Chinese engagement helps Africa’s industrialization: ITC executive director

Speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday, November 20, Arancha Gonzalez, Executive Director of the International Trade Center-(ITC), empathized China’s growing engagement and interest in Africa’s existing and emerging potential was driving the continent’s industrialization.

“China has focused a lot of attention to the industrialization of the African continent,” the ITC Executive Director told Xinhua on the sidelines of the Africa Industrialization Day commemoration event, which was marked on Wednesday at the headquarters of the African Union (AU) Commission in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

“It (China) has focused a lot in manufacturing,” Gonzalez said, as she emphasized other emerging potential areas in the industry sector that are benefiting from and attracting Chinese engagement across Africa.

“First, I think now there is interesting opportunity that is coming in two other sectors, one is agro-processing, so helping Africa transform a lot of the raw materials, agricultural commodities that this continent produces into processed products.

The continental industrialization day was commemorated as part of the AU Commission’s flagship Africa Industrialization Week (AIW-2019), which is underway from November 18 to 22. The AIW-2019 also emphasized the crucial role of industrial parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZs)to drive Africa’s industrialization.