Alfred Schipke, director of the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore, has urged African countries to take advantage of their strong bonds with China to tap into China’s green energy technology to boost industrialization on the continent.
“China is now leading in green technology, producing solar panels and other things at extremely low prices. So for this part of the world, it makes sense to ensure that you utilize it, but as a step to continue developing your own economy,” Schipk said in an interview after the launch in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, of an International Monetary Fund publication entitled “Africa-China Linkages: Building Deeper and Broader Connections.”
If Africa can produce energy reliably and cheaper, “that would have humongous spillovers for small and medium enterprises that currently are confronted with high energy prices,” said Schipk, who is one of the book’s three editors.
As a first step, Schipke said, the continent could start by taking advantage of China’s available green energy technology while developing its own green energy resources, especially with solar, for development.
Samuel Darkwa, director of governance and administration at the Institute of Economic Affairs, a leading policy think tank in Ghana, said China and Africa have a lot in common, urging Africa to learn the lessons of China’s development trajectory to improve the lives of its peoples.
On his part, Paul Frimpong, executive director of the Africa-China Center for Policy and Advisory, lauded Schipk and the team for their new publication, which sheds more light on China-Africa relations and debunks some unfounded myths about the ties between the two sides. Enditem
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