Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: mfa.gov.cn

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that strengthening solidarity and cooperation with African countries will always be an important cornerstone of China's foreign policies, while noting steady growth in China-Africa trade this year and great prospect for future cooperation. 

In the first seven months of 2023, China' trade with Africa reached 1.14 trillion yuan ($156.54 billion), up by 7.4 percent year-on-year, according to Chinese official data. Such a growth rate in China-Africa trade outpaced a 0.4-percent growth in China's overall exports and imports during the same period. 

Commenting on the steady growth in China-Africa trade at a press briefing on Thursday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that over the past decade, under the strategic guidance of leaders of China and African countries, China and Africa have deepened practical cooperation in various fields on the platform of the Belt and Road cooperation and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, achieved solid progress in building the China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, and delivered benefits for the people in China and Africa.

"The two sides have maintained close trade exchanges, achieved win-win outcomes in the cooperation and provided a strong support for the sound and steady development of China-Africa relations," Wang said. 

China-Africa trade has been growing rapidly in the past few years. According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, in 2022, the trade volume between China and Africa reached $282 billion, up 10.9 percent year-on-year, and in 2021, China-Africa trade jumped 36 percent year-on-year to $254.29 billion.

China and Africa have set a target of $300 billion for bilateral trade in 2035, according to the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035. China has also vowed to support Africa's economic integration and industrialization, which would help boost Africa's exports.

Underscoring close ties, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa, the Chinese and South African leaders will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, which will be the first time that the heads of state of China and Africa meet collectively face-to-face since the pandemic, according to Wang. 

"The meeting will draw up a new blueprint for China-Africa solidarity and cooperation and lend strong impetus to the growth of the China-Africa comprehensive strategic partnership," the spokesperson said, adding that guided and driven by the head-of-state diplomacy, the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era will see new historic achievements, making greater contribution to the modernization and prosperity of humankind.

Global Times