Business
The ongoing fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) has set a new attendance record with more than 30,000 participants, including representatives from 53 African countries, 27 Chinese provincial-level regions and 11 international organizations, as well as more than 4,700 Chinese and African companies, business associations and financial institutions.
The four-day biennial fair opened under the theme of "China and Africa: Together Toward Modernization" in Changsha, the capital city of central China's Hunan Province, on Thursday.
The event features indoor and outdoor exhibition areas spanning 100,000 square meters in total, where each participating African country has brought its signature products, such as Ugandan coffee and cocoa beans, Zambian gemstones and handicraft works, and African chili peppers.
Pius Wakabi Kasajja, permanent secretary of Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, was among the African exhibitors who voiced optimism about the appeal of their products in the Chinese market and confidence about economic and trade ties between China and Africa.
"It's a very big agriculture. We have a lot of agriculture -- 70 percent of our population is [in] agriculture and we can grow everything. Now we grow a lot. We have a good relationship with China, with the people of China, because we have products which the China [Chinese] people like," he told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview.
At the exhibition area for Chinese products, an industrial robot dog presented by a tech company from central China's Hubei Province captured the attention of many African visitors.
A company representative said the quadruped robot, which is capable of autonomous object detection and evasion as well as interaction with humans, has already secured many intended African buyers.
"Our robot is mainly used in rescue scenarios and it can also carry out inspections. Between yesterday to today, many African firms have showed interest in placing orders with us," Wang Xiaojuan, general manager for overseas operations at the tech company.
Meanwhile, the outdoor exhibition zone focuses on fields high on the agenda of future China-Africa cooperation, such as clean energy, energy conservation and environmental protection, and engineering machinery, among others.
Since its inception in 2019, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo has evolved into a major event and become a potent catalyst for strengthening China-Africa cooperation.
China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. In 2024, China-Africa trade hit a record high of nearly 300? billion U.S. dollars.