The third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the People’s Government of Hunan Province, kicked off on June 29, 2023, in Changsha City, Hunan Province.

The China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo represents a significant step in fostering cooperation with Africa, as announced by President Xi Jinping at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Its primary goal is to establish a novel mechanism for economic and trade collaboration between China and Africa, serving as a platform to implement economic and trade initiatives originating from the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, while simultaneously providing a new avenue for local economic and trade cooperation with Africa.

Under the theme “Common Development for a Shared Future”, the Expo places particular emphasis on realizing the nine programs of China-Africa cooperation established during the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. It aims to facilitate pragmatic economic and trade cooperation across various key areas, including green infrastructure, customs and quarantine, pharmaceuticals and health, agricultural food products, light industry and textiles, industrial parks, standardization, women and youth empowerment, and vocational education. The Expo boasts a diverse range of activities, offering rich and engaging content to attendees.

Spanning an impressive exhibition area of 100,000 square meters, the main exhibition hall of the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo features several noteworthy additions. For the first time, there is a special exhibition showcasing the China-Africa achievements on high-level building of the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), as well as a dedicated display highlighting the innovation and entrepreneurship of African women. Additionally, eight guest countries, namely Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Zambia, have set up national pavilions to showcase their unique national image and distinctive features. The Expo serves as a brilliant platform for showcasing a wide array of African specialty products.