Opportunity in being behind the times

In the communication age, Africa and China are the perfect partners

Information and communication technology is creating a knowledge-based society accompanied by a high-tech economy that is greatly increasing efficiency in manufacturing and services.

But that society is a profoundly unequal one, and human beings can now be divided into two groups: those who are online and those who are not.

People in almost all developed countries and in many places in developing countries are living in an information society that is based on shared knowledge. These people, less than half the world's population, have created the bulk of knowledge and wealth.

The rest essentially exist beyond the borders of modern civilization, leading lives without the help of technology.

For historical reasons, the digital gap between Africa and the rest of the world is particularly big, but therein lie great possibilities.

While Africa has a low population density and is rich in resources, many of its people do not share in that wealth, leading lives of poverty. Changing that depends on two things: more technology being applied to make better use of resources and more social progress that will get African countries to work together rather than striving against one another.

Fortunately, the information age is characterized by openness, fairness and freedom, and the Internet is a great teacher.

With the wider use of information communication technology, Africa will undoubtedly progress in the way its society is organized and technology is applied, and that in turn will lead to political progress.

The information society has accumulated a huge amount of knowledge, most of it free for anyone to use. What Africa needs to do is plug into the information age, even using the underdevelopment of traditional industries as an advantage, and take a different approach to industrialization.

By drawing on information and communication technologies in economic activities, Africa could greatly reduce costs in the process of industrialization. For example, it could use the Internet to replace the traditional telephone network; it could make more use of mobile Internet; and it could make better use of the Internet in schools. But what should Africa do to quicken the pace in plugging into this world?

China, the world's largest developing country, has the biggest common interest in turning Africa into an information society, and can play a key role in that process.

China caught the bus to the information age almost from the first stop. Because of its large population and vast territory, it has developed cheap technology and accumulated rich experience in putting information and communication technologies to practical use.

China in particular has competitive advantages in information and communication technology hardware, such as building base stations, laying cables and making terminals, which is what Africa badly needs. The information and communication technology hardware industry is capital and labor-intensive. Since profit margins are low and labor costs are high, the industry is unattractive in developed countries. But China, which needs to upgrade its industry, will be willing to transfer industry to Africa to realize the value of excess production capacity and traditional techniques.

However, because economic development is at different stages in Africa and China, they are much more complementary industrially than are Africa and developed countries.

Among all possible complementary areas, information and communication technology may be the most important. By working with China in this field, Africa can enter the information age rapidly and cheaply, and China can make more space and provide more financial resources to upgrade its industry.

Governments need to have a long-term view of their joint efforts to engender trust and build institutions to create a better environment for working together.

Chinese companies should deal with any temporary difficulties they may have to build a presence in Africa in the long term.

Apart from governments and companies, all kinds of entities from China and Africa, including social, international and regional organizations, have much to gain from such a long-term relationship.

The author is a lecturer at the Management School of Shanghai University and a research fellow at the China Europe International Business School Lujiazui International Finance Research Center.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/06/2013 page9)