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Jinhua, China – November 3, 2026 – Growing trade, sustained educational partnerships and closer cultural ties are strengthening cooperation between Africa and Jinhua, a city in China’s Zhejiang province.

Jinhua’s trade and economic ties with Africa continue to expand, reflecting the mutual benefits that have long underpinned China-Africa cooperation. From January through September, the city’s trade with Africa totaled 161.41 billion yuan, up 35.3% from a year earlier. Exports rose 29.6% to 144.51 billion yuan, the highest value of any Chinese city and 10.3% of China’s total exports to Africa.

Jinhua is capitalizing on the global transition to green energy, with a growing competitive edge in lithium batteries, photovoltaic products and electric passenger vehicles, China’s “new three” export categories. These products continue to sell well in African markets. Zhejiang Jujiang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. specializes in developing and manufacturing battery packs for home energy storage and batteries for specialized power applications. “Africa is one of the world’s fastest-growing green energy markets. Our energy storage products, designed to address limited grid coverage, frequent outages and the high cost of diesel power generation, have been well received,” said Lin Wancheng, director of the company’s international sales and marketing center. Its lithium battery exports to Africa reached 72.987 million yuan from January through September, up 1,440% year over year, Lin said.

As goods made in Jinhua gain popularity in Africa, African products are also flowing into the city. Trade between Jinhua and Africa is thriving, supported by the city’s pilot free trade zone, comprehensive bonded zone, specialized markets and logistics hubs. These strengths are helping Jinhua become a distribution center for African goods in China. The cost of importing copper and other raw metals has fallen significantly since May 1, 2026, when China extended zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations. From January through September, the Jinyi Comprehensive Bonded Zone imported 2.81 billion yuan worth of goods from Africa, up 253.4% year over year, with copper and other raw metals contributing substantially to that growth.

Industrial cooperation between China and Africa is evolving. Jinhua companies are moving beyond conventional trade in goods to take a more active role in Africa’s industrialization. “Economic and trade cooperation between Jinhua and Africa continues to deepen, expanding from an initial focus on trade in goods into green industries, the digital economy, agricultural technology and industrial park development,” said Jiang Zhenlei, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Jinhua Sub-Council.

Agricultural technology from Jinhua is opening up new possibilities for farming in Africa. “Africa has vast stretches of land and enormous demand for agricultural machinery,” said Mao Keqiang, president of the machinery and equipment chamber of commerce at China Commodity City. He said Jinhua’s agricultural machinery companies would draw on Yiwu’s international connections and Yongkang’s agricultural machinery manufacturing base to move from operating individually to working together, giving them stronger support as they expand into overseas markets. Jinhua is also expanding international cooperation through the China-Africa (Jinhua) Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Park and the China-Mozambique “Belt and Road” Joint Laboratory on Smart Agriculture. These efforts include supplying machinery suited to local conditions in Africa, sharing standardized crop-growing techniques and offering regular agricultural training to develop a cohort of 100 African agricultural specialists.

According to available figures, about 30,000 businesspeople from Jinhua are engaged in long-term trade and business operations in Africa. Jinhua is also home to 2,675 African-invested enterprises, the most of any city in Zhejiang. On Shangcheng Avenue in Yiwu, the China-Africa Building houses 120 companies, including 90 African businesses, forming an emerging international cluster of Chinese and African enterprises.

Alongside their growing trade ties, Jinhua and Africa are strengthening cooperation in education and culture. Local institutions, including Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua University of Vocational Technology and Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College, have provided educational opportunities to more than 15,000 students from over 50 African countries and regions, creating a cross-continental pathway for education and skills development.

Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College, for example, has enrolled 1,190 international students from 38 African countries since 2007. Its African graduates combine Chinese-language skills and cross-cultural understanding with practical skills and entrepreneurial abilities, helping connect China and Africa through trade and cultural exchanges. One graduate, Diallo from Guinea, founded a trading company that sells consumer goods sourced in Yiwu in several African countries. With annual sales exceeding 30 million yuan, his business illustrates how educational cooperation can benefit both sides.

All 10 teams jointly fielded by Jinhua University of Vocational Technology and Rwanda Polytechnic’s Musanze College won awards at the recently concluded 2026 World Vocational College Skills Competition. Their success highlights the results of joint training under the “Future of Africa” China-Africa Vocational Education Cooperation Plan. Since its establishment in 2017, Musanze International College in Rwanda has trained more than 500 skilled workers for the country, linking study in China with employment back home and support for local industries.

As these graduates move between the two regions and establish themselves professionally, they are strengthening not only trade ties but also cultural connections. The year 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations between China and African countries and has been designated the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. Jinhua is exploring new approaches to cultural exchanges with Africa through signature events, international communications and cooperation in culture and tourism.

From Oct. 7 to 15, performers from the Zhejiang Wuju Opera Art Research Institute and its Wuyi branch, the Wuyi County Wuju Opera Art Heritage Center, toured Lesotho and Zimbabwe for a cultural exchange program. Their four performances in the two countries drew repeated applause. The dramatic twists and demanding martial arts sequences in “Three Battles with the White-boned Demon” showcased the theatrical appeal of Wuju opera, while giving African audiences a glimpse of the Chinese cultural traditions embedded in the mythological tale. To date, the Zhejiang Wuju Opera Art Research Institute has toured 17 African countries, giving 52 performances to a combined audience of more than 72,000.

Film and television cooperation is becoming another important part of Jinhua’s cultural exchanges with Africa. The 2026 China-Africa Film and Television Cooperation event opened in Hengdian on Oct. 23. Its theme was “Mutual learning between cultures, closer ties in film and television, and cooperation for shared benefits.” The program included exchanges on AI innovation in film and television, visits to Hengdian by African industry professionals, joint training and exchanges, and screenings of outstanding Chinese and African productions. Drawing on Jinhua’s well-established film and television industry and Zhejiang Normal University’s expertise in African studies, the event provided a forum for in-depth dialogue. It promoted cultural learning, the exchange of complementary technologies, joint industry development for shared benefit and stronger ties between people. Since 2018, Jinhua has organized more than 60 China-Africa cultural exchange and cooperation events, reaching over 40 African countries and more than 100 million people across the continent.

From facilitating trade and supporting industrial development to training skilled workers and fostering cultural understanding, Jinhua is taking practical steps to broaden and deepen its cooperation with Africa. The commitment on both sides is creating tangible opportunities for development while contributing to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

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