China-Africa digital cooperation continues advancing, highlighted in infrastructure construction

The Forum on China-Africa Digital Cooperation held by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on July 29, 2024. (Photo: Xiong Xinyi/GT)

China-Africa cooperation has been continuously advancing in the digital sector covering a wide range of industries from infrastructure to e-commerce, bolstered by swiftly developing technologies, African officials and business representatives told the Global Times on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Digital Cooperation held by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday.

Digital cooperation between China and South Africa has brought a lot of benefits, with many Chinese technology companies investing in South Africa and helping the country to expand in various sectors ranging from infrastructure to e-commerce, South African Ambassador to China Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele told the Global Times.

For instance, more than 70 percent of the telecommunication infrastructure in South Africa is supplied by Chinese enterprises, and the country is building several cloud centers with some of them being operated by Chinese firms, according to Cwele.

Cwele said that South Africa is looking forward to deepening industrial applications between South Africa and China, as the country is trying to transform its industries to the new economy and new production lines.

The fast-growing e-commerce sector is important in further exploring potential cooperation. Sales of South African products to China are growing every day thanks to e-commerce platforms, and the products are mostly specialties, he said.

Chinese consumers can purchase South African flowers on Chinese e-commerce platforms, which are transported to Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan Province and distributed nationwide, Cwele noted.

Since 2007, Uganda has been building a strong partnership with China in information and communications technology. For instance, Uganda has secured resources from China to construct and lay the national backbone infrastructure, while working with Huawei to build technical capacity within the country, Uganda's Minister of ICT and National Guidance Chris Baryomunsitold the Global Times.

Baryomunsi noted that fiber [optic lines] have been able to be extended to more than 50 percent of the country, and are expected to reach all corners of the country within the next two to three years.

In addition, Baryomunsi said the two countries have constructed data centers in Uganda, while digital cooperation in the education system has been able to offer education for residents in rural areas to learn the basics of how to conduct transactions through digital platforms.

Mamadou Safa Tounkara, deputy general director of SOGEB, a national backbone in Guinea, told the Global Times that the trip to China is to make sure that cooperation efforts with China will be going on in the long term.

The company has many projects in infrastructure and natural resources where it is working with China, according to Tounkara. He noted that cooperation with many companies in China is opening a "new horizon" to help Guinea make the transition to digitalization.

China and 26 African countries jointly issued an Action Plan for China-Africa Digital Cooperation and Development, which was unveiled at the forum on Monday, aiming to promote cooperation and development in the digital sector.

Under the plan, actions will target digital cooperation in six aspects - policy, infrastructure, innovation, transformation, security, and digital capability.

For instance, the countries will work together to implement 10 digital transformation demonstration projects and train at least 1,000 personnel to improve digital capabilities and literacy.