Upcoming forum offers opportunity for China and Africa to discuss ways to harness the potential of digital technology in critical sectors

As Chinese and African leaders meet in September for the ninth instalment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, a range of issues from trade and investment to security and social development will be on the agenda.

One of the most important issues likely to be discussed at length because of its strategic importance will be cooperation in digital technology, which has emerged in the past 15 years as a driver of economic growth and development. This is not a new issue when it comes to China-Africa cooperation. Since 2006, digital cooperation has been included in the FOCAC Action Plans but it became more prominent in the 2021 Action Plan. Several initiatives namely the Initiative on Jointly Building a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace and the China-Africa Digital Innovation Partnership Program have been proposed to enhance cooperation in this area. This is in addition to the China-Africa Digital Cooperation Forum which facilitates discussions on digital cooperation between FOCAC summits.

Further, China has pledged to implement 10 digital assistance projects in Africa to aid the development of digital infrastructure in Africa. China is already one of the most visible players in Africa's digital sector. Chinese companies have been contracted to build national information and communication technology backbones in several countries across the continent including Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Nigeria among others. A 2021 White Paper released by the Chinese government showed that Chinese enterprises have laid over 200,000 kilometers of optical fiber which has connected millions of people to the internet, have partnered with 1,500 companies in Africa in their digital transformation strategies, and have worked with 29 African governments in the development of e-government services. Moreover, China is also venturing into Africa's public cloud market with its companies having been contracted to build data centers in countries such as Senegal and South Africa.

The construction of digital infrastructure will boost Africa's capacity to harness big data and develop artificial intelligence tools which can improve productivity and economic efficiency leading to positive development outcomes. Studies by McKinsey Global Institute have predicted that the strategic use of big data could add $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

As such, it is imperative for Africa and China to explore ways to harness digital technology for the growth of the economy in critical sectors such as agriculture and industry. While the continent has the largest share (about 60 percent) of the world's uncultivated arable land, it still spends about $35 billion of scarce foreign currency per year on food imports. Further, although agriculture is the biggest economic sector in Africa accounting for 15 percent of its GDP and also the biggest employer, it still does not produce enough food to feed its people. This dire state of agriculture is largely due to numerous factors including weather patterns, political instability, misgovernance and the use of outdated technology. The use of big data in agriculture gathered through such technologies as sensors, satellites, drones and other devices can improve efficiency and help farmers make better decisions. These technologies collect data on different aspects of farming including soil conditions, weather patterns, crop health, and the optimal use of inputs.

Artificial intelligence algorithms can be used to analyze this data in order to help farmers make important decisions about when to plant, the amount of inputs to use, and also predicting weather patterns. Hence, the deployment of big data and AI in African agriculture can drive productivity and help alleviate concerns about food security. As a global leader in digital technology and with 24 Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centers across Africa, China is well placed to help African countries improve agricultural production through the use of new technologies. The upcoming FOCAC should come up with practical strategies of how this can be done.

Industrial production in Africa is also lagging behind other regions which means that the continent loses precious foreign currency as it must import most of the manufactured products it needs. The share of the manufacturing sector in Africa's GDP is a lowly 13 percent while its share in global manufacturing was a paltry 2 percent from 2012 to 2019. Like in agriculture, big data analytics and AI can be used to drive efficiency and productivity in the African manufacturing sector. Technologies such as the industrial internet of things, manufacturing execution systems and industrial control systems have been deployed in manufacturing to gather, process and analyze information which aids decision-making and increases productivity. African countries can work with China to facilitate the transfer of the new technologies to their industrial sectors.

The FOCAC presents an opportunity for the two parties to discuss and chart a way forward in the incorporation of technology in the critical sectors of agriculture and manufacturing.

The author is an associate professor of international relations and political science and the director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at [email protected].