China Focus: Technical cooperation boosts Africa's industrialization

Travel from Mombasa to Nairobi is currently a tedious 10-hour journey using century-old rail lines from the time of British colonization. But once a China-led upgraded is completed, the trip will be cut by more than half to 4.5 hours.

The Mombasa-Nairobi railway, Kenya's first newly built railway in nearly a century, began construction in 2014.

Being built by a Chinese company, the standard gauge railway line will eventually link Nairobi with the capitals of Uganda, Burundi, and South Sudan.

The rail corridor will also help connect the vast hinterland of East Africa with the Indian Ocean, bringing huge trade opportunities to eastern Africa.

Liu Qitao, chairman of China Communications Construction Company Limited(CCCC), whose subsidiary corporation is in charge of the project, told Xinhua that construction will finish in 2018.

"We have created more than 31,000 jobs for Kenya and provided technical training for over 17,000 local employees," said Liu.

Cement used to build the Mombasa-Nairobi rail was locally purchased in order to benefit nearby businesses, according to Liu.

CCCC has been developing its overseas market in Africa since the 1950s. It has launched dozens of construction projects building roads, railways, airports and bridges in more than 50 African countries.

Liu attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as the only representative of China-invested enterprises in Johannesburg last week.

"The forum marks a new chapter for closer cooperation between China and African countries," he said.

During his speech at FOCAC he called on all Chinese enterprises to promote mutual benefit through sustainable development in Africa and to share successful experiences with African entrepreneurs.

FOCAC, carrying the theme "Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development," saw China promise to carry out 10 major projects in the next three years to boost its cooperation with Africa.

The package covers industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.

Zhuangda Glass Company is located in Shahe County, north China's Hebei Province, where one fifth of the country's glass is produced. It is bringing glass production to Africa for future development.

It's production line in Dar-es-Salaam, capital of Tanzania is expected to begin production next March.

"Tanzania is rich in quartz sand resources, which is the raw material for glass manufacturing, " said Zhou Junping, engineer from Zhuangda Glass Company, "it is also a huge market for architects, with the country's demand for better infrastructure construction."

More than 3,000 Chinese enterprises have chosen Africa as their overseas market, making China the largest trading partner with the continent.

Ballooning trade figures also explain their mutual affection. When FOCAC was first established in 2000, the trade volume between China and Africa stood at 10 billion dollars, while the Chinese Ministry of Commerce is expecting trade to reach 300 billion dollars in 2015.

However, China Africa cooperation is not all about dollars and cents. More than 65 students from Africa graduated from a solar application technology training class at the International Solar Energy Center for Technology Promotion and Transfer (SEC) in northwest China's Gansu Province earlier this year.

Co-founded by United Nations Industrial Development Organization and Chinese government, SEC has been promoting solar energy cooperation among developing countries since its establishment in 2005.

SEC organized seven training classes this year, with students from Kenya, Djibouti, South Sudan, Ghana, and South Africa participating.

"I'm very grateful to learn from Chinese experts, it is of great value for me," said Nomzamo Xabanisa from South Africa, "my graduation marks a new beginning for working on renewable energy sources back in my country."

Over the past decade, SEC has trained more than 1,500 technicians and government officials from 120 countries worldwide, 70 percent of whom were from Africa, according to Xi Wenhua, director of SEC.

"China is willing to have technical cooperation in renewable energy with developing countries, and conduct mutually beneficial cooperation," said Xi. Endi