Ghanaian student at Shandong Lanxiang Technician College in Jinan, Shandong Province, 26 Feb 2019 [Xinhua]
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Economy
Ethiopia strikes telecoms deal with US-backed consortium in largest-ever foreign direct investment (US $8 billion, 2021-31)
Ethiopian Ambassador in Washington dismisses claims of US-China “proxy war” as country launches e-payment platform developed by Huawei and expanded its 4G contract; Ethiopia is Africa’s second biggest borrower of Chinese funds (US $13.8 billion, through 2018)
People’s Life and Culture
“C-Dramas” draw ten million African subscribers in 30 countries due to shared values and expansion of streaming services
With 300 African voice-actors, media giant StarTimes has dubbed over 20,000 episodes of Chinese series into 11 local languages (including Swahili and Yoruba) since 2011; some African viewers prefer Chinese themes and styles absent in Western productions
Science and Technology
As part of Ghana’s industrialization plan to move “beyond aid”, China invests US $130 million to upgrade the country’s technical education system
Inspired by Chinese model, Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) initiative will train 700 teachers, revise curricula, and refurbish 35 and construct 20 new institutes, focusing on engineering (mechanical, civil, automobile, etc.)
In June 2017, archaeologists discovered 1,000-year-old Chinese coins and pottery in the ruins of an ancient trade hub near Harlaa, Ethiopia