AsmoreandmoreAfricancountrieshavereachedagreementswithChinatojointlypromotetheBeltandRoadInitiative,anincreasingnumberofcooperationprojectsaresteadilyadvancingandexpanding.China-Africacooperationinthenewera.ThisnotonlyinjectsnewimpetusintoAfrica鈥檚futuredevelopment,butalsoexpandspossibilitiesforclosecoordinationbetweentheBeltandRoadInitiativeandtheAfricanUnion鈥檚Agenda2063.
ETHIOPIA&DJIBOUTI
TheAddisAbabaLightRail,whichopenedtotrafficinthesecondhalfof2015,isthefirstmodernurbanlightrailroadinEastAfrica.Italleviatestrafficcongestion,enablesresidentstotravelmoreefficientlyandenrichesthecity鈥檚function,makingtherailanational鈥渃allingcard鈥漮fEthiopia.TheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayisthefirstelectricrailwayinAfrica.ItwasconstructedaccordingtoChinesestandardsanddesign,usingChinesefunding,equipmentandengineeringsupervision.Ithasbeenpraisedasa鈥渢ransportationlifeline鈥漜onnectingEthiopiaandDjibouti.Therailwayhasatotallengthof752.7kilometers,andthedesignedspeedforpassengertransportisupto120kilometersperhour.WithatotalinvestmentofaboutUS$4billion,therailwaybeganoperationinOctober2016.
NIGERIA
TheAbuja-KadunaRailwayspans186.5kilometers,withninestationsalongtherouteandamaximumdesignedspeedof150kilometersperhour.TherailwaystartedoperationinJuly2016.ItisthefirstmodernrailwayinAfricatobefinancedbypreferentialloansfromtheExport-ImportBankofChinaandbuiltaccordingtothetechnicalstandardsoftheChineserailway.
KENYA
TheMombasa-NairobiStandardGaugeRailwayhasopenedtotrafficsinceJune2017andlinksMombasa,thelargestportinEastAfrica,toNairobi,capitalofKenya.Withatotallengthof480kilometers,itwasthefirstoverseasrailwaybuiltbyChinathatadoptedcomprehensiveChinesestandards,aswellasademonstrationprojectundertheBeltandRoadInitiativeinAfrica.
UGANDA
TheEntebbe-KampalaExpresswayopenedtotrafficinJune2018asthefirsttollexpresswayinUganda,whichwasdesignedandconstructedaccordingtoChinesestandards.
EGYPT
TheEgyptianEETC500KVTransmissionLineprojectwasthefirstprojectunderaChina-Egyptindustrialcapacityagreement.ItisalsoEgypt鈥檚largestandhighest-voltageelectricitytransmissionlineproject.ConstructionoftheprojectstartedinFebruary2017andcontinuestoday.
SOUTHAFRICA
ChinahasbeenthebiggesttradingpartnerandmajorsourceofforeigninvestmentandtouristsforSouthAfricafornineconsecutiveyears,whileSouthAfricaisthelargestAfricantradingpartnerofChina.Chinahasinvestedinandcooperatedwithover100SouthAfricancompanieswithcumulativedirectinvestmentsexceedingUS$15billion.
In2017,ChinainvestednearlyUS$1.83billioninSouthAfricaandbilateraltradingvolumereachedUS$39billion.China-fundedenterpriseshavecreatedover100,000jobsinSouthAfricainsectorslikemining,steel,cement,automobilesandhouseholdappliances.TheJohannesburgbranchoftheBankofChinaisthefirstChina-fundedfinancialinstitutiontosettleinSouthAfrica.
OnMay28,the2018China-SouthAfricaSpecialEconomicZone(SEZ)InvestmentRoadshowwasheldinShanghai.AsaplatformdesignedtohelpChineseenterprisesinvestinSouthAfrica,itfurtherpromotedmutualinvestmentandbusinesscooperationbetweenChinaandSouthAfrica.
SENEGAL
SenegalwasthefirstWestAfricancountrytosignaBeltandRoadcooperationdocumentwithChina.Bothnationswillstrengthencommunicationandcooperationinfieldslikeinfrastructure,waterconservancy,industrialization,agriculturalproductprocessing,tourism,cultureandsports.
Chinahaspledged884.9billionFCFAforthePlanSenegalEmergent,becomingthebiggestfundingsourcefortheplan.
RWANDA
ChinaisoneofRwanda鈥檚largestsourcesofdirectforeigninvestment.Overthepast12years,Chinahasinvestedin61projectsinRwanda,involvingoverUS$400million,ofwhichUS$352.6millionaredirectinvestments.
FromJuly22to23,2018,ChinesePresidentXiJinpingsigned15bilateralagreementsduringhisstatevisittoRwanda,includinganagreementonvisa-freeaccessfordiplomaticpassports,cooperationagreementsundertheBeltandRoadInitiativeandacooperationagreementone-commerce.ChinaandRwandaalsoagreedtoconductjointgeologicalexplorationandcarryoutaseriesofinfrastructureconstructionprojects.