CHANGSHA — A total of 25 Chinese economic and trade cooperation zones have been established in 16 African countries, said the China-Africa Economic and Trade Relationship Annual Report (2021) released on Sept 25.

The report came ahead of the Second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo scheduled in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province, from Sept 26 to 29.

As of the end of 2020, the cooperation zones, registered with the Ministry of Commerce of China, had attracted 623 enterprises, with a total investment of $7.35 billion. These enterprises have created over 46,000 jobs for the host countries, the report said.

China's overseas economic and trade cooperation zones help boost local industrialization in diverse fields such as resource utilization, agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and logistics.