This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Over the past 25 years, under the leadership of the heads of State diplomacy between China and Africa, Sino-African relations have continued to deepen, economic and trade cooperation has become increasingly close, and the depth and breadth of cooperation have been constantly expanded.

This has made important contributions to comprehensively promoting Africa's economic growth and supporting the continent's modernization.

Over the past 25 years, China-Africa trade has achieved transformative growth, with total import and export volume soaring from $10.6 billion in 2000 to $295.6 billion in 2024 — an increase of nearly 27-fold. China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years.

An IMF report noted that since China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, its role in global trade has expanded significantly, while its trade ties with Africa have strengthened at a comparable, if not faster pace, making China the continent's top trading partner.

According to the IMF report data, as of 2022, Africa's exports to China accounted for approximately 13 percent of its total exports — a 10-percentage-point increase from the 3 percent share recorded in 2000.

This stands in sharp contrast to the Western-dominated export landscape that characterized Africa in the 1990s. In terms of scale, China's imports from Africa grew from $5.56 billion in 2000 to $116.8 billion in 2024. China has now become the second largest destination for African agricultural exports, with imports of agricultural products from the continent rising from $190 million in 2000 to $5.3 billion in 2024.

Under the framework of FOCAC, China has established a green channel to facilitate the export of African agricultural products to China by streamlining inspection and quarantine procedures. As a result, a growing number of distinctive African agricultural products have gained market access and entered China's consumer market.

Meanwhile, China has continuously expanded the list of tariff-free items for products imported from least developed countries in Africa. At the 2024 FOCAC Summit in Beijing, China announced that it would extend zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of tariff lines for products originating from LDCs.

Furthermore, in June 2025, China expressed its willingness to negotiate and sign a Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development through which it would grant zero-tariff access for 100 percent of tariff lines to all 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China.

These measures further demonstrate China's commitment to widening market access for African nations, encouraging them to share the benefits of China's vast consumer market, and creating more market opportunities for African agriculture and other industries.

Since the establishment of FOCAC, Africa has become an emerging destination for Chinese outward investment. In 2003, China's investment flow to Africa was merely $800 million. Since then, it has grown steadily and stabilized in recent years within the range of $2-4 billion annually, reaching $3.96 billion in 2023. By the end of 2023, the cumulative stock of Chinese investment in Africa stood at $42.11 billion.

According to the IMF, Chinese investment plays an increasingly important role in Africa. In recent years, it has accounted for between 6 percent and 12 percent of the total foreign direct investment flows into the continent, making China the fourth largest source of investment in Africa.

The IMF report also highlights that China's investment in Africa has gradually expanded beyond the early focus on mining to include manufacturing, with a growing emphasis on local employment and technology transfer.

Over the past two decades, Chinese investment in Africa has continued to grow, leading to the establishment of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones such as Egypt's TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone and Nigeria's Lekki Free Trade Zone.

These zones have attracted numerous enterprises, formed industrial clusters and facilitated the development of local supply chains, generating substantial employment, tax revenue and foreign exchange earnings for host countries.

China's investment in Africa has also become increasingly diversified, extending from labor-intensive industries such as building materials, textiles and home appliances to more technology-intensive sectors including automotive, mobile devices, new energy and pharmaceuticals. This evolution has played a significant role in promoting industrialization, economic diversification and industrial upgrading across the continent.

Inadequate infrastructure remains a major bottleneck to economic development in Africa, and China has emerged as a key financier and active participant in addressing this gap. As noted in the IMF report, China's contributions to African infrastructure development are widely recognized. Between 2012 and 2022, the total value of contracted projects signed by Chinese companies in Africa exceeded $700 billion, with completed turnover surpassing $400 billion.

Utilizing various funding sources, Chinese enterprises have constructed more than 6,000 kilometers of railways, over 6,000 km of highways, nearly 20 ports and more than 80 major power facilities across the continent.

Notable projects include the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya, the National Road N1 in the Republic of the Congo, the Kribi Deep Seaport in Cameroon and the Addis Ababa Light Rail in Ethiopia. These initiatives have helped alleviate critical development constraints, improved conditions for investment and people's livelihoods, and contributed significantly to enhancing connectivity and regional integration in Africa.

In response to recent tightening financing conditions in Africa, Chinese companies have actively explored new cooperation models such as Build-Operate-Transfer, Public-Private Partnerships and multi-stakeholder international collaborations. By engaging in the operation and management of infrastructure projects, these approaches help reduce debt pressure on African governments and promote sustainable project development.

Furthermore, China has balanced the implementation of large signature projects with small yet impactful initiatives, including borehole water supply systems, rural primary schools, hospitals and low-cost housing. These socially oriented infrastructure programs have played a vital role in improving living standards and fostering inclusive development in local communities.

According to the IMF report, under the framework of FOCAC, China has placed increasing emphasis on collaborating with Africa in emerging areas such as green development and digitalization. Multiple related cooperation initiatives were put forward under the 10 partnership actions announced at the FOCAC Summit.

In the field of green development, China has actively supported Africa in enhancing its green, low-carbon and sustainable development capabilities. It has helped train African professionals in environmental management, pollution prevention and green economy, while also supporting the construction of various clean power projects — including solar, wind, small-scale hydropower and geothermal energy — across the continent.

China has provided related products and technical assistance to facilitate Africa's green transition. Additionally, China has strengthened exchanges and cooperation with Africa in climate change response, marine cooperation, desertification control, and disaster prevention and mitigation.

It supports the "Great Green Wall of Africa" initiative and has established low-carbon demonstration zones and climate change adaptation pilot areas in Africa, helping the continent tackle the impact of climate change and build climate resilience into its economic growth.

Regarding digital development, China has actively responded to Africa's demand for digital economic growth. On one hand, it supports the development of digital infrastructure in Africa, assisting in the upgrading of mobile broadband networks, promoting the deployment of 5G and helping African countries build data centers.

Cooperation has also been enhanced in satellite remote sensing, including through the establishment of a China-Africa Satellite Remote Sensing Application Cooperation Center. On the other hand, China is facilitating digital application in Africa by expanding collaboration in e-commerce, mobile payments, smart cities and artificial intelligence.

Joint efforts such as a China-Africa digital technology cooperation center are helping bridge the digital and intelligent development divide, enabling Africa to embrace opportunities of the new technological revolution and injecting technological momentum into its economic development.

The writer is director of the institute for West-Asian and African studies under the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.