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China Set to Cash in on New African Free Trade Agreement
May 27, 2019Posted byChina Briefing


The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will boost China’s African continental trade ties.

One of the world’s most valuable and largest free trade agreement will kick in on May 30, yet it is one that has gathered little mention in mainstream media: the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA). The AfCTFA is the single largest FTA realized since the coming together of the World Trade Organization, but the lack of attention paid to it is an indication that despite globalization, trade that matters is perceived as being conducted solely by the United States.

China Calls More African Countries to Join BRI

Opinion By Zekarias Sintayehu

China has called on more African countries to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), dubbed 'project of the century,' during the dialogue that was held on May 30, 2019 in Addis Ababa. The head of Chinese Mission to the African Union (AU), Ambassador Liu Yuxi, called on all parties to pool wisdom and strengths to join the cooperation under the BRI.

The Ambassador stated that 39 African countries and the African Union Commission have signed the BRI documents with China and urged more African countries and external parties to join the BRI, transcending regions and development phases to build a partnership that promotes global connectivity and common development.

The Belt and Road Dialogue for China-Africa focuses on Africa's connectivity, digital economy, energy and industrial development, and aims to provide a platform for China and Africa to jointly address the challenges facing the development of infrastructure, human and financial resources and for Chinese and African businesses to explore cooperation opportunities. Noting the entering into force of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as an opportunity, China is planning to capitalize on AfCFTA to connect African and Chinese markets to promote the free movement of goods, persons, capital and technologies, quicken the pace of "soft connectivity" of policies, regulations and standards, and take concrete measures to coordinated development in the interests of safeguarding the momentum of economic globalization and free trade facilitation.