In the first half of the year, China's imports from Africa increased by 14% year-on-year, and the amount of imported agricultural products has been increasing for seven consecutive years. The 2024 Forum on China Africa Cooperation Summit will be held in Beijing from September 4th to 6th. At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the economic, trade, and development cooperation related to the 2024 Forum on China Africa Cooperation Summit, Assistant Minister of Commerce Tang Wenhong stated that in the first half of 2024, China imported $60.1 billion from Africa, a significant increase of 14% year-on-year. China attaches great importance to promoting the export of high-quality African specialty products to China, and the amount of imported agricultural products from Africa has achieved positive growth for seven consecutive years. In recent years, the scale of China Africa trade has repeatedly reached new highs. In 2023, the trade volume between China and Africa reached 282.1 billion US dollars, an increase of nearly 11% compared to 2021. The year-on-year growth rate of trade volume between China and nearly half of African countries exceeded double digits, reflecting the strong resilience and sufficient vitality of China Africa trade. As of the end of 2023, China's stock of direct investment in Africa exceeds 40 billion US dollars, making it one of the main sources of foreign investment in Africa. The cooperation in infrastructure between China and Africa has achieved significant results. Africa is the second largest overseas contracted engineering market for China. Over the past 10 years, Chinese companies have signed contracts worth more than 700 billion US dollars and achieved a turnover of over 400 billion US dollars in Africa. (New Society)