Chinese expertise Africa's guiding light
SHANGHAI: China's expertise in education, human resources development and population policy could serve as valuable lessons for Africa on the continent's road to development, a senior African Development Bank (AfDB) official said.
"China's achievement in rural infrastructure construction is impressive," said Zeinab El Bakri, AfDB vice-president. "But what has been achieved in terms of human resources and technology, is something that is even more impressive," El Bakri said in an interview during the bank's annual meetings.
"One of the problems (in Africa) is that we don't use much technology to add value (to our products)," she said. "Even if simple technology was employed in agriculture in Africa, it would add much value to our products in the global market."
In terms of education, China has placed much of its emphasis on higher learning, while the focus in Africa has mainly been on basic or primary education, said El Bakri.
"I am also impressed by China's efforts to use information technology to promote education in remote areas," she added.
"You cannot depend on a population with very low skills (to develop the economy) and then you need higher education," she explained.
"But most African countries and even most international donors have placed the emphasis on basic education in Africa," El Bakri said.
She applauded China's practice of sending medical and agricultural experts to Africa and hoped that China would train more African professionals in those areas in the future.
"Transfer of skills is very critical to Africa," the bank vice-president said, "It is even more important than just treating patients."
"One of the roots of poverty (in Africa) is that low productivity of agriculture cannot provide enough food for our people," said El Bakri. "China could contribute more to the development of Africa's agriculture and those efforts are very much needed," she said.
China, she said, could help provide quality fertilizers and seeds to Africa in addition to offering other expertise.
"Such efforts could help generate a 'green revolution' in the continent," El Bakri said.
She also said that Africa could learn from China's handling of urban planning and development issues.
"As the African economy develops, there is increasing migration of rural people to urban areas but most of them are disorganized," she said, adding that Africa could learn from the experience of China, which has also gone through a similar process.
The banker, who is responsible for the education, health, agriculture and finance sectors at the AfDB, said Africa welcomes Chinese investment and financial cooperation between the two sides needs to be increased.
"The changes that have taken place in China (in the last decade) is really impressive," commented El Bakri, who first visited China in 1995 when she attended the World Conference on Women in Beijing.
(China Daily 05/18/2007 page18)
