In the early morning at a flower farm in Kenya, freshly harvested roses, with dewdrops clinging to their petals, were ready to be shipped. In 48 hours, they would be put onto the shelves of the Hunan Gaoqiao Grand Market, Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province half a world away.
At the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November last year, China announced the establishment of a "green channel" for African countries' agricultural products entering China.
According to Clement Tulezi, CEO of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), the "green channel" has helped shorten the time for inspection and quarantine and expand the exemption from customs duty, creating more market opportunities for Kenyan flowers and featured farm produce from other African countries, such as avocado, citrus and pineapple.
In recent years, African products have become increasingly popular in the Chinese market following the implementation of trade facilitation measures between China and Africa. Essential oil from Madagascar, gems from Zambia, coffee from Ethiopia, wood sculptures from Zimbabwe, wine from South Africa and cosmetics from Senegal are sought after by Chinese consumers. Under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has maintained strong vitality and achieved fruitful outcomes.
Read more at People's Daily Online.