“CooperationwithChinahasbeengoingonformorethan50years,andjudgingfromtheBeijingSummit,moreconcretethingswillbedone.ThisshowsthatChinahaslearnedfromitsexperienceindealingwithAfrica,andthesameistrueforAfricans.”
—JeanClaudeNkou,CommunicationStrategistwiththePresidentialOfficeoftheRepublicofCongo
Onlywithdeeprootscanatreeyieldrichfruit.ThesewordsresonatestronglywithSunPishu.TheyareanaccuratedescriptionofhowhiscompanyhasadaptedandevolvedinAfricathroughouttheyearsdespitetheobstaclesandchallenges.Itsrootsgrowdeeperwitheveryproject.
“ChineseenterprisesshouldnotsimplyinvestinandtradewithAfrica.Theyshouldusetheirstrongsenseofsocialresponsibilityandmissiontopromotethecontinent’sdevelopmentandshareChina’sbesttechnology,ideasandexperience,”Sunsaid.
AstheCEOofInspurGroup,oneofChina’sleadingITcompanies,SunhaslearntfirsthandhowcriticalitisforChinesebusinessestopaycloseattentiontolocalAfricanneedsinordertotakerootandbearfruitonthecontinent.
Itshouldcomeasnosurprise,therefore,thatChinesePresidentXiJinpingusedtheverysameanalogyinhiskeynotespeechattheopeningceremonyofthe2018BeijingSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC)onSeptember3.
XipointedoutthatpartnershipsbetweenChineseandAfricanbusinesseshavebeensuccessfulinaddressingthelackofinfrastructureandotherissuesthatconstrainAfrica’sdevelopment.
Greatprogresshasbeenmadeonthecontinentintheareasofindustrializationandmodernization,infrastructureconstruction,tradeandinvestmentfacilitation,capacitybuilding,andpovertyalleviation,hesaid.
Muchtothedelightoftheparticipatingleaders—whohailedfrom53countries,inadditiontoadelegationfromtheAfricanUnion(AU)Commission—XipromisedthatChina’ssupportwouldcontinueoverthenextthreeyears,pledgingafurther$60billioninfinancingtoAfrica.
XidescribedAfricaasahistoricalandnaturalextensionoftheancientSilkRoad,andasanimportantparticipantintheBeltandRoadInitiative.Lookingforward,hesaidthatChinahopestoturntheBeltandRoadInitiativeintoaroadofpeace,prosperity,openness,greendevelopmentandinnovationthatbringstogetherdifferentcivilizations.
“WeneedtoseetoitthattheBeltandRoadInitiativeandtheAUAgenda2063,theUN2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopmentandthedevelopmentprogramsofAfricancountriesbettercomplementeachother.Throughtheseefforts,wecanexpandareasofcooperation,unlocknewcooperationpotential,consolidateourtraditionalareasofcooperationandfosternewhighlightsofcooperationintheneweconomy,”saidXi.
Partnershipthroughtechnology
ForSun,whoattendedtheHigh-LevelDialogueofChina-AfricaLeadersandBusinessRepresentativesandtheSixthChina-AfricaBusinessForum,whichalsotookplaceaspartoftheFOCACBeijingSummit,thisrenewedcommitmentfromtheChinesepresidentisgoodnews.
“ChinaandAfricaarebothinadevelopmentalstage.Therefore,theycanworktogethertoovercomecommonobstacles,inadditiontobuilding,exchangingandsharingknow-howandexperienceineconomicdevelopment,”hesaid.
Fromitsfirstforeignventureonthecontinentmanyyearsago,hiscompanyhasnowbecomeoneofthelargestprovidersofcloudcomputingandBigDatasolutions,withitsproductshavingbeenadoptedacrossAfrica.Todate,Inspurhasestablisheditselfinmorethan100countriesaroundtheworld.
Sunbelievesthatemergingtechnologieshavebroughtaboutequaldevelopmentopportunitiestomanycountries.BylearningfromChina’sexperienceininformationtechnology(IT),Africancountriescandirectlybenefitfromcutting-edgedevelopmentssuchascloudcomputingandBigData.Thiscanhelpthempromoteindustrializationandmodernization,whilesupportingtheirintegrationwiththeglobaleconomy,hesaid.
“Atpresent,wehavedevelopedcloudinfrastructureinmanycountriesinAfrica.InEthiopiaandGhana,Inspurcooperateswithlocalenterprisestobuildclouddatacentersandinformation-baseddevelopmentinfrastructurethroughwhichlocalgovernmentscandevelopindustriesinvolvingtheInternet,BigDataandartificialintelligence,”explainedSun.
Suchdevelopmentwillnotonlyimprovethelivelihoodoflocalpeople,butalsobenefitthedevelopmentofsimilarindustriesinneighboringcountries,hesaid.
“WearewillingtosharewithAfricancountriesthebestandmostmatureChineseITcreations,suchassmartcities,smarteducationandsmartagriculture,sothattheycantakefewerdetoursandmoreexpedientlyachieveleap-frog,IT-fueleddevelopment,”headded.
Strengthinnumbers
WhenitcomestothebestwayforChinesecompaniestogainafootholdinAfrica,HuoJiangtaoisastrongbelieverinnumbers.
AstheVicePresidentoftheAfricaGuangdongBusinessAssociation(AGBA),shebelievesthatitismoreadvantageousforChinesecompaniestotakeanapproachofmutualassistancewhengoingabroad.Relyingonindustrialparksonthecontinent,herassociationaimsatbetterachievingtheclusteringeffectfornewcomerenterprises,soastobettercomplementtheirindustrialresources.
Atthesametime,parkoperatorsshouldfocusonprovidingbasicpublicfacilitiesandservicesthataremostneededbyenterprises,andcarryouttargetedexchangeswithrelevantlocalinstitutionstoidentifyandaddressissuesinthelocaldevelopmentprocess.Onlybydoingsocantheparksberelevanttoindividualenterprises,shesaid.
“ItiswiththisobjectiveinmindthatweestablishedAGBAinAugustinNairobi.Atthesametime,GuangdongNewSouthGroupCo.Ltd.,theheadcompanyofAGBA,startedworkontheconstructionofthePearlRiverSpecialEconomicZoneinKenya,”Huo,whoattendedtheFOCACBeijingSummit,toldBeijingReview.
DuringhisspeechattheHigh-LevelDialogueofChina-AfricaLeadersandBusinessRepresentatives,XitalkedofhishighexpectationsforChineseandAfricanentrepreneurs,includingtheneedforthemtoshouldertheirshareofsocialresponsibility.
Huocouldnotagreemore.SherecalledherexperienceinSenegal,wherelocalpartnerssaidtheyneededmoreprofessionaltraining.
“Toacertainextent,werealizedwehadtochangeourpreviousmethodsofassistance,whichconsistedofexportingstandardizedandclosedblack-boxtechnol-ogyproducts,intoamoreflexibleapproachwithtechnologiesthatcanbetransferredandadapted.Therefore,wesawvalueintargetedvocationaltraining,”sheexplained.
InMay,AGBAestablishedtheAfricanBusinessSchoolinGuangzhou,southChina’sGuangdongProvince,whereitnowprovidesvocationaltrainingtoitsAfricanpartners.“Ihopewecanusethisinitiativetotrainmoretalentforthelong-termdevelopmentofChina-Africatradeandeconomiccooperation,andgathermoremomentum,”shesaid.
Aswithitspreviousiterations,theFOCACBeijingSummitconcludedamidawaveofexpectationforthefutureofSino-Africanrelations.
“CooperationwithChinahasbeengoingonformorethan50years,andjudgingfromtheBeijingSummit,moreconcretethingswillbedone.ThisshowsthatChinahaslearnedfromitsexperienceindealingwithAfrica,andthesameistrueforAfricans,”saidJeanClaudeNkou,CommunicationStrategistwiththePresidentialOfficeoftheRepublicofCongo.
“Judgingfromthecommitmentsthathavebeenmade,Icansafelysaythatthe2018FOCACBeijingSummitdidnotdisappoint,”headded.
ChineseandSouthAfricanstaffworkatatechnologyinnovationcenterofHuaweiTechnologiesinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica,onAugust11XINHUACopyeditedbyLaurenceCoultonCommentsto