Foreign
Trade facilitation propels China-Africa economic and trade cooperation
By Jia Pingfan, People’s Daily
In the early morning at a flower farm in Kenya, freshly harvested roses, with dewdrops clinging to their petals, were ready to be shipped. In 48 hours, they would be put onto the shelves of the Hunan Gaoqiao Grand Market, Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan province half a world away.
At the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November last year, China announced the establishment of a “green channel” for African countries’ agricultural products entering China.
According to Clement Tulezi, chief executive officer of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), the “green channel” has helped shorten the time for inspection and quarantine and expand the exemption from customs duty, creating more market opportunities for Kenyan flowers and featured farm produce from other African countries, such as avocado, citrus and pineapple.
In recent years, African products have become increasingly popular in the Chinese market following the implementation of trade facilitation measures between China and Africa. Essential oil from Madagascar, gems from Zambia, coffee from Ethiopia, wood sculptures from Zimbabwe, wine from South Africa and cosmetics from Senegal are sought after by Chinese consumers.
Under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has maintained strong vitality and achieved fruitful outcomes.
China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. According to statistics released by China’s Ministry of Commerce, China-Africa trade reached a record high of $282.1 billion in 2023, up 1.5 percent year on year.
Apart from the record-breaking trade volume, the China-Africa trade structure has also improved, highlighted by China’s surging agricultural imports from Africa. Last year, China’s imports of African nuts, vegetables, flowers and fruits increased by 130 percent, 32 percent, 14 percent and 7 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Besides, mechanical and electronic products have maintained a major force in China’s exports to Africa. The rapid growth in China’s exports of the three major tech-intensive green products, namely the “new three” – new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products, has offered strong support for Africa’s green energy transition.
What sustains the vitality of China-Africa trade?
The high complementarity between Chinese and African economies has laid a solid foundation for trade and economic cooperation.
Such complementarity is manifested in a wide range of areas including industrial cooperation, technical assistance, market potential and human resource collaboration, be it in agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing or service sectors.
While working to synergize development strategies, China and Africa have constantly unleashed their development requirements, providing stronger momentum for economic and trade cooperation. While Africa’s high-quality agricultural products and rich minerals reach the Chinese market, China is bringing to the African continent new technologies and business models in trade logistics, digital economy, clean energy, health, green development and finance.
The continuous efforts to promote trade facilitation between China and Africa are injecting momentum into trade and economic cooperation.
With the official establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, enhancing trade cooperation with China has become a consensus of African countries. Meanwhile, China is working to expand the channels for African products entering the Chinese market.
As of June 2023, 16 types of agricultural products from 11 African countries have accessed China through the “green channel,” and 21 African countries have benefited from China’s elimination of tariffs on 98 percent of their taxable products.
Apart from globally oriented exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo and the China International Consumer Products Expo, China has specifically built platforms for African countries including the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, to enhance the market reputation of African products.
Trade development relies on well-developed transport infrastructure. In recent years, China and Africa have witnessed remarkable achievements in their infrastructure cooperation, which have significantly boosted trade facilitation between the two sides.
So far, Chinese companies have built and upgraded more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100,000 kilometers of highways, nearly 1,000 bridges, roughly 100 ports, and a large number of hospitals and schools in Africa. A number of signature projects and “small yet smart” livelihood programs have been launched by Chinese companies in Africa’s transport, energy, power, housing and livelihood sectors.
The continuously improving regional connectivity in Africa has greatly boosted the continent’s economic development and propelled China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
China and Africa are constantly expanding their areas of cooperation, from traditional trade and engineering projects to emerging sectors such as digital economy, green development, aerospace and finance.
Thanks to a branding program launched by China, chili pepper and other exports to China from Rwanda have enjoyed brand incubation and customized packaging services, thus embracing a high-end development path. In Kenya, a high-yielding maize variety bred with Chinese technologies in a demonstration field reported a yield 50 percent higher than that in surrounding area. Besides, China has signed civil air transport agreements with 27 African countries, and built and launched communication and meteorological satellites for countries including Algeria and Nigeria.
The emerging areas, business forms and models have led to wide-ranging, multi-level and high-quality China-Africa cooperation. China has always been at the forefront of international cooperation with Africa.
The unimpeded China-Africa trade will create more new opportunities for African countries’ economic and social development, contributing to the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
The Trump administration has initiated sweeping layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, effectively dismantling institutions long seen as critical for American influence abroad.
On Sunday, contractors working for VOA received an email notification that their employment would be terminated by the end of March. “You must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to access any agency buildings or systems,” the email read, according to multiple staff members who confirmed the development.
The move, which comes just a day after all employees were placed on administrative leave, disproportionately affects non-English-language services, where contractors make up a significant portion of the workforce. Many of these contractors are not U.S. citizens and may now face visa issues, further complicating their status in the country.
While most full-time staff remain employed for now, they have been told not to work, leaving VOA and its sister organizations in a state of uncertainty. Some services, unable to produce new programming, have resorted to playing music.
VOA, founded during World War II, has been a critical tool for U.S. public diplomacy, broadcasting in 49 languages to audiences in countries where press freedom is restricted. However, President Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of broader federal budget cuts.
The cuts extend beyond VOA, affecting other U.S.-funded media entities such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Farda (which broadcasts in Persian to Iran), and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the 2003 Iraq invasion. The administration argues that taxpayers should not fund what it calls “radical propaganda,” despite VOA’s longstanding editorial independence.
Liam Scott, a VOA journalist covering press freedom and disinformation, expressed concern over the decision. “I’ve covered press freedom for a long time, and I’ve never seen something like what’s happened in the U.S. over the past couple of months,” he wrote on social media.
The move has drawn international attention, particularly from China and Russia, which have been expanding their own state-funded media efforts. The Chinese state-run *Global Times* reacted with an editorial declaring that “the monopoly of information held by traditional Western media is being shattered.”
Trump’s administration has pursued aggressive cuts across federal agencies, including eliminating most foreign aid and significantly reducing the Department of Education. With input from tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has focused on reducing government size to facilitate tax cuts.
As the global media landscape shifts, the dismantling of U.S.-funded broadcasters leaves a vacuum that could be filled by rival state-controlled networks. Whether Congress or legal challenges will intervene remains to be seen, but for now, the future of America’s international broadcasting efforts hangs in the balance.
A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to deport migrants allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under a wartime law.
US District Judge James Boasberg issued a restraining order preventing the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel undocumented migrants accused of gang ties. The order initially protected five individuals challenging the deportation but was later expanded to all affected noncitizens in US custody.
Boasberg also directed that any planes carrying these migrants be returned to the United States. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned,” he ruled. The restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days or until further court action.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, citing Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization that has “unlawfully infiltrated the United States” and is engaging in hostile actions. However, civil rights groups, including the ACLU, argue that the gang’s activities do not meet the legal definition of an invasion.
The Justice Department has appealed the ruling, while the case continues in court.
By Gu Yekai, Liu Yiqing, People’s Daily
At a smart construction project site managed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a quiet technological revolution is underway. Amid cranes and concrete, engineers are deploying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that could fundamentally reshape the construction industry.
Li Fengjian, an AI specialistwith Xianyuan Technology, detailed how the company’s latest intelligent system – built on a large model – adapts to complex construction environments.”Engineering machinery equipped with intelligent agents can adjust its operations automatically in response to weather conditions,” Li explained, adding that a spatiotemporal sensing network further enhances the system, providing real-time tracking of both personnel and materials throughout the construction site.
In February this year, Xianyuan Technology rapidly integrated its self-developed model with DeepSeek-R1, effectively blending a general-purpose framework with industry-specific models. This integration, Li noted, has produced a solution capable of delivering expert-level performance in challenging, dynamic environments. The firm is based in the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, aburgeoning AI incubator that now hosts over 200 innovative enterprises.
China’s technological transformation extends well beyond the construction sector. Overthe past three decades, the country has evolved from its initial forays into internet connectivity to becoming a key player in global digital innovation.
Here, a steady stream of technological innovations are emerging, from the early days of emails and web browsing to the cutting-edge technologies represented by DeepSeek and the dynamic evolution of social media.
Wu Jianping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and headof the Zhongguancun Laboratory, pointed out that while China had introduced only one internet standard before 2005, it now contributes to over 200 worldwide. Such strides illustrate the country’s concerted push toward high-level technological self-reliance – a journey marked by both persistence and determination.
Beyond the digital realm, China is makingsignificant inroads in aerospace, new energy, and other high-tech sectors. It has transitioned from being a follower to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with global leaders, and in some areas, even taking the lead. Wu attributed these achievements to a dynamic ecosystem of policy reforms and talent cultivation that encourages creativity and technical expertise at every level.
Amid intensifying international competition, collaborative research and the integration of new technologies with traditional industries are central to China’s high-quality economic development.
Mei Linhai, a researcher at China’s State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Intelligence, remarked that the age of AI calls for continuous exploration. “In this era, everyone is an innovator. Only by persistently pushing the boundaries can we remain at the forefront of both technological and industrial development,” Mei observed.
In the field of general-purpose AI, Mei emphasized that independent innovation is paramount. He advocates for a self-driven industrial ecosystem that leveragesbreakthrough technologies to boost productivity and unlock new possibilities, Mei said.
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