Backgrounder: China-Africa trade robust

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-14-2007 08:35

Trade between China and Africa continues to expand. Here now is a look at some of the background of that growth.

Half a century ago, China established diplomatic ties with Egypt opening the door to Sino-African relations.

The bilateral trade volume between China and Africa has surged from just 12 million US dollars in 1956 to 55 billion last year, setting a new record. China is now the third largest trading partner with Africa, after the US and France. Trade between China and Africa may still be relatively small when compared with trade with other countries. However it has risen by over 30 percent per annum for the past 6 years.

Meanwhile, Chinese entrepreneurs are pouring billions of dollars worth of investments into Africa. China's advanced know-how in agricultural technology, railway building and telecommunication have helped the progress of many African countries.

Besides developing business cooperation with Africa, China has never ceased its financial aid to the continent. So far, China has offered some 1.4 billion US dollars in debt relief to 31 African countries. Since 2005, China has also scrapped tariffs on 190 kinds of imported goods from 28 African countries.

China-Africa Co-operation Forum, which was launched in 2000, is another significant attempt to conduct a collective dialogue and seek common development between the two.

The Beijing Summit of the Forum last November, pushed China-Africa relations to new highs. During the Summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced a series of measures to help speed up Africa's development, including debt relief, financial assistance, tariff exemptions and personnel training.

China is the world's largest developing country. Africa is the continent that has the most developing nations in the world.

Together, China and Africa have more than one-third of the world's population. This friendly cooperation is, in itself, of major importance to world development.

Editor:Du Xiaodan