The inaugural China-Africa Entrepreneurs Summit opened on Tuesday at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, bringing together political leaders, diplomats, and business representatives from China and Africa for a forum focused on trade, investment, industrial cooperation, and entrepreneurship.

Ethiopian President Taye Atske-Selassie said the summit was especially timely because it focused on entrepreneurship and jobs, a subject he said resonates deeply with Africa’s aspirations. He said the 2026 China-Africa People-to-People Exchange Year should be rooted in dignity and mutual respect, arguing that such a foundation can be translated into transformative trade and investment rather than extraction. He also described China-Africa cooperation as a “joint community with a shared future”.

Taye said the summit theme, “Deepening Practical China-Africa Cooperation and Embarking on a New Journey for Development,” came at a moment of geo-economic uncertainty shaped by competition over strategic minerals and disregard for Africa’s sustainable future. He said Africa is not a future promise but a present reality where business can flourish, especially with the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the expansion of the digital ecosystem.

The Ethiopian president said entrepreneurship in Africa must rest on agro-industry and youth empowerment, adding that there is a vast opportunity to make every young person an entrepreneur in the agro-industrial chain. He welcomed China’s decision to grant zero-tariff access to African countries starting in May 2026, saying it would help entrepreneurs enter the Chinese market without duties and accelerate export-led growth. He added that this would also support global trade at a time of severe supply-chain challenges.

Taye said the AfCFTA should become the center of the joint strategy for business cooperation, noting that Chinese investors who establish operations across Africa would gain a strategic foothold in the world’s largest single market. He said Ethiopia has already begun trading under the AfCFTA system and is implementing the investment protocol to unlock manufacturing and logistics opportunities [4]. He also said Ethiopia’s reform agenda has placed private-sector development at the heart of economic transformation.

A second priority, Taye said, is to move beyond simple technology transfer and establish joint research and development centers that bring together Chinese expertise and African creativity in artificial intelligence, green energy, mobility, and the digital economy. He said such centers would help develop technologies designed specifically for the African context and bridge the digital divide so that rural African entrepreneurs can access global markets as easily as traders in Shanghai.

Amb. Jiang Feng, head of mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union, said China-Africa relations had been elevated to an “all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era” after the 2024 Beijing FOCAC summit, and said China’s next phase of opening-up would create new opportunities for African partners. He said China will begin implementing 100% zero-tariff treatment on all tariff lines for products from 53 African countries with diplomatic ties starting May 1, 2026, and described the measure as a major opening for African exports to the Chinese market.

China-Africa trade reached a record US$348 billion in 2025, up 17.7% year on year, Jiang said, adding that China is already implementing 30 infrastructure connectivity projects and 30 clean-energy projects across Africa. He said the summit should help entrepreneurs from both sides build new links in agriculture, manufacturing, new energy, digital economy, mining, and finance.

AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf welcomed participants to the African Union and thanked the Ethiopian government for its hospitality, saying the continent is widely seen as the future engine of global growth. He said Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area place trade, integration, and private-sector dynamism at the center of the continent’s development strategy.

Youssouf said Africa should learn from China’s experience in agricultural reform, industrial acceleration, and technological transformation, arguing that agriculture and industrialization must advance together. He also stressed the importance of the energy, mining, infrastructure, and digital trade sectors, saying technological progress can shorten the time needed for transformation.

The AU Chairperson thanked China for applying zero-tariff treatment to products from many African countries and called on Chinese companies to invest more in Africa and build win-win value chains and supply networks with African firms. He said the AU wants special attention placed on youth and women entrepreneurs, and urged that the China-Africa Entrepreneurship Alliance be institutionalized.

In his remarks, Song Shangzhe, Deputy Director General of the China International Import Expo Bureau and Deputy Secretary General of the Hongqiao Forum Secretariat, from Ministry of Commerce of China said the CIIE team had traveled across the world to show that the expo is committed to following up on FOCAC commitments and helping African businesses access the Chinese market. He cited examples including Benin pineapples, Madagascar mutton, and Namibian baobab products, saying the platform has helped move African goods from exhibition to trade, e-commerce, and joint product development.