Chinese investment in Africa registers steady growth: report

CHANGSHA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's investment in Africa saw stable expansion against the global economic and trade downturn triggered by the raging COVID-19 pandemic, said an official report.

Chinese investment in Africa stood at 2.96 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, up 9.5 percent, year on year. It included 2.66 billion dollars worth of non-financial direct investment, noted the China-Africa Economic and Trade Relationship Annual Report (2021) released Saturday.

The report came ahead of the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo scheduled in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, from Sept. 26 to 29.

Chinese investment in Africa's services sector has increased significantly. Last year, investment in subsectors such as scientific research and technology services, transport, warehousing, and postal services more than doubled, said the report.

In the first seven months of 2021, the country's direct investment in Africa reached 2.07 billion dollars, outperforming the pre-pandemic level in the same period of 2019, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.