Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, held a cooperative exchange conference on July 17 in an attempt to seek cooperation with African countries along the Belt and Road route.

A total of 78 business leaders and officials from 24 African countries including Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya and 130 representatives from Yantai companies took apart.

Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Shandong Chamber of China Chamber of International Commerce, the conference provided a platform to promote cooperation between Yantai city and African countries in the field of economy, trade, investment, tourism and culture.

Through the channel, the city signed strategic cooperation agreements with seven African countries including Kenya, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 2017, Yantai's import and export value to African countries rose by 53.8 percent to $960 million. It has built trading partnerships with dozens of African countries, among which South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the top five trading partners in Africa.

By the end of 2017, around 15 African countries including Madagascar, South Africa and Egypt had invested in 41 projects. The amount of foreign capital invested reached $ 158 million.

Additionally, a total of 23 Yantai companies had cooperated with 14 African countries in 30 projects investing $ 158 million, covering a large range of fields including algal cultivation, mineral exploration, and real estate development.

Looking forward, Yantai government will ramp up efforts to deepen economic and trade cooperation with African countries.

Representatives from African countries and Yantai city hold a discussion on the exchange conference on July 16. [Photo provided to chinadailly.com.cn]