finding new opportunities in africa's booming continent
2024-09-07
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china youth daily client news (china youth daily/china youth network reporter li yuanyuan) "i call on chinese and african companies to strengthen dialogue and exchanges in economy, trade, industry, value chains, and cooperation in emerging industries such as robotics, virtual reality, 5g, blockchain, and artificial intelligence." at the 8th china-africa entrepreneurs conference held on september 6, zimbabwean president mnangagwa proposed that china and africa should narrow the gap in modernization levels through cooperation in emerging industries and jointly build a more prosperous global south.
just as economic and trade cooperation is the "ballast stone" of china-africa relations, the china-africa entrepreneurs conference is also the "finale" of the forum on china-africa cooperation. as an important supporting event for the 2024 forum on china-africa cooperation summit, this china-africa entrepreneurs conference attracted about a thousand chinese and african business people to participate.
zhang shaogang, vice chairman of the china council for the promotion of international trade, introduced at a briefing that china is accelerating the development of new productivity, africa is also actively exploring the path of modernization and independent development, and china and africa have great potential for cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy, green development, and artificial intelligence. during the conference, chinese and african business people had in-depth exchanges on "promoting the development of emerging industries" and jointly discussed practical measures to implement the new blueprint for china-africa cooperation.
under the framework of china-africa cooperation, chinese digital products are hot in the african market
in recent years, the coverage of smartphones in africa has grown rapidly. according to data from the international telecommunication union (itu), the average mobile phone penetration rate in africa will reach 60% in 2024. africa has become the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world, with mobile phone usage increasing by 65% annually, almost twice the growth rate of the asian market. the global system for mobile communications association (gsma) predicts that by 2030, at least 88% of africans will own a mobile phone.
xiaomi is one of the most popular mobile phone brands in the region. "africa is a very important part of xiaomi's international market. we have entered the african market since 2017 and actively participated in africa's informatization and digitalization process." lei jun, founder, chairman and ceo of xiaomi group, introduced at the conference that under a series of china-africa cooperation initiatives, xiaomi's business has covered 16 african countries including egypt, south africa, nigeria and kenya.
on september 6, lei jun, founder, chairman and ceo of xiaomi group, attended the 8th china-africa entrepreneurs conference and delivered a speech. photo by li yuanyuan, china youth daily and china youth network reporter
lei jun pointed out that africa's economic growth rate is higher than the global average. in the second quarter of this year, xiaomi's mobile phone shipments in the african market increased by 45% year-on-year, ranking third in market share. other xiaomi products such as tvs and sweeping robots are also very popular in the african market.
under the framework of the belt and road initiative and the forum on china-africa cooperation, various china-africa infrastructure cooperation projects, including digital infrastructure, have continued to deepen and become more practical. in 2021, at the ministerial meeting of the forum on china-africa cooperation held in dakar, the capital of senegal, china proposed "nine projects", one of which was a digital innovation project jointly implemented by china and african countries in close cooperation. the continuous improvement of digital infrastructure has brought tangible benefits to the african people and promoted the continued expansion and deepening of china-africa cooperation.
on july 29 this year, china and 26 african countries jointly issued the china-africa digital cooperation and development action plan, which proposed that china and africa will take further cooperation actions in six major digital fields. the action plan also mentioned that china and africa will promote and popularize digital technology, accelerate the digital transformation of traditional fields, jointly build 10 digital transformation demonstration projects in the next three years, and jointly train 1,000 digital talents.
"the african continent has a population of 1.4 billion, more than half of whom are young people under the age of 25. how can we transform the abundant human resources into dividends that promote the development of emerging industries?" lei jun believes that we must first put scientific and technological innovation first, and secondly, strengthen talent training in various fields. while introducing talent, we must also pay more attention to cultivating talent.
china-africa digital infrastructure cooperation helps africa bridge the digital divide
the "hot sales" of chinese smartphones in africa are inseparable from the progress and popularization of communication technology. according to li zixue, chairman of zte corporation, "zte has entered the african market since 1997 and has witnessed and participated in the iterative introduction of african communication technology from 2g to 5g."
for chinese telecommunications companies, the african continent is a land of development opportunities. a survey by the global system for mobile communications association (gsma) shows that in 2022, there will be 980 million mobile users in sub-saharan africa, of which only 22% will have access to 4g networks. statistics from the international telecommunication union (itu) in 2023 show that the global average internet access rate is 67%, while africa is only 37%, and nearly 900 million people still have no access to the internet.
"the high cost of terminals, unstable power supply, and insufficient broadband network coverage are the main factors that hinder africans from fully participating in digital life. in addition, factors such as the lack of digital content have also seriously affected users' digital experience." li zixue introduced that after entering the african market, zte overcame challenges such as difficulties in household electricity use and insufficient digital literacy of residents, provided solutions for rural and remote areas, and is committed to promoting digital inclusion in african society and narrowing the urban-rural gap. at present, the network built by zte in africa covers 400 million users, and has established strategic partnerships with operators in more than 50 african countries.
in recent years, china has signed digital cooperation agreements with many african governments. according to data from the china academy of information and communications technology, chinese companies have actively participated in the construction of networks in african countries, serving more than 900 million africans. chinese companies have participated in the construction of submarine cables with a total length of more than 60,000 kilometers, effectively expanding the interconnection between the african continent and europe, asia, and the americas. chinese companies have also built fiber-optic broadband networks and 4g/5g mobile communication networks for many african countries, and provided satellite communication services, which has effectively improved the level of interconnection in africa.
"thanks to the attention african countries and regions pay to information and communications, and with the joint efforts of all parties in china and africa, africa's information and communications infrastructure has been continuously improved, and the digital divide has been narrowing year by year," said li zixue.
let traditional industries become part of emerging industries
when it comes to emerging industries, people naturally think of artificial intelligence, robots, virtual reality, etc., but alan majuru, ceo of the zimbabwe trade promotion council, has a different view. "i prefer to think about how local and traditional industries and products can achieve development transformation and how to link with high-tech products."
in majuru's imagination, a day in the "high-tech future" is like this: the voice assistant wakes you up at the best time according to your pre-set sleep cycle, and reminds you not to forget to use zimbabwean jatropha soap, baobab essential oil and marula oil cream, which are grown without pesticides and are organic. then, you go to the kitchen, and the voice assistant prepares a healthy breakfast for you based on your nutritional needs and dietary preferences, including blueberries from zimbabwe.
"today, blueberry exports are becoming an emerging industry of 'superfood' in zimbabwe." majuru said that in the past five years, zimbabwe's blueberry production has increased by 108% annually, ranking first among countries in southern africa. zimbabwe's other agricultural exports have also achieved good results. "the export volume of citrus fruits ranks second in southern africa, and peas have successfully entered the european market, making it the third largest pea exporter in africa and the seventh largest in the world."
"the emergence of emerging industries is not a possibility but a necessity." majuru believes that traditional agriculture can also become part of emerging industries through innovation. "we welcome chinese companies to come to zimbabwe and experience firsthand the inspiration and future development potential brought by the market."
industry insiders generally believe that the chinese and african economies are highly complementary, and the cooperation between the two sides in emerging industries is full of potential. wang shouwen, china's international trade negotiator and vice minister of the ministry of commerce, said that 18 african countries have joined the "framework initiative for international economic and trade cooperation on digital economy and green development", "we welcome more african countries to join the initiative and jointly promote the development of emerging industries between china and africa."
it is reported that the china-africa entrepreneurs conference is co-hosted by the china council for the promotion of international trade and the ministry of commerce. it is the highest-level economic and trade event for the chinese and african business communities under the framework of the china-africa cooperation forum. it is also an important mechanism platform for china and africa to further expand economic and trade cooperation and promote the comprehensive development of china-africa economic and trade relations. since its establishment in 2003, it has been held alternately in china and african countries every three years, and has been held 8 times so far.
source: china youth daily client
