5th China-Africa Enterprises Convention holds 8 - 12 June 2019

By Andrea Ayemoba

The China-Africa Enterprises Convention, which will be held from June 8 to 12, 2019 in Shanghai, China, is an opportunity for African companies to trade and establish strategic partnerships with Chinese companies, to learn from Chinese companies experience and find investment opportunities with Chinese and African investors.
The event, which is in its 5th edition, is organized by Reliconn (a Shanghai-based consulting firm), with the support of the Organizing Committee of the China International Consumer Goods Fair (CICGF), which is one of the of the 4 biggest fairs of China.

This event is organized in a context where our African companies need tools, technologies and finance to support inclusive growth in Africa and play their role as a driver of that growth. It is also in this context that the organizers give us the reasons for holding this meeting: “The private sector currently contributes more than 60% to China’s GDP growth and generates more than half of the country’s tax revenues. said Gao Yunlong, head of the National Federation of Industry and Trade. Unfortunately, the private sector is far from playing this role for the economies of Africa. It is to help African companies to meet this challenge that this meeting was initiated “.

The convention in brief

The event will take place through pre-scheduled individual meetings between African companies and their Chinese partners and investors. It will be held over five days and will also include company, factory and wholesale market visits in Guangzhou and experience sharing, training sessions, visiting the consumer goods fair of Ningbo to soak up the latest technology products, an opening ceremony and many other activities. Apart from African companies, African countries will have the opportunity to promote their economic potential through exhibition booths to Chinese investors and companies. The meeting will also mark the presence of Chinese and African political leaders to encourage African and Chinese companies in their efforts to cooperate.

Why participate?

According to the organizers, participating in this event will help you to:
1. Meet up to 20 potential business partners;
2. Establish long-term business relationships with your potential partners;
3. Learn from the experience of Chinese SMEs and benefit from technology transfer;
4. Find potential investors and be inspired by Chinese trainers.
5- Expand its professional network in China and Africa.

Details on Sino-African trade and investment relations visit the website

For the ninth consecutive year, the Middle Kingdom is Africa’s largest trading partner. The volume of trade between China and Africa is constantly increasing. It reached 170 billion dollars in 2017 According to the McKinsey Africa report published in June 2017, on these figures, China imported from Africa for 75.26 billion dollars of products, an increase of 32.8%. At the same time, China’s investment in Africa has exceeded 100 billion dollars, a hundred times more than in 2000.

Cooperation between China and Africa in trade and investment facilitation is actively pursued in a range of specific areas, showing a booming landscape. From energy to light and heavy machinery, to food, textiles and manufactured products. This cooperation has resulted in fruitful results and a bright future ahead of it.