The "China-Central&Eastern Africa(Kenya) International Trade Digital Expo" co-sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade(CCPIT) and the China-Africa Development Fund and undertaken by the China International Exhibition Center Group Corporation(CIEC) opened grandly on October 26, 2020. The exhibition held the opening ceremony, on-site visits and China-Africa Investment Cooperation Forum in the auditorium of CCPIT and the CCPIT Exhibition Cloud Platform in the form of online and offline integration.

　　The exhibition attracted widespread attention from all walks of life. On the first day of the opening, it attracted the attention and participation of a large number of international and domestic official organizations, industrial and commercial associations, professional audiences, purchasers, and authoritative media.

　　He Cailong, CEO of CIEC, accepted exclusive interviews from Xinhuanet, China Trade News, Tencent Video and other medias at the opening ceremony. Regarding the purpose of holding this online exhibition, He Cailong said that China-Africa friendly relations have a long history, especially the several summits of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in recent years, which have further provided direction guidance and policy support for China-Africa cooperation and strongly promoted China-Africa cooperation. In order to achieve the overall development of the political and economic relations between China and Africa, CCPIT has also continuously increased its efforts to promote trade and investment in Africa. Since 2017, CIEC has successively held China-Africa capacity cooperation exhibitions in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and other countries, organized many Chinese companies to enter Africa, and achieved fruitful results. It has been widely praised by local governments, business associations, enterprises and ordinary people.

　　The COVID-19 epidemic spreads all over the world in 2020, seriously affecting the economic and trade exchanges between countries and regions in the world, including China and Africa. In accordance with the spirit of the Party Central Committee and the State Council’s innovative exhibition service model, CCPIT and CIEC have made full use of modern information technology to create the CCPIT Exhibition Cloud Platform and already have successfully held online exhibitions such as the "China-UAE Economic and Trade Digital Expo" which help Chinese and foreign enterprises continue to carry out economic and trade exchanges and cooperation. The "China-Central&Eastern Africa(Kenya) International Trade Digital Expo" is to help Chinese and African companies overcome the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, boost their confidence in cooperation, maintain and open up more channels of communication and cooperation, and thus continue to maintain China-Africa economic and trade cooperation good momentum of development.

　　He Cailong introduced the main features of this exhibition. He pointed out that, first of all, exhibitors have a wide range of sources and meet the needs of the African market. There are 1026 exhibitors, and 6500 exhibits in 12 thematic categories are selected, mainly covering agricultural machinery and agricultural product processing equipment, communications, transportation, energy, mining machinery, construction, sanitation and epidemic prevention materials, etc. The products and technologies are very suitable for the needs of African countries in promoting industrialization, agricultural modernization, and infrastructure construction, and are conducive to promoting economic and social development and improving people's livelihood in African countries. 

　　Secondly, the exhibitors have high levels and strong representation. Among the exhibitors are 11 of the world’s top 500 companies and 29 of the top 500 companies in China, and more than 350 well-known companies in various fields in China, such as the FAW Group and Beiqi Foton in the automotive industry, and China Mobile and China Telecom in the communications field. China Construction and China National Chemical Construction in the construction industry, BOE and Digital China in the field of smart cities, and Mengniu in the field of food and agricultural products. These companies bring advanced technologies, products and services to help African countries improve the level of related industries.

　　And then, the supporting activities of the exhibition are rich in content and focus on practical results. In addition to holding some forums, there are also a number of events such as China-Africa business matching meetings accurately classified by country or industry, which can effectively help companies meet partners and expand markets.

　　Next, the exhibition focus on helping African companies expand the Chinese market and share China’s development dividends. The special African products exhibition area is set up in the exhibition, which mainly displays the famous coffee, black tea and other products of Africa, especially the Central&Eastern Africa countries, to help them enter the Chinese market, enhance the ability of African countries to earn foreign exchange through exports, and further meet the needs of the Chinese people for a better life.

　　Finally, give full play to the exhibition's function of attracting investment and guide Chinese companies to invest in Africa. The exhibition has a special exhibition area for China-Africa Cooperation Park, which mainly displays the construction results, development status, investment advantages and investment value of China-Africa Cooperation Park. The China-Africa Investment Cooperation Forum was held to enable more Chinese companies to understand the investment environment and policies in Africa, and to share the successful experience of China and African countries in the establishment of industrial parks and the use of park preferential policies. A China-Africa Cooperation Industrial Park Promotion Conference will also be held during the exhibition to enable enterprises to better grasp investment opportunities, avoid investment risks, and promote further deepening and solidification of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

　　At the end of the interview, He Cailong said that he looked forward to deepening China-Africa economic and trade relations through the China-Central&Eastern Africa(Kenya) International Trade Digital Expo, promoting better communication and cooperation between the economic and trade communities of both sides, and building a new high-quality platform for China-Africa cooperation.