China has said it will encourage Chinese companies to manufacture products from African countries for the continent to be able to narrow the trade deficit.

The message was passed by Jiang Wei, the Director General of Western Asia and African Affairs in the Chinese Ministry of Commerce during an interview with a group of African journalists in Beijing.

"The Chinese government is considering the demand by African countries to encourage our companies to process raw materials more in the host country so as to increase value addition,” he said.

A report released last year by McKinsey Africa, an n American worldwide management consulting firm showed that there are over 10,000 Chinese firms operating in Africa, with about a third in manufacturing.

"Local processing actually lowers the cost of production. We are also working with African governments to have in place better conditions to encourage companies to process more raw materials locally,” he added.

He said that during the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that will take place in September this year, China is expected to commit more investment in infrastructure on the African continent including electricity.

"I think electricity on one hand is a foundation of economic development of Africa, as it improves people’s livelihoods. On the other hand it is a very important area for Africa - China cooperation. We have a lot of projects around electricity in Africa including hydro power, and clean energy. In the new FOCAC forum, I believe we will continue to invest heavily in infrastructure in Africa including electricity,” he said.

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