Hello, and welcome to this edition of  Africa Express here on China Radio International. I'm your host, Wei Tong. 

Chinese trade officials declared recently that China is steadily implementing the commitments it made at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation a year ago.

Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo says a majority of Chinese projects are undergoing well in Africa.

"We hope each commitment can be implemented as soon as possible so that it can benefit Africans. So far, seventy percent of them have been fulfilled. They are going on smoothly."

Since China removed import tariffs on 454 separate categories from the 32 least developed countries in July, some 450 million US dollars worth of duty-free goods from Africa have entered the Chinese market .

In another major move to boost relations, by the end of the year China will have waived the debts of 33 poor African countries with which it has established diplomatic relations.

The first malaria control and treatment center was set up in Liberia early this year. What is more, China will set up more than 10 agricultural demonstration zones in a bid to help African countries improve the crucial field of agricultural production.

Ethiopian ambassador to China, Haile-Giros Gessesse says China is a trustworthy friend.

"Almost all the promises that China committed have been fulfilled. We have benefited from Chinese government and its people who have contributed to the Ethiopian economic development."

Now China has become Africa's second largest trading partner, following the United States. It plans to expedite the establishment of economic cooperation zones across a number of countries. The first has already been launched in Zambia and another three are slated by the end of this year.

Progress has also been made in such sectors as training, healthcare and infrastructure construction.

Africa has also become the second largest overseas investment destination for Chinese enterprises, which envisage enormous business potential in the continent.

Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show China's investment in Africa totaled 1 billion US dollars in the first three quarters of the year.

This has been aided by the launch of the China-Africa Development Fund, or CADF last June, which totals five billion US dollars and its enticement of greater Chinese investment.

Egypt ranks as China's sixth largest trading partner. With the CADF, China has been participating in the construction of one of the economic zones lying at Suez Bay of Egypt. Now seven Chinese enterprises are willing to access it, specializing in garments, factory construction and tableware.

Director of Egypt's General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Asem Rajab says the investment environment of the economic zones keeps improving, and more Chinese enterprises would come to start business in Egypt.

"The special economic zone has been established more than two or three years ago. It has not launched yet. We intend to strive launching the free economic zones with the Chinese participation."

China-Africa trade is expected to hit 70 billion US dollars by the end of 2007, a surge from 55.5 billion last year, and it will continue to skyrocket the next year.

Now that wraps up this edition of Africa Express. If you would like to listen to this or other stories again, you can log onto our website at www.crienglish.com. And you can also contact us via email at africaexpress@crifm.com. I am Wei Tong. Hope you can tune into our program next time! Bye for now!