(Yicai) Sept. 5 -- The three-day Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation kicked off in Beijing yesterday, aiming to promote breakthroughs in economic and trade collaborations between China and Africa.

At the FOCAC, China will sign new Belt and Road Initiative cooperation plans with African countries and establish coordination mechanisms to resolve difficulties and problems during the implementation of such plans, Xu Jianping, director of the Department of Regional Opening-Up of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the summit's first briefing on Sept. 2.

China will help Africa strengthen digital infrastructure, access high-speed internet, and build smart cities, the NDRC said in the China-African Countries Joint Construction of BRI Development Report released last month. The pair will also deepen cooperation on information technologies, including fifth-generation communication, big data, cloud computing, fintech, and artificial intelligence.

Economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa has significantly developed since the establishment of the FOCAC in 2000, with China remaining Africa's largest trade partners for 15 consecutive years, Xu noted.

Last year alone, foreign trade between China and Africa reached a record high of USD282.1 billion, up nearly 26-fold from 2000. China's direct investment in Africa exceeded USD40 billion as of the end of last year.

So far, Chinese firms have participated in the building and upgrading of 10,000 kilometers of railways, 100,000 km of highways, nearly 1,000 bridges, almost 100 ports, 66,000 km of power transmission and distribution lines, and 150,000 km of backbone communication network in Africa. 

As of June 30, China had provided aid funds for the implementation of livelihood projects, including food, water supply, maternal and children health, and education, to 53 African countries. More than 400 agricultural experts were sent to 11 countries in Africa, sharing nearly 1,000 agricultural development technologies.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione