Efforts by Hunan province to position itself as a hub for China-Africa trade are bearing fruit, with a record 90.4% increase in trade to USUSD3.14 billion in the first four months of 2023 over the same period last year. Private enterprises are driving the boost, with 1,471 companies accounting for CNY20 billion – more than 90% of Hunan’s African trade total – over the period, according to Changsha Customs data. The number of Hunan companies trading with Africa so far this year is also on the rise, increasing by 18% to 1,558 compared to the first four months of last year. While Hunan’s trade with Africa is only 3.4% of China's total, the province’s results stem from a range of initiatives intended to grow its trading links with African countries. The landlocked province in central China was the first to establish “green lanes” to boost agricultural imports from Africa, proposed by President Xi Jinping at the 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Dakar, Senegal. These included an easing of import-export rules, the establishment of a currency clearing hub, and trade deals with agricultural producers in Africa.
African agricultural exports to Hunan increased 16.6 times to CNY150 million in the first four months of 2023, as the province opened up to more products, such as avocados from Kenya and dried chillies from Rwanda. The Hunan government said imports of natural and synthetic rubber, as well as food, had posted a “robust” increase. Hunan is one of several Chinese provinces backing investment in Africa to boost two-way trade, in line with central government policy. The China-Africa Business Council reported last year that Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong and Jiangsu also saw increases, despite the economic impact of the Covid pandemic.
The province’s lawmakers passed regulations to guide the building of a free-trade zone (FTZ) as well as a distribution, trading and processing center for African manufactured products. They also approved a “green customs clearance” system for African imports. Bills were also approved for the expansion of passenger and cargo networks from the provincial capital Changsha to major African aviation hubs, and the development of a river-sea transport relay route to major ports in Africa. In 2021, authorities in Hunan’s industrial hub of Zhuzhou set up the China-Africa Rail-Sea Express Company, marking a new step to develop transport to Africa via Nansha port in Guangdong. The channel is mainly used to move grain, seed, vehicle parts, chemicals and construction machinery, with the first phase covering 11 seaports in Africa and 20 roads and railways leading into the continent’s interior. Authorities are also hoping a cargo route between Addis Ababa and Changsha – established by Ethiopian Airlines to handle an estimated annual throughput of 17,000 tons of cargo – will turn Hunan into a major China-Africa trade and logistics hub.
So far this year, most of Hunan’s African trade was with South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt. Resource-rich South Africa accounted for a fifth of the province’s total trade with all African countries, while trade with Nigeria and Egypt soared 182.5% and 282.5%, respectively year-on-year. Exports of superior products such as mechanical and electrical and labor-intensive goods surged during the period.
Hunan exported CNY6.22 billion worth of mechanical and electrical products to Africa, up 191.6% year-on-year and accounting for more than one-third of the province’s total exports to African countries. Exports of textiles, clothing and other labor-intensive products rose by 146.3% to CNY5.58 billion. Hi-tech exports surged to CNY880 million, an increase of 144.4% on the same period last year. The province is eyeing the prospect of more trade deals in June, when Changsha hosts the third China-Africa Economic Trade Exhibition – the first since the easing of Covid-19 measures and only the second to be held in-person, the South China Morning Post reports.
Meanwhile, Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to China to upgrade the relationship between both countries to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership”.
