by Marwa Yahya
CAIRO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- With great potential for cooperation, the economic partnership between China and African countries is constantly moving forward, Egyptian experts said, as the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo concluded on Sunday in Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province.
"Chinese investments advance development momentum in African countries that are longing for progress," said Samy Al-Qamhawi, a specialist in Chinese affairs at the Egyptian newspaper Ahram, hailing the expo hosted by China as an exemplar of the fruitful cooperation between China and Africa.
This expo, with an unprecedented number of participants and promising achievements, was a unique platform to boost bilateral cooperation, said Al-Qamhawi.
A total of 120 projects worth 10.3 billion U.S. dollars were signed at the expo, according to Chinese officials.
With 1,700 foreign guests and over 10,000 domestic guests, participation in this year's expo was at its highest-ever level, said Zhou Yixiang, deputy secretary-general of the Hunan provincial government.
Al-Qamhawi said the large attendance "demonstrates the strong economic and trade relations between the two sides and their keenness to elevate it more."
China is Africa's largest trading partner and its fourth biggest source of investment. Official data show that bilateral trade totalled 282 billion dollars in 2022. In the first four months of 2023, China's new direct investment in Africa totalled 1.38 billion dollars, up 24 percent year on year.
Noting China-Africa relations are built upon mutual respect and non-intervention in each other's internal affairs, Al-Qamhawi predicted that China will remain Africa's largest trading partner for coming years.
Waleed Gaballah, a professor of financial and economic jurisdictions at Cairo University, said the expo has achieved its goals, signifying that China-Africa relations are on the right track and expanding fast.
"The expo opened the door for a real trade exchange between the two sides and for increasing Chinese investments in Africa," the Egyptian economist said.
Highlighting the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the cornerstone for progressive economic relations between China and African countries, he noted that the BRI projects and African cooperation with Chinese institutions are more than welcome.
The experts attributed the growing bilateral economic cooperation to the long-standing solidarity and fruitful cooperation between the two sides over the years, as China has exchanged its successful experiences with Africa in tackling challenges such as desertification, food security, and sustainable development.
"Chinese investments in Africa are a magic wand in terms of a win-win strategy," Al-Qamhawi told Xinhua.
