China has 16 free trade and investment agreements with its trading and investment partners and is negotiating or executing eight others. China`s free trade partners are ASEAN, Singapore, Pakistan, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Iceland, Switzerland, Maldives, Georgia, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. China has also recently signed free trade agreements with Korea and Australia, both of which contain investment details. With regard to the DBA, China has concluded numerous agreements, including with BRICS members, India, Russia and South Africa, as well as with EAEU members. It often offers privileged trading conditions to countries along their Belt-Road initiative. In August 2019, bric-a-member communications ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies. This agreement was signed in the fifth edition of the meeting of communications ministers from the group`s countries. [40] The agreement was signed at the fifth meeting of the BRICS Communications Minister in Brasilia. Africa should strive to establish partnerships with the BRICS to exploit potential green technological opportunities, which are rapidly becoming the dominant driver of innovation in the direction of sustainable development. For example, in 2012, China added 23.1 GW of clean energy capacity and invested $65.1 billion in clean and renewable energy. Africa has an opportunity to take advantage of the multilateral innovation agreement between the BRICS, which was formalized at the sixth summit in Brazil.
The agreement aims to support projects and initiatives that promote investment in technological innovation, with a focus on infrastructure and sustainable energy, as well as innovation in processes and products in different sectors of industry, services and the agricultural economy. The summit`s final communiqué expressed support for the promotion of multilateralism, the rejection of protectionism and the expansion of trade within the bloc. Each point was an indirect criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump – but only indirectly, because Brazil`s right-wing president is a big fan of Trump and the U.S. is also a strategic trading partner for India. It is clear that greater harmonisation needs to be achieved between the BRICS with regard to bilateral agreements, some of which still need to be clarified if the bloc`s ambition to increase trade between them is taken into account.
