"If Chinese enterprises want better access to overseas markets, including Africa, they must employ local employees, and foreign students in China are the best source, since they have knowledge and links to both sides," says Gong.

Linda Tefa, an African employee of Chao Wei Energy, based in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, says, "The best way for a Chinese company to get to Africa is to recruit Africans."

Tefa has worked for the company for less than a year. However, she has often visited Africa in that time, since she is a local employee who "knows the country, knows the people and knows the culture."

Tefa went to the job fair as part of the company's recruiting team, responsible for communicating with African students who could not speak Chinese.

Lin Guijun, deputy principal of UIBE, says that the Belt and Road Initiative has prompted more Chinese-funded enterprises to enter the African market and has increased the number of overseas students in China.

Lin says that hiring Africans studying in China will play an important role in promoting the localization of Chinese-funded enterprises and helping employ young Africans in China.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, China's nonfinancial direct investment in Africa was $3.3 billion in 2016, covering construction, leasing and commercial services, mining, manufacturing, wholesale, retail and other fields. The stock of various types of investments in Africa has exceeded $100 billion as the continent becomes an important destination for Chinese enterprises going global.

"Therefore, our association has built a bridge to give 60,000 African students who studied in China the opportunity to work and to give more than 3,000 Chinese enterprises that invest in Africa the opportunity to recruit local students in Africa," says Lin Yi, deputy president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

"I hope these students will take back to Africa not only the knowledge and skills they have learned in China, but also the Chinese people's warm and deep-seated friendship with the African people, so that they can build a solid foundation for future cooperation."

According to a report released by the United Nations, Africa currently has a total population of about 1.2 billion, which is increasing yearly. In southeastern Africa, people between the ages of 10 and 24 account for 33 percent of the total population, and by 2025 Africa will account for one-fourth of the world's youth population.

He Wenping, chief researcher at the Institute of West Asia and Africa Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, thinks that relying solely on education cannot solve the employment problem for many young Africans.

"The key is to create more jobs," she says.

She adds that, under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese-funded enterprises have provided more job opportunities in Africa.

"Education is one important aspect. In addition, companies must export technologies, projects and business in order to create jobs," she says.

At the job fair, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and UIBE signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Both sides will work together in the future to promote educational exchanges and youth development, at home and abroad, within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn