African Union envoy calls for shared value chains

China’s policy of allowing goods from 53 African countries to be imported tariff-free will not only help expand African exports but also advance the continent’s industrialisation and build shared value chains with China, the African Union’s top envoy in Beijing says.

“We don’t just want to be exporting fruits and vegetables to China, much as that is extremely important,” said Alhaji Mohamed Sarjoh Bah, the AU’s permanent representative to China. “We also want to use this as an opportunity for us to industrialise.”

His appeal comes as China and African countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and observe the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.

The partnership, rooted in decades of solidarity and mutual respect, has developed into a dynamic relationship marked by expanding practical collaboration, Bah said.

Since May 1 China has provided zero-tariff access to products from all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, becoming the first major economy to do so.

Bah described China as “one of the most lucrative markets in the world today”, saying its consumer market of more than 1.4 billion people and with a sizable middle-income group, more than 400 million according to official figures, offers significant opportunities for African exporters.

China imported goods worth 193.8 billion yuan ($28.85 billion) from Africa in May and June, 23.5 per cent more than in the corresponding period last year, China’s Foreign Ministry said. African dried chilli peppers, coffee beans, cashews and wild aquatic products have also secured region-wide market access in China.

The policy could also create opportunities for greater Chinese investment in Africa’s energy, technology, connectivity, infrastructure and agriculture and help African countries process more of their resources locally, Bah said.

Citing lithium as an example, he described a value chain in which some processing takes place in Africa and the rest in China, with the resulting products serving the wider global market. Such an arrangement, he said, would be “mutually reinforcing”.

The media could help Chinese audiences better understand Africa as an investment destination and become more familiar with African products, Bah said.

Caption: Workers sort oranges from Egypt and grapefruits from South Africa at a designated fruit import port in Tongling, Anhui province. CHEN LEI / FOR CHINA DAILY