Seven exemplary projects, including two invested by Qingdao, were highlighted by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) for their contributions to China-Africa economic and trade cooperation in a recent special issue of the China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund).

The China-Africa Cotton Project started in 2009 when the CADFund, together with Qingdao Ruichang Cotton Industrial Co and Qingdao Huifu Textile Co, jointly funded and established China-Africa Cotton Development Co.

The cotton company has established or acquired cotton ginning mills, oil extraction plants, spinning plants and seed enterprises in countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

"African countries are all eager to develop their agricultural and planting industry, but their agricultural infrastructure is in need of improvement, as are their agricultural policies and output. Southern Africa and West Africa have unique climates suitable for cotton cultivation," said a project leader at Qingdao Ruichang Cotton Industrial Co.

Employees work at a plant operated by the China-Africa Cotton Development Co. [Photo/guanhai.com.cn]

With total investment reaching $64 million, the China-Africa Cotton Project involves the whole industrial chain from cotton breeding, acquisition, processing and sales to cottonseed oil extraction, as well as the sale of edible cottonseed oil and the production of cotton by-products.

Official statistics show that the project employs more than 3,300 local people and has led to 40,000 to 50,000 households growing cotton, benefiting more than 200,000 local households.

It has also provided cotton planting materials and technical training to farmers, helping them to expand their cotton planting area. Over the past three years, more than $2.5 million were invested to benefit 136,687 farmers.

The Hisense South Africa Appliance Industrial Park (Hisense South Africa) was constructed and put into operation in 2013 with a total investment of $150 million and an annual output of 540,000 refrigerators and 390,000 televisions.

"Hisense South Africa won South Africa's Best Product Award in 2017. Its home appliances enjoy the largest sales volume in the local market and are exported to more than 10 African countries," said a project leader from Hisense.

Before the construction of the Hisense park, the unemployment rate in the Atlantis community where the park is located was as high as 40 percent, and many working-age people were unemployed.

Technicians work on a production line of Hisense South Africa. [Photo/guanhai.com.cn]

"Hisense South Africa has employed 700 local people, accounting for 90 percent of its total employees. In 2019, Hisense South Africa systematically trained approximately 1,000 unemployed young people aged 18 to 25 in rural areas," said a project manager.

Data from the Qingdao municipal bureau of commerce show that Qingdao has approved 127 investment projects in Africa so far, with Chinese investment reaching $1.85 billion.

Qingdao's investment in Africa has gradually expanded from trade to a broader range of industrial cooperation fields such as agriculture, forestry, fishery, manufacturing and resource development.

In 2019, Qingdao signed contracts for projects in Africa worth $207 million and dispatched 1,214 workers and technicians to Africa.