The friendship between China and Africa is well-established, dating back in history over 2000 years, when the maritime Silk Road connected China to the African continent. Such history evolved until the 21st century when, under a comprehensive strategic cooperation, China and Africa set foot in a new era together, aiming to achieve mutual development. In 2018, at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, President Xi Jinping proposed to establish a Sino-African community with a shared destiny.

The same year, at the Zhejiang Province Opening-Up Conference, it was indicated that Jinhua would become a demonstrative area for the economic, trading, and cultural cooperation and exchanges between China and Africa. The local digital economy, service economy, retail sales network of e-commerce, and express delivery business volume are at the forefront nationally. In addition, five industrial clusters of 100bn-RMB output—network information economy; advanced equipment manufacturing; health and bio-pharmaceuticals; film and television, culture, and fashion; and leisure and tourism—are showing constant signs of rapid development.

Jinhua is also the world’s largest circulation center of small commodities and the third largest distribution center for the hardware industry. Many products made in China originate from here to reach the world. Jinhua brings together a number of opening-up platforms, including two comprehensive bonded areas (Jinyi and Yiwu), and the brand-new Jinyi Pilot Free Trade Zone of the Zhejiang FTZ. Through the two major thoroughfares of the China Railway Express and the Yiwu-Ningbo-Zhoushan Corridor, goods from Jinhua reach up to 34 countries and territories around the world, making Jinhua a major platform for global cooperation along the Belt and Road.

In order to help Jinhua-based companies enter the African market, the Jinhua Council for the Promotion of International Trade established liaison offices in five African countries: South Africa, Tanzania, Angola, Gabon, and Nigeria. In 2019, Jinhua newly introduced five investment plans in Africa, totaling an investment amount of over 37 million USD.

In Rwanda and Ethiopia, the eWTP Yiwu Global Innovation Center is up and running. In Uganda, a public bonded warehouse owned by Jinhua companies was officially opened and is operating. In Algeria, homes, schools, and shopping malls are being built by Jinhua companies. In Nigeria and Zambia, small hydropower projects designed and built by Jinhua companies have lit thousands of households. In Angola, investments from Jinhua companies are funding farming projects. 

In 2019, Jinhua’s exports to Africa reached 75.53 bn RMB, 5.3% of the national trade with Africa and 33.0% of Zhejiang’s exports to Africa. Jinhua also has particularly friendly relationships with nine cities in various African countries. An increasing number of Africans are choosing Jinhua for business, work, and studies, enabling Jinhua to become a crucial center for exchanges between China and Africa.

Located in Jinhua, Zhejiang Normal University has engaged in cultural and educational studies on Africa for a long time, which has brought about the establishment of the African Museum, the African translation center, and training bases for aid for foreign countries, as well as a number of Confucius Institutes in Cameroon, Mozambique, Tanzania, and South Africa. ZNU’s Institute of African Studies is the first comprehensive African research institution at Chinese university and has become a national think tank on African issues with wide influence.

Jinhua Polytechnic is national model vocational college. In 2017, the school founded an overseas subsidiary in Rwanda and has trained 3644 students in the fields of IT, food processing, and other vocational skills. The school aims to promote vocational education concepts and teaching models in Africa.

Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College has enrolled over 3000 African students from more than 30 countries. The school aims to open entrepreneurship courses suitable for African students, including a variety of cultural activities, to build a cultural bridge between China and Africa and form a class of African students who understand China, and interact actively with Yiwu and its international trade market.

Jinhua has become an important partner of Africa, as demonstrated by the Jinhua China-Africa Cultural Cooperation Exchange Week and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Forum, which have held two consecutive sessions, bringing about rewarding results. Today, we are once again gathered together to share friendship, cooperation, and the future. (By Jinhua Radio and Television Media editor, Shen Huan; translated by Marco Lovisetto, edited by Kendra Fiddler)

     中非合作论坛 开启友好合作新篇章 宣传片《携手迈进新时代》

     中非友谊源远流长，2000多年前，海上丝绸之路将中国与非洲紧密相连。中非友谊历久弥坚，21世纪，在全面战略合作下，中非迎来了合作共赢、共同发展的新时代。

      2018年，习近平主席在中非合作论坛北京峰会上提出打造中非命运共同体。同年，浙江省开放大会召开，明确提出要将金华建设成中非经贸文化合作交流的示范区。

       这里充满创新活力，拥有汽车、纺织、医药、五金等16个产值超过百亿元的产业集群，数字经济、服务经济迅猛发展，电商网络零售额、快递业务量均居中国前列，网络信息经济、先进装备制造、健康生物医药、影视文化时尚和休闲旅游服务五大千亿产业蓬勃发展。

      这里是世界最大的小商品流通中心，世界第三大五金产业集散中心，众多“中国制造”的商品从这里走向全球。这里汇集了众多高能级的开放平台，拥有金义和义乌两大综合保税区，中国（浙江）自由贸易实验区金义片区正式获批。“义新欧”、“义甬舟”两大开放通道辐射全球34个国家和地区，让这里成为了“一带一路”开放合作的重要平台。

      为帮助金华企业走进非洲，金华市贸促会在南非、坦桑尼亚、安哥拉、加蓬、尼日利亚5个非洲国家设立了驻外联络处。2019年金华新增在非洲投资项目5个，投资额达3713.4万美元。

      在卢旺达和埃塞俄比亚,“eWTP义乌全球创新中心”纷纷启用运行。在乌干达，由金华企业全资建设的公共保税仓正式开仓运营。在阿尔及利亚，由金华企业负责建设的住宅、学校和商场拔地而起。在尼日利亚、赞比亚，由金华企业设计、建设的小水电项目点亮了千家万户。在安哥拉，由金华企业投资建设的农场项目为广袤的田野播撒上“绿色的希望”。

      2019年，金华对非进出口额达755.3亿元，对非贸易额占全国的5.3%，占浙江省对非进出口的33.0%，还与9个非洲城市缔结为友好城市。

越来越多的非洲朋友选择来金华经商、工作、学习、旅游，频繁的民间交流也让金华成为了中非文化交往的重要阵地。

位于金华的浙江师范大学长期从事对非文化和教育交流。学校设有援外培训基地、非洲博物馆、非洲翻译馆，在喀麦隆、莫桑比克、坦桑尼亚、南非共建了孔子学院。学校的非洲研究院是国内高校首个综合性非洲研究机构，已成为有广泛影响力的国家对非事务智库。

金华职业技术学院是国家示范性高职院校，自2017年在卢旺达设立海外分校，已在电子信息、食品加工等卢方急需领域开展职业技能培训3644人次，推动职教理念和教学模式走进非洲。

     义乌工商职业技术学院已累计招收30多个国家的3000多名非洲留学生,学校以自身学科优势，开设适合非洲学生的创业课程，以丰富多彩的“第二课堂”和文化活动，搭建中非文化交流的桥梁，培养出了一批了解中国的非洲留学生，活跃在义乌的国际商贸市场上。

金华已成为了非洲在中国的重要伙伴。“金华中非文化合作交流周暨中非经贸论坛”已成功举办了两届，均取得了累累硕果。今天，我们再次汇聚一堂，共叙友情、共商合作、共话未来。(来源:金华广电融媒体编辑:沈欢)