Papua New Guinea welcomes prosperity-building Chinese investment: prime minister

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is actively seeking closer economic ties with China and aims to attract greater Chinese investment to strengthen bilateral business cooperation.

Led by Prime Minister James Marape, a high-level Papua New Guinean delegation visited the southern Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen this week to explore new opportunities for collaboration.

On Wednesday, some 300 representatives from government and the private sector from both countries attended a business roundtable in Guangzhou to discuss new investment opportunities.

The event welcomed more than 250 representatives from Chinese and PNG companies in the fields of agriculture, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, and tourism, inviting them to hold business matchmaking meetings.

Attending the gathering, Marape pointed to the expanding areas of mutual benefit the two countries enjoy.

"Something that I consider of high value is localizing Chinese businesses in the downstream processing aspect of our agriculture produces, our other natural resources in country, utilizing special economic zone incentives we're giving them. The prosperity of my people has grown, but more importantly, (so will) return on investment to the Chinese enterprises who will come into PNG," said the prime minister.

Marape highlighted China as PNG's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth more than 8 billion U.S. dollars a year.

Chinese firms in infrastructure, energy, telecoms and mining sectors are also looking to expand their presence in the Pacific island country.

"Agriculture and mining are Papua New Guinea's pillar industries, which aligns with our business in weighing instruments. We see strong growth potential there in a globalized economy," said Zhou Xin, general manager of Dalian Jinma Weighing Apparatus.

"Stable investment policies make us more confident about the Pacific market. We see opportunities to expand investment in new energy, from upstream materials to downstream computing," said Li Biao, representative of GCL Group, a company focused on green energy.

The delegation also traveled to Shenzhen, touring Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, and exploring its advanced battery and EV technologies.

At Shenzhen Energy Group, PNG officials were introduced to intelligent power grid technologies that could help Papua New Guinea better harness its natural resources.

Papua New Guinean officials said reforms are underway in the country to cut red tape, reduce business costs and better attract foreign investment.

"You are able to register your entity, you can do it at a click of a button, you can do it from your country, you can make payments online. We are doing our best to use ICT to streamline our processes with other regulatory agencies," said Daroa Peter, director of the Investor Servicing and Promotion Division of PNG Investment Promotion Authority.

Papua New Guinea welcomes prosperity-building Chinese investment: prime minister

Ethiopian coffee, famous for its unique flavor, is quickly gaining ground in the Chinese market, and producers hope to further propel exports by leveraging China's newly implemented zero-tariff measures.

China's zero-tariff policy for all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations takes effect on Friday, marking a new stage for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

For Ethiopia, the policy opens a timely growth avenue. The country ranks among the top five global coffee producers, and China has already emerged as its fourth-largest export market.

Finette, a coffee trader from the east African country, recently traveled to China to visit a coffee processing company in central China's Henan Province. During the trip, she hopes to establish a more stable and in-depth cooperative relationship this and other Chinese companies.

"I came here be because this company is a key buyer of green (coffee) beans from Ethiopia. I also come here for displaying Ethiopian traditional culture, information sharing. I'm the delegate of coffee trading company in Ethiopia. I hope more and more Chinese can drink coffee, drink the original Ethiopian coffee," said Finette.

On Thursday, the first branded store in China specializing in African coffee officially opened inside Zhengzhou Airport, a major import hub in the country's eastern region. The store is run by Huichuan Industrial Development Company, which has cooperated directly with Ethiopia and invested 300 million yuan (about 43.9 million US dollars) in the construction of a coffee processing industrial demonstration park in 2020.

"We already have more than a dozen varieties of African coffee on display here. We want to make high-quality African coffee a local specialty of Henan and bring it to more friends from other places," said Lu Ying, deputy general manager of the company.

Ethiopia's blooming coffee trade is part of a larger story. Trade between China and Africa has reached a record high for five consecutive years and is expected to exceed 300 billion US dollars for the first time in 2025. China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years. Over the past five years, China's annual imports of agricultural products from Africa have averaged over 5 billion US dollars.

"Since China expanded cooperation through unilateral openness, more and more African agricultural products have entered the Chinese market, such as Ethiopian coffee, Egyptian citrus fruits, South African pecans, and Kenyan avocados. This is partly due to China's expanding zero-tariff policy towards the least developed African countries, and partly a result of cooperation between relevant government departments and enterprises,” said Jing Ning, deputy director of the Department of West Asian and African Affairs under the Ministry of Commerce.

Ethiopian coffee gains momentum in China as zero-tariff policy takes effect