Full Text: China's second Africa policy paper
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E-mail Xinhua, December 5, 2015
3. Deepening economic and trade cooperation
(1) Helping boost Africa's industrialization
China will make prioritizing support for Africa's industrialization a key area and a main focus in its cooperation with Africa in the new era. Allowing industrial alignment and capacity cooperation to play a leading role in bringing about overall development will help accelerate the industrialization in Africa, thereby providing a solid foundation for Africa's economic independence as well as self-reliant and sustainable development. In light of their national conditions, development needs and feasible international rules, China will vigorously support the efforts of African countries to improve their "soft" and "hard" environment for investment and development, optimizing laws and regulations on and government services for attracting and protecting foreign investment, and removing the two major bottlenecks impeding development, namely, backward infrastructure and inadequate professional and skilled personnel. Efforts will be made to promote industrial alignment and capacity cooperation between China and African countries in an orderly fashion, with the aim to facilitate Africa's industrialization and economic diversification, and increase the level of production, living standards and employment in African countries. China is supportive of African countries' development of special economic zones, industrial parks and science and technology parks to attract investment and talents. It will guide, encourage and support the efforts of Chinese enterprises to jointly build economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa to serve as important platforms for promoting China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation and attracting more Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa, build production and processing bases and localize their operations in Africa, contribute to the increase of local employment, tax revenue and foreign-exchange income, and promote the transfer of industries and technologies.
While sticking to the values of friendship, justice and shared interests, win-win cooperation, the principles of openness and inclusiveness, and market-based operation, China will give priority to building pilot industrial capacity cooperation demonstration zones in African countries with appropriate conditions. China will work together with chosen African countries to bring into full play their governments' role in guidance, coordination, management and service, increase exchanges of experience in macroeconomic management, and innovate on the cooperation mechanisms in investment protection, finance, taxation, customs, visa, immigration and exchanges of police officers to help African countries enhance capacity building in law enforcement and improve management and services. They will also work in concert to achieve an early harvest in their industrial capacity cooperation, accumulating development and cooperation experience, providing a demonstration effect and playing a leading role in bringing along cooperation with other African countries.
(2) Helping boost Africa's agricultural modernization
China will prioritize support for Africa's agricultural modernization in its cooperation with Africa in the new era, with increased input and expanded cooperation to help African countries resolve the development problem of this basic industry that has a bearing on their national economy and people's livelihoods as well as economic independence. China is willing to share its experience and technology in agricultural development with African countries, and supports their efforts to improve their agricultural technology and techniques to produce and process agricultural, livestock and fishery products. This will help them build an agricultural value chain and increase independent grain production capacity to boost food security, enhance the competitiveness of cotton and other specialty industries in the world, generate more income and improve the livelihood of farmers. China will improve and continue to carry out agricultural technology demonstration projects in Africa, implement the High-Quality and High-Yield Agriculture Demonstration Project, bolster research and development, promotion and extensive use of seeds, send senior agricultural expert teams and agricultural vocational training teacher teams, and expand the scale and effect of training in agricultural management and technology. It will build and improve bilateral mechanisms for agricultural cooperation with Africa, give play to the strengths and roles of each side, and strengthen supervision and evaluation of cooperation projects to increase the quality and level of cooperation. China will encourage and promote China-Africa trade in agricultural products. It will encourage and support Chinese enterprises to engage in crop farming, grain storage, stockbreeding and fishery, and invest in the processing of agricultural products in African countries, helping create more jobs for local people, increase the added value of local products and generate more foreign-exchange income, and boosting Africa's agricultural modernization. China will also help African countries promote irrigation techniques, effectively use water resources, and improve their capacity to prevent floods and combat droughts.
(3) Participating in Africa's infrastructure development across the board
China will encourage and support Chinese enterprises and financial institutions' expanded involvement in infrastructure development in Africa, give full play to the role of policy-based finance, and innovate on investment and financing cooperation models. While sticking to market-oriented operation, as well as the principles of overall cooperation with emphasis on selected areas and a focus on benefits, China will encourage and support the efforts of domestic enterprises to adopt various models to participate in the construction of railways, highways, telecommunications networks, electric power facilities, regional aviation networks, harbors, water works and other infrastructure projects as well as water resources development and protection in Africa. They will also be encouraged and supported to participate in investment, operation and management of these projects. It will encourage bilateral cooperation in the planning and designing, construction, technical standards, supervision, large equipment utilization, and management and operation of the projects.
China stands for pushing forward infrastructure and industrial development in Africa in a coordinated way, with a focus on intensive operation and economies of scale. It will prioritize support for the construction of infrastructure facilities for special economic zones, industrial parks, science and technology parks, etc., to provide favorable conditions for Africa' s industrial development and China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation. It will facilitate cross-border and cross-regional connectivity in infrastructure to help accelerate the process of African integration.
(4) Strengthening China-Africa financial cooperation
China will give full play to financing platforms and tools, which include preferential loans and other means of policy-based finance, the China-Africa Development Fund, special loans for African small and medium-sized enterprises, the Africa Growing Together Fund, China-Africa industrial cooperation fund, and the BRICS' New Development Bank, and seek innovation in its financial cooperation with Africa. It will support the efforts of Chinese financial institutions to increase exchanges and seek co-financing cooperation with their counterparts in African countries and African regional and global financial and development institutions, and support Chinese and African financial institutions in establishing joint-stock banks based on commercial principles. China will strengthen currency cooperation between the central banks of the two sides, discuss with African countries the arrangements for expanding cross-border local currency settlements and currency swaps, and encourage Chinese and African enterprises to settle their trade and investment in local currencies. It will also support reciprocal establishment of financial institutions, and increase support to financing insurance. China will step up coordination and collaboration with African countries in international financial organizations and mechanisms to improve and reform the current international financial system and increase the representation and voice of developing countries.
(5) Promoting the facilitation of China-Africa trade and investment
China will encourage more African commodities to enter the Chinese market and continue to grant zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of taxable items from the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, according to the implementation of exchanged notes by both sides. Both Chinese and African enterprises are encouraged to make the most of harbor advantages to build regional logistics and wholesale centers. China will strengthen quality control of the goods exported to Africa and build more sales channels, reinforce cooperation in inspection and quarantine with African countries, and jointly crack down on counterfeit or substandard import and export goods. China will boost customs cooperation with Africa, increase information exchange, mutual recognition of supervision and mutual assistance with law enforcement, jointly combat commercial fraud and create a law-abiding and convenient trade environment. China will help African countries enhance capacity building in customs, inspection and quarantine, provide support to improve trade facilitation, and help boost trade within Africa. China will continue to support the development of the African Free Trade Zone and regional integration, and discuss the establishment of institutionalized trade arrangements with countries and regional organizations in Africa.
While aligning Africa' s needs with China' s advantages and adhering to the principles of equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, China is committed to improving the quality and efficiency of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, helping Africa speed up its industrialization and agricultural modernization, and encouraging and supporting the efforts of Chinese enterprises to expand and optimize their investment in areas such as industry, agriculture, infrastructure and energy in Africa. It will continue to provide concessional loans and export credit insurance support to qualified projects and moderately increase the concessionality of its concessional loans.
(6) Bolstering resource and energy cooperation
On the basis of the principles of win-win cooperation, green development, low-carbon emissions and sustainable development, China will expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in resources and energies with African countries. It will help African countries strengthen their capabilities in exploration, development and processing of resources and energies, increase the added value of their primary products, create more local jobs, generate more foreign-exchange income, and turn their resource and energy endowment into achievements in sustainable development and benefits that can be shared by African people. China will innovate on the models of resource and energy cooperation with Africa, and expand whole-industry-chain cooperation in energy and mining sectors. It will support the construction of national or regional power grids in Africa, boost cooperation with Africa in the development of renewable energy and low-carbon, green energy such as wind power, solar power and hydropower, and promote rational development and utilization of renewable energy sources in Africa in order to serve Africa' s industrialization.
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