The fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) opened on Thursday, June 12 in Changsha, in Central China’s Hunan Province, while the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) opened on June 11, also in Changsha.
Ahead of these events, on Wednesday, June 11, the General Administration of Customs of China released upbeat trade figures, highlighting the robust growth and vitality of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. Since the launch of the FOCAC in 2000, the total value of trade between China and Africa has grown from less than 100 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) to 2.1 trillion yuan ($293 billion) in 2024, marking an increase greater than twentyfold, and with an average annual growth rate of 14.2%, according to the data released by the Customs Administration.
Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony of FOCAC and read out the congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping. Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso of the Republic of the Congo, the African co-chair of FOCAC, read out the congratulatory letter from President Denis Sassou Nguesso. Those attending included more than 100 ministerial officials from FOCAC member countries, representatives from the African Union (AU) Commission, and diplomatic envoys of African countries to China.
Wang Yi emphasized that China and Africa, as, respectively, the largest developing country and the continent home to the largest number of developing countries, together form the backbone of the Global South. The more complex and turbulent the international landscape becomes, Wang Yi said, the more imperative it is for China and Africa to uphold solidarity and self-reliance, stand firmly on the right side of history, actively steer the course of the times, and respond to uncertainties in the world with the stability and resilience of China-Africa relations. He said that the 21st century belongs not only to Asia, but also to Africa. The Chinese people are building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. Today, Africa is experiencing a new awakening and steadily progressing toward the modernization goals outlined in the AU’s Agenda 2063. Wang Yi expressed the belief that as long as the 2.8 billion-strong Chinese and African people are united and move forward hand in hand, they will surely make remarkable achievements on the path toward modernization, lead the vigorous development of modernization across the Global South, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
