Recently, the Egyptian Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences jointly held a special forum, where experts and scholars from China and Egypt discussed new opportunities for China Africa cooperation on topics such as the evolution of the international landscape, industrial manufacturing, value chain upgrading, energy development, digital economy, and talent cultivation. Osama al Ghuhari, Assistant to the Prime Minister and Director of the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center of Egypt, stated that Africa's perception of its international positioning is changing, gradually evolving from a passive recipient of external solutions to a partner with independent interests, development priorities, and autonomous decision-making capabilities.

The accelerated transformation of African roles

At the opening ceremony, Usama Guhari stated that the current international system has undergone profound reshaping, with international competition extending to many fields such as trade, technology, supply chain, financing, and infrastructure. In this context, the value of the the Belt and Road Initiative is further highlighted. It is not only an important framework for infrastructure connectivity and trade exchanges, but also provides a feasible path for countries in the South to expand their development space, achieve diversified partnerships and implement their own development goals. Guhari pointed out that Africa is continuously enhancing its voice in international affairs by strengthening collective bargaining and multilateral coordination. He emphasized that evaluating the effectiveness of China Africa cooperation should not only focus on the scale of financing and the number of projects, but also on whether the projects can create local economic value, cultivate endogenous development momentum, promote industrialization and African integration, and achieve sustainable and inclusive development. Guhari suggested that China Africa cooperation could focus on expanding six major directions: joint manufacturing and industrial cooperation, renewable energy, digital economy and artificial intelligence, agriculture and food security, scientific research, technology education and skilled talent cultivation.

Capacity building becomes a new focus

The theme of the second seminar was the connection between capacity building and people's hearts under the the Belt and Road framework. The focus of the seminar was extended from engineering project construction to knowledge transfer, skill cultivation and cultural exchanges. Professor Hassan Rajeb, President of the Confucius Institute of Suez Canal University in Egypt, stressed that the the Belt and Road cooperation should align with the development priorities of countries, from simply promoting the implementation of projects to capacity building and skills training, to ensure that cooperation can produce long-term sustainable benefits. Yang Jian, Vice President of the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, shared the development experience of Shenzhen. The core of Shenzhen's growth from a border town to an international city lies in building an innovative system and unleashing talent momentum. Relevant experience can be used for exchanges and capacity building between China and Egypt. Cheng Fuchai, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that China, Egypt, and African countries have deep historical and cultural ties, which create favorable conditions for deepening cultural exchanges and dialogue among civilizations, and help solidify long-term partnerships. Keywords: the Belt and Road news network, international cooperation, industry deepening

Industrial investment signals release

This forum conveys a clear signal: China Africa cooperation is extending from infrastructure construction, project investment, and financing cooperation to industrialization, value chain construction, technology transfer, talent cultivation, and local capacity building. The forum extracts five key cooperation directions: promoting industrial localization, cultivating local production capacity, and driving the development of upstream and downstream supporting industries; Extend the regional value chain and promote interconnectivity between ports, manufacturing, energy, logistics, and markets; Deepen cooperation in the energy sector and expand towards industrial chain and basic capacity building; Layout digital economy and artificial intelligence, creating new growth engines beyond traditional infrastructure; Strengthen the cultivation of human capital, highlight the value of vocational education, technical training, and knowledge transfer.Editor/Gao Xue