China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement Boosts China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation
It has been the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Mauritius. Over the past 50 years, political mutual trust between China and Mauritius has been continuously deepened, and cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results. On January 1 last year, the China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement came into effect. This is the first free trade agreement signed between China and an African country. Since the implementation of the free trade agreement for more than a year, how to stimulate the economic and trade cooperation between China and Mauritius? What positive impact has it had on the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the whole of Africa?
The China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement covers trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic cooperation and other aspects. It is a comprehensive, reciprocal and high-level free trade agreement. Hans Sisagul, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Mauritius in China, said in an interview with reporters that since the FTA came into effect more than a year ago, despite the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the economic and trade exchanges between Mauritius and China have become more and more close.
Hans Sisagul said: "The latest data from China Customs shows that Mauritius' total exports to China in 2021 will increase by US$9 million compared to 2020. This shows that despite the impact of the epidemic, the free trade agreement has promoted The increase in Mauritius' exports to China. It is worth mentioning that in the first quarter of 2022, Beijing has become the largest trading partner of Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, for the first time in 50 years."
Zhao Chengjun has been engaged in Sino-Mauritius trade for more than ten years. He told reporters that after the FTA came into effect, Mauritius' tariffs on Chinese exports decreased, which led to a significant increase in his sales. “After the free trade agreement came into effect on January 1 last year, our sales have increased by about 3 times compared to 2020, especially construction materials (sales are very good). Because the tariffs are gone, the price of the goods has come down, relative to the Companies that import products from other countries will have a competitive advantage in importing prices from China.”
In addition to injecting new impetus into China-Mauritius economic and trade cooperation, the China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement is expected to become an important platform and link connecting China and the African Free Trade Area. Hans Sisagul pointed out that Mauritius is a gateway connecting Asia and Africa, and the free trade agreement will further promote economic and trade cooperation between Africa, China and even Africa and Asia. "Mauritius and China are working together to elevate the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries to a new level, and take Mauritius as a gateway to further promote trade between Africa and Asia. While the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement was officially implemented, the construction of the African Continental Free Trade Area was synchronized. Launched, it will help drive more Chinese products, services and investments to a continent with a population of 1.2 billion and a total market value of $3 trillion, and will also boost the African economy."
Zhao Chengjun introduced that he plans to make full use of the China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement and use Mauritius as a bridge to explore the African continent. "We are also planning to import goods from China, do deep processing and packaging in Mauritius, and then export them to the African continent. Because Mauritius also has a trade agreement with the African continent, anything produced from Mauritius is exported to the African continent with zero tariffs. For example, Said that if South Africa imports aluminum alloys from China, it needs to pay about 40% tariff, and if it imports from Mauritius, it is zero tariff.”
Zhao Chengjun also plans to use Mauritius as a link to introduce high-quality products from the African continent to China.
With the implementation of the China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement, more and more enterprises are gearing up to gain more business opportunities in the two huge growing markets of China and Africa through the preferential and convenience provided by the Free Trade Agreement.