China-Africa Digital Trade Development Report (2023-2025) Released at the 4th Global Digital Trade Expo
The "China-Africa Digital Trade Development Report (2023-2025)" was officially released at the Digital China-Africa Industrial Matchmaking Conference on September 26, held during the 4th Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou.
As China's first flagship research report on China-Africa digital trade released on a national-level expo platform and guided by international organizations, the report was compiled by a research team bringing together renowned domestic think tanks specializing in China-Africa studies and digital trade rules, experts and scholars from Africa, and professional institutions with in-depth experience in China-Africa digital trade practices. It objectively and comprehensively presents the development landscape of Africa's digital economy and China-Africa digital trade, highlights the positive role of digital trade cooperation in enhancing the well-being and sense of gain of people in both China and Africa, and outlines the prospects for China-Africa digital trade.
The report points out that as a key pillar of China-Africa economic relations, digital trade has seen fruitful outcomes in the China-Africa "Silk Road E-Commerce" cooperation: high-quality African products such as Ethiopian coffee, Rwandan chili sauce, Kenyan black tea have entered the Chinese market via cross-border e-commerce platforms. Meanwhile, multilateral digital economy cooperation is progressively evolving from goods trade and cross-border e-commerce to the integration of artificial intelligence, the construction of cloud ecosystems, and the development of digital rules.
The report proposes that by conducting cooperation in key areas such as MSME development, digital infrastructure construction, healthcare, educational empowerment, women's empowerment, and capacity building, both sides have focused on addressing the digital divide in three key dimensions—rural areas, gender, and youth. This effort has effectively improved the quality of life of African people, expanded access to skills enhancement opportunities, and enabled more Africans to benefit from the economic development brought by the digital era.
The report holds that for China-Africa digital trade, five key cooperation directions can be focused on: first, improving the institutional framework and governance system for digital trade; second, accelerating the construction of digital infrastructure; third, promoting the facilitation of digital trade; fourth, expanding digital trade exchanges and talent cooperation; fifth, supporting the digital transformation and development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). (By Zhao Anqi/China Youth Daily)
