China’s technical expertise touted as new vehicle for progress on embattled, global belt and road
- China seen shifting away from infrastructure-dominated exchanges that long dominated the decade-old Belt and Road Initiative and sparked criticism
- Technology transfers have always been part of China’s belt and road plan, but analysts say Beijing is increasingly prioritising those types of exchanges to boost ties
Chinese agricultural scientist Jia Yinsuo first arrived in Africa in 1994 and went on to dedicate the last three decades to researching maize and supporting local agriculture in 23 countries across the continent.
And his efforts have gained new impetus in the past decade, following Beijing’s launch of a China-centred trading network known as the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013.
“Kenya’s agriculture minister wrote to China’s Ministry of Agriculture, seeking assistance from my team to help local desperate farmers,” said Jia, who was welcomed in 2014 by Kenya’s then-president, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Chinese entrepreneurs such as Jia have been spreading their technical expertise around the world, from crop planting in Africa to traffic management in the Philippines. It’s a burgeoning growth area under the initiative that once prioritised infrastructure to stoke foreign trade.
This spreading of expertise – a departure from massive, debt-shrouded projects of the past such as railways and seaports – is also aimed at polishing China’s global image while cultivating valuable new markets in which Chinese companies can grow.
Transfers of technology have always been officially part of China’s belt and road plan that comprises about 150 nations, but analysts say those types of exchanges are rising up China’s priority list.
