With the implementation of the 2025-27 action plan announced at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation last year, experts predict further deepening of China-Africa cooperation in science and technology, with a focus on digital infrastructure, digital economy and agricultural modernization.
This includes education partnerships, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as digital skills and vocational training. These partnerships aim to strengthen Africa’s talent pools and foster innovation. Dennis Munene, Executive Director of the China-Africa Center affiliated with the Africa Policy Institute in Kenya, said China has developed unique technologies that can help solve Africa’s pressing problems, such as climate change. “We will experience a lot of technologies that will help us deal with climate change issues,” he said. “This will be by using seeds or mechanisms that will increase drought resilience in arid and semi-arid (affected) regions in Africa.”
In line with the partnership agenda of last year’s FOCAC summit, Munene said skills development will be key for Africa to benefit from high-tech investments from China, calling for higher education institutions to equip young people with the skills to develop indigenous AI models and solutions. “Through the Luban Workshops, a China-backed vocational training program, the continent will be able to train many young people on how to develop local AI tools that will solve some of the challenges the continent is grappling with,” Munene said.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202504/07/WS67f3263ea3104d9fd381dd3d.html
