The third China-Africa Energy Cooperation Project Promotion Conference is being held in Yueyang, Hunan. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of the African Union Development Agency, who was here to attend the meeting, said in an interview with China News Service that in the context of artificial intelligence and automation reshaping the industry, Africa must speed up the construction of renewable energy systems and improve energy cost competitiveness.
In recent years, China-Africa energy cooperation has accelerated its transformation, extending from traditional resource development to new wind and solar energy, energy storage, power grid upgrades, and green minerals. So far, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power stations jointly constructed by China and Africa has exceeded 1.5 GW, more than 66,000 kilometers of power transmission and transformation lines have been built and renovated, and cooperation projects cover more than 40 countries in Africa.
Nados expects that Africa and China will strengthen cooperation in the fields of large-scale development of renewable energy, cross-border energy infrastructure interconnection, green technology innovation, capacity building and talent training, investment and financing collaborative support, and promote clean power to add value to local industries.
Yi Yuechun, President of the General Institute of Hydropower and Water Conservancy Planning and Design, pointed out that the global green transformation is a general trend. China-Africa strategic mutual trust continues to deepen, Africa's policy environment continues to optimize, and the energy demand brought about by economic growth continues to be released. However, uneven regional power infrastructure construction and energy shortage are still problems.
The "Tracking Sustainable Development Goal 7: Energy Progress Report" released by several United Nations agencies in June this year showed that more than 560 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity, and 970 million people do not have access to clean cooking energy.
"How to turn Africa's resource advantages into development results is a common challenge faced by all African countries, and it is also an area where Africa-China cooperation has great potential." Balumuene Nkuna Francois, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to China, believes that energy cooperation not only depends on the number of projects, but also depends on policy coordination and cooperation mechanism construction among different participants; success depends on the ability to meet development needs and improve people's well-being in the long term.
He said that the Democratic Republic of the Congo will continue to improve the business environment, promote the modernization of investment policies, simplify the approval procedures, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors. We look forward to establishing a stable and long-term cooperative partnership with China on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win results, relying on energy projects to drive employment, skills training and the development of local industrial chains.
"Energy cooperation is not only about increasing power generation, but also about creating jobs, expanding production capacity, strengthening food security, promoting value addition, and improving people's livelihood. It can lay a solid foundation for inclusive economic growth." Arthur Kalaluka, charge d'affaires of the Zambian Embassy in China, said that he sincerely invites Chinese partners to explore together and continue to deepen Zambia-China new energy cooperation. (over)
