Jinhua in East China's Zhejiang province has over the past two decades made significant progress in promoting cooperation with African countries.
Specifically, Jinhua's foreign trade to Africa in 2022 was worth 98.7 billion yuan ($14.29 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.2, according to statistics from Jinhua Customs.
Exports were valued at 87.94 billion yuan, eight percent of the national total.
One of the reasons behind the increase is the implementation of a series of measures rolled out by authorities to bolster foreign trade, including creating new foreign trade models such as cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehousing and exhibitions.
Authorities provided 10 service offerings, including law services and policy counseling, to help foreign businesses deal with difficulties.
Jinhua also hosted the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in November 2022, which drove more local businesses to make investments in African countries. About 30,000 now operate in Africa.
Jinhua also released a 10-episode documentary last November in more than 20 African countries including Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya, which provided a glimpse into the city's history, culture, and customs.
In addition, the Institute of African Studies of Zhejiang Normal University based in Jinhua has been playing a significant role in strengthening cultural and educational exchanges between Jinhua and African countries.
The university has established cooperative ties with four African universities like the University of Western Cape to set up Confucius Institutes, and has dispatched hundreds of Chinese teachers to the countries.
