In September 2020, China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone has been approved, in which Gaoqiao Grand Market was included and named of China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone Changsha Area Gaoqiao Block. Gaoqiao Block is the core area of China-Africa Economic and Trade In-Depth Cooperation Pilot Zone, enjoying the overlapping advantages of Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pilot Market Procurement Trade and China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. The Permanent Exhibition Hall of China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo is built. The constructed China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Innovation Demonstration Park (short for Demonstration Park) is an important carrier of exploring new mechanism for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
The Permanent Exhibition Hall of CAETE is located on the third floor of China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Innovation Demonstration Park, the Never-Ending China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. With a total area of 10,000 square meters, there are one comprehensive area, 37 national pavilions, and 2 dedicated exhibition halls of China-Africa Economic and Trade In-Depth Cooperation Pilot Zone as well as Global Commercial Dual Circulation, displaying African national conditions and cultures, industries and products, project cases and contact information in multimedia forms such as graphics, texts, materials, sound and light. The Permanent Exhibition Hall regularly displays construction achievements, innovative measures, advantageous industries and products, actively further amplifies the spillover effect of the Expo, continuously enlarges the effects of the exhibition, effectively promotes China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and serves the national strategy.
The African Non-resource Products Trade Center, located in the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Innovation Demonstration Park, is a distribution and trade platform for African non-resource products in China and creates a whole industrial chain of non-resource products. Now there are trade centers of nuts, coffee, cocoa and agricultural and sideline products, building the whole industrial chain including procurement, warehousing and logistics, processing, exhibition and sales, after-sales service and supply chain finance, and starts strategic cooperation with African government agencies and industry associations, under the overall arrangement of bulk commodities and non-resource products. Promoting investment by trade, the Center supports enterprises to establish preliminary processing and deep processing bases in African countries of mature conditions and China-Africa Economic and Trade In-Depth Cooperation Pilot Zone. A closed-loop industrial chain of “Investment and Production in Africa - Financing and Import - Domestic Bonded Processing - Global Sales - Barter Trade" will be built.
China-Africa Economic and Trade Enterprises Incubation Center is the base of headquarters economy and brand economy built by the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Innovation Demonstration Park. The constructed headquarters cluster base of China-Africa economic and trade enterprises will attract African countries to set up official institutes such as business representative offices, and encourage international organizations, industry associations and leading enterprises of China-Africa economic and trade to settle here and set up (regional) headquarters. China-Africa Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Incubation Center and China-Africa Live Streaming E-commerce Incubation Center are also set up to select specialty products of African countries, and vigorously cultivate African brands and consumption markets.
The China-Africa Economic and Trade Promotion Council (CAETP) is subordinated to China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Comprehensive Service Center. CAETP is a non-profit social organization composed of such members as the enterprises, public institutions and social organizations engaged in China-Africa economic and trade cooperation throughout the province, as well as the experts and scholars with certain influence in this field.
The CAETP gathers high-end resources, top-notch talents and high-level projects by professional ideas, strives to realize the 4 in 1integratingthink tank, talent pool, project library and project case base, and creates a research achievement transformation platform, an economic and trade exchange and cooperation platform, a project development matching platform and a market-oriented operation incubation platform of China-Africa pilot economic and trade in-depth cooperation.
Under the guidance of the People's Bank of China, the China-Africa Financial Service Platform has carried out the construction of a financial service center for African businesses integrating policy research, product innovation, cross-border RMB clearing, investment and financing, global transaction banks, big retail, information services and cross-border RMB operational training, to facilitate bilateral financial cooperation with Africa and build a new model of all-round financial support. The China-Africa Cross-Border RMB Center and China-Africa Supply Chain Financial Center are also set up. All are committed to promoting China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, innovating cross-border financial products and services, providing modern comprehensive financial services for African countries, assisting African countries to broaden financing channels through international capital market, and providing investment and financing consulting services. Building RMB financial service channels to major African countries further promotes the development of China-Africa trade and investment, pushes forward the internationalization of RMB and builds a financial highland of opening to the outside world.
China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo is an important measure of the "Eight Initiatives" of China-Africa cooperation announced by President Xi Jinping at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018. It is an important platform for economic and trade cooperation, exchanges and dialogue between China and African countries. The expo is co-hosted by Ministry of Commerce of People's Republic of China and People's Government of Hunan Province in every 2 years.
The Export Product Cluster Zone is the first choice for global purchasers to purchase export products from Central China in "one-stop". Officially opened in April 2020 and with a total construction area of 42,000 square meters, it has set up areas of exhibition halls for cities and prefectures of Hunan, introduced more than 2,000 manufacturers, and displayed and sold ceramics, clothing, luggage and bags, wigs, hardware, medical devices, agricultural machinery and other products; it has gathered a large number of characteristic export industries, competitive industries and high-tech industries in Hunan and surrounding provinces and cities which has made it the export product base with the largest scale, the most complete categories and the most concentrated industries in Central China.
Gaoqiao International Commodities Exhibition and Trade Center was completed and opened in 2016. It is the first place of import products in the market of Central China, the exhibition and trade center for global high-quality and first-hand products to enter the Chinese market, as well as the one-stop platform integrating trade, economy, exhibition and cultural exchanges between Hunan and overseas countries. With an operational area of 15,000 square meters, it has introduced 10 national and regional pavilions including Africa Pavilion, South America Pavilion, Europe Pavilion and above 10,000 kinds of products from more than 50 countries and regions around the world have been exhibited and sold all year round, which becomes a fast channel for foreign products to enter the market in Central China.