Africa needs to work with Chinese companies to accelerate the development of internet infrastructure, an African government representative has told the third World Internet Conference.[Special coverage]
Union of Comoros information and communication technology advisor Abdallar Said Sarouma said that China has been very innovative in the internet sector, and has many world famous companies, while Africa lags behind.
"We clearly understand the importance of working together with China, especially in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector," he said.
Comoros is now working with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to build ground fibres and underground optical cables.
In one month, the island nation will finish building its second international undersea optical cable.
"Africa has a large demand for improving its network infrastructure, but our capabilities are limited, so we hope China and Chinese companies would make efforts to help. I hope China's successful experiences in the internet sector could help us," he said.
He was speaking at the China-Africa Internet Cooperation Forum during the third World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province on Thursday.
Huawei's Ding Shaohua said that when a country increases its investment in ICT technology by 20 percent, its gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by about one percent.
He said that developed countries invest about 5 percent of their GDP into the ICT sector, but the percentage is 2.5 times that of the developing countries.
"This is why we are discussing about accelerating network infrastructure, especially in China and Africa cooperation, which I think is of great urgency, but also of great potential," he says.
The third World Internet Conference is held from Nov 16 to 18 with the theme "Innovation-driven Internet Development for the Benefit of All - Building a Community of Common Future in Cyberspace".
The conference includes 16 forums covering 20 major issues, such as internet economy, internet innovation, governance in cyberspace and international cooperation on the internet.
