2. Rapidly Expanding Economic Cooperation

（二）经济合作迅速发展

China and Africa have seen economic and trade cooperation expanding rapidly in scale and extent. The 10 major cooperation plans and the eight major initiatives adopted at the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit and the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit raised China-Africa economic and trade cooperation to a new level.

中非经贸合作加速发展，深度广度不断拓展。中非合作论坛约翰内斯堡峰会和北京峰会分别宣布实施“十大合作计划”和“八大行动”，将中非经贸合作水平推向历史新高。

– Increasing development assistance. While pursuing its own growth, China supports African countries in seeking development and improving their people's lives. In the new era, China has scaled up assistance to Africa. Foreign aid from 2013 to 2018 totaled RMB270 billion. Of this sum, 45 percent went to African countries in the form of grants, interest-free loans and concessional loans. From 2000 to 2020, China helped African countries build more than 13,000 km of roads and railway and more than 80 large-scale power facilities, and funded over 130 medical facilities, 45 sports venues and over 170 schools. It also trained more than 160,000 personnel for Africa, and built a series of flagship projects including the AU Conference Center. China's assistance extended to various aspects of the economy, society and people's lives, and was widely welcomed and supported by governments in Africa and the people. China has announced an exemption from debt incurred in the form of interest-free Chinese government loans due to mature by the end of 2018. It will apply to Africa's least developed countries, heavily indebted and poor countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing countries that have diplomatic relations with China. During the Covid-19 pandemic, China cancelled the outstanding debts of 15 African countries in the form of interest-free loans that matured at the end of 2020.

——加大发展援助。中国在实现自身发展的进程中，始终关注和支持非洲国家改善民生、谋求发展的事业。进入新时代，中国在力所能及的基础上不断加大对非援助。2013年至2018年中国对外援助金额为2702亿元人民币，其中对非洲国家的援助占比44.65%，包括无偿援助、无息贷款和优惠贷款。2000年至2020年，建成的公路铁路超过13000公里，建设了80多个大型电力设施，援建了130多个医疗设施、45个体育馆、170多所学校，为非洲培训各领域人才共计16万余名，打造了非盟会议中心等一系列中非合作“金字招牌”，涉及经济社会生活的方方面面，受到非洲国家政府和人民的广泛欢迎和支持。中国已宣布免除与中国有外交关系的非洲最不发达国家、重债穷国、内陆发展中国家、小岛屿发展中国家截至2018年底到期未偿还政府间无息贷款。新冠肺炎疫情发生后，中国宣布免除15个非洲国家2020年底到期的无息贷款债务。

– Booming trade relations. China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the 12 years since 2009. The proportion of Africa's trade with China in the continent's total external trade has continued to rise. In 2020, the figure exceeded 21 percent. The structure of China-Africa trade is improving. There has been a marked increase in technology in China's exports to Africa, with the export of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products now accounting for more than 50 percent of the total. China has increased its imports of non-resource products from Africa, and offered zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of taxable items exported to China by the 33 least-developed countries in Africa, with the goal of helping more African agricultural and manufactured goods gain access to the Chinese market. China's imports in services from Africa have been growing at an average annual rate of 20 percent since 2017, creating close to 400,000 jobs for the continent every year. In recent years, China's imports of agricultural products from Africa have also risen, and China has emerged as the second largest destination for Africa's agricultural exports. China and Africa have seen booming trade in new business models including cross-border e-commerce. Cooperation under the Silk Road E-commerce initiative has advanced. China has built a mechanism for e-commerce cooperation with Rwanda, and Chinese businesses have been active in investing in overseas order fulfillment centers. High-quality and special products from Africa are now directly available to the Chinese market via e-commerce platforms. The China-Mauritius free trade agreement (FTA), which became effective on January 1 2021, was the first FTA between China and an African country. It has injected new vitality into China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

——加速贸易发展。中国自2009年起连续12年稳居非洲第一大贸易伙伴国地位，中非贸易额占非洲整体外贸总额比重连年上升，2020年超过21%。中非贸易结构持续优化，中国对非出口技术含量显著提高，机电产品、高新技术产品对非出口额占比超过50%。中国主动扩大自非洲非资源类产品进口，对非洲33个最不发达国家97%税目输华产品提供零关税待遇，帮助更多非洲农业、制造业产品进入中国市场。据统计，2017年以来中国从非洲服务进口年均增长20%，每年为非洲创造近40万个就业岗位。近年来，中国自非农产品进口持续增长，已成为非洲第二大农产品出口目的国。中非电子商务等贸易新业态蓬勃发展，“丝路电商”合作不断推进，中国已与卢旺达建立电子商务合作机制，中国企业积极投资海外仓建设，非洲优质特色产品通过电子商务直接对接中国市场。中国－毛里求斯自贸协定于2021年1月1日正式生效，成为中非间首个自贸协定，为中非经贸合作注入新动力。

– Promoting cooperation in investment and financing. Cooperation in investment and financing has been one of the success stories of China-Africa cooperation in recent years, bringing new vitality into Africa's economic and social development. Combining Africa's needs and China's strengths, China encourages its companies to increase and optimize investment in Africa, providing support in financing and export credit insurance for eligible projects. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Chinese government, financial institutions, and enterprises, China's investment in Africa has built up sound momentum. It covers a wide range of fields including mining, processing and smelting of ores, equipment manufacturing, agriculture, home appliance production, aviation services, medicine and health, and the digital economy. With this help, African countries have been able to upgrade their industrialization, improve their industries, and increase their capacity to earn foreign exchange through exports.

——促进投融资合作。投融资合作是近年来中非合作最大亮点之一，为非洲经济社会发展注入“血液”。结合非洲需要和中国优势，中国鼓励和支持中国企业扩大和优化对非投资，为符合条件的项目提供融资及出口信用保险支持。在中国政府、金融机构和各类企业合力推动下，中国对非投资呈现良好发展态势，广泛涉及矿业开采、加工冶炼、装备制造、农业开发、家电生产、航空服务、医药卫生、数字经济等产业，帮助非方提升了有关产业工业化水平、产业配套和出口创汇能力。

By the end of 2020, direct investment of Chinese companies in Africa had surpassed $43 billion. China has established over 3,500 companies of various types across the continent. Private companies have gradually become the main investment force in Africa; more than 80 percent of their employees are locals, and they have directly and indirectly created millions of jobs.

截至2020年底，中国企业累计对非直接投资超过430亿美元。中国在非洲设立各类企业超过3500家，民营企业逐渐成为对非投资的主力，聘用非洲本地员工比例超80%，直接和间接创造了数百万个就业机会。

– Facilitating agricultural development in Africa. China has always been willing to share agricultural development experience and technology with Africa, to support African countries in improving agricultural production and processing, and to help them in building their agricultural value chains and trade. Since 2012, 7,456 African trainees have received agricultural training in China. Through projects such as sending Chinese agricultural experts to Africa, more than 50,000 Africans have been trained and 23 agricultural demonstration centers have been built. To date, China has established agricultural cooperation mechanisms with 23 African countries and regional organizations, and signed 72 bilateral and multilateral agricultural cooperation agreements. Since 2012, China has signed 31 agricultural cooperation agreements with 20 African countries and regional organizations. In 2019, the First China-Africa Agriculture Cooperation Forum was held, which announced the establishment of the China-AU Agriculture Cooperation Commission and the formulation of a program of action to promote China-Africa cooperation in agricultural modernization. By the end of 2020, more than 200 Chinese companies had an investment stock of $1.11 billion in agricultural sector in 35 African countries. Their investments cover areas such as planting, breeding and processing. More than 350 types of African agricultural products can be traded with China. All this ensures steady growth in China-Africa agricultural trade.

——助力非洲农业发展。中国积极同非洲分享农业发展经验技术，支持非洲国家提高农业生产和加工水平，推动农业产业链建设和贸易发展。2012年以来，在华培训非洲农业学员7456人次；通过实施援非百名农业专家、援非农业专家组等项目，培训非洲当地5万余人次，建成23个农业示范中心。截至目前，中国与23个非洲国家及地区组织建立农业合作机制，签署了双多边农业合作文件72项。2012年以来，中国与20个非洲国家及地区组织签署农业合作文件31项。2019年中非举办首届中非农业合作论坛，成立中国－非盟农业合作委员会，启动中非农业现代化合作规划和行动计划编制工作。截至2020年底，中国在非农业投资企业超200家，涉及非洲国家共35个，投资存量11.1亿美元，投资范围涵盖种植、养殖和农产品加工等各产业，超过350余种非洲农产品食品可开展对华贸易，中非农业贸易稳步增长。

– Contributing to industrialization in Africa. Industrialization is a prerequisite for the continent to achieve inclusive and sustainable development, and is also the key to creating jobs, eradicating poverty, and improving living standards. China supports African countries in improving their "soft" and "hard" environment for investment in accordance with their national conditions and development needs. Taking industrial alignment and capacity cooperation as the engine, China helps advance the process of Africa's industrialization and economic diversification. To date, China has established industrial capacity cooperation mechanisms with 15 countries in Africa. China and African countries have worked together to build economic and trade cooperation zones, special economic zones, industrial parks and science parks, attracting enterprises from China and other countries to invest in Africa. They have built production and processing bases and localized their operations in Africa, contributing to an increase in local employment and tax revenues, and promoting industrial upgrading and technical cooperation. The China-Africa Fund for Production Capacity Cooperation has focused on the construction of highways, railways, and aviation networks, and industrialization in Africa. As of March 2021, investments had been made in 21 projects, covering energy, resources and manufacturing and boosting industrial development in recipient countries. Dozens of Chinese-funded enterprises have cooperated with African counterparts to build photovoltaic power stations, with a cumulative installed capacity exceeding 1.5 GW, which has helped create photovoltaic industry chains from scratch in Africa, while effectively alleviating power shortages and reducing carbon emissions.

——助力非洲工业化。工业化是非洲实现包容性和持续性发展的前提，是创造就业、消除贫困、提高生活水平的关键。中国支持非洲国家根据自身国情和发展需求，改善投资软硬环境，以产业对接和产能合作为龙头，助力非洲工业化和经济多元化进程。截至目前，中国与15个非洲国家建立产能合作机制。中国与非洲国家合作建设经贸合作区、经济特区、工业园区、科技园区，吸引中国等各国企业赴非投资，建立生产和加工基地并开展本土化经营，增加当地就业和税收，促进产业升级和技术合作。中非产能合作基金围绕非洲“三网一化”（高速铁路网、高速公路网、区域航空网和工业化）建设战略开发业务，截至2021年3月，累计投资21个项目，涉及能源、资源、制造业等多个领域，有力带动非洲国家产业发展。数十家中资企业与非洲企业合作建设光伏电站，累计装机容量超过1.5吉瓦（GW），填补非洲光伏产业链空白，有效缓解当地用电紧缺问题并促进低碳减排。

– Expanding cooperation in infrastructure. China supports Africa in making infrastructure development a priority for economic revitalization. It encourages and supports Chinese enterprises to adopt various models to participate in the construction, investment, operation and management of infrastructure projects in Africa. From 2016 to 2020, total investment in infrastructure projects in Africa reached almost $200 billion. Projects implemented by Chinese companies accounted for 31.4 percent of all infrastructure projects on the African continent in 2020. Since the founding of FOCAC, Chinese companies have utilized various funds to help African countries build and upgrade more than 10,000 km of railways, nearly 100,000 km of highways, nearly 1,000 bridges and 100 ports, and 66,000 km of power transmission and distribution. They have also helped build an installed power-generating capacity of 120 million kW, a communications backbone network of 150,000 km and a network service covering nearly 700 million user terminals. Built and operated by Chinese companies, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway was the first modern railway to be built in Kenya in 100 years. Applying Chinese standards, technologies and equipment, the project has won praise as a road of friendship and cooperation, and a path towards win-win development between China and Africa in the new era. The railway has carried 5.4 million passengers and 1.3 million standard containers. It has contributed 1.5 percent to Kenya's economic growth, and created 46,000 direct and indirect jobs. China has guided its enterprises to explore multiple forms of cooperation, such as BOT (build-operate-transfer), BOO (build-own-operate) and PPP (public-private partnership). Such efforts aim to transform China-Africa infrastructure cooperation to a wholly integrated model covering investment, construction and operation, and push forward the sustainable development of infrastructure projects.

——深化基础设施合作。中国支持非洲将基础设施建设作为经济振兴的优先发展方向，鼓励和支持中国企业采取多种模式参与非洲基础设施建设、投资、运营和管理。2016年至2020年，非洲开工建设的基础设施项目总额近2000亿美元，2020年中国企业实施的项目比已达31.4%。中非合作论坛成立以来，中国企业利用各类资金帮助非洲国家新增和升级铁路超过1万公里、公路近10万公里、桥梁近千座、港口近百个、输变电线路6.6万公里、电力装机容量1.2亿千瓦、通讯骨干网15万公里，网络服务覆盖近7亿用户终端。中国企业承建和运营的肯尼亚蒙内铁路是该国百年来第一条现代化铁路，全部采用中国标准、中国技术、中国装备，被誉为新时期中非“友谊之路”“合作之路”“共赢之路”，累计运送旅客541.5万人次、发送集装箱130.8万个标准箱，对肯经济增长贡献率达到1.5%，累计直接和间接创造就业4.6万个。中国引导企业采用BOT（建设—经营—转让方式）、BOO（建设—拥有—经营方式）、PPP（政府与社会资本合作）等多种模式，推动中非基础设施合作向投资建设运营一体化模式转型，促进基础设施项目可持续发展。

– Strengthening financial cooperation. Financial institutions from both sides have been exploring each other's markets. Their central banks have expanded the scale of local currency settlement and currency swap, leading to a steady improvement in China-Africa financial facilitation. As of October 2021, the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) had 42 indirect participants in Africa, covering 19 African countries. The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, has signed successive currency swap agreements with the central banks of South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria, to a total amount of RMB73 billion. China has signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in financial supervision with seven African countries including Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria, laying a solid foundation for steady and long-term bilateral financial cooperation. China has joined the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, the West African Development Bank and other multilateral development financial institutions. It has pledged to contribute a total of $996 million to the African Development Fund under the AfDB.

——加强金融合作。中非金融机构积极开发对方市场，双方央行积极扩大本币结算和互换安排，推动中非金融便利化水平稳步提高。截至2021年10月，人民币跨境支付系统（CIPS）有42家非洲地区间接参与者，覆盖19个非洲国家。中国央行先后与南非、摩洛哥、埃及和尼日利亚央行签署了本币互换协议，金额总计730亿元人民币。中国已同埃及、南非、尼日利亚等7个非洲国家签署了金融监管合作谅解备忘录，为双方金融合作行稳致远打牢基础。中国加入非洲开发银行、东南非贸易与开发银行和西非开发银行等多边开发金融机构。中国已累计向非洲开发银行下的非洲开发基金承诺捐资9.96亿美元。

– Expanding cooperation in the digital economy. China is helping African countries to eliminate the digital divide. Rapid development and fruitful results have been achieved in this field – building digital infrastructure, transition towards a digital society, and the application of new technologies such as the Internet of Things and mobile finance. Chinese companies have participated in a number of submarine cable projects connecting Africa and Europe, Asia, and the Americas. They have cooperated with major African operators in achieving full basic coverage of telecommunications services in Africa. They have built more than half of the continent's wireless sites and high-speed mobile broadband networks. In total, more than 200,000 km of optical fiber has been laid, giving broadband Internet access to 6 million households, and serving more than 900 million local people. To date, more than 1,500 companies in 17 cities in 15 African countries have selected Chinese corporate partners on their digital transformation path. Twenty-nine countries have selected smart government service solutions provided by Chinese companies. China and Africa have jointly established a public cloud service in South Africa that covers the entire African region. The two sides also released the first 5G independent networking commercial network in the region. The level and content of China-Africa e-commerce cooperation continue to grow. The Silk Road E-Commerce Capacity Building Cloud Lectures have effectively improved the digital literacy of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in partner countries. Promotion activities have been held to help high-quality products from Africa to access the Chinese market. Such activities include a government-initiated shopping festival that began in 2019, featuring Silk Road e-commerce, as well as the FOCAC African Products Online Promoting Season. Chinese companies actively participate in building platforms of public services in Africa such as electronic payment and smart logistics. All these efforts are designed to achieve win-win cooperation through promoting connectivity. At the China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum in August 2021, China announced its intention to formulate and implement a joint China-Africa Partnership Plan on Digital Innovation in Africa.

——拓展数字经济合作。中国积极帮助非洲国家消除“数字鸿沟”，中非“数字经济”合作发展迅速，从数字基础设施建设到社会数字化转型，物联网、移动金融等新技术应用，全领域合作成果丰硕。中国企业参与了多条连接非洲和欧、亚、美洲大陆海缆工程；与非洲主流运营商合作基本实现非洲电信服务全覆盖；建设了非洲一半以上无线站点及高速移动宽带网络，累计铺设超过20万公里光纤，帮助600万家庭实现宽带上网，服务超过9亿非洲人民。截至目前，超过15个非洲国家的17个城市、1500多家企业选择中国企业作为数字化转型伙伴，29个国家选择中国企业提供的智慧政务服务方案；中非共同在南非建立了服务整个非洲区域的公有“云”，以及非洲首个5G独立组网商用网络。中非电子商务合作层次和内涵不断丰富，“丝路电商”云上大讲堂有效提升伙伴国中小微企业数字素养，“双品网购节”丝路电商专场、“非洲产品电商推广季”等活动助力非洲优质产品进入中国市场，中国企业积极参与非洲电子支付、智慧物流等公共服务平台建设，在互联互通中实现合作共赢。2021年8月，中非互联网发展与合作论坛成功举办，中国宣布愿同非洲共同制定和实施“中非数字创新伙伴计划”。