FOCAC a platform for fruitful cooperation

Through joint efforts under the frameworks of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the China International Import Expo and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, China and Africa have made continuous and solid progress in fields such as industry, agriculture and health, epitomizing the unique resilience and vitality of African countries and their relations with China.

In 2018, Shanghai Greechain Information Science and Technology Ltd introduced Kenyan avocados at the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai, where the fruit drew a lot of attention. Shortly after, a trade delegation led by Kenya's president signed an agreement with Greechain to export Kenyan agricultural products to China. The whole process was beset with difficulties and it took the company more than half a year to negotiate tariff reductions with Chinese customs, finally getting the tariff reduced from 30 percent to 7 percent. Quarantine was another bottleneck the two sides cleared.

Thus, at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November 2021, China announced the establishment of a "green channel" which would allow African countries to export agricultural products to China.

In August 2022, the first shipment of fresh avocados from Kenya was dispatched to China. Today, China accounts for nearly 30 percent of Kenya's avocado exports and the fruitful trade has increased Kenya's foreign exchange earnings and benefited the country's farmers.

China is now the second-largest market for African agricultural exports and Kenya the largest exporter of avocados on the continent. Also, China is determined to cultivate new markets linking China and African countries, especially in agriculture.

Shortly after the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in 2023, Benin's President Patrice Talon paid a visit to China, during which he secured a new agreement granting permission to export the West African country's fresh pineapples to China.

Beninese pineapple was the second African fruit to benefit from the "green channel" proposed in FOCAC 2021. The Benin Sugar Loaf variety made its debut through the 6th China International Import Expo and was majestically welcomed by Chinese consumers since it has almost no acidity in comparison with Asian pineapples.

In 2023, as per Ministry of Commerce data, China's fruit imports amounted to $16.85 billion, up 15 percent year-on-year. African countries have been benefiting from Chinese customers' growing appetite for fruits.

Mauritian Victoria pineapples, benefiting from a zero tax through the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement, might make its debut at the forthcoming 7th China International Import Expo if facilitated by the "green channel" proposed at the 8th FOCAC meeting in 2021. This will further show China's commitment to boosting fruitful cooperation with African nations.

With Chinese consumers having a preference for fresh fruits, Mauritius as well as other African countries can increase the production of value-added products such as syrups and powders, which are used in China's popular bubble tea. This can create an opportunity for Chinese investors to invest in the production of pineapples from Mauritius to other countries that have free trade agreements with Mauritius.

As leaders from China and African countries gathered in Beijing for the FOCAC Summit, the event will chart the course for fruitful cooperation among China and African countries, which will improve the well-being of the people in Africa, home to the world's largest number of developing countries.

The author is former economic and commercial counselor at the embassy of Mauritius in Beijing and former China chief representative at the Mauritius Economic Development Board Representative Office in Shanghai.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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