"Business is business, we'll buy from anywhere. In China, the price is right," Abakar Tahir Moussa, a Chadian construction firm owner, told AFP, showing off the business card of a potential new Chinese partner.
He hoped to use the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which ends on Friday, to partner with Chinese firms on road and bridge projects.
"I'm here to make contacts and get more business," Moussa said after he joined thousands of delegates from more than 50 countries at the forum's colourful opening ceremony.
A housing developer from Burkina Faso, who asked not to be identified, said Chinese products were "cheaper than elsewhere".
"We buy everything from China: lights, air conditioning, wires... The only thing we get elsewhere is cement," he told AFP outside the hall.
"If you want quality you can get quality (in China), and even the quality things are cheap," he said, kicking off his shoes and clutching a smartphone with a gold case.
- Bustling Beijing -
The atmosphere was hopeful and friendly ahead of meetings that many Africans hoped would spur much-needed development and investment back home.
Leaders and their entourages from across Africa have flown in to Beijing since Saturday, keeping President Xi Jinping busy with bilateral meetings all week.
South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa and Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu heaped praise on their Chinese hosts, even over the food served at a lavish banquet thrown by Xi on Wednesday evening.
Broad-shouldered security guards in dark sunglasses kept watch outside the hall as delegates entered through airport-style X-ray machines.
Security around the capital has been tight all week with the steady arrival of heads of state.
Passengers arriving at Beijing train stations have faced enhanced security checks, while authorities have increased scrutiny of vehicles entering the city through traffic checkpoints.
Hotels have been booked out all week and surrounded by armed guards and new metal fences.
Bars in Sanlitun, a central shopping and nightlife district, have been packed with visitors from across Africa.
Xi pledged more than $50 billion in financing for Africa over the next three years -- more than half of it in credit -- telling delegates at the opening ceremony that China was "ready to deepen cooperation with African countries".
China is Africa's largest trading partner and its loans have helped build much-needed infrastructure, but they have sometimes also stoked controversy by saddling governments with huge debts.
Yet many delegates seemed hopeful that China, which seeks to tap Africa's vast natural resources, could help their countries develop.
The Burkina Faso developer said Chinese investment had been "good for the economy" and "improved people's lives", while increased trade meant there were "many more things for people to buy".
"I hope the forum will improve relations even further and bring more cooperation."
Key pledges on sidelines of China-Africa summit
Beijing (AFP) Sept 5, 2024 -
African leaders secured a wide range of commitments to enhance cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, mining, trade, and energy at China's largest summit in years.
Bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Africa-China forum in Beijing this week have seen deals on projects including development, solar power and farming.
AFP takes a look at the deals thrashed out during the summit:
- Kenyan infrastructure -
Kenyan leader William Ruto said the two sides had agreed to work together on the expansion of his country's Standard Gauge Railway -- financed by Exim Bank of China -- which connects the capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa.
Ruto also secured a pledge from China for greater cooperation on the Rironi-Mau Summit-Malaba motorway, which Kenyan media has said is expected to cost $1.2 billion.
Last year, Ruto asked China for a $1 billion loan and the restructuring of existing debt to complete other stalled construction projects.
Kenya now owes China more than $8 billion.
Xi also promised to open up China's markets to agricultural products from Kenya, Ruto added.
- Zimbabwean avocados -
Zimbabwe secured a deal that would allow the export of fresh avocados to China, a joint statement between the two countries said, joining other African countries like Kenya and South Africa which have similar agreements.
The southern African nation also won promises from Beijing for deeper cooperation in "agriculture, mining, environmentally friendly traditional and new energy (and) transportation infrastructure", according to a joint statement by the two countries.
China will also support upgrades to Zimbabwe's industry and encourage more "competitive" Chinese enterprises to invest in the country, the statement said.
- Tanzanian railways -
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan obtained a commitment from Xi to push for new progress on a long-stalled railway connecting his country to neighbouring Zambia.
China, Tanzania and Zambia on Wednesday signed an agreement to rehabilitate the decades-old Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority project, or TAZARA.
That project -- which Zambian media has said China has pledged $1 billion towards -- is aimed at expanding transport links in the resource-rich eastern part of the continent.
- Zambian solar power -
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said he had overseen a deal between the country's state-owned power company ZESCO and Beijing's PowerChina to expand the use of rooftop solar panels in his country.
The agreement consists of the supply, delivery and installation of the solar panels which will help address the "current energy deficit" caused by drought in the country, Hichilema said in a Facebook post.
- Nigerian trade -
China and Nigeria agreed to expand a "flexible and diverse" regional monetary and financial partnership, including local currency swaps, to promote trade.
They will also collaborate on intelligence efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, according to a joint statement.
The two countries also agreed to "deepen cooperation" in infrastructure, including "transportation, ports and free trade zones".
China said it supports importing more "quality" Nigerian products and said it would encourage more local companies to invest in the African country.
Nigeria also struck deals on exporting peanuts and nuclear energy.
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