Hunan Province held a business work conference in Changsha on February 18, 2024. The meeting said that Hunan will strive to double its trade volume with Africa in 2024.

In 2023, Hunan Province took a new step forward in economic and trade cooperation with Africa, with the annual trade volume amounting to 55.67 billion CNY. The annual average growth rate reached 23.1% in the past three years. The total volume maintained the 8th place nationwide and topped the central and western regions of China.

Meanwhile, Hunan successfully hosted the Third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE). The General Plan for Building a Pioneering Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, jointly complied by the Ministry of Commerce and the People's Government of Hunan Province, has been approved by the State Council. Madagascar's mutton has gained its entry into the Chinese market. The China-Africa Cross-border E-commerce Service Center has been officially launched.

In 2024, Hunan will continue to develop CAETE and the pioneering zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, which are two national platforms for collaboration with Africa. It will carry out a series of events of CAETE in Africa; build the pioneering zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation with high quality; and, issue implementation plans and supporting policies. With regard to the difficulties in trade with Africa, the province will focus on major issues and win the support to pilot a new type of China-Africa barter trade.

Hunan will also promote business entities engaged in trade with Africa to gather in Hunan, encouraging the settlement of central enterprises' business sectors with Africa, as well as quality members of the China-Africa civil chambers of commerce and the African chambers of commerce in Guangdong and Zhejiang. Efforts will be made to:

- Accelerate the construction of geological testing laboratories in Africa that meet our national standards;

- Support the establishment of overseas operation centers, industrial exhibition halls, and after-sales service outlets in Africa;

- Speed up the layout of public overseas warehouses and inspection and testing systems in Africa; and,

- Explore the mode of "bank-government cooperation plus investment and loan linkage", to stimulate commercial banks to innovate their financing and credit products for trading with Africa.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn