CAPE TOWN, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's newly proposed digital industry cooperation initiative carries strategic significance for BRICS countries, potentially building a digital economic bridge among them while helping overcome digital divides, a South African media executive has said.
"The proposal made by China has the potential for BRICS countries to not just establish a digital platform, but a digital economic bridge between its member countries," John Bailey, CEO of South African newspaper Sunday World, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
China proposed the digital industry cooperation initiative at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, saying it will push for establishing a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, and conduct digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, so as to jointly enable the development of the digital economy.
Bailey, who previously spent nearly a decade in China as South African media outlet eNCA's correspondent, said combining a digital cloud platform with skills training, technical exchanges and industry matchmaking could make the initiative "much more than a technology initiative."
"It could become a practical economic-development platform linking businesses, governments, universities, technology providers and skilled workers across BRICS," he said.
Bailey noted that BRICS has already identified digital transformation, Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data and skills development as areas for stronger cooperation.
"The biggest benefit may not simply be access to technology, but access to knowledge, about how to use it," Bailey said.
A BRICS-wide training program could create a larger pool of workers with recognized digital skills, he said, with training potentially focusing on fast-growing fields including AI, data science, cloud computing and cybersecurity.
The initiative's "bigger strategic benefit," he said, could extend well beyond technology companies to ordinary workers, young people, entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Bailey also highlighted the complementary strengths of BRICS economies, saying China has major manufacturing and technology capabilities, while other members bring their own strengths in areas such as information technology, agriculture, digital services, capital and markets.
"A common digital ecosystem could allow these strengths to become complementary rather than isolated," he said.
He further said the initiative could also boost employment by linking digital-skills training with companies and industry matchmaking, creating a pathway from training and certification to employment, entrepreneurship and access to BRICS markets.
"It could create a BRICS digital talent pool, allowing companies to identify skills across participating countries and enabling talented young people to compete for opportunities across borders," Bailey said.
"The important point is that the cloud platform itself is not the end goal. The real value comes from connecting the platform to people, skills, capital and markets," he noted.
"The real measure of success would be how many businesses are created, how many people are trained and employed, how much new investment is generated, and how much cross-border digital trade results," he added. ■
