domestic passenger terminal at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
DIVERSIFIED CHINESE INVESTMENT IN AFRICA
"China is the largest developing country investing in Africa, and China-Africa investment cooperation has been growing steadily," the report stated.
China is investing in increasingly diverse projects in Africa, gradually expanding from traditional sectors such as construction, mining, electrical power and engineering into a wider range of areas. These include not only traditional areas such as manufacturing, technology, wholesale and retail, agriculture and real estate, but also emerging fields such as the digital economy, green development, aerospace and aviation, and financial services, according to the report.
"This diversified investment pattern has helped Africa to achieve economic diversification and improve the resilience and competitiveness of its economies and has also provided Chinese enterprises with more investment options and opportunities," the report added.
Chinese investment in Africa is also becoming increasingly diversified in terms of investor profiles. At present, more than 70 percent of the enterprises investing in Africa are private enterprises, and private enterprises have become the new driving force of China's investment in Africa, the report noted, citing data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
"The participation of private enterprises not only brings more capital and technical support but also more flexible and efficient business models and management experience, which helps to enhance the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises in the African market and promote the extensive development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation," the report stated.
MOC data show that as of the end of 2023, China's direct investment stock in Africa exceeded 40 billion U.S. dollars, making it one of Africa's major sources of foreign investment.
Over the past three years, Chinese firms have invested in and developed economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa, spanning sectors such as agriculture, processing and manufacturing, trade logistics and other industries. These zones have attracted over 1,000 companies and boosted Africa's tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings from exports, China's assistant Minister of Commerce Tang Wenhong, said earlier this week, noting that Chinese companies have also created more than 1.1 million local jobs during the period.
A forklift passes tile packages at the Chinese-invested KEDA (Kenya) ceramics factory in Kajiado County, Kenya, on May 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
CHINA'S EXPERTISE DRIVES AFRICA'S INDUSTRIAL UPGRADES
China's experience in cutting-edge industrial development can meet the urgent needs of African countries for industrial development and upgrading their industrial structures, the report stated, noting that the overall industrial structure has not changed significantly in Africa after many years of development.
At the early stage of the industrialization process, some countries in Africa relied on the abundance of their natural resources to achieve initial industrial development and had certain advantages in the upstream of the industrial chain. However, this type of economic model can lead to the formation of a monolithic economic structure in a country that has a high degree of economic vulnerability, the report noted.
"As a result, there is significant room for development and upgrading in the downstream links of the industrial chain and an extremely urgent need for upgrading the industrial structure at the macro level," the report stated.
It added that China's strong competitive industries offer African countries opportunities for technological advancement and industrial upgrading, and this support can help cultivate independent productive capacities and elevate their position in the global industrial chain.
An example is the industrial park model that China has successfully introduced to Africa. Since the 1990s, Chinese enterprises have actively invested in, developed and operated numerous industrial parks across the continent, according to the report.
It noted that Chinese investment in infrastructure strengthens Africa's foundations for industrialization and development, the market-oriented investment improves local industrialization systems, while investing in new fields promotes Africa's industrial transformation, upgrading and efficiency.
Mohamed Daghar (R, Front), principal secretary in the Ministry of Roads and Transport, flags off new passenger coaches from China at Kenya's port city of Mombasa on July 22, 2024. (Photo by Joy Nabukewa/Xinhua)
A PROMISING FUTURE OF CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION
According to Mwangi Wachira, former economist at the World Bank and advisor to the Government of Kenya, China has had a stellar record supporting the creation of the nodes and links of an integrated African market through the various ports, railways and roads it built in Africa as well as the Chinese-aided Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union (AU) headquarters.
Chinese manufacturers catering to African consumers are thriving, producing a range of goods from cement, plastics and pharmaceuticals to cosmetics, cell phones and electric cars for an expanding African middle class, Wachira wrote in the CABC report.
"This effort needs to be expanded to meet AU's Agenda 2063 call for industrial development, especially in manufacturing, to increase the value-added of Africa's resources, improve levels of employment, and raise people's income," Wachira added.
The economist also highlighted China's initiatives to host Africa-focused expos, which spotlight trade and opportunities for both Chinese and African producers and traders. He noted that the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), held biennially in Hunan Province since 2019, is yielding positive results and is a tangible outcome of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit.
The report concluded that the CABC will encourage more Chinese enterprises across various sectors to continue investing in Africa's infrastructure development and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as industry, agriculture, healthcare, transportation and logistics, new energy and e-commerce.
The CABC has also called on the governments of China and Africa to support cooperation in the financial sector by encouraging local currency settlements in trade and investment, creating a favorable policy environment for local currency settlements, and supporting RMB clearing business in Africa.
中新经纬2月18日电 “自然资源部”微信号18日消息，自然资源部公开通报2023年度国土变更调查专项督察发现的弄虚作假和调查不认真把关不严典型问题。 据介绍，年度国土变更调查结果中的耕地数据是耕地保护和粮食安 新华社记者董瑞丰“基层群众愿不愿意在‘家门口’接受基本医疗服务，关键在于县域医共体牵头医院有没有硬核实力。”去年3月，全国政协委员成岳冲提交了一份提案，深入分析我国县域医共体建设存 为降低新一轮低温雨雪冰冻天气对农业生产带来的影响，湖北省沙洋县农业农村局组织技术服务指导组深入田间地头，重点围绕蔬菜大棚、油菜等主打产业，开展防冻避灾、病虫防控等全程技术指导服务，最大限度减少 江苏省农垦集团有限公司原党委书记、董事长李春江接受纪律审查和监察调查 中新网2月23日电 据中央纪委国家监委网站，据江苏省纪委监委消息：江苏省农垦集团有限公司原党委书记、董事长李春江涉嫌严重违纪违法，目前 国产手机为什么一机难求 手机市场高质量供给不仅能满足不断升级的消费需求，还能激发消费升级意愿，释放新的发展动能。拥有与时俱进的创新力，培育更多新质生产力，国产手机乃至中国制造才能更有竞争力。 近日，多家 “十四五”前三年江西省单位工业增加值能耗预计下降约8% 中新网南昌2月22日电 (朱莹)22日，江西贯彻实施《江西省人民代表大会关于全力打造国家生态文明建设高地的决定》(以下简称《决定》)座谈会在南昌召开。记 。本文链接：China-Africa investment cooperation promotes Africa's industrialization: reporthttp://www.sushuapos.com/show-5-25831-0.html
声明：本网站为非营利性网站，本网页内容由互联网博主自发贡献，不代表本站观点，本站不承担任何法律责任。天上不会到馅饼，请大家谨防诈骗！若有侵权等问题请及时与本网联系，我们将在第一时间删除处理。
上一篇： Strengthening Global South cooperation: Insights from Martin Chungong on China’s role in SDGs implem