China, Africa to embrace green transformation opportunities

China-Africa cooperation sees greater opportunities in green transformation as both sides embrace high-quality cooperation in the new era, Chinese officials and experts said ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held from Wednesday to Friday in Beijing.

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday at the China National Convention Center, the forum's venue, Liu Yuxi, special representative of the Chinese Government on African Affairs, said that China and Africa have seized the historic opportunity of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation in areas such as green development and digital innovation.

Sun Xiao, secretary general of the China Chamber of International Commerce, said at a separate press conference that "many clean energy and green development projects have been conducted within the framework of FOCAC."

"China is an important partner for Africa in terms of green transition... China supports African countries to better leverage their advantages in solar, hydro and geothermal energy to achieve green, low-carbon and high-quality development," Sun said.

Energy shortages, especially the lack of electricity and the difficulty in achieving self-sufficiency, constrain Africa's industrialization and modernization, and cooperation with China has been a good response to such needs, Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

Energy projects have been constructed in more than 40 African countries and regions, including photovoltaic, wind power, hydropower and biomass, per official data. 

This cooperation has resulted in an addition of 120 million kilowatts of installed power capacity and the construction of 66,000 kilometers of power grid lines.

In South Africa's Northern Cape Province, the Redstone 100-megawatt tower-type solar thermal power project, constructed by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), has almost finished construction. It is the first CSP project in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a statement PowerChina sent to the Global Times. 

Once it enters operation, the project will supply 480 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually to the grid, meeting the demand of 200,000 local households, PowerChina said.