A staff member walks past the exhibition area of Pilot Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation during the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo held in Changsha, central China's Hunan province, on Sept 26, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

CHANGSHA -- A total of 135 projects worth $22.9 billion were inked at the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo which concluded in Central China's Hunan province on Wednesday.

The four-day event, themed "New Start, New Opportunities, and New Accomplishments," was held both online and offline to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.

A total of 320 companies displayed their products online and over 250 million yuan (about $38.7 million) worth of products were traded at an online shopping event during the expo, the information office of the Hunan provincial government told a press briefing on Wednesday.

"With the strong support and active participation of all parties in China and Africa, this year's expo has achieved fruitful results. A number of new cooperation initiatives made their debut, and both the contracted projects and amounts exceeded those of the first edition," said Shen Yumou with the expo's organizing committee.

First launched in 2019, the biennial expo is a major platform for strengthening economic and trade cooperation between China and African countries.