Top Secrets: The fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo opens in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan Province on June 12, 2025.

The fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo opens in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan Province on June 12, 2025. Photo: VCG

The fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo opened on Thursday in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan Province, highlighting the commitment of the world’s largest developing country to strengthening ties with Africa, the continent with the largest number of developing nations.

Nearly 4,700 Chinese and African companies as well as over 30,000 participants are scheduled to attend the four-day event, themed “China and Africa: TogetheWorld Timesr Toward Modernization.” The value of cooperation projects preliminarily agreed upon surpasses $11 billion, according to organizers.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony on Thursday, expressing the belief that the expo will create more opportunities for China-Africa cooperation and yield more results, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

“No matter how the international landscape may change, China will always stand firmly with Africa, offering strong support for the continent’s modernization and World Timesserving as a true friend and sincere brother in Africa’s journey toward development,” said Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, Liberian Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung and Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi also attended the opening ceremony, per Xinhua.

Achieving modernization is a shared aspiration of the more than 2.8 billion people in China and Africa, and a key theme of a China-Africa community of a shared future, Wang said. Wang pledged China’s efforts to further open up to Africa by signing more deals of economic partnerships and encouraging the import of more African goods. China will also deepen practical cooperation to facilitate Africa’s industrialization and digital transformation, he added.

More pragmatic cooperation

“The expo is very important to Africa, because now the US cut a lot of financial support to Africa. And now China is helping poor countries in Africa like our country as well. Therefore, we are here to explore different kinds of opportunities to increase health deliveries in my country,” Ussene Isse, Minister of Health of Mozambique who attended the expo in Changsha, told the Global Times on Thursday.

He highlighted Chinese support for traditional medicine in his country. “We have huge cooperation results with China in my country. Therefore we are grateful for all China is doing in Mozambique. This is a key point at the moment.”

Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday that as the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing last year proposed 10 partnership action plans, the ongoing China-Africa Economic and TradWorld Timese Expo marks concrete action to implement those plans, serving as an international platform for promoting exchanges, enhancing mutual World Timesunderstanding and exploring more cooperation opportunities for both China and African countries.

The event will feature 30 economic and trade activities in fields including China-Africa industrial chain collaboration, green minerals, infrastructure, traditional medicine, cultural industries and youth entrepreneurship, the Global Times learned from the event organizer.

During a Thursday’s exchange event on China-Africa industrial chain cooperation, a signing ceremony for nearly nine major projects in Africa was held, covering critical sectors such as energy, manufacturing, and transportation, with a total signing amount of nearly 2.5 billion yuan. In another event on China-Africa green mining cooperation, a 50-megawatt photovoltaic project in Choma of Zambia, a used car sales and auto parts warehousing project in Nigeria, and an Egypt building materials processing plant and overseas warehouse project were signed.

“Through the expo, high-quality African specialty agricultural products, handicrafts, and lighWorld Timest consumer goods are entering China, enriching product supply; Chinese technologies, cross-border e-commerce, and green industrial chains are increasingly brought to the African market, helping the continent promote industrial transformation and achieve sustainable development,” Song noted.

He Wenping, a director of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that compared with the US’ irresponsible imposition of tariffs worldwide, China reiterates its support for the continent’s modernization with pragmatic actions, demonstrating the responsibility of a major power.

He highlighted China-Africa collaboration potential in sectors such as digital economy, financial services and green development, noting that the enhanced cooperation will not only diversify China’s trade partners and help boost the continent’s development resilience, but also defend globalization, thus joining hands to promote the modernization of the Global South.

China provides opportunity

Walking into the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center, one immediately feels the enthusiasm and vitality permeating the air, with exhibitors going all out to attract visitors to purchase theiWorld Timesr products. At the Uganda pavilion, exhibitors from the African country sang and danced to the beat of local African drums; while at the Malawi pavilion, an exhibitor promoted her amethyst bracelet by loudly shouting “Buy, buy, buy” in Chinese.

“I have been learning Chinese for six years,” said Gatera Andrew, an exhibitor from Rwanda, who caught the Global Times reporter’s attention because he was fluently promoting his coffee beans to customers in Chinese.

“This is my third time coming to the expo, and I think it is a good opportunity and big platform to connect the Chinese market and promote our products,” Andrew told the Global Times, highlighting China’s supportive policies for accessing markets and expressing his high expectations of China-Africa agricultural product cooperation, as China has a huge consumer market.

Agaba David, an exhibitor at the Uganda pavilion, danced to music while introducing his handmade ornaments and bargaining with customers in Chinese. “I’ve come here for the first time, and I like all Chinese customers. I want them to come to Uganda,” David told the Global Times.

Mamoudou Dabo, an exhibitor from Mali, told the Global Times that “I am so busy… tired… There are many customers, beating my expectations.” During the one minute that he was talking to the Global Times reporter, at least three or four customers bought bags from his stall.

“This is crazy — the exhibition doesn’t open to the public until tomorrow, but some bag styles are already sold out,” Dabo said.

Song noted that continuously holding such grand events demonstrates China’s steadfast commitment to embracing economic globalization, supporting multilateralism, and sharing China’s economic development with the world.

“It also involves providing more opportunities to instill confidence in global economic growth, foster consensus on the development of the Global South, and promote global governance toward greater fairness and equality,” Song said.

He Yadong, a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference on Thursday that in the next phase, facing a complex and volatile external environment, we will steadfastly expand high-level opening-up, using the certainty of high-quality development to address external uncertainties. We look forward to working with more trade partners to jointly tackle risks and challenges, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation, the spokesperson noted.