Legal Pluralism and Harmonization in China-Africa Trade

Foreign businesses operat ing in Africa face unique regulatory challenges. For instance, in addition to local government regulations, it may be necessary to engage directly with communities, particularly in rural areas. When commu- nities and government impose different rules and standards relating to these transactions, it is referred to as ＂legal pluralism.＂

China-Africa Trade Rises Between January and May

2018 was the 10th straight year of China being Africa's largest trade partner, and the first two quai - ters of 2019 seem to ensure that it will reach its 11th year. Overall, China-Africa trade reached $204.2 billion in 2018, a 20-percent increase year on year. January to May in 2019 has seen trade reach $84.76 billion, a 3-percent growth year on year, compared to a 1.6 percent drop in China-U.S. trade.

An Avenue for Balancing China-Africa Trade

Since 2018,the China International Import Expo(CIIE),held annually in Shanghai,has been serving as an important platform for China to advance its high-quality opening up to the outside world.More and more countries,especially African countries,are using this platform to showcase what they have to offer to the Chinese market and expand their exports to China,which helps to reduce trade imbalances.

Future China-Africa research collaboration in geoscience:Challenges and opportunities

At the 19th G20 Summit in Brazil in November 2024,China promoted the development of sustainable solutions to climate change,biodiversity loss,and environmental pollution.This continued the theme of the 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit,at which China placed development at the center of the G20’s macroeconomic policy coordination for the first time,adopting the G20 Action Plan on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the G20 Initiative on Supporting Industrialization in Africa and Least Developed Countries.In Brazil,China announced actions on advancing modernization in Africa over the next three years with a Chinese commitment of RMB360 billion yuan in financial support.In this article,we examine the potential role of geoscience research and practice in development,particularly in the sustainable use of natural resources,the prevention of climate change impacts,as well as mitigation of geo-hazards and their health implications,indicating the areas where China’s geoscience for Africa is strong and where it requires more effort.We find that although China is the world’s leading publisher of scientific papers,its contribution to geoscience in Africa(the globe’s fastest-growing economic area),as shown by bibliometric research,appears to be rather small and inconsistent with the research priorities of Africa.Amongst the priorities for geoscience research in Africa,which are not addressed substantially by the research conducted so far,are sustainable mineral and hydrocarbon development,hydrology and hydrogeology,climate change and resilience,natural hazards,medical geology,agrominerals,and geoscience education and training.A particular opportunity for African nations is the presence of critical minerals-minerals needed for the energy transition and for batteries for electric cars in particular.Africa is well-endowed with many of these critical materials,such as rare earth elements and platinum group metals.Several research groups stress the need for the agency on the part of African institutions to map out these valuable resources,understand their value and the economics and sustainability of their extraction,encourage local business,attract investment,and scrutinize proposals from potential international investors to get the best deals.A strong point of existing China-led geoscience development includes the Deep-time Digital Earth(DDE)program online computing platform and its artificial intelligence tool GeoGPT,which is being developed in partnership with Zhejiang Laboratory.These are being developed with strong China funding support for free and wide global access,with a particular focus on Africa.These advanced tools will help to place the agency of development squarely in the hands of African scientists and institutions.In summary,the following are recommended:(1)a more coordinated and strategic approach to China-led geoscience research in Africa;(2)an Africa-centered,geoscience funding initiative that concentrates on relevant topics to the continent such as critical minerals exploration and other geological resources,materials and processes and their health implications on the populations and ecosystems in general,as well as climate change and climate change resilience;and(3)continued support for China-led international initiatives that seek to increase the agency and capacity of Africa geoscience researchers,for example the Deep-time Digital Earth platform.

African Trade Beads

First crafted and worn 120,000 years ago,beads began as adornments made from natural materials such as stones,shells,and wood.Over time,they evolved in purpose,serving as currency and burial offerings.

A Trade War With No Winners

US President-elect Donald Trump is set to ignite new trade wars with some other countries,including China.His announcement on social media on 25 November 2024 that he would impose additional tari"s on goods from China,Canada,and Mexico came as no surprise.

Foreign Trade Hits New High

China’s foreign trade hit a record high in total value in 2024 as the world’s second-largest economy further consolidated its top position globally in goods trade.The nation’s total goods imports and exports in yuan terms reached about$6.1 trillion last year,up 5 percent year on year,according to data released on 13 January by the General Administration of Customs(GAC).

China Hosts the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo

June was a busy month for Sino-African events, with China hosting both the *Coordinators Meeting on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Beying Summit of the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing on June 24-25, and the First China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, on June 27-29.

China-Africa Economic andTrade Cooperation Embarkon a New Journey

THE 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held on September 3-4 yielded rich results.In particular,Chinese president Xi Jinping proposed eight major initiatives based on the 10 major China-Africa cooperation plans to be the focus for the coming three years.China and Africa enjoy complementary advantages to each other,and broad prospects for economic and trade cooperation.In line with the goal of building a community of shared future.

Complementarity of China-Africa Agricultural Products Trade： Trends and Challenges

The Chinese Government attaches great importance to China-Africa agricultural cooperation and trade, and has adopted a series of measures to promote bilateral trade in agricultural products. This paper analyzes the trends and characteristics of China-Africa trade in agricultural products by using trade statistics, the Revealed Comparative Advantage （RCA） index and the Trade Compensation Index （TCI）. Our findings suggest that the bilateral trade in agricultural products is adjusting to reflect the bilateral comparative advantage. However, China-Africa trade also faces enormous challenges, which reveals itself in a low level of complementarity. Meanwhile, the trade complementarity has failed to improve despite rapid growth of the bilateral trade in agricultural products. Based on the findings, the authors propose the need to further strengthen China-Africa cooperation and information sharing in agriculture to take full advantage of market opportunities and resource advantages.

The African Continental Free Trade Area and China-Africa Cooperation

On January 1,2021,the online launch ceremony for the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA)marked the official start of trading among African countries under the new continent-wide free trade area.The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area,as the legal basis for the AfCFTA,serves as a framework pact that covers trade in goods,services,investment,intellectual property rights,competition policy as well as dispute settlement.So far,the first phase of negotiations has been basically concluded,with the signing of protocols on trade in goods,trade in services,and rules and procedures on the settlement of disputes,while negotiations on some other issues,including the rules of origin,the schedules for tariff concessions,and the schedules of specific commitments for trade in services,especially in the five priority sectors of business,communications,finance,tourism and transport,are still underway.And Phases II and III negotiations are expected to be finalized by the end of 2021.

Mounting Platform The Second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo has special missions to accomplish

The Second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo(CAETE)in Changsha,capital city of central China’s Hunan Province,is poised to maximize cooperation opportunities between China and Africa at a time when COVID-19 is hampering international interactions.

Temporal and spatial evolution of global major grain trade patterns

The complex and volatile international landscape has significantly impacted global grain supply security. This study uses a complex network analysis model to examine the evolution and trends of the global major grain trade from 1990 to 2020, focusing on network topology, centrality ranking, and community structure. There are three major findings. First, the global major grain trade network has expanded in scale, with a growing emphasis on diversification and balance. During the study period, the United States, Canada, China, and Brazil were the core nodes of the network. Grain-exporting countries were mainly situated in Asia, the Americas, and Europe, and importing countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Second, a significant increase in the number of high centrality countries with high export capacity occurred, benefiting from natural advantages such as fertile land and favorable climates. Third, the main global grain trade network is divided into four communities, with the Americas-Europe community being the largest and most widespread. The formation of the community pattern was influenced by geographic proximity, driven by the core exporting countries. Therefore, the world needs to enhance the existing trade model, promote the multi-polarization of the grain trade network, and establish a global vision for the future community. Countries and regions should participate actively in global grain trade security governance and institutional reform, expand trade links with other countries, and optimize import and export policies to reduce trade risks.

Impact of BRICS Trade Facilitation on China's Exports Using Cross-Border E-Commerce

With the rapid growth of the global digital economy, cross-border e-commerce, as an emerging form of trade, has gradually become a powerful engine to promote the development of global trade. BRICS is an important force in the global economy, and the progress of the BRICS countries' trade facilitation level has an important impact on the global trade environment. This paper conducts an in-depth study of the dynamic changes in BRICS trade facilitation from 2013 to 2022, and uses an extended gravity model to analyze the specific impact of this change on China's exports using cross-border e-commerce. The results show that although the BRICS countries have made some progress in trade facilitation, the overall level still needs to be improved, and there are obvious differences among member countries. However, the improvement of trade facilitation among BRICS countries has undoubtedly brought significant positive effects to China's exports using cross-border e-commerce.

Sharing Smart Services,Jointly Promoting Trade Development

In 2024,the China International Fair for Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as CIFTIS) opened in the China National Convention Center and Shougang Park on September 12th.The theme of the CIFTIS this time was"global services,shared prosperity",which is not only a window for allowing the world to discover the development of China's service trade,but is also a bridge for promoting global cooperation with regards to the service trade.As one of the world-famous service trade events,the CIFTIS has become an important business card allowing China to open up.The CIFTIS has attracted the attention of the whole world and become a bridge for all parties to share development opportunities,promote industrial growth,and strengthen communication.

World Trade Organization Reform and the Role of the Global South

Under the impact of unilateralism and protectionism,trade disputes among countries have increased in recent years,bringing uncertainty to global trade and jeopardizing the multilateral trading system.The World Trade Organization(WTO)plays a crucial role in the development of the global economy and trade.It also plays a key role in maintaining a fair,open and sustainable international trade environment,and provides a solid foundation for the development of global economy and trade.As the Global South has played an important role in promoting WTO reform and safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries,it’s important to further strengthen its solidarity,actively participate in the reform of the global trade governance system and promote the building of a more open,fair and balanced global trade environment.

Production and trade trend of oils and oilseeds in BRICS countries

In order to promote agricultural production and trade cooperation among BRICS countries,and ensure the security and stability of the oils and oilseeds industrial and supply chains in China and the world,the production,consumption,trade trend,and cooperation potential of oils and oilseeds in BRICS countries were expounded,and relevant policy recommendations were put forward.Most of the BRICS countries are major agricultural producers,and they are also important agricultural product consumption markets in the world.In 2023/2024,the production and consumption of oilseeds in BRICS countries account for nearly half of the world's total;the production of vegetable oils exceeds a quarter of the world's total,and the consumption of vegetable oils accounts for 40%of the world's total.In 2023/2024,the import and export volume of oilseeds exceeds half of the world's total;vegetable oil imports account for 40%of the world's total,and exports account for about one tenth of the world's total.China's imports of oilseeds and oils from BRICS countries account for 68%and 29%of its global imports in 2023,respectively.BRICS countries are rich in agricultural land resources,have great potential for oils and oilseeds production,obvious complementary advantages in trade structure,and huge space for future cooperation.It is suggested that Brazil should be included in the"Belt and Road"co-construction category to promote the continuous deepening of agricultural cooperation between China and Brazil.It is suggested to explore regional agricultural trade agreements among BRICS countries,promote currency settlement and exchange among BRICS countries,and enhance the facilitation and stability of BRICS trade.It is suggested that China should increase its investment in BRICS countries and export advanced technology and management experience to benefit local agricultural development and achieve a mutually beneficial and win-win situation.

Specialization or Diversification:Which is More Conducive to Foreign Trade Resilience?Evidence from China-Russia Border Regions in Northeast China

Under the background of complex international situation,how to build the special geo-economic space of China-Russia bor-der lies in strengthening their foreign trade resilience against external shocks.Based on empirical evidence from ten prefecture-level China-Russia border regions in Northeast China,this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution of foreign trade resilience under different shocks.Furthermore,through the Panel Regression model,the mechanism of the industrial structure on the foreign trade resilience in contraction period and expansion period was discussed.The results showed that:1)from 2004 to 2021,foreign trade in China-Russia border regions experienced five phases.The overall foreign trade resilience was higher than expected,showing a rising volatility trend,but there was significant spatial heterogeneity in the ability of cities to cope with shocks.2)Highly specialized clusters were mainly concentrated in Yichun,Heihe and Da Hinggan Ling Prefecture,while Mudanjiang and Yanbian performed better in related and unrelated diversification.3)In different stages of economic system evolution,the response mode,degree and result of border foreign trade resilience to regional industrial structure showed obvious stage characteristics.During the contraction period,related diversification was more conducive to improving the resistance through risk spillovers.During the expansion period,specialization played a more significant role in improving regional resilience through self-reinforcing effect.These results are beneficial for expanding the resilience theory,ensuring border economic security and optimizing border industrial investment layout.

Down to Business:How the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area(CAFTA 3.0)will foster trade and investment cooperation

Last October,the leaders of China and the 10 ASEAN member states announced a substantial conclusion of negotiations on an upgraded version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area(CAFTA 3.0).The negotiation teams formulated a work plan for an upgraded protocol to be signed and expedited follow-up work in preparation for an official signing in 2025.

Creating a Climate for Sustainable Trade

With climate change becoming direr and the WTO“losing its teeth”at 30,experts renew call for green collaboration among the world’s three largest economies.THIS year marks the 30th anniversary of the World Trade Organization(WTO),which has played an indisputable role in facilitating global trade and boosting global growth.The WTO has a significant role in the era of climate change as it provides a platform for resolving green trade disputes.