China Africa Photo: Xinhua

China and Africa have pledged to enhance cooperation on technological developments in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), among other agreements reached at the 2021 China-Africa Innovation Cooperation Conference, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The conference, which opened on Sunday in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, aims to focus on the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and promote the joint building of a China-Africa community with a shared future, with a focus on technological innovation.

A total of 15 scientific and technological cooperation projects with multiple African countries were inked at the conference, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Cooperation on the use of AI in modern agriculture and green energy was a key topic. For example, Huazhong University of Science and Technology has signed an agreement with the University of Pretoria in South Africa for cooperation in energy system modeling and optimization, where AI will be used to improve energy utilization efficiency in the energy systems in Africa.

"Officials from African countries have expressed their wish to further strengthen China-Africa cooperation in the fields of digital economy, ecology, AI, cultural exchanges, innovation and entrepreneurship, so as to allow China's innovation achievements to benefit African people," Wang said.

Wang said that China and Africa have always been "good brothers and partners" sharing the same breath and future, which has laid the foundation for China-Africa scientific and technological innovation cooperation.

Wang noted that China has been actively sharing its scientific and technological achievements with African countries to improve their economic development, livelihood, social governance and ecological optimization via the BRI and the China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Program.

China has signed intergovernmental scientific and technological cooperation agreements with 16 African countries, launched more than 130 bilateral joint research projects in Africa, supported more than 300 young African scientists to carry out scientific research in China, and implemented more than 30 science and technology assistance projects in Africa, Wang said.

Global Times