On June 29, the High-Level Seminar on In-Depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, co-hosted by the Counsellors’ Office of the State Council (COSC) and the People’s Government of Hunan Province, was held in Changsha, Hunan Province. Gao Yu, Chairman of COSC, and Xie Jianhui, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Standing Committee of Hunan Provincial People’s Congress, attended and delivered addresses. 

Address by Gao Yu, Chairman of COSC

Mr. Gao pointed out that this year marks the 10^th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was put forward by President Xi Jinping. He recalled China’s principles for Africa - sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and the commitment to uphold the greater good and shared interests. At the opening ceremony of the 8^th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2021, President Xi delivered an important address, proposing to build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, charting the course for China-Africa cooperation for the new era. The 20^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly called for advancing high-standard opening-up while safeguarding a diversified and stable international economic landscape and economic and trade relations. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi and leaders of African countries, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has seen expansion in scale, diversification in areas and improvements in mechanisms, yielding remarkable results. China-Africa economic and trade cooperation is highly complementary and well-aligned, with broad prospects. Going forward, China will only expand its opening-up. Its development will present greater opportunities and inject robust growth momentum into Africa and the world.

Mr. Gao stressed that advancing in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation requires not only pragmatic economic and trade coordination between the two sides, but also stronger theoretical research and policy support for such cooperation. Think tanks, experts and scholars should act as bridges and communication links between governments, enterprises and society in China and Africa, providing intellectual support, offering policy advice and leveraging their unique roles. He called for mobilize joint strengths of central and local governments, think tanks, enterprises, financial institutions and international organizations from both sides to contribute wisdom and strength to deepening practical cooperation in the economic and trade sector, promoting the high-standard development of the Pilot Zone for In-Depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, and advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. 

Mr. Gao stated that the COSC stands ready to further deepen exchanges and cooperation with think tanks, experts and scholars across the world, and jointly make greater contributions to advancing the high-quality development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.

Address by Xie Jianhui, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Standing Committee of Hunan Provincial People’s Congress

Ms. Xie noted that with the keen attention of General Secretary Xi Jinping, Hunan has worked in an innovative and practical manner to advance the Pilot Zone for In-Depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, focused on building long-term bilateral economic and trade cooperation mechanisms and exchanges with Africa. This has yielded considerable results, fostered new growth engines for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, and created the Hunan Model for local economic and trade cooperation with Africa. Through extensive participation of government officials, entrepreneurs, experts and scholars from China and Africa, the Seminar will facilitate in-depth discussions on key areas of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. Through sincere collaboration and collective wisdom, it will surely deliver tangible outcomes, further deepen China-Africa economic and trade ties, and strengthen friendly and cooperative relations between the two sides. 

High-Level Seminar on In-Depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation in session

The Seminar was a thematic side event of the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. Present at the Seminar were ministers from multiple African countries, Rao Lixin, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Commissioner of the State Taxation Administration, Du Yingfen, Counsellor of the State Council, Qiu Jin, Special Research Fellow of the COSC, and Ye Renxiong, Deputy Secretary-General, Director of the General Office, and Chairman of the Counsellors’ Office of the People’s Government of Hunan Province. Also in attendance were representatives of provincial government counsellors from Hunan, Jiangsu and Hubei provinces, experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the People’s Bank of China, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration, China International Development Cooperation Agency, and Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, as well as representatives from the China Council for International Investment Promotion, China Association of Trade in Services, and Chinese and African think tanks, research institutions, and enterprises.