Engineering vehicles exported to Guinea are loaded onto the China-Africa liner at Yantai Port, East China's Shandong Province, on January 25, 2024. Photo: VCG

China will deepen business cooperation with African countries in industrial and supply chain integration, promoting mutual benefits and shared growth within the context of the upcoming China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), a spokesperson for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said on Sunday.

The second CISCE is scheduled to take place in Beijing from November 26 to 30. As the world's first exhibition themed around supply chain, this event stands as another vital bridge for fostering international business cooperation, following the highly anticipated China-Africa Cooperation Forum summit.

Wang Linjie, a spokesperson for the CCPIT, said on Sunday during a regular press conference that China will fully utilize the CISCE as a platform for enhancing trade, boosting investment partnerships, driving innovation, and encouraging knowledge-sharing to foster China-Africa business cooperation and industrial chain integration.

This event aims to better enhance mutual industrial advancement, benefit sharing, and shared development, while also contributing to the stability and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains, Wang said.

During the China-Africa Cooperation Forum summit earlier this September, Chinese leadership reaffirmed the country's commitment to deepening industrial chain cooperation with Africa, extending a warm invitation to African enterprises to actively participate in the upcoming Expo.

In line with the unilateral market opening announced during the China-Africa Cooperation Forum summit, the CISCE will bolster support for African enterprises' participation by offering free booths and setup services for the least developed countries, Wang added.

Earlier in September, the highly anticipated China-Africa Cooperation Forum summit culminated in the Beijing Declaration, which focused on strengthening investment cooperation across multiple sectors to jointly build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. 

During the summit, the Chinese government also committed to expanding unilateral opening-up to the least developed countries, including those African ones, and encouraging Chinese enterprises to increase direct investment in Africa.

The upcoming CISCE has invited government departments, business associations, and African enterprises from multiple sectors, including agriculture and mining, to exhibit their products and visit the Expo, according to Wang.

Wang also emphasized that the forthcoming CISCE will adopt a tailored "one-country, one-policy" and "one-group, one-policy" approach to help African businesses strengthen supply and demand connections, find upstream and downstream partners, and secure high-quality contracts for their local industries within China.

As of now, African countries such as Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Rwanda, Morocco, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the African Union have confirmed their participation in the Expo. Meanwhile, African enterprises from an array of sectors, including agriculture and mining, will showcase their products at this landmark event, according to the CCPIT.

Global Times