African students travelled to China to learn ICT with Huawei Seed for the Future Program, 2019 [Xinhua]
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Geopolitics
Despite pressure from Washington, growing number of African and other developing countries embrace Chinese 5G technology
With 70 contracts (>1/3 in Africa) in 41 countries for cloud infrastructure and government services, Huawei remains largest telecoms equipment and technology provider in Africa and, with ZTE, accounted for 50-60% of wireless equipment sales in Africa and Middle East (2020)
Science and Technology
Transsion leads Africa’s growing mobile market (+14% year-on-year, Q1), with low-priced handsets (US $35-100) and features customized to African consumers
Shenzhen-based manufacturer of the Tecno, Infinix, and Itel brands leads the African smartphone market (44.3%), overtaking Samsung (22.9%), with four-chip phones and keyboards in local languages (Amharic, Swahili, Hausa)
People’s Life and Culture
South African artist bridges cultural gap between Africa and China by singing Chinese pop music
Inspired by her season with the Lion King Musical (Hong Kong, 2014), Eli Zaelo saw the opportunity to build a career in the C-pop industry, singing in Mandarin and Cantonese while incorporating African music styles
In 1991, the C-pop band Beyond released the song “Glorious Years” (光輝歲月), about racism and the struggles of Nelson Mandela in South Africa