China will further expand its opening-up to Africa, encourage more African products to enter the Chinese market, and create more new highlights of cooperation between the two sides, a senior diplomat said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks on Thursday in Changsha, Hunan province, during the opening ceremony of the fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which runs through Sunday.

Wang said the expo has become a new mechanism for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, and it is believed that this year's event will create more cooperation opportunities between the two sides.

"No matter how the global situation changes, China will stand firmly with Africa and provide strong support for the modernization of Africa," Wang said.

He added that China would assist Africa in promoting industrialization and digital transformation, and in taking China-Africa cooperation to a higher and deeper level and a wider range of fields.

China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. Last year, bilateral trade reached $295.6 billion, up 4.8 percent year-on-year, setting a record high for the fourth consecutive year, said the Ministry of Commerce.

The expo is ramping up efforts to attract more domestic and international buyers, and its scale has reached a new high this year, with over 4,700 Chinese and African companies participating in the event.

During the expo, 175 cooperation projects are expected to be signed, involving a total value of $11.39 billion, according to the Hunan provincial government and the Ministry of Commerce, the organizers.

While addressing the opening ceremony, African leaders including Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Liberian Vice-President Jeremiah Kpan Koung expressed their appreciation for China's longtime, tremendous contributions to the economic growth of Africa.

They said they look forward to expanding all-around cooperation with China in economic and trade investment, industrial parks, green energy, digital transformation, logistics and transportation, as well as agricultural modernization.

Investment between China and Africa is steadily growing. Kenya Airways, the national airline of Kenya, said that this year marks the 20th anniversary of its operations in China, and it is proud to facilitate the soaring growth of trade between China and Africa. The carrier will soon launch direct flights between Nairobi and Beijing.

"This will be our first direct connection between our capitals. This new route will act as an air bridge linking two great cities and two great peoples. I am confident that the next 20 years will see an even greater exchange of goodwill between Africa and China," said Julius Thairu, chief commercial and customer officer of Kenya Airways.

In 2005, the carrier launched its first weekly flight connecting Nairobi and Guangzhou, Guangdong province. The route is now used five times a week, transporting tourists and traders from China and African countries.

Meanwhile, Chinese companies have continued their investment in Africa. Since 2022, the continent has been the largest market for China's export of goods for foreign contracted projects, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Agco (Changzhou) Agricultural Machinery Co, a tractor and generator manufacturer based in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, and a major production base of United States manufacturer Agco Corp, saw its exports to Africa reach 23.93 million yuan ($3.3 million) in the first five months of this year, up 23 percent year-on-year, according to Nanjing Customs.

"The demand for agricultural machinery in the African market has been growing in the past few years, and our products are highly favored by member countries of BRICS," said Zhang Yaqing, the company's head of logistics.

From January to May, China's total import and export value with Africa reached 963.21 billion yuan, up 12.4 percent year-on-year, a record high. Of this total, China's exports to Africa came in at 599.57 billion yuan, up 20.2 percent year-on-year, and the country's imports from Africa amounted to 363.64 billion yuan, edging up 1.6 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.