China is willing to enhance agricultural cooperation with Africa in promoting innovation-driven development, green development and talent training, Assistant Minister of Commerce Tang Wenhong said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Tang said China has been actively involved in Africa's industrialization and agricultural modernization and engaged in productive and mutually beneficial cooperation with African countries
He said that in the area of industrialization, China has helped Africa build essential infrastructure projects, including railways, highways, ports, electricity and other energy facilities. He noted that these initiatives have helped improve the conditions for industrial development in Africa, laying a better foundation for accelerating industrialization on the continent.
In terms of agricultural modernization, Chinese experts have worked to improve the yield and quality of key crops in Africa, such as rice and cassava, through teaching technologies and improving crop varieties.
"In the new round of global sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, China-Africa cooperation in the fields of industrialization and agricultural modernization must be based on Africa's specific realities to develop traditional processing and manufacturing industries, and expand partnerships in emerging industries. We will focus our efforts on three main areas," said Tang.
"The first one is innovation-driven development. China is willing to maintain close exchanges with African nations in the fields of new technologies, new energy, and emerging industries, and support Africa in accelerating the development of digital industries, seizing the opportunities in digital and intelligent development, and driving industrial upgrades through technological empowerment," he said.
The second is green development, as China will continue to offer new energy technologies and products to Africa, so as to increase the green foundation of Africa's industrial and agricultural production, Tang said, adding that China will support Africa in its energy transition and enhance its capacity for sustainable environmental and climate-resilient development.
"The third is talent cultivation. China is ready to strengthen vocational education cooperation with African countries, help them bring up a group of professionals in the fields of industrialization and agricultural modernization through building engineering technology institutes and Luban Workshops," he said.
Luban Workshops, named after ancient Chinese master craftsman Lu Ban, serve as platforms for vocational education and technical training, promoting skills transfer and strengthening international ties through education and innovation.
China to further agricultural cooperation with Africa: official
