As the highest-level economic and trade event for the China-Africa business community under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the eighth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs was held on 6 September in Beijing as part of the 2024 FOCAC Summit. 

About 1,000 attendees including African leaders, Chinese and African entrepreneurs, and representatives of international organisations and institutions exchanged ideas at the conference held in Beijing and co-hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and China’s Ministry of Commerce. 

The attending companies, including famous brands from China and Africa, cover a wide range of traditional and emerging industries, including infrastructure, electronics technology, communication satellites, and biomedicine. A considerable number of small and medium-sized enterprises also participated in the event. 

Delegates told ChinAfrica that the conference presents new opportunities for China-Africa industrial chains to further integrate, with significant potential to be unlocked in areas such as digital infrastructure, data centres, and smart cities. 

Good opportunities 

In the past 24 years since the establishment of FOCAC, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has witnessed a surge. China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. China-Africa trade reached a record high of $282.1 billion last year, up 1.5 percent year on year, according to statistics released by China’s Ministry of Commerce. During the January-July period, bilateral trade totalled 1.19 trillion yuan (about $166.48 billion), a record high for that period, customs data showed.  

According to the ministry, in the past three years, Chinese companies have created more than 1.1 million jobs in Africa. The economic and trade cooperation zones Chinese firms have invested in and built in Africa in sectors such as agriculture, processing and manufacturing, trade logistics andother industries have attracted more than 1,000 companies and helped to increase Africa’s tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings from exports. 

One of the attendees, Abubakary Jawara, chairman of GACH Global Group, Gambia, did business in Guangzhou from 2003 to 2015 and then returned to the Gambia. “This time, I can clearly feel that China is very different, and the Chinese market is becoming more and more open,” he told ChinAfrica.  

He said now is the best time to expand China-Africa cooperation. China has taken the initiative to expand its market opening and grant zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of the products from all least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries.  

“We should take advantage of the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa, and cooperate with Chinese companies or directly invest and start business in China,” he said. 

Feng Qiang, executive secretary general of the China-Africa Business Council, said that the FOCAC Beijing Summit has drawn a new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation in the new era and pointed the direction for the future development of the China-Africa Business Council and its member companies. 

“We are willing to work with all partners to continue to help Chinese companies, especially private companies, to deepen cooperation with African parties in the fields of industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment, and create more high-quality benchmark projects for the joint construction of the Belt and Road,” he said. 

He believes that China-Africa cooperation has great potential. Currently, the council serves more than 3,000 companies. “We hope member companies can firmly grasp this major opportunity and contribute positively to building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era,” he told ChinAfrica. 

Exploring emerging industries 

Besides opening and closing ceremonies, the conference featured a session of special speeches organised around two major themes: the integration of industrial chain and supply chain, and the development of emerging industries. During the session, 12 entrepreneurs from China and Africa delivered speeches on the significance of China-Africa cooperation for their respective industries. They believe that China’s push for the development of new quality productive forces and Africa’s endeavour to achieve modernisation and independent development present great potential for cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy, green development, and artificial intelligence. The two sides need to work closely to improve the level of integration of industrial chain and supply chain, strengthen the training of scientific and technological talents, promote the development of emerging industries, and oppose protectionism. 

“African entrepreneurs look forward to further deepening cooperation with their Chinese counterparts,” said Jeanne Francoise Mubiligi, chairperson of the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda, adding that the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027) focuses on issues such as capacity building and industrial development in Africa, which meets the expectations of African companies. The development of big data, artificial intelligence and other emerging industries is expected to empower Africa’s modernisation process and promote the upgrading of traditional industries.  

Dan Marokane, CEO of South Africa’s state power utility Eskom, said that China has helped Africa to improve the power generation performance of the original coal-fired power station, and provided smart distribution technology and renewable energy power generation technology. “While ensuring the safety of South Africa’s electricity use, it has also helped South Africa’s green and low-carbon transformation of electricity. We have an urgent need for technical support in this regard,” he said.  

He believed that under the guidance of the plans adopted at this summit, there would be a lot of room for cooperation in the development of clean energy between Africa and China in the future. 

Driving modernisation 

At the FOCAC Summit, China pledged to jointly advance modernisation with Africa by implementing 10 partnership actions and a combined 360 billion yuan ($51 billion) in financial support to implement these actions. To break it down, the funds include 210 billion yuan ($30 billion) of credit line, 80 billion yuan ($11 billion) of assistance in various forms, and 70 billion yuan ($10 billion) of investment in Africa by Chinese enterprises.  

Mouhadji Lam, vice president of WHC Corp., a Mozambican holding company and one of the largest national players in industry and trade based in Nampula, said that he was optimistic about China-Africa cooperation. “The theory and practice of Chinese modernisation has provided a paradigm that can be borrowed for Africa’s path to modernisation.”  

“China achieved significant economic growth after the reform and opening up, rapidly becoming the world’s second-largest economy. This experience is particularly significant to Africa,” he told ChinAfrica. “What’s more important, China teaches underdeveloped African countries how to provide for themselves – teaching them to fish, not just giving them the fish.” 

Assane Mbengue, president of the Federation of Friendship Associations with China in Africa, said that China’s decision to give zero-tariff treatment to all least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, has attracted widespread attention and positive responses in African countries. This measure will encourage African companies to connect with the Chinese market and drive more trade and logistics.  

“The continued expansion of China-Africa trade will promote Africa’s modernisation process,” he said. 

Allan Majuru, CEO of ZimTrade, took special note of the partnership initiative for trade prosperity proposed by China. He said that during the 2024 FOCAC Beijing Summit, Zimbabwe and China signed a plant quarantine protocol for the export of fresh avocados from Zimbabwe to China. “China’s active and proactive expansion of market opening is a major boon to African companies,” he said. “We are particularly concerned about the modernisation of the trade sector. We hope that more Chinese companies will come to Zimbabwe to promote industrial cooperation and help Zimbabwe to achieve value-added exports of goods and services.” 

“We look forward to the continued momentum of China-Africa cooperation. We believe that China will provide a lot of help for the modernisation of entire Africa,” Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Union of African Chambers, said, noting that after the conference, representatives of the chamber would participate in the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing. “The Union of African Chambers will continue to encourage African companies and institutions to participate in economic and trade exchange activities in China. We will also build bridges for Chinese companies, assist Chinese companies to invest and start businesses in Africa, and promote trade and friendly exchanges between Africa and China.” 

African Times published this article in partnership with ChinAfrica Magazine