Nigeria Times

By Li Bin, Sun Haitian, People’s Daily

The Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), as a significant strategic initiative of China’s reform and opening up, is creating new prospects.
At the plant of Sinopec Hainan Petrochemical Co., Ltd., imported crude oil is processed into new materials, as well as petroleum and chemicals.
Hainan Xiangliang Fodder Co., Ltd. has benefited from a “reception first, inspection later” policy for its imported grains. The grains, after going through deep processing, are then transported and sold to Chinese inland regions. This approach saves time and warehousing costs for the company, and allows it to enjoy tax exemptions on value-added sales of processed imported goods in China.
Besides, a near-zero carbon demonstration zone has been launched in Boao within the Hainan FTP, and the ocean space resource is being developed and utilized in a multi-dimensional way.
So far, Hainan has released 146 cases of innovation of institutional integration in 17 batches. It is steadily expanding institutional opening up to build itself into a high-standard and high-quality FTP.
Promoting reform and development though opening up is an important means for China to make continuous achievements in modernization.
From the establishment of 22 pilot free trade zones (FTZs) to the emergence of the Hainan FTP, and from the release of the Foreign Investment Law to the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the alignment with high-standard international economic and trade rules and steady expansion of institutional openness have opened up greater space for China’s development.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) outlined plans for refining the institutions and mechanisms for high-standard opening up, which involve steadily expanding institutional opening up and a globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas.
Steadily expanding institutional opening up is key to high-standard opening up. It helps build new drivers of opening up, and new momentum and advantages of China’s development.
Compared to opening up based on flows of goods and factors of production, institutional opening up is on a higher level. It embodies China’s pursuit of a more proactive strategy of opening up.
China’s negative list for foreign investment, which was initially launched at pilot FTZs, has been promoted nationwide. From the initial 190 items to the current 31 items in the national version and 27 items in the pilot FTZ version, the shortened negative list for foreign investment has further widened market access, making China’s opening-up more attractive to foreign investors.
The China (Shanghai) Pilot FTZ has launched a single window for international trade and a copyright service center to better protect intellectual property rights. The Hainan FTP has built a business service system that is “responsive to all requests, non-intrusive when unnecessary, and faithful to all promises.” These approaches have enhanced policy offerings and service quality while reducing burdens on businesses and vitalizing the market.
These measures aim at fostering a business environment that is more solidly based on market and rule of law and is up to international standards, and creating an institutional environment that is transparent, stable and predictable, which will make the Chinese market more attractive to global resources and production factors.
When it comes to steadily expanding institutional opening up, expansion is the goal while the key lies in maintaining a steady approach.
In expanding institutional opening up in the financial sector, it is important for China to align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, streamline restrictive measures, and strengthen risk prevention and control throughout the entire process to better safeguard national financial security.
In furthering opening up the services sector, China attaches equal importance to science-based planning at the top level and the replicable experiences gained from the active exploration in 28 pilot regions.
Earlier this year, the General Office of China’s State Council issued an action plan to steadily promote high-level opening up and make greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment. In the first seven months of 2024, the number of newly established foreign-invested businesses in China hit 31,654, a year-on-year increase of 11.4 percent, with continuously improved foreign investment structure.
At the Global Free Ports Development Forum during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023, an initiative calling for more partnership between free trade zones (FTZ) across the globe was proposed and launched by Hainan and other 25 free trade zones and ports across the world. So far, 32 free trade zones and ports have joined the initiative.
By both bringing in high-standard international economic and trade rules and attracting foreign investment, China has promoted mutual learning and integration of its domestic and international rules, amplifying the interplay between its domestic and international markets and resources.
It is believed that as long as China pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up and steadily expands institutional opening up, it will continuously create new opportunities for the world with its own development.

By Huang Xiaohui, People’s Daily

Opening the computer and starting an intelligent training software, artificial intelligence (AI) trainer Yang Hongxu began his work. His recent task is to train an AI model that can autonomously recognize bank wire transfer applications.
Yang works for Data Grand, a company located in Shanghai Pudong Software Park, specialized in intelligent text processing. The AI models developed by the company can read various types of text files, such as contracts, financial statements, and industry reports, and have been applied in scenarios such as bank transaction recognition, and contract auditing and comparison.
“Before training an AI model, the trainer needs to read relevant documents and extract and annotate key information,” Yang said. He compares this process to a teacher preparing for a class, which is the foundation of training.
“We highlight and annotate important parts, and then ‘feed’ the AI models with ‘useful’ information, telling them which information to extract and in what format,” said Yang, adding that AI trainers need to read tens of thousands of documents and train dozens of AI models each year.
Yang opened a scanned image of a remittance application form from a bank in the intelligent training software. He selected the fields such as “transaction type,” “remitter name,” “account number,” “bank name,” “contact address,” one by one and labeled them accordingly. Then he clicked the mouse to generate a training model.
Once the model was generated, he raised some practice questions for the AI model. He input the field information and compared the results generated by the AI model with the original text to evaluate how well it had learned.
Whenever he noticed any discrepancies between the generated results and the original text, he recorded and compiled them into a list. For example, an image in the document was not recognized, and an upright image was recognized as sideways. These issues were then collectively provided as feedback to the developers of the AI model for future improvements.
“After training, the AI model can independently extract and read the key information from similar text files, enabling it to execute human instructions more efficiently,” Yang said.
While others may perceive tasks like document reading, data annotation, and result testing as monotonous, repetitive, and somewhat dull, Yang finds them effortless. His greatest joy is witnessing the increasing intelligence of the models he trains.
Yang, born in 1993, has congenital hearing impairment and needs to wear hearing aids to hear sounds. In 2014, he graduated from a vocational and technical college in Shanghai with a major in environmental design. He worked different jobs such as home interior designer, accounting clerk, and warehouse administrator.
“When communicating with clients, I often felt frustrated because my speech was not clear and fluent enough,” Yang said.
When he was feeling lost, the Disabled Persons’ Federation in Pudong New Area recommended him for the AI trainer job at Data Grand. Despite having no programming skills and limited knowledge of AI, Yang decided to give it a try when he learned that the job mainly involved working with machines.
Yuan Shaoyang, head of operations and management of Data Grand, who recruited Yang, said that the first batch of AI trainers of the company mainly engaged in basic data annotation. The repetitive tasks and high volume of annotations require a great deal of patience, attention to detail, and focus, Yuan explained.
Over the course of five years, Yang, who is diligent, focused, and eager to learn, has earned a good reputation among his colleagues. Through training sessions organized by the company and his own efforts to learn, he gradually became proficient in tasks such as model processing, product testing, and client communication. In 2022, he became a certified Level-2 AI training instructor, among the first batch recognized by Shanghai.
To adapt to the rapid development of the AI industry, Yang has taken the initiative to learn mainstream programming languages for AI models so that he can write some simple code to address issues that arise with the models.
“For example, when I discover a problem with the trained model misinterpreting information, I can write a few lines of code to make some initial corrections instead of directly handing the problem over to the model developers,” Yang said.
In order to improve himself, he is currently preparing for a certification exam for project manager of information systems.
AI is one of the three leading industries that Shanghai seeks to develop. In recent years, Shanghai has been strategically developing the industry in terms of computing power, language resources, models, testing, and application scenarios, while also increasing efforts in talent cultivation.
In 2022, Shanghai initiated the professional skill level certification for AI trainers, and so far, more than 450 people have become certified AI trainers.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

In Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a large building in the shape of an African drum is about to be completed.
This is the Central African Cultural and Arts Center, designed and constructed by Chinese architects. It incorporates cultural and artistic concepts from both China and Africa, symbolizing solidarity, harmony, and the friendly relations between China and Africa across generations.
As one of the key projects under the eight major initiatives proposed at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), this facility, once completed, will mark another splendid achievement of the cultural cooperation between China and Africa.
Both China and Africa are birthplaces of human civilization, renowned for their rich and diverse cultural heritage. They are proud of their splendid civilizations, and are both ready to make greater contributions to promoting cultural diversity in the world.
Traditional Chinese culture values “love the people and all beings and seek harmony among all nations,” and Ubuntu philosophy in Southern Africa advocates compassion and sharing. Both the Chinese and African civilizations believe that all people share a same future and man and nature should live in harmony.
The collaboration between China and Africa in promoting cultural exchange and mutual learning contributes to the preservation of global cultural diversity and offers wisdom in addressing challenges faced by the world today. Together, the two sides will advance human progress.
By enhancing exchanges, mutual learning and harmonious co-existence of Chinese and African civilizations, the two sides will inject lasting impetus into invigorating their civilizations and cultures, enriching their artistic creations, and provide rich cultural nourishment for China-Africa cooperation.
From the ten cooperation plans to the eight major initiatives, and to the nine programs, cultural exchanges are always an important part of China-Africa cooperation in the new era.
Under the framework of the FOCAC, a wide array of cultural exchange activities have flourished.
Events such as the Conference on Dialogue Between Chinese and African Civilizations, the Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation & China-Africa Think Tank High-Level Dialogue, and the China-Africa People’s Forum have been held, contributing wisdom to the development of China-Africa relations.
Progress in visa facilitation and the increase in direct flight routes have promoted tourism cooperation between and strengthened people-to-people bond between the two sides.
Chinese universities have set up African languages majors such as Zulu, Amharic, and Malagasy. Meanwhile, African countries are actively promoting Chinese language education. This has led to continuous deepening of language and cultural exchanges between China and Africa.
Chinese TV dramas, including “Welcome to Milele,” one that tells the stories of a Chinese medical team to Africa, have become popular in Africa. African countries including Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria have hosted Chinese film festivals, continuously expanding China-Africa film and television cooperation.
The blossoming cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa are laying a solid foundation of public support for jointly building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
By enhancing exchanges, mutual learning and harmonious co-existence of Chinese and African civilizations, the two sides will better promote sustainable development.
Their emphasis on harmonious coexistence between man and nature is now transforming into a driving force for sustainable development cooperation between the two sides.
The Sino-African Joint Research Center, located at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, has achieved a series of significant research results in the fields of biodiversity and ecological environment protection.
Over the past four years, the China-Africa Environmental Cooperation Center has carried out effective cooperation projects such as the China-Africa Green Envoys Program and China-Africa Green Innovation Project. It has cultivated a large number of African professionals in environmental management, pollution prevention and control, and green economy.
Both China and Africa are actively promoting the exchange and training of scientific and technological talents, technology transfer and innovation, and strengthening cooperation in areas such as climate change response, clean energy application, desertification and soil erosion control, and wildlife protection. They are making positive contributions to the global ecological progress.
By enhancing exchanges, mutual learning and harmonious co-existence of Chinese and African civilizations, the two sides will better understand each other’s development path and create a sound environment for them to achieve their development visions.
Currently, China is promoting national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. Advancing modernization through integration is the independent choice made by African countries and people. Africa is moving at an accelerated speed toward the bright prospects envisioned in Agenda 2063, and making all-out efforts to build a new Africa that enjoys peace, unity, prosperity and strength.
African countries generally hope to draw lessons from China’s development experience and explore a modernization path that suits their own national conditions.
Through exchanges, China and Africa are gathering the essence of their brilliant cultures, and by learning from each other, they are sparking innovation in their excellent traditional cultures. This will pave the way for a brighter future as both sides walk hand in hand on the path to modernization.
The 2024 summit of the FOCAC is a grand event to strengthen the friendship and unity between China and Africa, as well as a significant opportunity to promote mutual learning and cultural exchange between the two civilizations.
China and Africa will strengthen mutual learning, advance the great endeavors of win-win cooperation, harmonious coexistence and shared prosperity of civilizations, and strive for sound and steady development in jointly building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.

By Li Jiabao, People’s Daily

In the lower reaches of Sassandra River in Cote d’Ivoire stands the grand Gribo-Popoli hydropower plant, delivering clean electricity to numerous households.
The hydropower plant was built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) and financed by the Export-Import Bank of China. Recently, the first and second power generation units of the hydropower plant were successively connected to the grid. Upon full completion, it is expected to generate 554 million kWh of electricity for Cote d’Ivoire on an annual basis.
A number of eco-friendly projects built by Chinese companies are making the African continent greener.
Green development is not only a part of the eight major initiatives and nine programs jointly implemented by China and Africa under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), but also a key area of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Africa.
In November 2021, the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC held in Senegal adopted the Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024) and the China-Africa Declaration on Climate Change Cooperation, which has further improved the top-level design and institutional mechanisms for China-Africa cooperation on green development.
China is making extensive efforts to share its green development experience with African countries, providing tangible support in technology and capacity building. To date, China has undertaken more than 100 clean energy and green development projects under the FOCAC framework, supporting African countries in green and sustainable development.
Energy shortage is one of the bottlenecks hindering the development of African countries. According to data from the World Bank, only 46.7 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population had access to electricity in 2019.
Africa has enormous potential for renewable energy development. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa is home to 60% of the best solar resources globally. There is also great potential for hydro, wind, and geothermal power in many African countries.
As China-Africa deepens their cooperation in green energy cooperation, a number of solar power plants, wind farms, and hydroelectric stations are sprouting up across Africa. The abundant resources provided by nature on the African continent are rapidly transforming into green energy sources driving economic and social development.
For instance, the Chinese-built NOOR Solar Complex in Morocco, the world’s largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) station, has provided clean energy for more than 1 million Moroccan households, putting an end to the country’s long-standing reliance on imported electricity.
In South Africa, the De Aar Wind Farm developed by a Chinese company has supplied 760 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, meeting the demand of 300,000 households while reducing 619,900 tons of carbon emissions each year.
In Uganda, the Chinese-built Karuma Hydropower Plant recently connected its final unit to the country’s national grid, becoming the largest hydropower station in the country. It has increased Uganda’s total installed capacity by nearly 50 percent, saving 1.31 million tons of raw coal and reducing carbon emissions by 3.48 million tons each year, equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees.
China-Africa green energy cooperation has illuminated countless homes across the African continent and paved the way for sustainable development.
Desertification poses a severe challenge to many African countries. In 2017, the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) with the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pan-African Agency for the Great Green Wall to enhance cooperation in sand control. Through such collaboration, China and Africa have shared experiences and supported each other in combating desertification in recent years.
In 2015, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Ningxia government established an animal husbandry technology demonstration center in Mauritania, which has introduced water-saving irrigation methods to the country, including drip and sprinkler irrigation, and promoted the use of organic fertilizers such as cattle and sheep manure to improve the soil.
In Kano State, Nigeria, a desertification control project was launched by the African Desertification Control Initiative (ADCI) with support from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to help Nigeria build a “green wall” against desertification.
A joint effort by China and Ethiopia has led to the development of a model aimed at restoring and maintaining the ecological health of grasslands invaded by shrubs in low-altitude areas, which involves removing bushes to promote grass growth, rotating livestock in fenced-off sections, and incorporating different pastoral farming practices.
The Sahel region, a belt located on the southern border of the Sahara Desert, has long suffered from desertification. According to studies by Chinese and African experts, the ratio of desertified land in the region has decreased from 72.31 percent in 2000 to 69.23 percent in 2020. The completion of the Great Green Wall in Africa will greatly improve the natural environment of more than 10 countries south of the Sahara Desert, benefiting millions of local people.
In its cooperation with African countries, China focuses on enhancing their capacity for self-sufficient development through the exchange of valuable experiences.
In November 2020, the China-Africa Environmental Cooperation Center was officially launched, focusing on implementing the China-Africa Green Envoys Program and promoting the China-Africa Innovation Program. These programs aim to strengthen China-Africa environmental cooperation dialogue and promote joint research on environmental issues, while nurturing African professionals in fields such as environmental management, pollution control, and green economy. More and more young Africans are joining these programs, becoming a driving force in China-Africa green cooperation.
China and Africa are committed to energy transition and green development. Moving forward, China and African countries will continue to deepen their green cooperation, writing a new chapter in building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era and injecting positive energy into global sustainable development.

By Yu Zirong

Development is a timeless theme for humanity. As the largest developing country, China has always been an active contributor to global development, providing new opportunities to the world through its own progress.
China has put forward initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative (GDI), actively promoting international development cooperation to higher quality and levels. This demonstrates China’s strong sense of responsibility as a major country in deepening South-South cooperation and promoting global development.
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has provided training to over 100,000 professionals from more than 120 Belt and Road partner countries and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.
In recent years, through mechanisms such as the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, the China-UN Peace and Development Fund, the South-South Cooperation Fund on Climate Change, and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund, China has continuously increased resource input, optimized cooperation methods, and expanded financing channels to support the common development of countries.
A large number of infrastructure projects, such as the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge and the New Gwadar International Airport in Pakistan, have been successfully implemented.
Additionally, small-scale yet impactful projects like Juncao technology, hybrid rice production, the Luban Workshop, the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project, and the “Bright Journey” Program of cataract surgery have become well-known brands.
These projects have significantly improved the livelihoods of local communities and empowered the economic and social development of the respective countries, and have been welcomed by developing countries.
In recent years, multiple crises have converged, with global economic growth slowing down and the development agenda facing setbacks. The implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been progressing slowly.
Faced with the deepening uncertainty in global development prospects, Xi has put forward the GDI, emphasizing the importance of common development for all humanity and actively bringing development back to the center of the international agenda.
The GDI aims to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on the most urgent livelihood needs of developing countries.
Drawing on its historic achievements in poverty alleviation, China shares its experience and provides poverty reduction solutions to other developing countries. It has established agricultural technology demonstration centers to help address food crises. It has built low-carbon demonstration zones to help other developing countries tackle climate crises and achieve green and low-carbon development. China mobilizes resources from various parties to contribute to the global development fund, with Chinese financial institutions launching a $10 billion special fund specifically for the implementation of the GDI.
Currently, China is comprehensively advancing 32 practical measures to implement the GDI, with over 500 projects completed or underway, injecting new impetus into addressing the global development deficit.
Under the guidance of the GDI, China is taking concrete actions to promote the building of a global community of development with a shared future and enhance the effectiveness of development cooperation among all parties, so as to achieve common development that benefits all of humanity.
China will continue to actively contribute to improving global development governance, further leveraging platforms and mechanisms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, and the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum.
It will strengthen cooperation with international organizations, regional organizations, and financial institutions, and mobilize government, business, and social forces to participate in international development cooperation.
“Global South” is an important force in promoting world peace and development. As a member of the “Global South,” China will continue to deepen South-South cooperation, enhance the voice and influence of the “Global South” in international affairs, and work together with all parties to actively implement GDI. It will promote deeper and more substantial international development cooperation, contribute wisdom and strength to addressing global development challenges, and make greater contributions to making global development more robust, greener, and healthier.
(Yu Zirong is the deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.)