by Justice Lee Adoboe
ACCRA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Former Ghanaian Ambassador to China Anani Demuyakor has lauded Ghana and China for continuing to strengthen their bilateral ties, with greater emphasis on people-to-people exchanges and development.
Demuyakor told Xinhua in a recent interview that the already strong bonds have gained greater impetus over the past few years in various fields and continue to grow stronger.
China is Ghana's largest trading partner and main source of investment. According to data from China's Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade reached 6.54 billion U.S. dollars in the January-June period of 2025, up 9.2 percent year on year. By the end of 2024, the stock of direct investment by Chinese enterprises in Ghana stood at 1.2 billion dollars.
Trade volumes have increased significantly, and there is a lot of movement between Chinese and Ghanaians in terms of human resources, investment and tourism, he said, who is also chairman of the Ghana-China Friendship Association.
He said 2025 was a vital moment for relations, with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama visiting China, where he held discussions with his Chinese counterpart on matters of mutual interest to the two countries.
"One of the high-level discussions focused on establishing zero tariffs. This incentive has significantly expanded trade opportunities between Ghana and China, even extending to other African countries. So relations have been very good, and they keep climbing higher and higher," Demuyakor said.
He noted a gradual transition in the relationship, moving from the previous focus on Chinese financial and development aid to Ghana and other African countries to new areas of cooperation at various levels aimed at achieving mutual benefits.
Demuyakor urged the two countries to focus on trade, technology cooperation and manufacturing to help Ghana and other African countries move from exporting raw materials to value addition.
Fortunately, according to him, the Chinese government has been supporting more of its private-sector companies to partner with African domestic investors in manufacturing, telecommunications, agriculture and many other areas of mutual interest.
That shift in focus is critical because, with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) advancing, African countries need to build manufacturing capacity so their vast natural resources can be converted into finished products to be traded on the continent under the AfCFTA, Demuyakor said.
African countries also need to expand partnerships with China on infrastructure development into areas such as telecommunications, trading infrastructure like port facilities, cold chains and other technologies that would facilitate intra-African trade, he said.
At the policy level, Demuyakor said Africa is gradually recognizing that it can learn from China's governance experience.
The government's current policies aim to chart a development path suited to the country's own conditions, he said, noting that President Mahama told Western countries at the United Nations last year that they could no longer dictate to Africa, particularly Ghana.
In technology, he said China has become a leading hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles (EVs), and many developing countries, including Ghana and others in Africa, have entered into agreements with China to learn more about AI and EV technologies.
He said the ongoing meetings of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, are expected to advance relations with China for mutual benefit.
With 2026 designated as the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, Demuyakor said he expects increased exchanges between the two countries to deepen mutual understanding between their peoples and further strengthen the smooth, warm and growing bilateral relationship.
