1. January – Tanzania: Air Tanzania has announced a direct flight from Dar es Salaam to Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province on the east coast. The route will be officially launched in April this year
2. January – Angola: Chinese truck brand, Dongfeng has chosen KinLai Company in Angola to represent Dongfeng as its official distributor in Angola. Kinlai will work to further increase Dongfeng truck sales as well as after-sales services in the African country
3. January – Zimbabwe: China and Zimbabwe signed a currency swap deal, with the aim to boost trade between the two countries. China currently has currency swap deals with over 20 countries, including South Africa which is situated in the same region. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, visited Zimbabwe as part of a five-nation Africa tour in January
4. February – Namibia: China Gezhouba Group was awarded the tender to upgrade the railway line between Walvis Bay and Kranzberg in Namibia, whilst two other Chinese companies, Qingjjian Group and Unik Construction Engineering won the tender for the section between Arandis and Kranzberg. Funding for the project will be provided by both the Namibian government and the African Development Bank
This article is published in The Econometer section of ChinAfrica magazine (March 2020), an English and French language monthly publication that provides news, views and analysis on all things China, Africa and China-Africa relations.
