Africa has a large population but a small share of global trade and GDP. To this end, the African Union co-signed Agenda 2063. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement(ACFTA) is one of the "Agenda 2063" projects. The Free Trade Agreement has been approved by 54 African countries and will be implemented on January 1, 2021. The full implementation of free trade agreements is expected to increase the share of intra-African trade from 13 per cent to around 52 per cent.
However, infrastructure gaps in roads and ports in Africa are a major challenge hindering the implementation of the African Free Trade Area. The African Development Bank estimates that the continent needs between $130 billion and $170 billion a year for infrastructure development, with a financing gap of between $68 billion and $108 billion. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is playing a growing role in addressing Africa's infrastructure gap.
In Nigeria, at the beginning of 2023, the largest deep-water port in West Africa, the Port of Lekki in Nigeria, built by a Chinese enterprise, was officially opened for operation. The opening of the Lekki Port has effectively improved Nigeria's cargo pressure, accelerated the speed of port cargo operation, and increased port throughput, which is expected to create an overall economic benefit of nearly US$360 billion and 170,000 jobs.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the African-Union Center for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters construct by china is the first African Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the African continent with modern office and experimental conditions and complete facilities. which is of great significance for improving the speed of disease prevention, surveillance and emergency response to epidemics in Africa.
In Angola, the completion of the Cabinda water supply project, undertaken by China Railway Construction Co., Ltd., has helped solve the water problem and provided many villagers with tap water for the first time.
In Zambia, China's first overseas economic and trade cooperation zone in Africa, the Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, has attracted nearly 100 enterprises to settle down, with an investment of more than US$2.5 billion, creating more than 10,000 local jobs, and continuously promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation to a new level.
As of June 2023, 52 African countries and the African Union have signed cooperation documents on the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" with China，making Africa one of the most important continents to participate in the “Belt and Road”Initiative. China-Africa cooperation on the “Belt and Road” Initiative has benefited people's livelihood, promoted development and popularized the people's minds, and pushed China-Africa relations to a new level. | 