Onlywithdeeprootscanatreeyieldrichfruit.ThesewordsresonatestronglywithSunPishu.TheyareanaccuratedescriptionofhowhiscompanyhasadaptedandevolvedinAfricathroughouttheyearsdespitetheobstaclesandchallenges.Itsrootsgrowdeeperwitheveryproject.
鈥淐hineseenterprisesshouldnotsimplyinvestinandtradewithAfrica.Theyshouldusetheirstrongsenseofsocialresponsibilityandmissiontopromotethecontinent鈥檚developmentandshareChina鈥檚besttechnology,ideasandexperience,鈥漇unsaid.
AstheCEOofInspurGroup,oneofChina鈥檚leadingITcompanies,SunhaslearntfirsthandhowcriticalitisforChinesebusinessestopaycloseattentiontolocalAfricanneedsinordertotakerootandbearfruitonthecontinent.
Itshouldcomeasnosurprise,therefore,thatChinesePresidentXiJinpingusedtheverysameanalogyinhiskeynotespeechattheopeningceremonyofthe2018BeijingSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC)onSeptember3.
XipointedoutthatpartnershipsbetweenChineseandAfricanbusinesseshavebeensuccessfulinaddressingthelackofinfrastructureandotherissuesthatconstrainAfrica鈥檚development.
Greatprogresshasbeenmadeonthecontinentintheareasofindustrializationandmodernization,infrastructureconstruction,tradeandinvestmentfacilitation,capacitybuildingandpovertyalleviation,hesaid.
Muchtothedelightoftheparticipatingleaders-whohailedfrom53Africancountries,inadditiontoadelegationfromtheAfricanUnion(AU)Commission-XipromisedthatChina鈥檚supportwouldcontinueoverthenextthreeyears,pledgingafurther$60billioninfinancingtoAfrica.
XidescribedAfricaasahistoricalandnaturalextensionoftheancientSilkRoad,andasanimportantparticipantintheBeltandRoadInitiative.Lookingforward,hesaidthatChinahopestoturntheBeltandRoadInitiativeintoaroadofpeace,prosperity,openness,greendevelopmentandinnovationthatbringstogetherdifferentcivilizations.
鈥淲eneedtoseetoitthattheBeltandRoadInitiativeandtheAUAgenda2063,theUN2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopmentandthedevelopmentprogramsofAfricancountriesbettercomplementeachother.Throughtheseefforts,wecanexpandareasofcooperation,unlocknewcooperationpotential,consolidateourtraditionalareasofcooperationandfosternewhighlightsofcooperationintheneweconomy,鈥漵aidXi.
Partnershipsthroughtechnology
ForSun,whoattendedtheHigh-LevelDialogueofChina-AfricaLeadersandBusinessRepresentativesandtheSixthChina-AfricaBusinessForum,whichalsotookplaceaspartoftheFOCACBeijingSummit,thisrenewedcommitmentfromtheChinesepresidentisgoodnews.
鈥淐hinaandAfricaarebothinadevelopmentalstage.Therefore,theycanworktogethertoovercomecommonobstacles,inadditiontobuilding,exchangingandsharingknow-howandexperienceineconomicdevelopment,鈥漢esaid.
Fromitsfirstforeignventureonthecontinentmanyyearsago,hiscompanyhasnowbecomeoneofthelargestprovidersofcloudcomputingandBigDatasolutions,withitsproductshavingbeenadoptedacrossAfrica.Todate,Inspurhasestablisheditselfinmorethan100countriesaroundtheworld.
Sunbelievesthatemergingtechnologieshavebroughtaboutequaldevelopmentopportunitiestomanycountries.BylearningfromChina鈥檚experienceininformationtechnology(IT),Africancountriescandirectlybenefitfromcutting-edgedevelopmentssuchascloudcomputingandBigData.Thiscanhelpthempromoteindustrializationandmodernization,whilesupportingtheirintegrationwiththeglobaleconomy,hesaid.
鈥淎tpresent,wehavedevelopedcloudinfrastructureinmanycountriesinAfrica.InEthiopiaandGhana,Inspurcooperateswithlocalenterprisestobuildclouddatacentersandinformation-baseddevelopmentinfrastructurethroughwhichlocalgovernmentscandevelopindustriesinvolvingtheInternet,BigDataandartificialintelligence,鈥漞xplainedSun.
Suchdevelopmentwillnotonlyimprovethelivelihoodoflocalpeople,butalsobenefitthedevelopmentofsimilarindustriesinneighboringcountries,hesaid.
鈥淲earewillingtosharewithAfricancountriesthebestandmostmatureChineseITcreations,suchassmartcities,smarteducationandsmartagriculture,sothattheycantakefewerdetoursandmoreexpedientlyachieveleap-frog,IT-fueleddevelopment,鈥漢eadded.
Strengthinnumbers
WhenitcomestothebestwayforChinesecompaniestogainafootholdinAfrica,HuoJiangtaoisastrongbelieverinnumbers.
AstheVicePresidentoftheAfricaGuangdongBusinessAssociation(AGBA),shebelievesthatitismoreadvantageousforChinesecompaniestotakeanapproachofmutualassistancewhengoingabroad.Relyingonindustrialparksonthecontinent,herassociationaimsatbetterachievingtheclusteringeffectfornewcomerenterprises,soastobettercomplementtheirindustrialresources.
Atthesametime,parkoperatorsshouldfocusonprovidingbasicpublicfacilitiesandservicesthataremostneededbyenterprises,andcarryouttargetedexchangeswithrelevantlocalinstitutionstoidentifyandaddressissuesinthelocaldevelopmentprocess.Onlybydoingsocantheparksberelevanttoindividualenterprises,shesaid.
鈥淚tiswiththisobjectiveinmindthatweestablishedAGBAinAugustinNairobi.Atthesametime,GuangdongNewSouthGroupCo.Ltd.,theheadcompanyofAGBA,startedworkontheconstructionofthePearlRiverSpecialEconomicZoneinKenya,鈥滺uo,whoattendedtheFOCACBeijingSummit,toldChinAfrica.
DuringhisspeechattheHigh-LevelDialogueofChina-AfricaLeadersandBusinessRepresentatives,XitalkedofhishighexpectationsforChineseandAfricanentrepreneurs,includingtheneedforthemtoshouldertheirshareofsocialresponsibility.
Huocouldnotagreemore.SherecalledherexperienceinSenegal,wherelocalpartnerssaidtheyneededmoreprofessionaltraining.
鈥淭oacertainextent,werealizedwehadtochangeourpreviousmethodsofassistance,whichconsistedofexportingstandardizedandclosedblack-boxtechnologyproducts,intoamoreflexibleapproachwithtechnologiesthatcanbetransferredandadapted.Therefore,wesawvalueintargetedvocationaltraining,鈥漵heexplained.
InMay,AGBAestablishedtheAfricanBusinessSchoolinGuangzhou,southChina鈥檚GuangdongProvince,whereitnowprovidesvocationaltrainingtoitsAfricanpartners.鈥淚hopewecanusethisinitiativetotrainmoretalentforthelong-termdevelopmentofChina-Africatradeandeconomiccooperation,andgathermoremomentum,鈥漵hesaid.
Aswithitspreviousevents,theFOCACBeijingSummitconcludedamidawaveofexpectationsforthefutureofSino-Africanrelations.
鈥淐ooperationwithChinahasbeengoingonformorethan50years,andjudgingfromtheBeijingSummit,moreconcretethingswillbedone.ThisshowsthatChinahaslearnedfromitsexperienceindealingwithAfrica,andthesameistrueforAfricans,鈥漵aidJeanClaudeNkou,CommunicationStrategistwiththePresidentialOfficeoftheRepublicoftheCongo.
鈥淛udgingfromthecommitmentsthathavebeenmade,Icansafelysaythatthe2018FOCACBeijingSummitdidnotdisappoint[us],鈥漢eadded.
**Commentsto
ChinaandAfricaarebothinadevelopmentalstage.Therefore,theycanworktogethertoovercomecommonobstacles,inadditiontobuilding,exchangingandsharingknow-howandexperienceineconomicdevelopment.
SUNPISHUCEOofInspurGroup