Lin Yi, Party secretary of Yiwu, meets with the African envoy delegation on Sept 16. [Photo/WeChat account: yiwuwaishi]

A delegation consisting of 22 African countries' envoys to China and the African Union's ambassadors to China visited Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 16.

Lin Yi, Party secretary of Yiwu, and Ge Qiaodi, vice-mayor of Yiwu, met with the delegation.

During the meeting, Lin welcomed the delegation before briefing them on Yiwu's social and economic development. He stressed that Africa is an important partner of China.

"Zhejiang should further promote collaboration with African countries in economy, trade, education, culture and tourism," Lin said.

Lin said that Yiwu will continue to promote cooperation with African countries in epidemic control and trade exchange. He expressed hope that more fruitful results will be achieved in co-building a new type of import market and the overseas warehouses of Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP).

On behalf of the African delegation, Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, Djibouti's ambassador to China, thanked Yiwu for the warm hospitality it has shown and for the city's help during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Miguil said that Yiwu was well known among African businessmen, adding that the city has among the strongest trade ties with Africa of any Chinese city.

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation," said Miguil, "we hope to utilize the opportunity to enhance cooperation with Yiwu in trade and cultural exchange."