By Michael Onjewu, Beijing
The African Union and the United Nations have called for deeper cooperation in the media and creative industries, saying stronger collaboration in content production, technology, professional exchanges and youth development can drive economic growth and strengthen people-to-people relations between Africa and China.
The call was made on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the 7th China-Africa Media Cooperation Forum in Beijing, attended by Chinese officials, African information ministers, journalists, media practitioners and members of the diplomatic community.
The forum, themed “Share Development Opportunities, Shape the Audio-Visual Future,” focuses on content innovation, cultural cooperation and technological development.
Speaking at the event, the African Union’s Permanent Representative to China, Alhaji Mohamed Sarjoh Bah, said the next phase of Africa-China media cooperation should focus on transforming the creative industries into engines of economic development, harnessing digital technology and artificial intelligence responsibly, and investing in human capital.
Bah said Africa’s creative industries should be treated as strategic sectors capable of creating jobs, attracting investment and stimulating innovation.
“Throughout history, stories have shaped civilisation. Today, the creative industries possess the power to connect cultures, create jobs, stimulate innovation and expand economic opportunity,” he said.
He urged Africa and China to move beyond traditional content exchanges and develop integrated value chains covering film production, broadcasting, animation, gaming, digital content and cultural entrepreneurship.
Bah also called for greater African ownership of the continent’s narratives, saying African stories should reflect its diversity, achievements, aspirations and realities.
“For too long, Africa has been viewed through lenses that do not reflect the aspirations, achievements and the realities of its people,” he said.
On technology, Bah urged both sides to harness artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and next-generation communication platforms while ensuring that innovation remains inclusive, ethical and people-centred.
“As we embrace artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, we must ensure they are guided by the principles of inclusivity, fairness, transparency and accountability,” the envoy said.
He called for stronger scholarship opportunities, collaboration among universities and research institutions, and mechanisms for knowledge transfer and skills development, describing Africa’s youthful population as a major strategic advantage.
“At the African Union, we firmly believe that empowering our youth is not merely a policy choice; it is a strategic necessity,” Bah said.
He urged the media to become a transformative force for development, solidarity and peace, rather than merely reflecting Africa-China relations.
UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa, said media professionals had a critical role in changing how Africa is perceived globally.
“Africa today is not a continent of scarcity. It is resource rich, it is idea rich, and above all, it is young,” she said.
Eziakonwa noted that by 2050, one in every four people globally would be African, with most under the age of 30. She said the continent’s young population was already creating, streaming and distributing content on a scale attracting growing global attention.
She cited Nollywood, Nairobi’s animation industry and productions emerging through Chinese partnerships as expressions of Africa’s creative economy and promising avenues for jobs, services trade and cultural exchange.
Eziakonwa urged African and Chinese broadcasters to co-create rather than merely transmit content, while encouraging young filmmakers to train together and apply technologies such as artificial intelligence to African languages and contexts.
“When African broadcasters and Chinese counterparts co-create rather than merely transmit, when young filmmakers train together, when new technologies, including artificial intelligence, are put to work in African languages and African contexts, we’re not simply exchanging content,” she said.
She noted that such cooperation represented an investment in Africa’s “narrative sovereignty” and the aspirations of Agenda 2063.
Delivering the keynote address, Cao Shumin, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of the National Radio and Television Administration, called for stronger two-way media cooperation between China and Africa.
Cao said China-Africa media cooperation had developed over the years and contributed to advancing people-to-people bonds through high-quality content.
She called for greater two-way screening and content exchange, as well as stronger focus on technological development and the use of emerging technologies to improve media production.
Cao also urged China and Africa to consolidate their friendship through high-quality and more efficient media content, while expanding exchange programmes for journalists, broadcasters, producers and other media professionals.
She advocated regular professional exchanges to build stronger networks and create opportunities for long-term cooperation.
Cao noted that China and Africa had already co-produced a number of audiovisual contents and called for the partnership to expand into new areas, including artificial intelligence and AI-generated content, as both sides pursue common development.
The 7th China-Africa Media Cooperation Forum also features the China-Africa Audio-Visual Programme Exchange, the China-Africa Audio-Visual Youth Cooperation Initiative and a China visit programme for African media practitioners.
The activities are expected to strengthen professional exchanges, content cooperation and interaction among young media practitioners while using radio, television and audiovisual media to deepen China-Africa people-to-people ties and support economic and trade development.
