【CONTENTS】
I. Bank of China plays important role in strengthening Sino-African relations
II. (FOCAC) China-Africa economic, trade cooperation to maintain strong momentum: official
III. (FOCAC) China has signed tax treaties with 21 African countries
IV. China, Mauritius sign currency swap agreement
V. China, Cambodia continue cooperation under LMC special fund
VI. Malaysia-China business matching event held
VII. Interview: Saudi gov't agency head eyes direct cooperation with China
I. Bank of China plays important role in strengthening Sino-African relations
The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, taking place from Wednesday to Friday in Beijing, has drawn global attention to the growing friendship and cooperation between China and Africa. As the first domestic commercial bank to enter the African market, Bank of China is a witness, participant, promoter and beneficiary of that cooperation.
Currently, BOC has established branches or offices in eight African countries. Leveraging its advantages in globalization and competitiveness, the bank has pledged to support the upgrading of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and empower high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation in the new era.
In 2023, the trade value between China and Africa reached a historical peak of $282.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.5 percent, while the trade volume between China and nearly half of the African countries saw a double-digit growth rate. The economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa continues to strengthen, helping to leverage their respective advantages and vast markets for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
More than 30 large-scale State-owned Chinese enterprises and nearly 300 large-scale private Chinese enterprises in Angola faced difficulties in cross-border capital flows for years. Upon understanding their situation, BOC's Luanda branch carefully assessed the needs of the Chinese enterprises, established trading channels on Bloomberg's trading platform FXGO and improved the infrastructure of the foreign exchange market.
While participating in local foreign exchange market transactions and supporting the anti-money laundering campaign, BOC provides proxy foreign exchange trading and cross-border remittance services for Chinese companies investing overseas. Since 2020, the BOC's Luanda branch has helped a group of Chinese enterprises in Angola acquire more than $500 million in foreign currency, which has removed the barrier to cross-border capital flows.
In Zambia, a country with rich copper resources, BOC provided $150 million in credit support for the first phase of China Nonferrous Metal Mining's Kambove Copper Wet Smelting Project to support construction of the project with a seven-year term. The project is now in operation. And with a production capacity of 28,000 metric tons of cathode copper, it is driving economic and social development in Kambove and surrounding areas and is increasing the supply of local fiscal revenue and supporting national strategic resource.
(2024-09-05 Source: China Daily)
II. (FOCAC) China-Africa economic, trade cooperation to maintain strong momentum: official
BEIJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- China and African countries are destined to be good friends, good brothers and good partners, and their economic and trade cooperation has broad opportunities and immense potential, said an official Tuesday ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
"China-Africa economic and trade cooperation will continue to maintain strong momentum. Over the past three years, Chinese companies have created more than 1.1 million jobs in Africa," said Lin Honghong, director of the Department of International Relations of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
Lin made the remarks at a press briefing of the FOCAC summit, which will be convened from Wednesday to Friday.
During the briefing, Zhang Shaogang, deputy director of the CCPIT, said the eighth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs will be held on Friday in Beijing. It will focus on promoting the integration of industrial and supply chains and driving the development of emerging industries.
China is acountry with a complete range of industrial sectors, while Africa is the continent with the largest number of developing countries. China and Africa's industrial and supply chains complement each other strongly, offering vast opportunities for cooperation, according to Zhang.
"China is accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, while Africa is actively exploring paths toward modernization and self-reliant development. The potential for China-Africa cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy, green development and artificial intelligence is immense," Zhang noted.
(2024-09-04 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
III.(FOCAC) China has signed tax treaties with 21 African countries
BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- China has signed tax treaties with 21 African countries to date, an official with the State Taxation Administration (STA) said on Monday, adding that Chinese tax authorities are seeking to deepen international taxation cooperation with African countries.
Meng Yuying, head of the International Taxation Department of the STA, made the remarks at a press conference of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Meng said the African countries that have signed tax treaties with China include basically those with significant direct investment stock with China.
Tax treaties provide an important international legal basis for cross-border investment and business, Meng said, adding that they can prevent double taxation scenarios, provide tax certainty and facilitate the settlement of tax disputes.
"They are conducive to creating a fair, healthy and mutually beneficial international tax and business environment, and to promoting cross-border investment and the exchange of technology and personnel," she said.
Meng noted that the Belt and Road tax collection and management cooperation mechanism was established during the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019, and that many African countries have joined in its construction.
She said that the mechanism has provided a platform for African countries to engage in international exchange, and that its many training programs have helped improve tax collection and management capabilities in the African countries involved.
(2024-09-03 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
IV. China, Mauritius sign currency swap agreement
BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, has signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Bank of Mauritius, the PBOC said on Wednesday.
The total value of the agreement is 2 billion yuan (about 281.1 million U.S. dollars), or 13 billion Mauritian rupees, the PBOC said in a statement on its website.
The agreement is valid for three years and can be renewed upon mutual consent, according to the statement.
The currency swap arrangement will strengthen financial cooperation between China and Mauritius, expand the use of the two currencies, and promote and facilitate bilateral trade and investment, the statement said.
(2024-09-05 Source:Xinhua News Agency)
V. China, Cambodia continue cooperation under LMC special fund
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China and Cambodia on Thursday agreed to continue cooperation under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Special Fund.
Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea attended the signing ceremony of an agreement over such cooperation in the capital Phnom Penh.
Speaking at the event, Wang said Cambodia has always been a major participant and promoter of the LMC, and the two countries have achieved fruitful results in the LMC cooperation.
The ambassador said China was willing to work with Cambodia to implement LMC projects, thus contributing to Cambodia's economic and social development.
Chenda Sophea said the LMC Special Fund has played an important role in helping develop LMC countries.
He said that a total of 97 projects have been implemented in Cambodia under the China-proposed LMC Special Fund.
LMC countries include China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
(2024-09-06 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
VI. Malaysia-China business matching event held
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China Construction Bank kicked off the 6th Malaysia-China B2B Business Matching Session here on Thursday, a key event ahead of the upcoming 21st China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO).
The two-day session will attract over 291 enterprises, including 116 Malaysian and 175 Chinese companies, participating in 403 business meetings.
It will cover a wide range of sectors such as healthcare and wellness, lifestyle, food and beverages, agriculture produce and services.
Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing said that the yearly Malaysia-China B2B Business Matching event highlighted shared development opportunities and mutual benefits for enterprises from both countries.
"I hope that the business communities of China and Malaysia will seize development opportunities and inject new momentum into China-Malaysia economic and trade cooperation and the development of bilateral relations," he added.
(2024-09-06 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
VII. Interview: Saudi gov't agency head eyes direct cooperation with China
RIYADH, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), a Saudi Arabian government agency financing projects in developing countries, welcomes the opportunity to cooperate with China in the future, the agency's head has said.
"Currently, we are cooperating with China through the Asian Development Bank. However, we would like to work jointly with China to expand our projects in any continent," said Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb, chairman of the Board of Directors of the SFD, who noted that his agency has been interacting with China since 2003.
Developing infrastructure, such as airports, roads, schools and healthcare facilities, in developing countries is critical, and "China has been contributing heavily to these sectors," Al-Khateeb told Xinhua in a recent interview on the sidelines of the SFD's 50th-anniversary celebration held in Riyadh.
"We would be happy to work with China in these areas in the future," he said.
Al-Khateeb highlighted China's significant contributions to Africa's development, noting his agency has noticed Chinese-funded projects on the continent, such as roads, railways, electricity, and bridges.
"We look at the projects provided by China as complementary projects," he said.
"We will continue to share information and learn from each other when it comes to development," he added, voicing readiness to promote experience exchanges between his agency and China.
Al-Khateeb also stressed the importance of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China at the national level.
The two countries can create more significant outcomes when working together, given their expertise and increasing global influence, he said.
Since its establishment 50 years ago, the SFD has funded over 800 projects in more than 100 countries, totaling over 20 billion U.S. dollars, according to Al-Khateeb.
Regarding the SFD's future plan, Al-Khateeb said apart from traditional infrastructure projects, his agency will put more focus on addressing food security and climate change.
(2024-09-05 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
