Economic Ties Between China and Africa

World Today

Chinese Premier Li will arrive in Ethiopia next week, en route to the Nigeria conference. After the conference, he travels on to Angola and Kenya. This tour marks the 50th anniversary of the first visit to the continent by a top official of China. Relationship between China and many countries in Africa had humble beginnings, but there have been great strides in recent years.CCTV’s Ming Tian has more. 

Economic Ties Between China and Africa

Chinese Premier Li will arrive in Ethiopia next week, en route to the Nigeria conference. After the conference, he travels on to Angola and Kenya. This tour marks the 50th anniversary of the first visit to the continent by a top official of China. Relationship between China and many countries in Africa had humble beginnings, but there have been great strides in recent years.CCTV's Ming Tian has more.


It is a friendship built on mutual respect and equality. Sino-African relations is yielding fruits. Half a century since the initial diplomatic contact, the two sides are getting closer.

China has become Africa’s largest trading partner while Africa is the fourth largest destination for Chinese overseas investment.

More than 2000 Chinese companies are now investing in a variety of African sectors, including agriculture, mining, construction, manufacturing, and real estate. China Africa Developmemt fund is one of the major capital providers, which was founded in 2007 after the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Wang Yong, Executive Vice President of China Africa Development Fund, says: “In the past six years, we have already committed investments of 2.4 billion US dollars, on 64 projects, which cover more than 30 African countries.”

Last year’s visits by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Africa and African leaders’ trips to China moved the relationship up to a new high.

China’s imports and exports bank said late last year that the Chinese government and state-owned banks will provide up to one trillion dollars to Africa by 2025, 49 times the amount provided in 2012.

But analysts say that there are still many challenges in Africa that Chinese companies need to notice.

Lamin Manjangl, CEO of Standard Chartered East Africa, says: “In some of the countries you have security concerns, like in Somalia for instance, in DRC, whereas in other countries they are very stable and very dynamic economies. So when you go to Africa, you would look at it as a continent, and also as separate countries that have got, you know, opportunities and challenges. I would advise Chinese companies also to be mindful of local sensitivities and culture.”

Experts also urge the Chinese government to come up with more measures to support private businesses going to Africa. They say, too, that additional training is needed for private companies before they expand abroad.