Rich resources and huge market potential make Africa very likely to become one of the main contributors to the global economy's medium and long -term growth，instead of the free trade zone of the African continent (hereinafter referred to as the "Africa Free Trade Zone") was officially established in 2019，It marks an important step in the dream of African countries towards unity and unity，Add new motivation and vitality to Africa's socio -economic development。

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The African Continental Free Trade Zone is one of the most ambitious projects in the African Union (hereinafter referred to as "African Union")，shows the will of the construction of the African unified market in various countries。According to the agreement，Each parties will gradually stop levying tariffs on 90%of goods within 5-10 years，and eliminate non -tariff barriers，Finally realized product、Funds、Free flow of personnel on the African continent。

The launching construction of the African Free Trade Zone has three levels of meaning。

First，From a global perspective，In the current anti -globalization、Protectism、On the occasion of the upward trend of unilateralism，The launch of the African Free Trade Zone conforms to the mainstream direction of the reform of global trade rules，helps boost global trade facilitation and liberalization，Injecting new kinetic energy for the development of open -type world economy。

Second，From the perspective of Africa，The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Zone has a milestone.，It marks the further strengthening of African economic integration and internal unity。With the official launch of the construction of the African Free Trade Zone，A population covering bet365 Play online games 1.3 billion people、3.3 trillion US dollars of African single large markets will be sailed as scheduled。

For a long time，The proportion of trade in Africa is low。Data display published by the United Nations Trade and Development Conference，2015-2017，Trade in the region only accounts for 15.2%of the total trade of the African continent，far below Europe (67%)、Asia (61%) and America (47%)。The formation of the African Free Trade Zone will gradually change this situation，Drives African countries to process raw materials in the local area、Production Industrial Products，Increase the trade volume in the region。According to the United Nations African Economic Commission、African Development Bank and African Union joint calculation，With the official establishment of the African Free Trade Zone，In 2022, the proportion of trade in Africa will reach 21.9%。and the International Monetary Fund considers，The African Continental Free Trade Zone will drive trade in Africa to increase by about 16.1 billion US dollars，Promote the increase in internal trade in Africa 33%。Among them, minerals、Trade growth in the fields of manufacturing and agriculture will be particularly significant。

The launch of the African Free Trade Zone will also increase the convenience of the overall cargo circulation，Reduce product、Personnel、Cost of capital entering the African market，helps to increase the investment value of Africa，Accelerate its industrialization process，Promote more African countries into regions and global value chains，Injecting new motivation into economic growth and structural transformation。，The establishment of the African Free Trade Zone will also help Africa and other regional economic groups equal dialogue，Improve Africa's right to speak in international negotiations。

third，From the perspective of countries outside Africa，The landing of the African Free Trade Zone will bring Bet365 app download more opportunities for economic and trade cooperation。Since the African Free Trade Zone not only pays attention to commodity trade，It also covers service trade、Investment、Intellectual property、Competitive policy and even e -commerce，So，Enterprises from countries outside Africa will be likely to participate in African commodity trade、E -commerce、Agriculture、Manufacturing、New Energy、Opportunities in the construction of financial and currency cooperation。After starting the African Free Trade Zone，Many countries in the world are stepping up signing related trade agreements with African countries，It is also Chinese and August、African regional integrated organization and African countries to strengthen economic and trade mechanism construction provides opportunities。October 17, 2019，China and Mauritius signed the "People's Republic of China Government and the Government of the Republic of Mauritius"。This agreement is the first free trade agreement between China and African countries，It provides a more powerful institutional guarantee for deepening the economic and trade relations between the two countries，It will promote China -Africa economic and trade cooperation to a new level，and better promote the docking of the "Belt and Road" initiative with the African economic integration process。

　Facing many realistic challenges

The launch of the African Free Trade Zone is just the first step to realize the integration of Africa，The specific content of the relevant agreement needs to be enriched and improved through further negotiations。He has served as the executive secretary of the UN African Economic Council、Guinea Economist Carlos Lopes, who participated in the drafting of the African Free Trade Zone Agreement, believes，A protocol for the final version，It takes about three years to implement。How to efficiently integrate existing resources、Forming bet365 Play online games a joint force，Promoting internal trade and investment has become a problem that needs to be resolved urgently。Although the construction of the African Free Trade Zone is of great significance、Impact is far -reaching，But from the perspective of history and reality，Still facing many difficulties and unfavorable factors。

First，A single economic structure in Africa and the problem of homogeneity is more serious。The economic structure of many African countries is compared to a single，Its general feature is: low level of industrialization，Mainly relying on exported agricultural and mining primary products to maintain economic operation，The industrial products required in China are basically dependent on imports，And the trading partners are mostly the former master of all countries。Homogeneous industrial structure and poorly complementary trade pattern，It is not conducive to carried out substantial trade activities between African countries，It is also easy to lead to competing with each other in the international market。To develop trade in the region，African countries need to strengthen cross -border investment，Strengthen the manufacturing、Finance、Logistics、Convergence and cooperation in related industries such as e -commerce，Industrial chain that forms an internal cycle。

Next，There are dozens of sovereign countries in mainland Africa，The imbalance of economic development between the country is very prominent。Many African countries have always regarded tariffs as an important source of fiscal revenue，But in recent years, some countries have increased foreign debt burden、Depreciation of the local currency，and lack of trade -financing methods and tax base narrowing and other issues highlight。The launch of the African Free Trade Zone means that tariff reduction and non -tariff barriers are demolished，This is very likely to reduce Bet365 app download the foreign exchange income of some countries，Extermination of their fiscal tension，It is easy to delay the implementation of the agreement due to the difference in the demands of interests。In fact，In the process of Africa's economic integration in the past, there have been uneven benefits due to imbalance between economic development among various countries，Cases that ultimately trigger an integrated organization。and the integrated agreement "Thunderbolt、Small rain point "delayed implementation case is not uncommon。For example，The effect of taking effect on April 30, 2019、The African Three -Party Free Trade Zone (TFTA) based on the Basic African Free Trade Zone of Africa (TFTA) is only Uganda、Kenya、Egypt and South Africa 4 countries complete approval，and this agreement needs at least 14 in the country to take effect，Therefore, it was forced to postpone the original effective date。How to make the most developed countries、Low low -income countries、Inland countries、Island countries and countries still in conflict are all benefited from the interests of the construction of the African Free Trade Zone，How to eliminate African countries in the tariff system、Declaration system、huge differences in trade systems such as information transparency，All will be an unavoidable problem in the advancement process of the African Free Trade Zone。For this，Construction of the African Free Trade Zone requires not only negotiation to reach an agreement，More African Union、Regional integrated organization、African governments have the ability to implement and implement the agreement。

again，Non -alliance and most regional integrated organizations have not regarded unified currencies as the development goals of Africa's economic integration，Lottery that has achieved an integrated transaction cost huge。and the imperfect bet365 best casino games cross -border banking network and financial services are another hard constraints in the development of the African Free Trade Zone。The development of the African Free Trade Zone is inseparable from capital circulation and financial services，Generally speaking, the current financial services of African countries are relatively backward，Although there are many Western banks in the area or the South African bank is operating，The network of various banks also has cross overlap，But it has not completely covered all Africa countries。Not enough banking coverage of bank networks may affect the flow of funds related to trade investment，It may also cause regulatory loopholes。

Last，impact of political turmoil and armed conflict。Construction of the African Free Trade Zone involved mutual communication between many African countries，The environment of peace and stability is undoubtedly a prerequisite for this interaction。But the frequency and strength of different forms of armed conflicts including terrorist attacks in recent years have rebounded in the African continent，These conflicts have affected nearly 1/3 of the southern African countries of Sahara，Bring huge economic and social costs，The "number one killer" for regional economic growth and integration process。Such conflicts generally have more complicated history、National、Reasons for the background in religion and culture，Therefore, it is difficult to eradicate it in a short time，The construction of the African Free Trade Zone in the future may continue to be troubled by such problems。

To sum up，Although the construction of the African Free Trade Zone is not a Trip Truth，But undoubtedly brings new hope to the development of Africa。Future，The construction of the African Free Trade Zone requires both the persistent efforts of African countries，It is also inseparable from the strong support and cooperation of the international community。

(Author Unit: South Africa Research Center bet365 best casino games of the Chinese Academy of Africa of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)