Qian Keming, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce speaks at the Seminar on China-Africa Business Cooperation on July 28, 2016 in Beijing (LIU JIAN)

The development strategies of China and Africa are complimentary and have respective advantages in cooperation, said Jiang Zengwei, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), while speaking at the launch of the Seminar on China-Africa Business Cooperation on July 28, 2016 in Beijing.

The implementation of the 10 major China-Africa cooperation plans put forward at Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) last December will give momentum to the future bilateral economic cooperation, speeding up Africa's industrialization and agricultural modernization, and supporting African development, he added.

There was a hive of activity at the match-making session of the seminar, where Chinese and African entrepreneurs from the infrastructure, processing and manufacturing, finance and investment, energy and chemical industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, information and communication technology sectors established contacts and reached consensus for later cooperation.

Shenzhen Hoi Mor Resources Holdings Ltd. signs a contract with the Musina Special Economic Zone of South Africa's Limpopo Economic Development Agency at the signing ceremony of the seminar on July 28, 2016 in Beijing (LIU JIAN)

At the signing ceremony, around 40 agreements were inked, involving Chinese and African financial institutions and enterprises, with the contracts worth $18 billion, according to CCPIT, the organizer.

Attendance was encouraging, with about 500 participants from government agencies, financial institutions, business associations and enterprises exchanging views on topics such as production capacity cooperation, trade and investment facilitation, and financial cooperation, all eager to explore ways to expand their scope of cooperation and deepen business relations.

The seminar is a supporting event of the Coordinators' Meeting of the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit. The seminar's aim is to build a communication platform for Chinese and African business communities, and implement the outcomes in the economic and trade areas of the Johannesburg Summit, according to the organizer.