The “Cotton Four Countries” include Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali. The cotton industry is an important economic pillar of the four countries. For the four countries, the CIIE is an excellent opportunity to promote their cotton industries. Lauru, Ambassador of Benin to the WTO, said that the quality of cotton in the four countries is very good, with an annual output of about 2.5 million tons, but the processing volume only accounts for 3%, and the processing equipment and technology are very backward, and it remains at the level of raw material export, with no economic benefits. Big discount.
“We very much hope to cooperate with the Chinese government and enterprises. We need Chinese investment and technology to process cotton. We came to the import expo to lay the foundation for cooperation with the Chinese government and enterprises.” Mali’s ambassador to the WTO Ambassador Conant said.
According to Ambassador Conant, he very much hopes to promote cooperation with the Chinese government and enterprises. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will expand the door for Chinese investment in Africa. The “Belt and Road” initiative is also an important platform for China-Africa cooperation. The CIIE It is a very good initiative and I believe it will definitely lead to more cooperation between China and Africa.
Ambassador Lauru said that Africa has a very high population growth rate and a huge market potential for the textile industry. He hopes that Chinese companies can purchase and process more African cotton products.
In 2017, Benin’s cotton output reached 578,000 tons, setting another record high. Ambassador Lauru said that the Benin government hopes to establish cooperation with Chinese companies through this CIIE platform, which is very beneficial to both parties.
