The China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum was held on Sunday in Xiamen City, east China's Fujian Province, aiming at deepening cooperation between China and African countries in the digital sector.
The event featured sub-forums focused on bridging the digital divide, artificial intelligence development and governance, cybersecurity and data governance, and media cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. Some 400 representatives from governments, universities, think tanks and news media across China and 32 African countries attended the forum.
During the event, China announced an initiative, titled "Plan of Actions on Jointly Building a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace (2025-2026)," and launched a network for Chinese internet companies operating in Africa.
China also pledged to continue hosting training programs on cybersecurity and the digital economy.
African participants praised the initiative, describing the forum as aligned with Africa's digital transformation needs. They expressed the hope to deepen cooperation with China in the digital economy, cybersecurity, data protection, AI governance and media exchanges.
"Because without AI, life would be difficult for us, but our AI is getting to a point of China. Hence we came here to China to seek online training for our people that are in South Africa, so that we can learn from China. For Xiamen activities, we have learned a lot regarding AI and cyberspace," said a participant from Johannesburg, South Africa.
China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum held in Xiamen
