The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6. As the Belt and Road cooperation has been advancing with solid results, Suzhou has established closer trade ties with African countries, expanding cooperation in such areas as infrastructure construction and import of coffee beans. Statistics show that from January to July this year, Suzhou’s foreign trade with Africa reached 22.71 billion yuan, an increase of 14.1% year-on-year.
The steel structures used in the ongoing reconstruction and expansion project of Entebbe International Airport in Uganda are from the Suzhou-based Jiangsu Dunbon Steel Structure Engineering Co., Ltd. The company provides high-quality steel structures which, being stable, robust and durable for the dry, windy and hot environment in Africa, are widely used in the construction of public facilities such as airports and industrial parks in African countries. Dunbon started its business in Africa 10 years ago and now 90% of its overseas orders are from African countries. In the first 8 months of this year, the company’s exports to Africa totaled more than 42 million yuan.
At the Asia-Pacific Raw Coffee Beans Distribution Center in Kunshan of Suzhou, green coffee beans from Africa are continually being sent into the warehouses. As the first company of the distribution center, Kunshan Yiguo International Trade Co., Ltd. has imported more than 800 tons of raw coffee beans from African countries such as Ethiopia and Uganda over the past three years. Statistics show that in the January-July period this year, Kunshan imported African coffee beans valued at 100 million yuan, seeing a year-on-year increase of 14.5%.
