The New York Forum Africa has just met in Libreville, Gabon.  Chinese business interests were well represented.  China-Africa trade has grown rapidly in the past decade. In 2000, the bilateral trade between the two sides was around $10 billion, while in 2012 it topped $200 billion. Chinese foreign direct investments in African nations is expected to reach $50 billion by 2015, according to a report published by Standard Bank, a South African lender.
In March last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo as part of his first overseas tour as president.
Earlier this month, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made an eight day trip to Africa and visited Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola and Kenya, as part of China’s efforts to expand economic ties with the continent. Li’s visit concluded with the signing of a number of deals on trade, energy, investment and development, including a call to expand cooperation in infrastructure and a pledge to increase Chinese aid to Africa by $12 billion (which includes $10 billion in loans and $2 billion for the China-Africa Development Fund).
In Kenya, Li signed agreements with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and other East African leaders to build a $3.6-billion, 380-mile railway line connecting Nairobi to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. Construction is expected to start in October and go on till March 2018 and will be part of a regional railway system that will extend through Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan. The Export-Import Bank of China will fund most of the project and the balance by the Kenyan government.
Attias says that China’s commitment to build infrastructure will help in forging long-term relationships with local communities in Africa.
“It’s important to understand the vision and strategies of the Chinese companies,” he says.
Wang Xiaoyong, secretary-general of China-Africa Business Council, says the railway agreement is an important milestone in Sino-African relations.
“Building the railway is a significant step for Kenya and other African countries. At the same time, it is also important for China to be part of this process and help in the actual construction,” Wang says.
According to Wang, constructing the railway line will involve not only financing and construction but also materials supply and vocational training of local workers. “Chinese investors can help on different fronts and it will help them build their reputation as investors in Africa,” Wang says.
Lankoande, the author of the book the political economy of China’s Foreign Direct Investments in Africa, says China stands out as an investor not by short term but “by long-term return on investment in Africa”.
“While oil and mining remain an important focus, Chinese investments are targeting sectors ranging from manufacturing to food. This diversification is very important for the African economy,” Lankoande says.  “I think the most important thing the Chinese investors can bring to Africa and make a difference is through technology transfer,” he says. “As we all know, China became a major player in technological innovation and it has several technologies that meet Africa’s needs, especially in terms of the features and cost,” Lankoande says.
Terming China, “a human resources power in the global market”, Lankoande says there is immense potential to create a win-win partnership with Africa in vocational training.
“China produces over 400,000 engineers every year, and this is huge compared to any other country in the world. These engineers can help make technology transfer from China to Africa a reality,” he says.
There are also opportunities for Sino-Africa technology transfer in natural resources also as Chinese engineers are facing the same development challenges that African engineers are striving to overcome, Lankoande says.
He says that most of the investment opportunities in Africa are still untapped. “Africa is the last frontier for growth,” Lankoande says. “Many African countries are generating wealth at a rate presently unmatched in any other part of the world and that makes them primary destinations for investment from all around the world.”
Opportunities with high return on investments exist in sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture and telecommunications, he says.
“Africa is a playground for ICT (information and communications technology) innovation, especially in the telecoms sector. With a mobile market of over 700 million people, Africa is definitely the place to be for any telecom company,” Lankoande says.
Chinese investors have already tapped into most of the industries including health, education, transport and storage sectors. There are now more than 1,600 Chinese development finance projects totaling $75 billion in more than 50 African countries.
Lankoande says Chinese investors are also facing challenges.  “These challenges are the political instability in some countries, macroeconomic instability, insufficient infrastructure and the lack of market insights.”