China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has selected Lebanon for its regional headquarters for MENA, according to a statement issued by Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry. Lebanon was selected due to its, ‘strategic location, free economy and openness to investment.’
The move is expected to encourage greater trade between China and the MENA region, bringing it closer to the trading emphasis made with Sub-Saharan Africa. The success of the inaugural China-Africa Industrial Cooperation Exposition, which was organised by CCPIT and hosted in Nairobi last month clearly illustrated Beijing’s appetite to support the continent’s industrial progress. According to CCPIT, 56 companies were scheduled to take part in the expo in order to ‘showcase high-quality products and advanced technology in railway and road construction, infrastructure, telecommunications, machinery, manufacturing and farm produce processing.’
CCPIT recently opened a representative office in South Africa on the 22nd December in Johannesburg with the aim to, ‘better serve enterprises from China, South Africa and other African countries, as well as to promote the economic and trade relations between China and South Africa, as well as other African countries.’
Founded in 1952, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade is a national foreign trade and investment promotion agency whose key responsibilities include the implementation of relevant major national development strategies, while promoting foreign trade, bilateral investment and economic and technological cooperation.
