China–Africa Collaboration in Digital Technology: Present and Future Challenges

Abstract

Digital technologies have brought fundamental changes in our work, lifestyle and behaviours. Many digital companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Baidu, Tencent and Ant Financial Corp. are able to create digital services or products to consumers. The increasing contribution of digital technologies to world GDP makes digital knowledge economy become a leading driver of the current world economy. However, many developing and less developing countries have not prepared well for embracing digital knowledge economy. How these countries catch up is of great importance for building common destiny community for all humanity. This chapter aims to use inclusive development theory and make case studies to explore how China collaborates with Africa in digital technologies and helps Africa to solve digital technology-based problems. We used secondary data and selected cases of digital Chinese companies like Huawei and Alibaba to analyse how these Chinese companies help Africa to develop digital infrastructure, digital education, digital commerce and digital finance. This chapter provides a new lens to understand the present status, challenges and future of China–Africa collaboration in digital technologies.