The Trend of Artificial Intelligence Development in Africa and China-Africa Cooperation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the realization of intelligence such as perception， cognition， and action on machines that compares to or even exceeds that of humans. It can usually be divided into general AI and special AI. The former refers to intelligence that can handle many tasks while the latter refers to AI that reaches human levels in all aspects，" adaptively responds to challenges in the external environment， and completes all tasks that a human can. Globally， in recent years， new AI technologies have made continuous breakthroughs， new business forms have continued to emerge， and new applications have been accelerated. It has become an important driving force for a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation， and is profoundly changing people’s means of production and lifestyle. It also brings important opportunities for African development and China-Africa cooperation. According to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association， by 2030， artificial intelligence can bring about $2.9 trillion in economic growth of Africa， equivalent to a 3% increase in annual GDP. China is Africa’s largest trading partner. China and Africa are actively expanding innovative cooperation in fields relate to new quality productive forces including artificial intelligence， which is of great significance to promoting Africa’s economic growth and achieving sustainable development. Against the backdrop of the world’s major economies continuing to enhance their strategies of artificial intelligence in Africa and the Global South， China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation should further improve cooperation mechanisms， innovate Ramp;D technologies， and enhance the ability to participate in global artificial intelligence governance， thereby enriching the connotation of the all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

The Basic Situation of Artificial Intelligence Development in Africa

Since 2008， more and more AI activity groups， academic institutions and enterprises have emerged in Africa. The African Union (AU)， African sub-regional organizations and African governments are attaching more and more importance to the development of AI， and their attention and investment are increasing. Against this background， Africa’s AI technology innovation and Ramp;D capabilities have been steadily improving.

First， African regional organizations and African governments actively guide and plan the development of artificial intelligence. The African Union is the oversight and developer of artificial intelligence strategic planning at the African continent level， and has recently released a series of policy documents related to artificial intelligence. In August 2024， the African Union issued its first Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy， which focuses on the development of artificial intelligence in governance， skills， research and infrastructure， and calls on African Union member states to adopt a unified national approach to cope with the complexity of artificial intelligence-driven changes. In February 2024， the AU Development Agency issued a white paper and roadmap on the regulation and responsible application of artificial intelligence. Previously， the African Union issued the 2063 Agenda， Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection， The Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030)， AU Data Policy Framework and other policy documents， leading the development of artificial intelligence in Africa. African sub-regional organizations also pay close attention to and support the development of artificial intelligence. In June 2024， the Eastern African Sub-regional Forum on Artificial Intelligence adopted the Nairobi Statement on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies， calling for the establishment of a coordination mechanism to support the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.

African countries play a key role in formulating national AI strategies， providing Ramp;D funding support， and establishing innovation centers. The Artificial Intelligence Strategy released by Mauritius in 2018 is the first national-level strategy in Africa . It establishes accountability， ethics， and inclusiveness as guiding principles for AI regulation， aiming to build an AI ecosystem that the public trusts. Kenya has released its national AI strategy in 2019， considering AI and block chain as “key economic and business support technologies” and has launched AI standards in 2024. In recent years， Egypt， Algeria， Benin， Rwanda， Senegal， Nigeria and other countries have also successively formulated a series of AI development strategies and supportive measures， focusing on professional human resource training， scientific and technological innovation， infrastructure construction and public-private cooperation.

Second， Africa’s AI technology Ramp;D capabilities have been steadily improved. More and more African research institutions， universities， enterprises and related private sectors have entered the field of AI Ramp;D and application and have made positive progress. In order to help African countries promote and adopt emerging technologies， the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa established Africa’s first AI Research Center in the Republic of Congo in 2022 to study the impact of AI technology， develop related tools， products and services， and promote the development of new technologies in digital infrastructure， finance and other fields. African local AI organizations， such as AI Saturdays Lagos， Data Science Africa， Ghana NLP， etc.， also play an important role in training African AI researchers， providing community services， holding conferences and seminars， and publishing results.

Under the influence of internal and external forces， Africa’s artificial intelligence technology innovation and Ramp;D capabilities have steadily improved. From the perspective of specific fields， artificial intelligence applications have benefited Africa in key industries such as medical care， agriculture， manufacturing， education， finance， urban management， water supply， and clean energy ， among which agricultural artificial intelligence applications are more prominent. For example， Kenya uses artificial intelligence and satellite image data to assess the health and nutritional value of crops. From the perspective of industrial development， the update speed of artificial intelligence applications in Africa has accelerated， and the number of related applications has increased at an astonishing rate. The Changing Landscape of Africa’s Mobile App Market 2024 released by Data Sparkle， an emerging market data insight platform under Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Co.， Ltd.， shows that the African mobile application market has grown by 24% year-on-year in 2023， with conversational artificial intelligence as the main direction， and the number of artificial intelligence-related applications in games， photography， efficiency and personalized categories are ones of the largest. From the perspective of technological advancement， the United Nations’ report the Potential of Africa to Capture Technology-Intensive Global Supply Chains believes that Africa is actively building digital and high-tech intensive industries to promote technological progress and innovation. From a country perspective， the report Artificial Intelligence Revolution in Africa: Economic Opportunities and Legal Challenges (2023) released by the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South shows that South Africa has more than 700 investment companies related to artificial intelligence， Nigeria has at least 450 companies， Kenya ranks first in East Africa with 204 companies， and Tanzania and Uganda have 44 companies each. In 2023， South Africa， Nigeria， Egypt and Kenya are the main destinations for technology venture capital activities， with the four countries accounting for 68% of Africa’s transaction volume and 79% of equity financing.

Third， the market space for AI applications in Africa has great potential. Africa has become the second fastest growing region for AI applications in the world， and its ecosystem is expanding rapidly. More and more startups are focusing on developing AI applications in multiple scenarios to solve problems in different fields. Relevant data show that there are more than 2，500 companies involved in the Ramp;D and application of AI technology on the African continent， nearly half of which were established in recent years. From 2022 to 2023， African AI-related startups have made 103 venture capital transactions in the fields of finance， information technology， health and other fields， with a total value of $641 million. Global technology giants such as Microsoft， Amazon， Google， META， Nvidia， and Huawei have invested in computing， data， skills and other aspects related to AI in Africa，" and investors’ confidence in the development of AI on the African continent has emerged. Analytic results in the African Development Bank’s report show that Africa is expected to become a leader in the adoption of AI， thanks to its large young population， growing middle class and increasing use of mobile and Internet technologies. Viewed from the development trend， AI has huge application potential in various fields， can stimulate the vitality of various industries， and has a huge impact on the social and economic development of Africa. It is estimated that with the increasing use of artificial intelligence in enterprises， the number of AI-related jobs in Africa will increase by 200% by 2025; the valuation of the African AI market will increase by 30% annually in the next six years and is expected to reach $15.7 trillion by 2030， accounting for 10% of the global market share. These forecasts all show the huge potential of the African AI market.

Progress and Characteristics of China-Africa Artificial Intelligence Cooperation

China and Africa have a profound traditional friendship and fruitful cooperation. Relying on the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and other mechanisms and platforms， China and Africa have increasingly close exchanges in the fields of new technology， new energy， and new industries. Among them， China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation has a strong momentum， showing a good trend of continuous improvement of platform mechanisms， continuous expansion of cooperation areas， and continuous enhancement of the ability to participate in global artificial intelligence governance.

First， the mechanism building and policy planning of China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation are progressing steadily. The primary feature of China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation is that the two sides continue to strengthen policy docking and coordination， and government planning plays an important leading role. Mechanisms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation have incorporated artificial intelligence into the process of China-Africa cooperation. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) mentioned “artificial intelligence” for the first time， pointing out that “with the increasing role of artificial intelligence and the development of quantum computing， a new era is coming. The application of quantum physics principles on computing will have huge implications on operating systems， cyber security， big data， block chains and other applications. China will leverage its strengths in these sectors to support African countries to the best of its ability.” The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024) further proposed “actively discuss and promote cooperation on the application of emerging technologies such as in the fields of cloud computing， big data， artificial intelligence， internet of things， and mobile internet.” The 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation proposed “10 partnership action plans in the next three years to jointly advance modernization”， “building with Africa a digital technology cooperation center and initiate 20 digital demonstration projects so as to embrace together the latest round of technological revolution and industrial transformation”， and “establish China-Africa regional cooperation centers for digital education.” The China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum， the China-Africa Digital Cooperation Forum and other specific mechanisms established by China and Africa have led and promoted cooperation between the two sides in the fields of artificial intelligence， cyberspace， digital economy， etc. In 2024， China and 26 African countries including Algeria， Egypt， Ethiopia， etc. released the China-Africa Action Plan for Digital Cooperation and Development at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation， advocating “jointly promoting the development of cutting-edge technologies， exploring cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence， 5G/6G， high-performance computing， quantum communications， etc.” At the same time， it promoted the joint construction of research centers and worked together to move towards a bright future for China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation.

Second， the scope of China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation continues to expand. Data is an essential element for the development of general artificial intelligence， and digital infrastructure is a prerequisite for the generation of high-quality data. China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation focuses on the construction of digital infrastructure and expands to areas such as technology Ramp;D and innovation， industrial cooperation， and human resource training. In terms of digital infrastructure construction， since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation， Chinese companies have used various funds to help African countries add and upgrade 66，000 kilometers of power transmission and transformation lines， 120 million kilowatts of installed power capacity， and 150，000 kilometers of communication backbone networks， with network services covering nearly 700 million user terminals; Chinese companies have built large data centers for many African countries such as Malawi， the Democratic Republic of the Congo， Botswana， and Egypt， providing important support for Africa’s digital transformation and artificial intelligence development. 17 cities and more than 1，500 companies in 15 African countries have chosen Chinese companies as digital transformation partners. In terms of technological innovation and application， China has increased its efforts in technology transfer and promoted Chinese companies to use artificial intelligence technology to empower African industrial development. For example， the China-Africa Development Fund and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology have supported Chinese smart agriculture companies to introduce digital technologies and equipment to Africa through “financing and wisdom” to enable the development of smart agriculture in Africa; ZTE has joined hands with Airtel Group in Africa to help the digital transformation of telephone networks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In terms of artificial intelligence and digital human resource training， China-Africa cooperation includes joint research， short-term training， professional learning， academic visits and other forms. For example， in 2021， the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Chinese companies launched the “Digital Egypt Builders Initiative” program， providing scholarships to 1，000 outstanding students each year to support their further studies in artificial intelligence， data science， cyber security and other fields. Huawei has cooperated with universities in many African countries to open the “Huawei Academy”， offering digital skills training courses， and holding the largest and most influential digital skills competition in Africa to enhance research capabilities and governance levels.

Third， China and Africa continue to strengthen their collaboration in the global AI governance process. AI governance is related to the future of all mankind and is a shared question faced by all countries in the world. China is a major AI country and a key player in global AI governance. In 2023， China issued the Global AI Governance Initiative， proposing that the development of AI should adhere to the principles of mutual respect， equality and mutual benefit. All countries， regardless of size， strength or social system， have the right to develop and use AI equally. The African Union pointed out in the Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy that it is necessary to strengthen regional and global cooperation and consolidate public-private partnerships to enhance the AI technology capabilities of AU member states and the African continent and enhance Africa’s international influence. In the process of global AI governance， the common demands of China and African countries to safeguard the rights and interests of developing countries and expand the influence of developing countries have laid the foundation for the two sides to strengthen collaboration. In 2024， the Chair’s Statement on China-Africa Cooperation on AI issued by the China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum emphasized that China and Africa should strengthen coordination and cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations， enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in the global development and governance of AI， support the United Nations to play a leading role， and establish an international AI governance institution. Lacina Koné， CEO of the pan-African digital cooperation organization Smart Africa， said that he believed that the release of the statement would promote exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in the field of artificial intelligence， help build a high-quality China-Africa digital innovation partnership， and promote the development of the China-Africa comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

Pathways to Deepen China-Africa Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is an emerging field of strategic importance as well as an important engine for Africa’s development. It plays an important role in advancing the modernization process. Africa has a young population and huge potential in the artificial intelligence market. China has advantages in technology and capital， and China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation is highly complementary. The Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era pointed out that China and Africa commend the U.N. General Assembly for adopting by consensus the resolution entitled “Enhancing International Cooperation on Capacity-Building of Artificial Intelligence.” Africa welcomes the Global Initiative on Artificial Intelligence Governance and the Global Initiative on Data Security proposed by China， and appreciates China’s efforts to enhance the rights of developing countries in global governance in the fields of artificial intelligence， networks， and data. The 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will inject new impetus into the development of new quality productive forces， the improvement of modernization level， and the realization of the 2035 Vision for China-Africa Cooperation.

First， alignment of development strategies and promotion of the development of new quality productive forces. The “secret” to maintaining the vigorous momentum of China-Africa relations is to keep pace with the times and innovate. As an important part of the development of new quality productive forces， artificial intelligence opens up new space for China-Africa cooperation. Faced with new opportunities and challenges in the development of international general artificial intelligence， based on the strategic goal of achieving world-leading artificial intelligence by 2030 proposed in China’s “New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan”， China will align with the AU’s Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy and African countries’ artificial intelligence development strategies to clarify the key areas and priority directions of China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation. For one thing， based on the AU policy documents such as the Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy and White Paper: Regulation and Responsible Adoption of AI in Africa， China will strengthen policy coordination and development strategy alignment with the AU around the five pillars of artificial intelligence in Africa - human capital development， infrastructure and data for artificial intelligence， creating a favorable environment for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence， artificial intelligence economy， and establishing sustainable partnerships. For another， in view of the differences in the development stages of artificial intelligence in African countries， China will give priority to strengthening cooperation with African countries that have introduced artificial intelligence development strategies， such as South Africa， Egypt， Nigeria， and Rwanda， and radiate to more African sub-regional countries through strategic docking and industrial cooperation with regional major countries， helping to build a regional value chain for the development of artificial intelligence in Africa.

Second， strengthened technical support and enhanced integration of industry， academia and research. China and Africa can explore the two-way efforts of science and technology leadership and application-driven development to strengthen technological independence and industrial progress， enhance economic innovation and international competitiveness. In terms of innovation， they should jointly build the China-Africa Digital Technology Cooperation Center， build 20 digital demonstration projects， and strengthen basic theoretical research and key technology research and development of general artificial intelligence. They should strengthen cooperation with African artificial intelligence research institutions such as the Artificial Intelligence Research Center in Congo (Brazzaville) and the Defense Artificial Intelligence Research Unit of the South African Military Academy， actively carry out joint research， experience sharing and technical exchanges， explore key core technology innovation， and establish a China-Africa general artificial intelligence technology innovation system. In terms of technology application， deepen cooperation around African concerns and needs. The State of AI in Africa Report pointed out that 49% of artificial intelligence technology applications in Africa come from agriculture， and 26% of artificial intelligence technology applications come from climate action. Therefore， China and Africa should adhere to application-oriented and problem-oriented approaches， focus on Africa’s actual development problems to carry out cooperation in the application of artificial intelligence technology， implement more “small but beautiful” projects such as “AI+education” and “AI+medical care”， and improve the well-being of people’s livelihood. In terms of human resource cultivation， in accordance with the requirements of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation-Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027)， China-Africa science and education cooperation mechanism platform will be improved and a China-Africa regional cooperation center for digital education will be established. The “China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism” and the “China-Africa 100 Universities Cooperation Program” should deliver results by carrying out joint training of Chinese and African artificial intelligence students and teacher exchanges， helping cultivate high-level compound professional talents， and encouraging enterprises， vocational and technical colleges， etc. to carry out skills training for application-oriented professionals， so as to provide more innovative experts for the development of artificial intelligence in Africa.

Third， consensus on governance and enhanced the influence of the Global South. At present， general artificial intelligence represented by large models has shown a series of risks such as ethics and data security， and may also cause risks to human survival in the future. Strengthening artificial intelligence governance has become a common issue faced by countries around the world. In particular， major Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom， along with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development， have strengthened policy coordination around artificial intelligence governance， trying to occupy a dominant position in the construction of artificial intelligence technology standards and governance rules. China and African countries belong to the Global South. Both sides need to use various multilateral mechanisms and platforms to carry out cooperation， play their roles at different levels， and enhance the voice of developing countries in global artificial intelligence governance. First， they should make full use of multilateral exchange mechanisms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation， the China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum， and the China-Africa Digital Cooperation Forum to build consensus on issues such as artificial intelligence governance and form a common position of China and Africa. They should adhere to the principle of giving equal importance to development and security， and continuously bridge the intelligence divide and the digital divide through measures such as establishing a code of conduct for states and developing digital literacy， jointly prevent risks， and promote the cessation of the abuse of artificial intelligence. Second， they should promote the inclusion of artificial intelligence governance issues in South-South cooperation processes such as the “Group of 77+China” to lead and shape the Global South position on global artificial intelligence governance. Third， they should firmly uphold the core role of the United Nations in global AI governance and explore the formation of a relevant international governance framework with the United Nations as the main channel. They should strengthen policy coordination， actively participate in and lead the formulation of standards and rules， so that the institutional design of future global AI governance will be in line with the interests and value of the Global South.

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Wang Heng is Professor of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University

Chen Yizhen is Research Assistant of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University