Ethiopian Airlines launched a new cargo route between Addis Ababa and Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, the latest China-Africa aviation trade link. The first flight took off last week and is expected to ferry some 17,000 metric tons of goods.
The aviation trade route is the latest effort by Hunan provincial authorities to establish the province as a central China-Africa trade and logistics hub.
In addition to the new announcement, there’s been a lot of other China-Africa-related activities in Hunan, including a trade fair that generated $170 million in signed agreements and the opening of a new “pilot zone” in Changsha specifically aimed to facilitate African trade.
Other China-Africa initiatives in Hunan include:
- CHINA-AFRICA CURRENCY CLEARING CENTER: ICBC launched a cross-border China-Africa currency center to facilitate transactions between Chinese yuan and six African currencies including the Kenyan shilling, Nigerian naira, Botswanan pula, Ghanaian sedi, and the Zambian kwacha. (HUNAN GOV)
- AFRICAN COCOA TRADING CENTER: In 2020, Hunan launched China’s first cocoa trading center to facilitate the importation of African (mostly Ghanaian) cocoa. (CGTN AFRICA)
- CHINA-AFRICA AGRICULTURAL TRADE: Hunan will be among the first Chinese provinces to implement the new Green Lanes that will fast-track African ag imports. Also, new high-value agriculture import deals like the 50,000-ton dried chili deal with a Rwandan company is passing through Hunan’s customs department. (CHINA DAILY)
