From the morning light in Addis Ababa piercing through the glass curtain wall of the African Union Conference Center, to fingertips crossing the Red Sea and equator on a map in front of a screen in Beijing, a cloud conversation spanning two continents quietly came to an end. As the list of cooperation in the five major fields slowly unfolds, the fine brushwork of China Africa joint construction of the the Belt and Road is moving from the freehand brushwork of planning and layout to the new stage of meticulous elaboration.

On July 30, 2026, an online video conference was held as scheduled, opening a new stage for China African Union cooperation in jointly building the the Belt and Road. Liang Linchong, Director of the Regional Opening up Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, and Steve, Director of the Partnership and Resource Mobilization Department of the AU Commission co chaired the third meeting of the China AU Joint Working Group on Jointly Building the the Belt and Road.

The conference reviewed the progress of key work of jointly building the the Belt and Road, focusing on the status quo and follow-up arrangements of exchanges and cooperation in education, geosciences, agriculture, standards and energy. The two sides believe that China Africa joint construction of the the Belt and Road has achieved remarkable results and has broad prospects. They will rely on the platform of the Joint Working Group to promote the implementation of more practical achievements and help build an all-weather China Africa community of common destiny in the new era. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other departments, as well as the Chinese Embassy in the African Union and relevant departments of the African Union Commission, attended the conference.

Defining cooperation tracks in five major areas

The Joint Working Group is a mechanism platform to implement the the Belt and Road cooperation plan jointly built by China and the African Union. This time, it focuses on five key areas for thematic exchanges. Energy, as a driving force for industrialization in Africa, is accelerating the systematic promotion of new energy such as photovoltaics, wind power, and energy storage in China Africa cooperation. Agriculture is the foundation of cooperation, and Africa has 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land. China Africa agricultural cooperation is moving from technology demonstration to industrial chain co construction.

Education, as a seed project for capacity building, relies on relevant action plans to reserve professional talents for China Africa capacity cooperation. Geosciences serves as a pioneer in resource development, focusing on geological exploration, disaster prevention and mitigation, and serving mining and infrastructure investment. The standard is the passport for smooth trade, and promoting mutual recognition can reduce barriers and improve supply chain efficiency. The five major sectors cover the core elements of industrialization, food, talent, resources, and rules in Africa.

Continuous deepening of cooperation

The three meetings of the Joint Working Group reflect the continuous deepening of China Africa cooperation in jointly building the the Belt and Road. The first meeting of 2022 focuses on building a cooperation framework and establishing a coordination mechanism; The second meeting focused on project implementation and promoted the implementation of key issues; This third meeting will focus on deepening cooperation in five key areas. The upgrading of cooperation stems from three drivers: the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation in 2024 and the ninth strategic dialogue between China and Africa in 2026 define a new blueprint for cooperation; In the first half of 2026, the trade volume between China and Africa reached a historical high of 1.41 trillion yuan, and the market has put forward higher demand for cooperation; Various parties around the world are accelerating their layout in Africa, and China Africa cooperation is seizing opportunities to improve the system and connect the industrial chain.

New opportunities for Chinese enterprises to expand overseas

The five major fields correspond to five industrial tracks: energy oriented towards new energy equipment and EPC engineering; Agriculture covers agricultural machinery, irrigation, and agricultural product processing; Education focuses on vocational education equipment and digital education platforms; Geosciences involves geological exploration and mining development; The standard focuses on testing and certification, as well as quality infrastructure. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, China Africa trade, enterprises going to sea

The subsequent batch of projects, initiatives, and agreements will gradually be implemented, and companies can track the progress of meetings to grasp the direction of projects. The invisible track of mutual recognition of standards will lower the entry threshold for Chinese products and services, and compress compliance costs. The Belt and Road Initiative jointly built by China and Africa is moving from overall planning to meticulous implementation. Energy, agriculture, education, geology, and standards are working together to promote cooperation from single point breakthroughs to systematic deepening, and also point out the next stage of China Africa cooperation for overseas enterprises.Editor/Gong Ziwei