China and 26 African countries issued a China-Africa Action Plan for Digital Cooperation and Development on Monday, aiming to promote cooperation and development in the digital sector.
African officials and representatives from the telecommunication industry gathered in Beijing to strengthen digital cooperation with China and expand collaborations. Over the next three years, the countries will work together to implement ten digital transformation demonstration projects and train at least 1,000 personnel in the field.
“China-Africa cooperation in the digital field has huge potential and broad prospects. China will continue to adhere to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, actively carry out digital cooperation with African countries – to help build a ‘Digital Africa’,” said Jin Zhuanglong, the country’s minister of Industry and Information Technology.
Jin said every Chinese city has been covered by the 5G network, which has empowered 74 national economic categories, including industry, power generation, mining, ports and other fields. After learning about China’s digital development status, African representatives said they looked forward to the prospects of building a “Digital Africa.”
“For us Africans, China is a very trustworthy partner, particularly when it comes to digital cooperation. China is very advanced in telecommunication and as the minister has said, now all Chinese people in urban and rural areas, have access to the internet. So, we really need to see that in Africa through the cooperation with China,” said Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig, ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to China.
“For Liberia and China, there has been long-time relations. So we would like to see that improve at the level of Africa. For the digital spheres, we are very interested in working along with China to ensure that development in the digital era is achieved in Africa,” said Sekou Kromah, minister of Posts and Telecommunications of Republic of Liberia.
China and the African countries agreed to seize opportunities in the digital era, cooperate in digital policy, infrastructure, cutting-edge innovation, digital transformation, security and nurturing talent.