China Africa Photo: VCG

Chinese localities have stepped up cooperation with African countries by utilizing local strengths covering various fields from traditional agriculture to the emerging digital economy, Chinese officials from East China's Zhejiang Province and Central China's Hunan Province said on Wednesday at press conferences for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
 
In the first half of 2024, trade between Zhejiang and Africa reached $27.88 billion, up 3 percent year-on-year, with Zhejiang's imports from Africa up 12.9 percent to $5.55 billion, Chen Jiangfeng, deputy director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Zhejiang Province, said at the morning conference. 

According to Chen, industrial cooperation between Zhejiang and African countries has gradually shifted from labor-intensive fields to sectors such as medium- and high-end manufacturing, the digital economy and e-commerce. 

Hunan and Africa have complementarities in their industrial structures, compatible development paths and huge potential for cooperation. Advantageous industries from equipment manufacturing to energy and mining have been exported to Africa, while signature products and technologies including hybrid rice are highly popular in Africa, Dai Zhiguang, deputy director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Hunan Provincial Committee, said at the afternoon conference. 

Dai also highlighted the successful completion of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo for three times and the general plan to build a pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation approved by China's State Council at the beginning of 2024 as examples of deeper economic and trade cooperation. 

The strengthened cooperation between Chinese localities and African countries will become an important factor in propelling bilateral development. Local Chinese governments can utilize their advantageous industries, represented by Zhejiang's digital economy and private economy as well as Hunan's agricultural strengths, said Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University.  

The close ties established between Chinese localities and African countries are just vivid examples demonstrating the vitality of China-Africa cooperation. 

Jerry Rawlings, a journalist from Kenya, told the Global Times on Wednesday that he saw great cooperation potential for China and Kenya in technological areas such as artificial intelligence.

Energy is an important component of China-Africa cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference on Wednesday. Mao noted that energy cooperation has strong momentum and broad development prospects, which is conducive to helping Africa realize high-quality development.