With the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, ties between China and Africa are growing, and more Chinese scholars are studying Africa.

As early as 2007, six years before the national initiative was launched, Zhejiang Normal University in Jinhua, Zhejiang province set up the Institute of African Studies with the support of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the aim of further boosting China-Africa relations.

Zhejiang Normal University sets up the Institute of African Studies in 2007. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The institute covers a wide range of topics, including economy, trade, art, education and music, and employs over 300 faculty members who are involved in both research and teaching.

A symposium on African studies is held at IASZNU. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Over 90 research reports have been submitted touching on more than 30 African countries.

Over the past decade, the institute has formed an effective talent cultivation system for graduate students, postgraduate students, doctoral students, international students and short-time trainees. It also acts as a think tank, providing intellectual support for China's diplomatic strategy towards Africa based on its extensive research into the continent.

A delegation of scholars from IASZNU inspects a railway in Kenya. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Liu Hongwu, founding director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University (IASZNU), said their research findings are not only for the country's policymakers, but also to help facilitate exchange and cooperation between regional companies and African countries.

"These academic achievements can't just be put on the shelf. We need to better understand the needs of regions and companies and provide suggestions accordingly," said Liu, who was a guest at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing from April 25 to 27.