Technology

Global Times: China a model for development that African countries can follow

Published

2 years ago

September 2, 2024

BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from September 4 to 6. It takes place at a critical juncture when the world is grappling with various regional and global crises and there is a pressing need for countries from the Global South to join hands. How will this year’s FOCAC elevate ties between China and Africa? What is the significance of building a high-level China–Africa community with a shared future? The Global Times (GT) interviewed a number of former officials and pundits from various African countries to share their insights and stories.

In the first article of this series, GT reporters Qian Jiayin and Bai Yunyi interviewed Essam Sharaf (Sharaf), former prime minister of Egypt and chairman of the Egyptian Sharaf Foundation for sustainable development. He said that China’s growing influence in Africa is timely, essential and vital.

GT: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt. During these 10 years, you have visited China many times. When did you first come to China, and what was your first impression of China? How do you evaluate the deepening of the China–Egypt relationship?

Sharaf: I have visited China about 40 times, and my first visit was in 2005. Although, at the time, Egypt was leaning toward the US, I insisted on visiting China. When I arrived in China, I visited many places and met many people. To tell you the truth, I was impressed. I told my colleagues that China is a great country, and it will be a major country in the world.

Now, the relationship has deepened in terms of economic cooperation. But the most important thing is the political stances. The political stances of Egypt and China are almost identical. Egypt and China were upgraded to a strategic comprehensive relationship 10 years ago, which means there is now a deeper and wider level of relationship between the two countries, covering almost all aspects. If you ask me about the evolution, I believe that the relationship is very strong, and I hope that this relation grows and has a positive impact on both countries as well as other countries.

GT: The two great civilizations of China and Egypt each have a long history and splendid culture, as well as many similarities. As a politician from Egypt, with its great civilization, how do you evaluate the series of global initiatives and ideas proposed by China?

Sharaf: The relations between China and Egypt actually go back maybe 2,000 years through the ancient Maritime Silk Road. These two civilizations have influenced humanity, history and the civilization of the world over time. I believe that, for humanity, it is our responsibility to build on the relationship between these two countries, as very few countries have such deep civilizations.

If we talk about global prosperity, global prosperity requires getting rid of the deficits in global peace, global trust, global connectivity and global development efforts, which are China’s global initiatives’ goals are.

For example, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) deals with international connectivity. BRI is actually considered the most important international cooperation platform. When we talk about a trust deficit, we have the Global Civilization Initiative. When we talk about reducing the security deficit, we’re talking about Global Security Initiative. When we talk about development deficits, there is the Global Development Initiative. I consider these initiatives to be a road map for the world toward global prosperity, global peace and global development. And it’s very difficult to have such a package from any other country.

GT: How do Egyptians, both the public and businesses, perceive the Belt and Road Initiative? Could you share some successful examples of infrastructure projects between China and Egypt?

Sharaf: In Egypt I found that the perception of BRI has changed over time from looking at the BRI as just a project to looking at it as a cooperation platform. That change, I believe, is highly correlated to the relations between China and Africa. I also believe the BRI has and will play a vital role in the development of the Global South.

Egyptians now perceive BRI in a much more comprehensive way than 10 years ago. For example, we have projects in different disciplines, like transportation, electricity and solar power, among others. And the most important one is the huge work of Chinese companies in the New Administrative Capital. China is doing an excellent job there.

Furthermore, China has a lot of experience with special trade and economic zones. We have a Chinese economic zone in Egypt now, but I believe that we need more as we benefit from the huge experience of China in this field. I believe that the Chinese can do a lot in terms of cultural exchanges and mutual learning, which is something we should work on. China and Egypt should cooperate and lead together through dialogue, and understanding. As the United Nations Secretary General said, we have a trust deficit. We need to talk, we need to understand each other, we need to get closer, and once we get to know each other and understand and respect each other, then the cooperation projects will be much, much easier.

GT: Have you taken note of the concept of “Chinese modernization”? Do you think China’s development model offers valuable insights for Egypt? What challenges does Egypt face when trying to adapt and localize these experiences?

Sharaf: China offered a model for modernization of developing countries. How China transferred from this level to this advanced level is very important for Egypt and other developing countries. China succeeded in achieving outstanding development through several modernization pillars, including putting people at the center, respect for diversity and innovation-driven development.

Egypt is now surrounded by a hostile environment. But still, I believe that the closer relationship between Egypt and China will benefit us as we analyze the modernization process of China. Once we actually have a peaceful environment in the area, I believe Egypt will be able to make great strides toward real modernization.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-china-a-model-for-development-that-african-countries-can-follow-302235599.html

SOURCE Global Times

Technology

China-Europe Youth Exchange Campaign: When Fashion Meets Football — A Green Pitch Appointment for Cross-Cultural Dialogue

Published

24 minutes ago

July 19, 2026

BEIJING, July 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On July 18, in Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province, China, the much-anticipated Guizhou Village Super League staged several thrilling grassroots football matches, accompanied by a one-of-a-kind football culture creative showcase.

The showcase, themed Common Love, blended fashion runway elements with local music and dance, presenting 16 distinctive football-themed jersey designs. These featured Italian architectural graffiti, Brazilian color blocks, as well as motifs of the Great Wall, pandas, Chinese auspicious clouds, and ethnic patterns. The outfits were modeled by over 20 young people from diverse walks of life in Guizhou, while the designs themselves were contributed by more than 100 youth participants from over 20 countries and regions during the China-Europe Youth Exchange Campaign: When Fashion Meets Football.

Launched by the China Media Group, European and Latin American Languages Programming Center, the campaign took football as a shared global language. Through youth creative workshops and interactive exchanges, it encouraged young people worldwide to harness AIGC tools to design football jersey patterns, thereby deepening mutual understanding and strengthening friendship.

This initiative drew enthusiastic participation from youth across the globe, who engaged in online dialogues on sports culture and AI-driven creativity. Experts such as Ana Vasques, Executive President, IETI Artificial Intelligence & Creative Design branch; Giulio Cuomo, Professor of Video Production and AI at Accademia Italiana; and Dr. Zhang Youyu, Distinguished Research Fellow at Peking University, shared their insights based on the campaign’s outcomes. They emphasized that football has long transcended the realm of sport, evolving into a cultural symbol that embodies diverse civilizations. Meanwhile, the innovative application of artificial intelligence is opening new pathways for cross-cultural dialogue among global youth.

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhzZPHPk8IA

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/3006669/20260719205937_131_59.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/china-europe-youth-exchange-campaign-when-fashion-meets-football–a-green-pitch-appointment-for-cross-cultural-dialogue-302829189.html

Technology

Singtel Receives Four Frost & Sullivan 2026 Recognitions for Leadership in Enterprise Connectivity, Cybersecurity, and Digital Transformation

Published

4 hours ago

July 19, 2026

The recognitions highlight Singtel’s leadership in secure connectivity, network transformation, IoT innovation, and cybersecurity, delivering customer value through intelligent digital infrastructure and AI-enabled enterprise services.

SAN ANTONIO, July 20, 2026 /CNW/ — Frost & Sullivan is pleased to honor Singtel with the 2026 Southeast Asia IoT Connectivity Service Provider Company of the Year, 2026 Singapore Network Transformation Customer Value Leadership, 2026 Singapore Cybersecurity Services Company of the Year, and 2026 Singapore SD-WAN and SASE Service Provider Company of the Year recognitions. These acknowledgements reflect Singtel’s outstanding achievements in delivering secure, intelligent, and scalable digital infrastructure that enables enterprises to modernize operations, simplify complexity, and accelerate digital transformation across Singapore and Southeast Asia. They underscore the company’s consistent leadership in strategy execution, customer value creation, and innovation across enterprise connectivity, cybersecurity, software-defined networking, and IoT connectivity services.

Frost & Sullivan evaluates companies through a rigorous benchmarking process across two core dimensions: strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. Singtel excelled in both, demonstrating its ability to anticipate evolving enterprise requirements while consistently translating long-term vision into measurable customer outcomes. Through platforms such as Singtel CUBΣ (CUBE) and its multidomestic IoT connectivity architecture, the company continues to unify networking, cybersecurity, automation, and AI-driven intelligence into integrated solutions that address the growing complexity of hybrid, multicloud, and connected environments. “Singtel has established itself as a benchmark for enterprise digital infrastructure by converging connectivity, cybersecurity, network intelligence, and IoT orchestration into a unified, customer-centric ecosystem. Its disciplined execution, platform-led innovation, and commitment to simplifying complex enterprise environments continue to strengthen operational resilience and deliver sustained value for organizations across the region,” said Kenny Yeo, Director at Frost & Sullivan.

Guided by a long-term strategy focused on digital innovation, intelligent infrastructure, and customer-centric transformation, Singtel has moved well-beyond traditional telecommunications to a trusted technology partner for enterprises navigating increasingly connected and data-driven environments. Its strategic investments in AI-enabled operations, cloud-native platforms, secure connectivity, and ecosystem partnerships enable organizations to modernize critical infrastructure while maintaining the flexibility to support future business growth.

The company’s strategic agility and sustained investment in integrated digital platforms have enabled it to scale innovative services across local, regional, and global enterprise environments. Innovation remains central to Singtel’s approach through solutions including the CUBΣ connected intelligence platform, multidomestic IoT connectivity powered by eSIM orchestration, managed cybersecurity services, AI-driven network automation, and network-as-a-service capabilities. These solutions simplify network and security management, strengthen cyber resilience, improve operational visibility, and provide enterprises with scalable, secure, and high-performing connectivity across cloud, edge, IoT, and hybrid infrastructures.

By streamlining service delivery through intelligent automation, centralized orchestration, proactive monitoring, and flexible managed and co-managed service models, Singtel continues to help organizations reduce operational complexity while improving service reliability and business agility. Its ability to integrate best-of-breed technologies in a unified operational framework, combined with strong regional network ownership and localized expertise, enables customers to confidently scale digital initiatives while maintaining security, governance, and operational excellence.

Frost & Sullivan commends Singtel for setting a high standard in competitive strategy, execution, and customer value across multiple technology domains. By combining intelligent networking, secure digital infrastructure, AI-enabled operations, and cross-border IoT capabilities in an integrated platform strategy, the company is shaping the future of enterprise connectivity while helping organizations build resilient, future-ready digital ecosystems.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents its Company of the Year and Customer Value Leadership recognitions to organizations that demonstrate outstanding strategy development and implementation, resulting in measurable improvements in customer satisfaction, competitive positioning, and business performance. These recognitions honor forward-thinking companies that continuously raise industry standards through innovation, operational excellence, and long-term value creation.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Recognition
Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Recognitions honor companies across regional and global markets that exhibit exceptional achievement and consistent excellence in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer experience, and strategic product development. Each recognition is the result of a rigorous analytical process in which Frost & Sullivan industry experts benchmark performance through comprehensive interviews, deep-dive analysis, and extensive secondary research. The goal is to identify true best-in-class organizations that are driving transformative growth and setting new industry standards.
Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:
Tarini Singh
E: Tarini.Singh@frost.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/singtel-receives-four-frost–sullivan-2026-recognitions-for-leadership-in-enterprise-connectivity-cybersecurity-and-digital-transformation-302829114.html

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

Technology

Foreign entrepreneurs find business opportunities and a home in Yiwu

Published

4 hours ago

July 19, 2026

BEIJING, July 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A report from People’s Daily:

Yiwu, a city in east China’s Zhejiang province, is neither a coastal hub nor a border town. Yet it has built a trade network that reaches across the globe. Today, the city is home to more than 10,000 foreign-invested businesses and around 38,000 foreign merchants who live and work there.

People’s Daily reporters recently visited Yiwu to meet foreign entrepreneurs who have built successful businesses and settled down in the city. They shared stories of growing alongside Yiwu and becoming part of its remarkable transformation.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without Yiwu,” said Senegalese businessman Sourakhata Tirera, a sentiment he often expresses. He first came to Yiwu in 2003 to source hardware products and was immediately impressed by the Yiwu International Trade Market. He noted, “If you can’t find something here, it’s probably because you haven’t searched carefully enough.”

In 2007, Tirera opened a foreign trade agency in Yiwu. In 2012, leveraging Yiwu’s comprehensive foreign trade pilot reform project, he established a wholly foreign-owned trading company. Today, his company ships 200 to 300 containers every month, dealing in more than 1,000 product categories and providing one-stop sourcing services for clients across Africa.

“Everyone is fascinated by Yiwu because it’s a place full of opportunities. Things that once seemed impossible can become reality here,” Tirera told People’s Daily after he finished receiving a trade delegation from Gabon.

Yemeni businessman Maged Mohammed Ali Al-Huraibi came to Yiwu alone in 2008 to pursue his entrepreneurial dream and founded a cosmetics trading company. In 2024, Yiwu launched a one-stop entrepreneurship service for foreign talent, offering factory leasing, policy consultation, and talent recruitment. Seizing the opportunity, Al-Huraibi invested in a cosmetics factory early that year, successfully transitioning from trader to manufacturer.

“Yiwu made my entrepreneurial dream come true. Now I want to bring cosmetics made in Yiwu to even more countries and regions around the world,” Al-Huraibi said.

Yiwu’s success is not simply about gathering products. More importantly, it comes from the city’s ability to create what the market needs — pioneering new approaches where none exist and forging new paths through continuous exploration.

Nepalese businessman Khadka Raj Kumar first came to Yiwu in 2002. In 2011, Yiwu pioneered a dual-track system for representative offices and foreign-invested business entities, addressing challenges related to residency, employment and business operations for foreign entrepreneurs. The following year, Kumar established his own trading company in Yiwu and later bought a home there.

In 2013, Yiwu established China’s first people’s mediation committee dedicated to foreign-related disputes, inviting foreign businesspeople to serve as mediation processes. Kumar has served in this role since 2017 and has participated in resolving more than 150 foreign-related disputes.

“In Yiwu, we’re not outsiders — we’re part of the local community,” he said.

As Yiwu’s sixth-generation marketplace, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center marks the city’s transition from traditional trade to a digital trade ecosystem.

Pakistani businessman Sheikh Jamil, who has operated in Yiwu for 21 years, has witnessed this transformation firsthand. According to him, more and more business is now conducted online. With the help of AI, he can quickly generate product solutions tailored to different market demands. “I can do business with the whole world without leaving my office,” he said.

Yemeni businessman Hasan Mohammed entered Yiwu’s cosmetics business as a distributor a decade ago. In 2018, he registered his own cosmetics brand in Saudi Arabia. With its products registered in Saudi Arabia, manufactured in China and sold worldwide, his business model delivers both high-quality products and a strong competitive edge.

“Yiwu is more like an ecosystem where ideas can quickly become reality. It offers not only opportunities, but also the potential for continuous growth,” said Mohammed.

For Brazilian businesswoman Ana Garcia, Yiwu’s transformation from “Made in Yiwu” to “Created in Yiwu” has been fueled by broad support in branding, digital innovation and global expansion. She founded a business consultancy that helps overseas clients identify market opportunities and sourcing needs, connect with qualified suppliers, and manage every step of the supply chain — from product selection and quality inspection to logistics and customs clearance.

Yiwu belongs not only to China, but also to the world. Together with entrepreneurs from around the globe, the city will continue turning the impossible into the possible, further burnishing its reputation as the “world’s supermarket” and ensuring that products created in Yiwu benefit people in more countries.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/foreign-entrepreneurs-find-business-opportunities-and-a-home-in-yiwu-302829158.html

SOURCE People’s Daily