During the 3rd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in 2023, the "China-Africa Trade Index" released for the first time by the General Administration of Customs showed that since 2000, the scale of trade between China and Africa has continued to rise, trade ties have become closer, trade structure highlights have been diverse, and trade The potential continues to grow. China and Africa are experiencing active economic development and increasingly close economic and trade cooperation. More and more "Made in China" products are entering the African market, promoting local economic and social development and improving people's livelihood.

“Made in China” infrastructure projects are attracting attention. At the opening ceremony of the 34th African Football Nations Cup on January 13, 2024, the model of the Cocodi cable-stayed bridge in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire, built by Chinese companies, made its debut and won rounds of applause from the audience. It is understood that the Cocody Bridge is the largest cable-stayed bridge in West Africa. The main bridge is 630 meters long. After its opening to traffic, it not only effectively alleviated the traffic congestion in Abidjan, but also significantly improved the image of Abidjan's urban landscape. The bridge has become a landmark in Abidjan. In August 2023, Cote d'Ivoire President Ouattara said at the completion ceremony of the bridge that this high-quality project makes the Ivorian people deeply proud. In addition, the opening and operation of a number of iconic projects such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Kenya, the Lower Kaifu Gorge Hydropower Station in Zambia, and the Lekki Deepwater Port in Nigeria have made great contributions to improving Africa's infrastructure level, accelerating the process of interconnection and integration, and promoting the economy and protecting people's livelihood. made a positive contribution.

"Made in China" helps Africa's green energy transformation. At the end of 2023, the main line completion ceremony of the Dakar Rapid Transit System project was held in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. More than 120 18-meter articulated pure electric buses put into operation were developed and produced by China CRRC Electric Company. The vehicle has a beautiful appearance, and the interior is decorated with the green, yellow, and red colors of the Senegalese flag. The interior of the vehicle is large, with a total of 55 seats, a maximum passenger capacity of 150 people, a cruising range of up to 250 kilometers, and the ability to adapt to local conditions. Good corrosion protection in sandy and humid climate conditions. The putting into use of this batch of vehicles will reduce local carbon emissions and is of great significance to the development of green public transportation in Dakar.

Chinese construction machinery is popular in Africa. In recent years, as China-Africa economic and trade cooperation continues to deepen, domestic high-performance engineering machinery and basic equipment companies have accelerated their overseas expansion. Behind the steady progress of "super" projects such as the Alamein New City ultra-high complex project in Egypt, the East-West Highway in Algeria, and the Swak Dam in Kenya are inseparable from Chinese engineering machinery such as Sany Heavy Industry, Zoomlion, and Hunan Iron and Steel. Supported by the excellent products produced by the company. Cost-effectiveness and applicability are the outstanding advantages of Chinese construction machinery products in Africa. On the one hand, Chinese machinery has reasonable prices, stable performance, simple operation, and convenient maintenance. On the other hand, Chinese construction machinery companies provide customized products for Africa's hot weather, complex terrain, and special scenes, improving construction efficiency and winning the African market with their strong strength and good reputation.

Chinese agricultural machinery participates in ensuring food security in Africa. In Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, rice is the main local food crop. However, the local traditional agricultural technology is backward, the management level of rice fields is low, the ability to resist disasters is poor, the rice yield is not ideal, and farmers are not very enthusiastic about planting. China-Guinea-Bissau agricultural cooperation has changed the local agricultural development situation and improved the efficiency of agricultural mechanization production. The Chinese Agricultural Group has introduced and applied more than 280 sets of agricultural machinery, including tractors, rice harvesters, rice direct-seeding machines, and water pump units, which have significantly improved the quality and efficiency of local agricultural operations. In addition, the China Agriculture Group also provides free agricultural machinery to local farmers and organizes free teaching on machine operation and maintenance. With the guidance and help of Chinese experts, local rice production has increased, which has alleviated local food security problems to a certain extent.

"Made in China" has entered thousands of households in Africa. Chinese private enterprises are actively going overseas under the opportunity of jointly building the "Belt and Road", and various types of home appliances, electronic products, clothes, shoes and hats are selling well on the African continent. The rise of cross-border e-commerce and online live broadcasting has further broadened sales channels for enterprises. The continuous improvement of transportation infrastructure such as ports in African countries has enhanced the resilience of the supply chain of Chinese goods exported to Africa and provided opportunities for more Chinese products to better benefit the lives of African people. possible. Chinese individual traders also come to Africa to look for business opportunities. There are several Chinese small commodity shops lined up on both sides of General Charles de Gaulle Avenue in downtown Dakar. They purchase goods from Yiwu, Zhejiang, and attract many customers with their novel product styles and cheap prices.

Under the new situation of increasingly fierce competition, "Made in China" goes global and welcomes new opportunities, but it also faces new problems and new challenges. To consolidate existing advantages, the China-Africa cooperation model needs to be further innovated and find a more diversified and A sustainable new path.

First, support African countries in advancing their industrialization process. At the 2024 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, many scholars in the field of African economics said that unlike the past, which was content with exporting raw materials, the African continent is currently seeking to achieve commodity-led industrialization. During the 15th BRICS leaders’ meeting, China released the Initiative to Support African Industrialization, expressing its willingness to support Africa in developing its manufacturing industry, strengthen knowledge sharing and technology transfer with Africa, and allocate relevant cooperation resources to support African industrialization projects. , work with African countries to promote the construction of a regional central demonstration park with characteristics, products, and policy guarantees, promote the landing of "Made in China" production lines in Africa, make good use of high-quality resources and preferential policies, so that Chinese manufacturing can better take root in Africa and serve the African people. .

Secondly, help African countries strengthen the construction of international trade infrastructure, especially the construction of transportation infrastructure such as ports and railways that are important for smoothing the China-Africa commodity supply chain, so as to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks. Currently, African countries generally have imperfect land transportation networks and maritime logistics hubs, making it difficult to meet the growing logistics demand. Chinese infrastructure companies may consider focusing on the construction and expansion of ports in African coastal countries and road and railway projects in landlocked African countries, and increase investment and construction in the above areas.

Thirdly, pay attention to the development trends of new business forms and models such as clean energy and digital economy in Africa. For example, in the field of clean energy, the "Africa Energy Outlook 2022" report released by the International Energy Agency shows that Africa is rich in renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro energy. The International Renewable Energy Agency believes that by 2030, Africa can meet nearly a quarter of its energy needs through the use of clean renewable energy. At present, many African governments such as South Africa and Zambia are actively developing and utilizing renewable energy. Chinese companies should pay attention to investment and business opportunities in this field to drive the export of China's new energy machinery and equipment.

Finally, actively tap the export growth potential of “Made in China” products. According to statistics from the "Africa Yellow Book: African Development Report No. 25 (2022-2023)" jointly released by the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the China Institute of African Studies and the Social Sciences Literature Press, on the one hand, the sales of Chinese manufactured products in major African countries There is a big difference in market share. China's mechanical and electrical products have a high market share in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while their market shares in Morocco and Tunisia are relatively low. China's non-mechanical and electrical products have a relatively high market share in Nigeria and Tanzania, but they have a relatively high market share in Morocco, Morocco and Tunisia. Algeria's market share is relatively low. On the other hand, in less developed countries such as Somalia and Burkina Faso, the export value of Chinese manufactured products is relatively low. In this regard, Chinese companies should, while maintaining dominant market shares in major African countries, conduct in-depth research and assessment of the consumer demand in small African countries and fully explore their consumption potential.