Aerial photo taken on Dec. 13, 2019 shows the 50 MW solar power farm in Garissa, Kenya. The plant, designed and built by the EPC contractor China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Co-operation (CJIC), in conjunction with Kenya's Rural Energy Authority (REA), is one of the largest photovoltaic electricity stations in Africa. (Xinhua/Xie Han)
BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- A report released in Beijing recently has highlighted the potential of China-Africa cooperation in improving industrial chains on the African continent. Titled "Chinese Investment in Africa 2023," the report was published by the China-Africa Business Council and compiled by the council, along with the China-Africa Economic & Trade Research Institute.
The following are some facts, figures, and reviews of policies highlighting the feats of China-Africa cooperation in promoting the continent's industry chains.
-- Policy underpinned
Over the past decade, thanks to the policy support from both China and African countries, the two sides have continuously opened up new directions for exchanges and cooperation, setting a model for building a global community for shared future.
China has proposed three major policy frameworks for the development and transformation of Africa's industry chains. Among them, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, represents a starting point helping to consolidate the political foundations between the two sides, according to the report.
The report examined the real impact of the BRI through specific projects within cooperation priorities including policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial cooperation, and people-to-people bonds in Africa.
Apart from the BRI, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue during the 15th BRICS Summit also played important roles in facilitating China-Africa cooperation. The Ten Major Cooperation Plans, Eight Major Initiatives and Nine Programs launched at several FOCAC conferences have raised the level of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation to a new historical high, said the report.
-- Infrastructure cemented
Under these policy frameworks, the two sides have leveraged their relative strengths and achieved leapfrog development on industry chains. Infrastructure is a priority in China-Africa cooperation, as it will provide important support for improving Africa's investment environment, strengthening Africa's industrial foundations and promoting industrial upgrading.
To address the funding gap that has long hindered the industrialization of the African continent, China guides enterprises to adopt various models such as build-operate-transfer (BOT) and public-private partnership (PPP) to move towards integration of investment, construction and operation, and promote the sustainable development of infrastructure projects.
It is estimated that since the establishment of the FOCAC, Chinese enterprises have utilized various funds to help African countries add and upgrade more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, about 1,000 bridges, about 100 ports, 66,000 kilometers of power transmission and transformation lines, 120 million kilowatts of installed power capacity, 150,000 kilometers of communication backbone networks, and network services covering nearly 700 million user terminals.
According to the statistics from the Secretariat of China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in 2022, transport, power engineering and general construction were the three largest industries for new contracts signed with Chinese enterprises in Africa, accounting for a total of 59 percent. Other industries, such as the information and communication technology (ICT), also witnessed Chinese enterprises' contribution. For example, Huawei has not only built up to 70 percent of the IT backbone network for the African continent, but also cultivated high-quality ICT talent in Africa through various means.
-- Other explorations
As the industry chains are complex systems with several layers, including supply chain, value chain, raw material processing, etc. China and Africa have also sought new models and actions to improve the overall performance of the continent's supply chains.
One of the explorations is the construction of industrial parks. The joint construction of China-Africa industrial parks provides an important carrier for China's investment in Africa, supporting and guiding enterprises in the parks to establish a full industry for various products in Africa. To date, China has established almost 100 economic and trade parks in Africa, and the number of Chinese funded parks in Africa as registered by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has reached 25, attracting over 620 enterprises, with a cumulative investment of 7.35 billion U.S. dollars, and employing 42,000 local employees.
Besides, China and Africa have built important platforms for technology transfer. For example, a group of high-level joint laboratories have been built and a total of 23 agricultural demonstration centers have been established to provide technical support.
Since successful technology transfer relies on talent cultivation, China has strongly supported the development of education in Africa. China has attached great importance in cultivating African talents in science and technology, agriculture technology and vocational education. More than 50,000 local experts in agriculture have been trained. China has established 16 "Luban Workshops" in 14 African countries to share China's success in high-quality vocational education with Africa.
Moreover, to fulfill its promises in the policy framework, China also introduced a series platforms, such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, the Pilot Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, China-Africa Private Investment Promotion Platform, to facilitate trade, investment and communication between the two sides. (Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
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