The building of the Belt and Road Initiative can draw on the success stories of Chinese companies which have gained rich experience investing in Africa.
China has become Africa's biggest economic partner and there are currently more than 10,000 Chinese companies operating in Africa, according to areportrecently released by global consulting firmMcKinsey & Company.
The report is based on face-to-face surveys of 1,073 Chinese firms across eight African countries, including Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia, which account for about two thirds of sub-Saharan Africa's GDP and about 50 percent of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) to the continent.
According to the report, China is among the top four partners for Africa in the five dimensions of trade, investment stock, investment growth, infrastructure financing and aid.
Chinese companies operating in Africa are engaged in traditional industries such as mining and infrastructure, as well as in many diversified sectors. Around one third of them are involved in manufacturing, accounting for 20 percent of Africa's manufacturing market, one fourth of them are specialized in services, and one fifth in trade.
The report says that private companies make up 90 percent of all Chinese enterprises in Africa.
Nearly one third of the companies surveyed reported profit margins of over 20 percent in 2015 and 74 percent of them are optimistic about the future, planning to make long-term investments.