In recent years, Yueqing has leveraged its industrial strengths to deepen cooperation with African countries in fields such as industry, infrastructure, and trade investment, resulting in increasingly close trade relations. Data shows that in 2023, Yueqing's exports to Africa reached 2.052 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%. From January to July this year, the exports totaled 1.333 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%.

Recently, Yueqing's leading enterprise, Chint Group, successfully secured two major photovoltaic projects in Algeria, with a total scale of 1,000 megawatts. This marks the beginning of the deployment of Chint’s ASTRON5 photovoltaic modules which will inject strong momentum into Africa's green energy revolution.

"Africa is an important market for Chint Group's overseas business," said Fan Hongyan, head of Chint's Southeast Africa business. In recent years, Chint has started its business in Africa, participating in the construction of power grids, power transmission and transformation projects, and photovoltaic power station projects in more than 40 African countries, including Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zambia, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria. The company has also established subsidiaries, factories, warehouses, and maintenance centers across the continent.

At Chint's overseas meters factories in Uganda and Kenya, the localization rate of employees has reached 90%. In January 2020, Chint successfully handed over the 165.5 MW Benban photovoltaic project to Egypt for operation and maintenance. This project, which achieves "zero emissions" over 25 years of electricity generation, was even featured on local Egyptian currency, becoming a "national symbol."

"We started trading with Africa around 2018, and our products are expanding from traditional electric components to the new energy industry, covering fields such as power equipment, farmland infrastructure, and photovoltaic energy storage," said Liu Dexian, Chairman of Zhejiang GRL Electric Co., Ltd. , another leading enterprise in Yueqing. Thanks to their high-quality products and diverse choices to meet market demand, their trade with Africa reached over 20 million yuan last year.

While expanding their cooperation with other countries GRL places great emphasis on cultivating local talents and fostering cross-cultural integration. In August, the Ministry of Commerce hosted a training program on energy policy and the energy transition for developing countries, organized by North China Electric Power University and the Yueqing Government. A delegation from this program visited GRL for international exchange, with power department officials from countries such as Nigeria touring GRL's R&D center and producing workshops. This brought international perspectives to GRL and provided a platform to showcase its strength and cultural appeal.

According to staff from the Yueqing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the deep implementation of the "Ten Cooperation Plans" announced at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation's Beijing Summit has provided greater opportunities for companies in various industries to "go global." Yueqing will continue to integrate resources and assist local enterprises in expanding their business and cooperations worldwide.