Zola Franco, the owner of a Mexican restaurant in north China's Tianjin, has subbed Mexican avocados with some grown in Kenya in the restaurant's dishes.

The adjustments mirror China and Africa's practical cooperation across a wide range of areas, including the agricultural sector.

Kenya commenced the maritime transport of fresh avocados to China in August, in line with a protocol signed by the two nations in January.

Du Gongming, general manager of a Shanghai-based importer, said more than 150 containers of avocados are expected to be imported from Kenya in the latter part of this year's harvest season, and the figure is expected to hit 1,500 containers in the upcoming season in 2023.

Ernest Muthomi, chief executive officer at the Avocado Society of Kenya, believes that as China is a vast market, the new agreement will herald fortunes for local avocado growers.

Kenyan authorities noted that the country's export of avocados to China will gradually increase to 100,000 tonnes a year over the next few years.

"Kenya's export of avocados to China is expected to increase the income of local farmers by 20 to 30 percent on average, and will create tens of thousands of new jobs," Du said.

Thanks to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative and other government efforts, the deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa over the past few decades has been well reflected in the agricultural sector.

As the second largest destination for African agricultural exports, the average annual growth rate of African agricultural exports to China has reached 11.4 percent in recent years. In 2021, African agricultural exports to China increased by 18.2 percent year-on-year.

China will support and facilitate the entry of more high-quality and distinctive African agricultural and food products into the Chinese market, bringing more tangible benefits to the Chinese and African people, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular news briefing earlier in August.