ADDIS ABABA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Officials and business leaders have stressed the significance of the upcoming China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, for African exporters to effectively penetrate the vast Chinese market and to further deepen the Sino-African economic and trade ties.
A high-level promotion event for the 140th Canton Fair was held at the headquarters of the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Tuesday.
Jointly hosted by the China Foreign Trade Center, AU, Chinese Mission to the AU, and the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, the gathering brought together over 600 participants both online and offline.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Canton Fair, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Africa.
According to Zhu Yong, director of the China Foreign Trade Center, this is the first time in the 70-year history of the Canton Fair to enter a regional international organization. This initiative is designed to better align with the AU's Agenda 2063 and to engage more deeply with Africa's continental integration process.
Over the past 70 years, the Canton Fair has served as both a witness to and a driver of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. In the last decade alone, it has attracted 204,000 buyers from 54 African countries, Zhu said.
"With a massive exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters, the 140th Canton Fair will gather over 30,000 enterprises, among which are high-tech, specialized and sophisticated enterprises," Zhu added.
Jiang Feng, head of the Chinese Mission to the AU, highlighted that the total China-Africa trade volume rose remarkably in 2025, reaching 348 billion U.S. dollars with an impressive year-on-year growth of 17.7 percent.
"China is ready to work with Africa to strengthen strategic alignment, deepen practical cooperation, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and jointly build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, contributing to global development and stability," Jiang said.
Moussa Mohamed Omar, deputy chief of staff of the Cabinet of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, said the expanding bilateral economic and trade cooperation has firmly established China's position as Africa's primary global trading partner.
He underscored the importance of further strengthening the ties to actively promote the continent's export diversification efforts in direct alignment with the strategic aspirations of Agenda 2063.
Ron Osman Omar, director for industry, minerals, entrepreneurship and tourism at the AU Commission, highlighted that African entrepreneurs, startups, and innovators are playing an increasingly vital role in shaping the continent's economic future.
"For these enterprises to reach their full potential, they require stronger connections to finance, technology, investment, skills and international markets," Omar said. "This is where platforms, such as the Canton Fair, provide important opportunities. They enable businesses to connect with global buyers, investors, technology partners and new commercial opportunities."
The 140th Canton Fair is set to be held in October this year at the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. ■
