China-Africa textile cooperation urged

As Africa seeks to add greater value to its abundant raw materials, deeper China-Africa cooperation could help transform cotton and other natural fibers into competitive textile and garment products, creating millions of jobs, expanding exports and driving industrialization across the continent, scholars and industry experts have said.

Kiplagat Kotut, acting vice-chancellor of Moi University in Kenya, said China’s strength in textile manufacturing, technology and global trade makes it a valuable partner as Africa seeks to build a competitive textile and apparel industry.

“China’s expertise in industrial-scale production and innovation, combined with Africa’s deep understanding of local materials, traditional techniques and community realities provides a powerful formula for real impact,” he said.

Kotut said universities should be at the heart of China-Africa partnerships, driving joint research on sustainable textiles and circular fashion while expanding student and faculty exchanges between textile and design programs.

Donghua University, a leading university in textile science, engineering and fashion design in Shanghai, has partnered with Moi University to advance textile engineering, fashion design and vocational training through the Confucius Institute at Moi University.

The partnership has also contributed to the modernization of Rivatex East Africa Limited, a vertically integrated textile manufacturer that converts cotton lint into finished fabrics and garments. Moi University acquired the facility in 2007 for training, research, and product development.

Li Lihua, director of the Confucius Institute at Moi University, said the partnership also focuses on developing engineering talent.

“We want to provide opportunities for Kenyan students to study textile engineering in China,” she said, adding that students would also have opportunities to visit Chinese industries for hands-on experience.

Kotut said collaboration between African and Chinese universities could help develop technologies needed to build integrated textile and garment value chains.

“Working with the Chinese government and the Chinese partners, we can carry out training of potential investors in this sector,” he said, adding that Chinese investors should be encouraged to undertake value addition in Africa.

Through technology and skills transfer, as well as financing, Chinese investment could help strengthen Africa’s textile manufacturing capacity in areas ranging from spinning, weaving, and dyeing to fabric production and garment manufacturing, Kotut said.

He urged African universities to place greater emphasis on translating research into practical innovations instead of focusing primarily on academic publications.

Peter Mwita, vice-chancellor of Kenya’s Kaimosi Friends University, said Africa needs to strengthen links between academia and industry to advance sustainability, innovation, skills development and cultural preservation as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies reshape the textile and apparel industry.

Opportunity for innovation

He said the sector provides livelihoods for millions of people while offering significant opportunities for industrialization, value addition and innovation.

According to UNESCO, 37 of Africa’s 54 countries produce cotton, with the continent’s largest producers concentrated in West Africa. Textile is a major industry in many African countries, including major economies such as Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya.

However, the textile industry in many African countries remains largely focused on raw materials. UNESCO data show that African cotton fiber production accounted for 7.5 percent of global production in 2022, while sub-Saharan African countries exported more than 81 percent of the raw cotton they produced, highlighting the continent’s limited capacity for local value addition.

Beyond cotton, southern and northern African countries produce significant quantities of wool, while silk is produced in countries including Ethiopia, Madagascar, Namibia and South Africa.

The continent also has a wide range of other natural fibers, many of which are used in artisanal production. These include raffia in countries such as Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Madagascar and Nigeria, as well as tree bark fibers in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Uganda.

Other lesser-known fibers produced in Africa include jute and kenaf, which are increasingly attracting designers seeking sustainable and locally sourced alternatives.

“Textiles are not just fabric and thread,” Kotut said. “They are identity, heritage, innovation, and economic lifelines. From the colorful kitenge and kente of Africa to the exquisite silk and embroidery of China, our textile traditions tell stories of who we are and where we are going.”

Xu Mingjun, deputy Party secretary at the Open University of China, said plans are underway to introduce training courses to Kenya, combining Chinese language with fashion design and livestreaming e-commerce.

The programs seek to equip young Africans with skills in Chinese language, digital technologies and textiles, supporting the upgrading of Africa’s textile industry.

“Drawing on the textile discipline strengths of Donghua University, local industrial resources of Moi University and local educational channels of Open University of Kenya, we will strive to build a distinctive talent training system of ‘Chinese + Textile + Digital Technology’ to precisely meet Africa’s industrial needs,” Xu said.

He described textiles as a natural link between Chinese and African civilizations, noting that traditional African fabric patterns and China’s traditional textile intangible cultural heritage reflect long-standing aesthetic traditions of both regions.

“China-Africa textile cooperation enjoys broad prospects, and digital education cooperation promises a bright future,” he said.

Wang Zhidong, deputy Party secretary of Donghua University, said educational and scientific cooperation centered on textiles is expanding across East Africa.

“Building on existing platforms such as the Confucius Institute at Moi University, the excellent overseas engineering colleges, and the China-Africa Regional Cooperation Centre for Digital Education, we make substantive efforts in joint bachelor’s-master’s-doctoral training, faculty exchanges and vocational skills programs; extend the classroom to the factory floor; and enable young people to grow through hands-on practice on the African continent — so as to leave behind for the local textile industry a talent pool that ‘stays and delivers’,” she said.

Push for upgrading

Wang called for greater collaborative innovation to drive industrial upgrading, particularly in high-value utilization of natural fibers, green dyeing and finishing, technical textiles and artificial intelligence applications.

She proposed establishing joint laboratories, pilot-scale facilities and standards and certification platforms to accelerate the transfer of research results from laboratories to production lines.

Through green, low-carbon technologies and digital approaches, Wang said, local industries could improve quality and efficiency while ensuring that scientific and technological advances contribute to livelihoods.

Yan Jinjiang, industrial development officer of the Rural Development, Agro-industries and Industrial Parks Unit at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, said Africa’s textile and apparel industries need to increase value addition, productivity and sustainability simultaneously by identifying high-impact areas across textile and garment value chains.

“Competitiveness now depends on producing with lower water, energy and chemical intensity while meeting traceability and quality requirements,” Yan said, noting that buyers are increasingly looking beyond price to compliance, transparency, product differentiation and carbon-conscious production.

Yan said China-Africa textile cooperation would be most effective if it were problem-driven, technically grounded and organized around scalable transformation platforms rather than isolated activities.

Kotut identified high processing and electricity costs as major obstacles preventing countries such as Kenya from turning locally produced cotton and other natural fibers into finished textiles and garments.

He also cited outdated machinery and technologies as challenges that contribute to inefficiencies and waste.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn