China's open market policy recipe for intl trade order: Experts

For Richard Karugarama Lebero, a trade and investment policy expert based in Kigali, looking at the Chinese expo from an African perspective means China is reemphasizing once again its open trade policy for all countries, despite its trade war with the US.

China has slashed tariffs and announced other measures to boost imports, which rose 15.9 percent in 2017 to 1.8 trillion US dollars.

According to Twinoburyo, trade is a powerful and significant driver of growth and development but for countries to benefit fully, the shared prosperity must be embedded in trade policies.

Africa's widening trade imbalance has seen pressure mount on currencies, eventually feeding into domestic prices.

But Twinoburyo said the reversal and narrowing of trade deficits would offer economic buffers to mitigate the emerging disorder of rising contingent foreign currency liabilities for most African economies.

For Dianne, a Rwandan businesswoman, China's International Import Expo, meant to be an annual or semi-annual event, could benefit Rwanda's export sectors.

Lebero meanwhile observed that the whole idea about protectionism orchestrated by some countries is an old concept that all countries must resist.

The senior university lecturer considers the current trade trend between Africa and China a positive one, though there is still more China and Africa could do.

China hopes to expand commerce by building ports, railways and other infrastructure across 65 countries from the South Pacific through Asia to Europe and Africa under the Belt and Road initiative.

All this, according to Lebero ultimately is going to boost trade between countries, which is a positive for Chinese and other nationals.

He described negative talk of the influx of Chinese goods into Africa as misguided, saying the most important thing is that there is an increasing positive reality between China and Africa that they need to work on together.