On 13th May 2022, Rwanda participated in the "Belt and Road” Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference for African countries (Shandong Session) which was organized by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). 

This event which was held both online and offline aimed to promote exchanges among business communities of China and Belt and Road countries and was attended by Government officials, representatives from business and commercial associations, research institutes and enterprises from China and 13 African countries. 

Speaking during the event, Rwanda’s Ambassador to China, James Kimonyo said that the event was a good opportunity to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation between Rwanda and China in line with the Belt and Road Initiative. 

He added that Rwanda has seen significant increase in terms of trade volumes and investment following the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation within the Framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative between Rwanda and China during President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Rwanda in 2018. 

During this conference, participants exchanged insights on several topics including; New Trends of China-Africa Trade and Investment Cooperation in the New Era, the Impact of Digital Technologies in the China-Africa Economic Cooperation and International Cooperation in Industrial Capacity Building among others. 

Currently, Rwanda is discussing with several companies from Shandong province about investment opportunities in various sectors including agriculture in order to scale up production and increase exports of products like dried chili, coffee and tea. 

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