The trade volume between China and African countries will exceed 200 billion U.S. dollars this year, Sun Guangxiang, deputy minister of commerce, predicted at a conference on Tuesday.

Speaking at the third Round-Table Conference on China-Africa Cooperation in Wanning City of south China's Hainan Province, Sun vowed China will strengthen cooperation with African countries in trade, finance, agriculture, tourism and aviation.

He added that trade between China and Africa totalled more than 160 billion U.S. dollars last year.

Statistics released by the ministry showed that one million Chinese people travelled to Africa, and nearly 500,000 African people traveled to China last year.0 China will continue broadening the field of cooperation with Africa, and will offer more help to the continent, the official said.

With the theme of "deepen cooperation for a bright future," the conference was attended by diplomatic envoys and officials from commercial departments of both sides.

The first such conference was held in Beijing in 2010.

- Xinhua