On November 21, the 2022 Zhejiang China Forum on China-Africa Economic and Trade Relations & China-Africa Cultural Cooperation and Exchange week opened in Jinhua. Gao Yunlong, the deputy chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, delivered a video speech.

Gao said that in recent years, China and Africa have achieved fruitful results from practical cooperation and are making solid progress towards the goal of building a closer China-Africa community with a common destiny. The theme of this event is “People-to-People Exchange, Mutual Learning in Cultural Fields, and Win-Win Cooperation.” While holding this economic and trade activity, it is important to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges and build a bridge for China-Africa cooperation and exchange.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, and Kassim Majaliwa, the Prime Minister of Tanzania delivered speeches via video. Africa is willing to strengthen the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with China. They wish to continue to strengthen practical cooperation in industrial development, economic and trade exchanges, scientific and technological innovation, pandemic prevention and control, cultural tourism, and other fields. They will deepen mutual trust, share development opportunities, and work together to build a better future for Africa and China.

Li Xikui, the vice president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Zhang Shenfeng, the vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, delivered online speeches as well. They said that under the joint leadership of the Chinese and African leaders and the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has strengthened, and the scale of trade has steadily expanded.

Vice Governor of Zhejiang Lu Shan pointed out that at present, Zhejiang is opening at a high level, striving to advance common prosperity with Chinese characteristics, and developing high-quality provincial modernization. They are striving to become an important window that illustrates the superiority of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics in the new era. This provides an important opportunity and broad space for Zhejiang-Africa cooperation.

Xing Zhihong, the deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Jinhua, said in his welcoming speech that Zhejiang is the highland of China-Africa cooperation, and that Jinhua is an important city for Zhejiang-Africa cooperation. Jinhua will take this event as an opportunity to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and to share new opportunities for development. We can jointly create new advantages in trade and jointly expand new space for cooperation. This will constantly deepen cooperation and exchanges with Africa, and create a model of a community with a shared future between China and Africa.

The conference was co-sponsored by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province. The “People to People Exchange, Mutual Learning in Cultural Fields, and Win-Win Cooperation” event was the first time that Jinhua hosted a national-level exchange activity with Africa. Nearly 400 people attended the meeting, including 36 ambassadors, and 80 embassy and consulate officials from 49 African countries and international organizations. Others in attendance were domestic experts and scholars in the field of African research, representatives of relevant business associations, overseas liaison offices, key enterprises in and outside the province that do business with African companies, and overseas students.

The projects signed at the opening ceremony have a value of 57.9 billion RMB, and the Jinhua Sino-African trade Index and the Development Report on Sino-African Capacity Cooperation (2021-2022) were released. This also unveiled the China-Africa cross-border RMB settlement center in Zhejiang. The opening ceremony also released the achievements of the China-Africa cultural exchange of the “Wonderful Jinhua, Fascinating Africa.” Liu Hongwu, the dean of the African Research Institute of Zhejiang Normal University, made the keynote speech. The Permanent Representative of the African Union in China, H.E. Rahamtalla M. Osman, and the leaders of Jinhua City respectively introduced Africa and Jinhua. (By Wu Zhengrong, translated by Wei Han, edited by Daniel Haws)