On June 27, the Seminar on China-Africa Bilateral Trade Promotion opens in Changsha. (Photo/Xu Xing, Hunan Daily)

 

On June 27, the Seminar on China-Africa Bilateral Trade Promotion opened in Changsha. It was attended by delegations from more than 10 African countries including Angola, Uganda and Cameroon, central African ministerial officials, officials from international organizations such as WTO and ITC, as well as representatives of China-Africa business associations, and Chinese and African key enterprises.

 

They exchanged views on how to expand China-Africa trade, improve bilateral trade quality, and promote China-Africa trade development. During the seminar, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, Seychelles’ Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning, talked about his views on bilateral trade and impression of Hunan in an interview.

 

Made up of 115 islands, Seychelles is an archipelago on the west side of the Indian Ocean. It is a developing country, rich in tourism and fishery resources, especially tuna. Half of Seychelles is occupied by nature reserves, which earns it the reputation of “tourist paradise”. 

 

Maurice Loustau-Lalanne said Seychelles is a mountainous country that needs to develop agricultural science and technology. He also noted Seychelles is a touristic country receiving a lot of tourists, especially from Europe. He stated, “We are hoping to have air links by next year, so that we can attract more Chinese tourists to Seychelles”.  

 

Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, Seychelles’ minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning, receives an interview. 

 

“In Seychelles, we have a number of bilateral projects with China. So you’ve helped us in health, education, and some infrastructure development as well. We have a very good bilateral cooperation. So we are also looking at possibilities of getting Chinese companies that have experience and know how to build other infrastructure projects,” said Maurice Loustau-Lalanne. 

 

“I have been to many cities in China before, but it is my first visit to Changsha,” said Maurice Loustau-Lalanne. He added, “I think coming in from the air, you can see how green it is. It is a bit like my country. The city is very clean and well-developed. I think the people are very nice.”

 

"I tasted Changsha food and it is very good, because Seychellois people also like spicy food." As a "foodie", he tasted a lot of Chinese food. He believed that though Changsha people like spicy food, Changsha food is not as spicy as Chengdu.

 

Maurice Loustau-Lalanne said, "I will not be able to visit the birth place of Chairman Mao this time, because I am leaving tomorrow. Already a very short trip, but I will come back on a short holiday with my family.” 

 

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn. 

 

Translator: Xiao Juan

 

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan