African leader hails 'SZ Model,' pushes for digital, green partnership with China

A top African diplomat pointed to China’s economic rise and the tech hub of Shenzhen as critical models for understanding the country’s global role while outlining digital and green energy investment as the future of Africa-China ties at the 2025 Understanding China Conference.

The three-day conference, themed “New Plan, New Development, New Choices — Chinese Modernization and New Vision for Global Governance,” concluded in Guangzhou yesterday.Erastus Mwencha, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, speaks to Shenzhen Daily reporter during the 2025 Understanding China Conference in Guangzhou on Sunday. Chen Siqi

During an interview with Shenzhen Daily, Erastus Mwencha, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, said comprehending China requires a focus on its unprecedented economic scale and strategic shift.

Erastus Mwencha receives an interview from Shenzhen Daily while attending the 2025 Understanding China Conference. Chen Siqi

“China has managed to develop very fast, lifting millions of people out of poverty using infrastructure, housing, and manufacturing as a base,” Mwencha said. He noted the country is now pivoting to “high-quality growth” in green technology, digitalization, and artificial intelligence.

Kenyan participants interact with each other during the opening of the Cultural Heritage Digitalization Forum at the 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, on Sept. 1. Themed “Digital Connectivity for Mutual Learning Among Civilizations,” the forum is the first hosted by WIC to focus on cultural heritage digitalization. Behind them is an exhibit introducing the China-Kenya Joint Paleolithic Archaeological Project, a collaboration in prehistoric research and cultural exchange. China News Service

Mwencha, also a member of the advisory council for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, highlighted the transformation of Africa-China relations. Bilateral trade has grown from US$10 billion in 2000 to more than US$300 billion today, with China as the continent’s largest investor, he said.

The partnership, structured through forums like the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, now extends beyond infrastructure to thousands of scholarships for African students and institutional support, including the construction of the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Chinese and Kenyan railway workers stand in front of a locomotive arranged in the shape of the number “3000” at the locomotive depot of Afristar Railway Operation Company in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 19, celebrating 3,000 days of safe operation on the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway. Built by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), the Kenya Standard Gauge Railway is a 592-kilometer network that includes the Mombasa–Nairobi and Nairobi–Naivasha Phase I lines. It is Kenya’s largest infrastructure project since independence. Xinhua

Asked which Chinese initiatives had the greatest impact, Mwencha, a Kenyan, cited infrastructure like his country’s Standard Gauge Railway, renewable energy projects helping countries transition from coal, and agricultural technology boosting food security. 

For the coming decade, he singled out the digital economy as the most promising field. “Africa risks being left behind,” Mwencha said, emphasizing the need for fiber-optic infrastructure and skills development for the continent’s young population.

He said future cooperation must help meet Africa’s core challenges: creating jobs for its youth and building climate resilience through green development pathways.

An aerial view of the Shenzhen Bay in Nanshan, Shenzhen. Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

Additionally, Mwencha praised Shenzhen as a benchmark. Having visited Shenzhen, he described its evolution from a fishing village to a global Fortune 500 hub as “one of the gifts to China for opening up.”

“The 'Shenzhen Model' of globalization that brings in investment that transforms at ‘Shenzhen speed’ — there is a lot to learn,” Mwencha said. “That is exactly what Africa needs” for developing its own economic zones, he added.

On the conference’s theme, he said China’s support for multilateralism and inclusive globalization is vital. By aiding weaker countries, China reinforces that global stability is interconnected, he argued.

“Whenever Africa develops, it is also good for China,” Mwencha said. “And that is, to me, the basis for China’s contribution.”