President Paul Kagame has extended an invite to Chinese tourists to visit Rwanda to experience unique wildlife and African hospitality noting that the country grants visa on arrival to all Chinese citizens.

Kagame was speaking, virtually, on Sunday 26, September at the opening ceremony of the Second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Changsha, Hunan Province, which was also attended by other Heads of State from Africa including Senegal and Algeria.

He said that Rwanda has seen the value of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), Rwandan companies secured rewarding trade deals with Chinese companies during the first CAETE in 2019, in the supply of specialty agricultural commodities to the Chinese market.

“This success has served to raise the ambition of agribusiness sector even higher, and we appreciate the positive response by Chinese consumers to Rwanda’s high-quality chili, tea and coffee,” the President noted.

The president also noted that this year marks 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Rwanda and China. “Our firm intention is to deepen our relationship even further in the next half century of cooperation,” he said. 

Rwanda is among other African participants attending the expo in Changsha, which started running from today up to 29 September 2021. 

The expo with the theme; “New Start, New Opportunities, and New Accomplishments”, is co-organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Hunan's provincial government and is the most important economic and trade cooperation platform under the mechanism of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. 

Some of the Rwandan products that are being showcased during this year’s expo include coffee, tea, chili, avocado oil, handcrafts, etc. Due to Covid-19, many exhibitors from Rwanda could not travel to China, nevertheless the Embassy of Rwanda in collaboration with Rwandan Community in China were able to ensure the expo is a success. 

Speaking to the media, Rwanda’s Ambassador to China, James Kimonyo said that the expo serves as an important platform to deepen Rwanda –China economic and trade cooperation, and is yet another opportunity to promote investment, trade and tourism and expand the market for made in Rwanda products.

Currently Rwandan exhibitors are getting ready to participate in another major event, the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) scheduled to take place in Shanghai at the beginning of November 2021. 

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