Promise in the east

China is a major source of investment and infrastructure development for many countries, particularly in the developing world. But in recent years, more African countries, among them Ethiopia, have begun to see China's rapidly expanding middle class as a major potential market for their goods, especially as they look to boost their economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are employing a variety of means, including e-commerce, to tap its potential, and the remarkable progress achieved signals a promising future.

Last year, African exports to China increased by 44 percent to $106 billion, boosted by expanded imports of agricultural and other products, according to the General Administration of Customs.

In the first half of the year, China's imports from Africa increased by 19 percent to $61 billion year-on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

As Africa's biggest trading partner for the last decade, China is using e-commerce as a major tool for expanding trade with the continent.

In April and May, an online shopping festival featuring more than 200 goods from 20 African countries was held in China. A series of live-streaming events held during the festival promoted products such as Ethiopian coffee, black tea from Kenya and South African wine.

Actress Liu Tao hosted a live sale of Rwandan coffee on Taobao, Alibaba's e-commerce website, and sold over 500 kilograms of coffee beans in five minutes.

African diplomats have also participated in the livestreaming events. James Kimonyo, Rwanda's ambassador to China, sold hundreds of bags of coffee right after the promotional activity began.

In January, Kimonyo also assumed the role of deliveryman for JD, a major Chinese e-commerce platform, to specially deliver an order of Rwandan coffee to a customer.

In 2020, he participated in two livestreaming events where 2,000 and 3,000 packets of coffee were sold, respectively.