Bumper US$3 billion trade boost in Hunan bid to become China-Africa hub

Private companies lead the charge as the central Chinese province reports a record 90.4 per cent trading increase with the continent

Hunan was first to embrace Xi Jinping’s proposal for provincial ‘green lanes’ with African countries

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Hunan’s agricultural imports from Africa have increased 16-fold in 2023 as the province in central China buys more products from the continent, including avocados from Kenya. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:00am, 27 May 2023

Efforts by Hunan province to position itself as a hub for China-Africa trade are bearing fruit, with a record 90.4 per cent trading increase to US$3.14 billion in the first four months of 2023 on the same period last year.

Private enterprises are driving the boost, with 1,471 companies accounting for 20 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) – more than 90 per cent of Hunan’s African trade total – over the period, according to Changsha Customs data.

The number of Hunan companies trading with Africa so far this year is also on the rise, increasing by 18 per cent to 1,558 compared to the first four months of last year.

While Hunan’s trade with Africa is only 3.4 per cent of the Chinese total, the province’s results stem from a range of initiatives intended to grow its trading links with African countries.

The landlocked province in central China was the first to establish the “green lanes” to boost agricultural imports from Africa, proposed by President Xi Jinping at the 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Dakar, Senegal.

These included an easing of import-export rules with African countries, the establishment of a currency clearing hub and trade deals with agricultural producers in Africa.