China-Africa economic, trade cooperation to maintain strong momentum: official

BEIJING, Sept. 3 -- China and African countries are destined to be good friends, good brothers and good partners, and their economic and trade cooperation has broad opportunities and immense potential, said an official Tuesday ahead of the upcoming 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

"China-Africa economic and trade cooperation will continue to maintain strong momentum. Over the past three years, Chinese companies have created more than 1.1 million jobs in Africa," said Lin Honghong, director of the Department of International Relations of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

Lin made the remarks at a press briefing of the FOCAC summit, which will be convened from Wednesday to Friday.

During the briefing, Zhang Shaogang, deputy director of the CCPIT, said the eighth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs will be held on Friday in Beijing. It will focus on promoting the integration of industrial and supply chains and driving the development of emerging industries.

China is a country with a complete range of industrial sectors, while Africa is the continent with the largest number of developing countries. China and Africa's industrial and supply chains complement each other strongly, offering vast opportunities for cooperation, according to Zhang.

"China is accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, while Africa is actively exploring paths toward modernization and self-reliant development. The potential for China-Africa cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy, green development and artificial intelligence is immense," Zhang noted.