Cooperation with China will advance industrialization in Africa: Ghanaian official

相链区块链

The file photo shows visitors trying masks at the booth of the Republic of Ghana during the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, on June 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

African countries should take the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with China to advance their industrialization and infrastructure development, a senior Ghanaian official has said.

ACCRA, May 16 (Xinhua) -- African countries should take the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with China to advance their industrialization and infrastructure development, a senior Ghanaian official said on Monday.

China and Africa need to strengthen their already strong relationship and make it even more mutually beneficial through trade, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Michael Okyere Baafi told Xinhua at a promotion event for the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo.

The expo, under the theme "Common Development for a Shared Future," will be held from June 29 to July 2 in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan Province.

At the event, Chinese officials presented favorable investment policies to the Ghanaian business community with the hope of fostering cooperation.

Since the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into force in 2019, Africa has become a big market for Chinese investors, Baafi said. "This is the time companies from China should be very interested in coming to Africa to explore this huge market."

"We are talking about a market size of 1.2 billion people and a combined GDP of about 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars," the deputy minister noted.

The file photo shows a staff member from the Republic of Ghana introducing hand drums to visitors during the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, on June 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

To make the trade on the continent more effective, the deputy minister said there should be a viable manufacturing base under the AfCFTA.

Baafi believes Chinese and Ghanaians could cooperate in advancing industrialization in various African countries. "The only point to accelerate our growth and industrialization is in plants and machinery. This is one of the reasons the Ministry of Trade and Industry supports this program, and we shall surely be at the fair."

He urged Chinese companies to invest in the automotive industry in Africa, and called on Ghanaian enterprises to take advantage of the expo to establish partnerships with their counterparts in China.

"What Hunan is doing in terms of development is exceptional, and Ghana and other African countries need to learn from it. Ghana is ready for partnerships, especially in the area of industrialization," Baafi said.

【Author:】 【Editor:谈诗谊】