China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo to be held in Hunan on Thursday

The fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held in Changsha City of central China's Hunan Province from Thursday to Sunday, attracting over 30,000 Chinese and African participants.

Themed "China and Africa: Together Toward Modernization," the biennial event gathers exhibitors and guests from 53 African countries, 11 international organizations, and 4,700-plus companies from the two sides, commerce chambers, and financial institutions.

The main exhibition area of the expo is located at the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center, featuring China's iconic projects in African countries on infrastructure, railway systems, and satellites, as well as African specialties from over 40 countries and regions.

The expo is also a major platform for bilateral trade and cooperation, with 279 cooperation projects already submitted, marking a 43.8 percent increase compared with the previous edition.

After review, 175 of them are set to be signed during the event, involving a total worth of 11.39 billion U.S. dollars.

"Adhering to the principles of professionalism, market orientation, and internationalization in organizing the expo, we have emphasized innovation and tangible outcomes. The current batch of agreements covers sectors including engineering and construction, smart manufacturing, power and energy, transportation, information services, as well as culture and healthcare," said Huang Xinjian, head of the Exposition Division of Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.