Diversified Development

　　The white paper on China-Africa Economicand Trade Cooperation, recently issued by theChinese Government, underlines the latestachievements of the mutually-beneficial cooperationbetween China and African countries.

　　This is the second government white paper onthis topic published after 2010. It shows that,in 2012, the total volume of China-Africa tradereached $198.49 billion, a year-on-year growthof 19.3 percent. Total China-Africa trade, China’sexports to Africa and its imports from Africa allreached new highs. Wu Fang, author of thewhite paper and a researcher at the ChineseAcademy of International Trade and EconomicCooperation under the Ministry of Commerce,noted in a recent interview with people.cn thatboth China and most African countries are undereconomic transformation and their economiesare complementary in many aspects. Withbilateral trade and economic ties increasinglydiversified, China is attaching greater importanceto supporting African countries beef uptheir self-development capacities. Excerpts ofher thoughts follow:

　　The ever-increasing trade highlights the rising importanceof China and Africa in their respective foreign trade ties.

　　What is noteworthy in the latest development is thechange in China’s investment in Africa. While increasingits aggregate investment, China has expanded investmentin the sectors like manufacturing, construction, commerciallogistics, service, telecommunications, and radioand television. Chinese enterprises in Africa are attachinggreater importance to their social responsibilities, doingtheir best to provide more jobs to local people, contributeto local tax revenues and participate in local public welfareundertakings. China’s assistance programs are morefocused on the infrastructure projects that are closelyrelated to the improvement of local livelihoods, and alsoon helping African countries build up their own capacityof independent development. Despite the diversifiedcooperation, agriculture and infrastructure developmentremain the main focuses of China-Africa economicand trade cooperation.

　　As bilateral trade and economic relations become closer,China-Africa relations have experienced changeswhich provoke a mixed reaction across the internationalcommunity. Some comments are positive, while some arenegative, accusing China of practicing neo-colonialismand overseas land grabs. While highlighting achievements,the white paper shows the characteristics of China-Africaeconomic and trade cooperation, and presents facts andfigures in response to these misunderstandings.

　　Sino-African bilateral trade has great potential dueto the complementary conditions on both sides. Since2009, Africa has seen a decrease of foreign direct investment,but an accelerated growth of direct investmentfrom China during this same period. From 2009 to 2012,China’s direct investment in Africa increased from $1.44billion to $2.52 billion. The rapid growth of China’s directinvestment in Africa is indicative of Africa’s developmentpotential and investment appeal. Of China’s total investmentin Africa, 30.6 percent goes to the mining sector,19.6 percent to finance, 16.4 percent to constructionand 15.3 percent to manufacturing.

　　In recent years, African countries have drawn on theexperience of other countries, realizing that infrastructuredevelopment plays a significant and irreplaceablerole in promoting regional economic growth, attractingforeign investment and expanding regional economicintegration in Africa. Therefore, they have attached greatimportance to infrastructure investment.

　　With the development of bilateral tradeand economiccooperation, the aid to Africa has expanded inscale with faster pace. Meanwhile, changes have beenseen in the sectors for China’s investment, with moreinvestments being put in the deep processing and servicesectors, rather than merely in Africa’s labor-intensivesectors.

　　China is expanding its cooperation with Africancountries from the sectors of agriculture and infrastructureconstruction to finance, aviation and service, inaccordance with African countries’ need for developmentand its own capabilities. China is also changing itsaid 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 concentratedin some low value-added and intensely competitivesectors. Some enterprises are yet to standardizetheir business operations. Those factors are affectingtheir sustainable development.

　　With increasing common interests and mutual needs,the two sides have great opportunities to acceleratetheir economic and trade cooperation. First, Africa hasbecome one of the world’s fastest growing regions,while China has maintained upward momentum in itsdevelopment. Second, Africa will continue to give priorityto infrastructure and labor-intensive industries thatwill bring more opportunities for bilateral cooperation.Third, Africa’s economic integration in recent years willbring an even bigger market for both sides.

　　China will take multiple measures to promote thehealthy development of China-Africa trade. Theseinclude implementing the Special Plan on Trade withAfrica, which will expand the scope of the zero tarifftreatment for African products exported to China andincrease China’s imports from Africa, and improvethe brand building, marketing channels and quality ofChina’s commodities exported to Africa, the white papersays. In addition, China will help African countries improvetheir customs and commodity inspection facilitiesby mobilizing aid for trade, provide support for Africancountries to promote trade facilitation, and push forwardtrade development within Africa.