What are the opportunities and challenges of China-Africa industrial cooperation in the post-pandemic era? The First Yuelu Forum for China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation opened in Changsha on September 19. The event brought together relevant leaders in Hunan Province as well as Chinese and foreign research experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs, who held discussions and dialogues on China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Pro. Xie Chi, vice president of Hunan University. Lai Mingyong, vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Deng Wei, secretary of the Party Committee of Hunan University and executive president of China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Institute, and Li Xinqiu, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province and vice president of China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Institute, delivered speeches respectively.

Lai pointed out that China-Africa think tank cooperation is an integral part of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and an effective way to deepen people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa. The forum is a national-level strategic platform, based on the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), to promote Hunan's rise in all respects. It is also an important practice to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. It is in line with the new trend and characteristics of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, and satisfies the new expectations on and requirements for boosting the high-quality development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation with high-end think tanks.

According to Party Secretary Deng Wei, the institute has focused on "China-Africa Economic and Trade" as its positioning, serving the great strategic vision of the China-Africa community with a shared future put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the economic and trade development between Hunan and Africa, and the strategy of the rise of Hunan via opening-up. Hunan University will, as always, vigorously support the construction of the China-Africa economic and trade cooperation research platform, and make unremitting efforts to jointly run the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Institute with Central South University, Xiangtan University and Hunan Agricultural University, thus contributing wisdom to Hunan's exploration of the long-term economic and trade cooperation mechanism between China and Africa.

Li Xinqiu said that the successful holding of the first CAETE has promoted China's local economic and trade cooperation with Africa to a new stage. Hunan should take advantage of the two national platforms, namely the CAETE and the leading area for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, so as to have a greater say and initiative in China's local cooperation with Africa and serve as a hub for more resources, policies, channels and market players. Hunan is bound to offer a successful CAETE as the host responsible for organizing and preparing for the event. It will actively serve the economic and trade cooperation with Africa, establish a leading area for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, and build five centers, including Africa Non-resource Products Distribution and Trading Center, based on two keywords "in-depth" and "leading".

After the opening ceremony, Jin Xu, president of China Association of International Trade (CAIT), Pei Changhong, former director of the Institute of Finance and Trade Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Lan Jun, president of China Council for the Promotion of National Trade (CCPNT), Liu Hongwu, president of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, Yao Guimei, a researcher at the China-Africa Institute, and Shi Zhiqin, executive dean of the One Belt-One Road Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University, delivered keynote speeches respectively.

Wang Cheng'an, a researcher at the China-Africa Institute, Li Ronglin, deputy director of the Institute of International Economics of Nankai University, Huang Meibo, director of the International Development Cooperation Academy of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, and Tang Xiaoyang, deputy director of the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University, delivered keynote speeches on topics such as "Opportunities and Challenges of China-Africa Cooperation from the Perspective of Dual Circulation", "Significance and Current Situation of China-Africa Cooperation in Production Capacity", "China's Foreign Aid and Its Reform in the New Era", "Opportunities and Challenges of China-Africa Industrial Cooperation in the Post-pandemic Era". Experts, scholars and industry elites inside and outside China were also invited to the forum to hold discussions on "China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation", exchange ideas, and provide intellectual and decision-making support for deepening China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and other work involved.

The forum received 96 papers from the political, enterprise and academic circles, covering Hunan-Africa cooperation in such fields as agriculture, production capacity, infrastructure, finance, trade, healthcare, and culture. It facilitates Hunan to fully integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative and advance the strategy of rising in all respects via opening-up, and plays an important role in strengthening comprehensive strategic cooperation with African countries and further promoting China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

The forum was hosted by Hunan University and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Institute, and undertaken by the School of Economics and Trade of Hunan University. Relying on Hunan University, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Research Institute is an outcome of the joint efforts of Central South University, Xiangtan University, and Hunan Agricultural University. Based on the national strategies of China-Africa cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, the institute conducts pragmatical research on China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and builds domestic first-class and internationally renowned think tanks, in order to meet the major realistic needs of main participants in China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

Source: REDNET.CN and CAETE