Early in the morning, dewdrops hang on the petals of newly harvested roses at Tambuzi Flower Farm in Kenya. These flowers will appear on the shelves of the Gaoqiao Big Market in Changsha, China, 10,000 miles away, within 48 hours. According to Clement Tulezi, CEO of Kenya Flower Association, the Chinese government announced in November 2021 the establishment of a “green channel” for African agricultural products to be exported to China, shortening the inspection and quarantine time and expanding tariff exemptions, which opens up the sales channels for Kenyan flowers and specialty agricultural products such as avocado, citrus, pineapple and other products from African countries.

　　Madagascar's essential oils, Zambia's gemstones, Ethiopia's coffee, Zimbabwe's wood carvings, South Africa's wines, Senegal's cosmetics ...... In recent years, with the implementation of a series of China-Africa trade facilitation measures, Africa's goodies are competing for the Chinese market.

　　From the “Ten Cooperation Programs” to the “Eight Actions” to the “Nine Projects”, trade facilitation has always been one of the important issues in China-Africa cooperation. Driven by the pragmatic initiatives of the successive sessions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has maintained strong vitality and achieved fruitful results. China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, China-Africa trade reached a historical peak of 282.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 1.5 percent.

　　China-Africa trade has not only reached record highs in terms of scale, but also continued to optimize its structure. Agricultural products imported from Africa have become the highlight of growth. in 2023, China's imports of nuts, vegetables, flowers, and fruits from Africa increased by 130%, 32%, 14%, and 7% year-on-year, respectively. Electromechanical products have become the “main force” of exports to Africa, and exports of the “new three kinds” of products to Africa have realized rapid growth, strongly supporting Africa's green energy transformation.

　　Why can China-Africa trade maintain its vitality?

　　China and Africa have strong economic complementarities, laying the foundation for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. From agriculture to infrastructure construction, to manufacturing and services, China-Africa economic complementarities are reflected in a wide range of areas such as industrial cooperation, technical assistance, market potential and human resources cooperation. In the process of docking development strategies, the demand for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has been unleashed, and the kinetic energy has continued to strengthen. As Africa's high-quality agricultural products and rich mineral resources continue to be imported into China, China has also brought to Africa new technologies and new business models such as trade and logistics, digital economy, clean energy, health and wellness, green development and finance.

　　China-Africa trade facilitation measures have been increasing, injecting momentum into economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. Along with the official launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area, strengthening trade cooperation with China has become the consensus of African countries. Meanwhile, China continues to broaden the channels for African products to enter the Chinese market. As of June 2023, under the Trade Promotion Project, 16 agricultural products from 11 African countries have gained access to China under the “Green Channel” policy, and 21 African countries have enjoyed zero-tariff treatment for 98% of their products exported to China. In addition to global exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo and the China International Consumer Goods Expo, China has also set up platforms such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo for African countries, which have raised the market visibility of African products.

　　The level of China-Africa connectivity continues to improve, providing support for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. The development of trade depends on good transportation infrastructure. In recent years, China-Africa infrastructure construction cooperation has been highly effective, providing strong support for promoting China-Africa trade facilitation. More than 10,000 kilometers of railroads, nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, nearly 1,000 bridges, nearly 100 ports, and a large number of hospitals and schools ...... Chinese enterprises have implemented a number of landmark projects and “small but beautiful” projects in Africa in the fields of transportation, energy, power, housing and people's livelihood. The level of regional connectivity on the African continent is high. The level of regional connectivity on the African continent has continued to rise, greatly boosting Africa's economic development and tightening the network of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

　　Nowadays, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation is expanding from traditional trade and engineering construction to new fields such as digital, green, aerospace and finance. China's “African Brand Warehouse” project helps Rwanda export to China chili peppers and other products to incubate the brand, customized packaging, and take the route of boutique; drawing on Chinese technology, Kenya's local white maize varieties of successful trial planting, the yield of the same varieties of maize than the surrounding 50% higher; China and 27 countries in Africa to sign a civil air transport agreement for Algeria, Nigeria and other countries to build, launch communications meteorological equipment, Nigeria and other countries to build and launch communication and meteorological satellites ...... new fields, new forms and new modes are emerging in an endless stream, China-Africa cooperation has continued to develop in an all-round, multi-level and high-quality manner, and has taken the forefront of international cooperation with Africa.

In January this year, the State Council of China approved and agreed to the General Program for the Construction of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Deep Cooperation Pioneer Zone. The construction of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Deep Cooperation Pioneer Zone meets the demands of both China and Africa and sets a new benchmark for international cooperation with Africa. Looking ahead, the smooth flow of trade between China and Africa will create more new opportunities for the economic and social development of African countries and tighten the ties of the China-Africa community of destiny in the new era.