In order to actively implement the outcomes of the eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and promote the implementation of the nine programs, the 2022 China-Africa Private Sector Cooperation Forum, sponsored by All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) and co-hosted by Beijing Federation of Industry and Commerce and China-Africa Business Council (CABC), was held both online and offline on the afternoon of November 8. Under the theme of “Deepening China-Africa Private Investment Cooperation”, the forum was strongly supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. Qiu Xiaoping, vice chairman of ACFIC, attended the forum. Nan Cunhui, vice chairman of ACFIC and chairman of CHINT Group, M. Comlan Nomadoli YAKPEY, general secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Local Consumption of the Republic of Togo, Liu Yuxi, special representative for the Chinese Government on African Affairs, and Wang Dong, vice director-general of the Department of Western Asian and African Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China attended and addressed the forum online and offline respectively. Ma Jun, director general of the International Cooperation Department of ACFIC, hosted the opening ceremony, and Li Zhenkun, vice chairman of Beijing Federation of Industry and Commerce, presided over the keynote speeches.
 

Nan Cunhui pointed out that this year was of special significance for both China and Africa. The 20th CPC National Congress was successfully convened, which marked a new journey of comprehensively advancing national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization, promoted the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and provided new opportunities for the world with China’s new development. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the African Union (AU) and the establishment of China-AU diplomatic relations. China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has become increasingly close and trade volume has steadily increased. A large number of Chinese private enterprises have invested and started business in Africa, contributing Africa’s industrialization and sustainable development. African private enterprises have also brought high-quality African products that are popular among customers to China. He suggested that in order to deepen China-Africa private investment cooperation, private enterprises should explore new space for cooperation, create a new model of mutual benefit and win-win results, persist in green and low-carbon development, and uphold the concept of sincerity, affinity and good faith to promote closer people-to-people ties between China and Africa.
 

M. Comlan Nomadoli YAKPEY mentioned that this forum was of great importance to African countries facing geopolitical challenges recently. Despite the problems faced by the global supply chain, the total bilateral trade between China and Africa in 2021 grew by 35 percent year on year, and is expected to continue growing. In particular, the 2035 Vision for China-Africa Cooperation issued by the FOCAC in 2021 focuses on cooperation opportunities and active diplomacy to promote Africa’s socio-economic development. He said that African countries are doing their best to improve the business environment and attract foreign direct investment. The Republic of Togo is committed to making the improvement of the business environment a priority of the Togolese government, and has launched a new development roadmap (2020-2025). All conditions are in place to improve China-Africa cooperation through investment, and it is expected that the new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs will explore the market through innovation and entrepreneurship and contribute to the structural transformation of Togo’s economy.
 

Liu Yuxi said that China and Africa enjoy profound tradition friendship. Investment cooperation is a strong engine for the qualitative upgrading of the practical cooperation between China and Africa, and private enterprises are the main force of China’s investment cooperation with Africa. The number of Chinese enterprises and the amount of direct investment in Africa accounted for more than 50 percent. He hoped that private entrepreneurs would actively cooperate with the development strategies of African countries, integrate into the local society, fulfill their corporate responsibilities and give back to the local people, so as to benefit Chinese and African people with tangible results and push China-Africa cooperation in the new era towards high-quality development with a more balanced structure, more diversified driving forces and a more sustainable model.
 
Wang Dong mentioned that private enterprises on both sides are playing an increasingly important role. Chinese private enterprises are actively expanding their investment cooperation with Africa, diversifying the ways of cooperation, expanding the areas of cooperation and achieving closer coordination with African private enterprises. He said that the Ministry of Commerce will work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ACFIC and other departments to take the implementation of the nine programs as an opportunity to strength policy support, build cooperation platforms such as China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, strengthen service guarantee, support the building of the platform for promoting China-Africa private investment, encourage Chinese private enterprises to explore and invest in Africa, and jointly promote the high-quality development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
 
At the opening ceremony of the forum, Wang Xiaoyong, vice president and secretary general of CABC, issued for the first time the “Prospect of Private Enterprises’ Participation into China-Africa Cooperation under the New Development Paradigm”, analyzing the opportunities and challenges of private enterprises’ participation in China-Africa cooperation under the new situation, and putting forward suggestions for future cooperation so as to lead more private enterprises to invest in Africa.
 
Ibrahima Sory Sylla, the Ambassador of Senegal to China, Lou Wenjian, vice president of China-Africa Development Fund, and Chen Dan, chairman of China Agriculture Industry Chamber of Commerce and president of Evergreen Conglomerate, delivered keynote speeches on the theme of the forum. Huang Jinhui, chairman of the Board of Director of Reanda Certified Public Accountants, Ren Jikun, director of Global General Affairs Department of Beijing Yingke Law Firm, Wang Yinan, partner of Beijing DeHeng Law Offices, Chen Songheng, General Manager of BGI African Region, and Yu Jia, director of the International Development Cooperation Department of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University, had an in-depth discussion on the theme of “Focusing on China-Africa Manufacturing and SME Cooperation”.
 
More than 1.225 million people from departments of ACFIC, Beijing Federation of Industry and Commerce, CABC, some financial institutions, African governments, diplomats in China and Chinese and African business communities attended the forum online or offline.