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More Efforts Needed to Expand Sino-African Trade
A senior Chinese foreign trade official said Wednesday that more effort should be made to expand Sino-African trade, and China will increase import from African countries while boosting export to Africa.
It is important to fully tap Sino-African trade potential and to expand bilateral trade, said Sun Guangxiang, deputy minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation, at a three-day symposium on Africa, which ended in Beijing Wednesday, November 29.
He called on government departments and enterprises to work together with African countries to explore resources and promote the development of trade and investment in a balanced way. This asks for boosting trade through investment and increasing the export of equipment and raw materials to Africa while importing more African products, he added.
Sun said work should be done to ensure investment efficiency by selecting good projects and strengthening project management.
He said that China will make more effort to train talented African people specializing in economics, science, agriculture, education and health.
"Currently, China should earnestly implement its commitment to reduce or remit debts of African countries, and continue to provide as much as possible assistance to them," Sun said.
During the symposium, participants from China's Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, and other government organizations discussed ways to implement the Sino-African cooperation guideline on economic and social development, which was adopted in a Sino-African cooperation forum last month.
They also worked out some steps to promote Sino-African cooperation in economic, trade, education, scientific, technological, agricultural, health and other areas.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ji Peiding told the gathering that Sino-African cooperation forum will exert a significant impact on the development of Sino-African relations in the 21st century.
He said the cooperation guideline urged the establishment of joint follow-up mechanisms, under which high-ranking officials' meetings and ministerial-level meetings will be held in the years ahead. He also called on all the departments concerned to do a good job in the follow-up actions to the forum.
He said that it is necessary to apply the framework of Sino-African cooperation forum and make concerted efforts to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between China and African countries.
Ji said that it is imperative to adapt to international practices in terms of increasing cooperation with the rest of the world and to explore ways of cooperation suited for both China and Africa.
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