NAIROBI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Africa must strengthen strategic cooperation, especially with countries like China, to unlock investment in infrastructure, digital technology and access to new markets, analysts have noted.
Onyango K'Onyango, a Kenyan expert on China-Africa relations, stressed that the continent urgently requires large-scale investment across transport networks, power systems, digital technology, manufacturing, and human capital.
"These needs cannot be met through domestic resources alone. Africa, therefore, needs international partnerships that provide capital, technology, markets and expertise while supporting its own development priorities," he observed.
K'Onyango argued that China's pragmatic approach drives meaningful economic cooperation in Africa, noting that the Asian nation's funded infrastructure projects have boosted regional connectivity and expanded trade opportunities across the continent.
"Railways, highways, ports and energy facilities are not merely physical structures; they are reducing the cost of moving goods, connecting producers to markets and strengthening regional economic integration," he said.
K'Onyango highlighted China's role as a major manufacturing hub and market, offering Africa key opportunities to diversify exports, attract job-creating investment, and shift away from simply exporting raw materials.
Lee Kinyanjui, the cabinet secretary for investment, trade and industry, noted that China's zero-duty policy will unlock vast potential for Kenyan exporters, particularly in agriculture, and help diversify the export basket.
Kinyanjui said in a recent statement that China's rapid industrialization, infrastructure growth, and tech advancement offer valuable lessons for African countries to adapt locally.
International relations scholar Macharia Munene noted in a recent commentary that Africa must prioritize equitable trade, technology transfer, and local industrial capacity-building.
Highlighting this trend, the Kenyan expert said at least 10 African countries signed on during the formation of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in Shanghai in July.
"WAICO fills an important gap by prioritizing Global South needs, which include development, capacity building and equitable access over restrictive models advanced by other economies," international relations scholar Cavince Adhere said in a commentary for Kenya's Daily Nation.
"China is today one of the biggest sources of foreign direct investment in Africa. Chinese companies operating in Africa have contributed about 20 percent to Africa's development in the last decade. And beyond this, we must also talk about people-to-people ties seen through increased interactions between Africans in China and the Chinese in Africa," he added. ■