Mozambican entrepreneurs want evolution of relationship with China

Mozambican business leaders advocated today for the evolution of economic relations with China toward a model based on joint production, industrialization, and knowledge transfer, enabling greater integration of national companies into Chinese investments. “We understand that the economic relationship between Mozambique and China must progressively evolve from a model based solely on the trade of goods and investment into a relationship also built on joint production, the creation of value chains, and the transfer of knowledge and technology,” said Amâncio Gume, Vice President of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), in Maputo. Speaking during the reception of a Chinese delegation within the framework of a business exchange for economic and commercial cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, the official highlighted that the complementarity between the two economies creates conditions for a broader cooperation, given that Mozambique possesses natural resources, a strategic location, and investment opportunities, while China offers capital, technology, industrial capacity, and business expertise.

“We believe there is strong complementarity between the two economies. Mozambique possesses resources, a strategic location, and investment opportunities, while China possesses capital, technology, industrial capacity, knowledge, and business experience,” he declared. According to the business leader, it is upon this complementarity that long-term business partnerships should be built, yielding mutual benefits and greater integration of Mozambican companies, as the goal of economic cooperation with the Asian nation should not be limited merely to increasing trade volumes between the two countries.

“Our interest is not just to increase trade volume, but to ensure that a growing share of the value created from existing opportunities in Mozambique is produced within the country itself, with greater participation from Mozambican enterprises,” Gume noted. For the business association, the country now faces the major challenge of locally processing a growing share of the raw materials and resources produced within its borders. “Our challenge is to transition from an economy that primarily exports raw materials to an economy that transforms, adds value, and develops competitive products and services for domestic, regional, and international markets,” he stated.

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Amâncio Gume therefore highlighted that beyond the sectors traditionally associated with natural resources, business leaders have also identified major opportunities for cooperation with China in agro-industry, energy, logistics, transport, construction, manufacturing, the digital economy, trade, and services. The CTA Vice President also noted that one of the main obstacles preventing local companies from capitalizing on opportunities generated by Chinese investments remains the limited capacity of many domestic firms to fulfill requirements demanded by international markets and mega-projects, largely due to a lack of business certification. “We would like to count on the support of the authorities of the Government of the People’s Republic of China (…) to expand the business certification and training program,” he declared, arguing that strengthening these initiatives will increase the participation of Mozambican small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in national, regional, and global value chains.

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