Abstract:Since 2014,the African economy has been suffering the condition of “low growth and high debt”,which reflects the vulnerabilities caused by its long-standing single-product economy and its growth pattern relying heavily on international trade and external funds. Although many African countries have made some inroads into promoting economic diversification and industrialization,most countries have not found the path leading to sustainable growth. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 has severely impacted African economy. In particular,the pandemic may expose and aggravate the existing problems inherent in the economy,exacerbate the economic difficulties,and even give rise to a crisis sweeping across the African continent. The pandemic has been impacting African economy through various channels and will further depress the continent’s growth over the next few years. The pandemic will also bring about difficulties to Sino-African economic and trade cooperation in the short term,but it hardly change anything fundamental-neither the complementarity between the two,nor the trend of deepening mutually beneficial cooperation. China,whose economy has picked up a quick restoration,may take the lead to deepen economic cooperation with Africa,especially in sectors such as energy and mineral resources,medical and health care,manufacturing,agriculture and the digital economy,in a way to materialize the high-quality development of the Sino-African economic and trade cooperation.
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