Summary:
- The China–Africa Economic and Trade Exhibition is one of two Hunan-based platforms with a national mandate for fostering deeper economic cooperation between China and Africa.
- The second platform is the China–Africa Economic and Trade Deep Cooperation Zone, which aims to diminish barriers to trade and investment between China and Africa. The zone’s Renminbi (RMB) Centre has so far operationalised a new platform for local-currency-based ‘barter trade’ and is promoting use of the RMB, especially in the context of free-trade agreements.
- Beijing has not explained why it chose Hunan for these efforts. It may relate to complementarities between development hurdles in Africa and the established industrial advantages of Hunan, which are explored here.
- As China and African countries return to post-COVID interaction levels it is crucial to understand the ‘Hunan model’, and for African partners to co-shape its evolution and so grasp its development potential.
