Workers process coffee beans in Ruiru, Kenya, on June 12, 2021. Coffee is among the most popular African products in China (XINHUA)

On Mother’s Day on May 8, Rwandan Ambassador to China James Kimonyo was joined by Xinxuan, a Chinese influencer team, to promote IGIHANGO, a Rwandan women’s coffee brand, on the short video platform Kuaishou as part of an online shopping festival. Hundreds of thousands of people watched the livestreaming session, the packages of coffee that were in stock were sold in a matter of minutes.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce hosted the Fourth Brand and Quality Online Shopping Festival and Quality African Products Online Shopping Festival from April 28 to May 12. Several Chinese provinces and cities have pooled their resources to promote high-quality African products. Chinese consumers could buy more than 200 specialties from over 20 African countries on various e-commerce platforms, such as Tmall, Taobao and Douyin. This event has boosted the online consumer market, providing all consumers in the country with information on products and services.

The Quality African Products Online Shopping Festival is another concrete action taken by China to implement the nine programs announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Opening Ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November 2021, and the latest outcome of stronger cooperation on digital economy and expanded Silk Road e-commerce cooperation between China and Africa, said Zhao Lijian, Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

Promotion of African products

Ethiopian coffee, Tanzanian sesame oil, Rwandan chilli sauce, and South African wine ... A Chinese presenter was frequently partnered by an African host to showcase items in livestreaming sessions on e-commerce platforms.

Booukete Grace is a student from Africa who lives in Changsha, Hunan. He became a facilitator at the shopping festival. “E-commerce is flourishing these days. We can reach a large number of people in China by livestreaming African products. This is important for both the Chinese and African economies,” he told CGTN.

African ambassadors to China used livestreaming technology to promote their nations’ products throughout the festival. Tanzanian Ambassador Mbelwa Kairuki said his country and other African countries wanted to take advantage of platforms such as the online shopping festival to showcase the continent’s quality products, rich tourism resources and numerous investment opportunities to the Chinese.

Livestreaming sites were also set up in five African countries, including South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Chinese consumers were able to “visit” black tea, coffee, walnut, and cocoa growing areas online. For Africans, livestreaming product promotion also helps tell African stories and culture. “An African host told a story related to a coffee bean, allowing more Chinese people to understand the customs and traditions of African countries,” a Zimbabwean student in China who only gave his Chinese name of Mi Lai told Xinhua News Agency.

Business plays an important role on both sides. “It is one of the most essential factors in promoting China’s and Africa’s commercial and cultural features. In reality, products made in Africa are rarely marketed and distributed in China because local customers are unaware of them. This highlights the importance of exchange platforms like the shopping festival, which allow suppliers and consumers to benefit from them,” Gift Gumbu, a Zimbabwean business consultant, told ChinAfrica.

According to him, this is the best platform that should be extended to both the Chinese and African markets. “Chinese and African customers will have a better understanding of the products they need.”

The festival was a sensation. Companies in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, offered consumers a wide range of African products. According to third-party data, online sales of African products reached 6.7 million yuan ($1 million) during the festival.

The two-week online shopping festival attracted more than 100,000 brands and over 1 million merchants on 300 e-commerce platforms on both sides. It is a great example of how cross-border e-commerce plays a crucial role in promoting trade.

Livestreaming hosts promote African products during the shopping festival (COURTESY OF RWANDAN EMBASSY IN CHINA)

Expanding cooperation

Various digital cooperation platforms, online promotion meetings, livestreaming shows, and other innovative forms of collaboration have evolved in recent years, increasing Africa’s merchandise exports to China. The digital economy is a new area of cooperation.

The relevance of the online shopping festival for high-quality African items cannot be overstated. Zhou Ping, Deputy Director General of the Department of African Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a news conference that China and Africa would increase their cooperation in digital innovation this year to help African nations in their efforts to narrow down the digital divide.

China announced the execution of a China-Africa Digital Innovation Partnership Program last year. Cooperation between the two sides in areas such as 5G, new infrastructure and e-commerce has borne fruit. Through these collaborations, the online shopping festival has been able to set up livestreaming spaces in the origin of African products, allowing Chinese consumers to observe the production process of products from a distance and experience local customs online.

Important trade promotion measures, such as market entry for African agricultural goods and the extending of zero tariff treatment to African items, have already been undertaken in addition to the online shopping festival.

“These policies would considerably stimulate and enhance African product imports into China, as well as a more balanced and healthier Sino-African trade growth. At the same time, high-quality African items will provide Chinese consumers with additional options,” Zhou added.