Chinese firm AVIC International has launched in Kenya the latest edition of the Africa Tech Challenge (ATC), which aims to help nurture Africa's talents for the continent's industrialization drive. AVIC International plans to roll out the contest to 54 African countries in the long run. NAIROBI, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The 6th edition of the Africa Tech Challenge (ATC) funded by Chinese firm AVIC International has been launched in Kenya, which aims to help nurture Africa's talents for the continent's industrialization drive. Kevit Desai, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Education's State Department of Vocational and Technical Education (TVET), addresses participants during the launch of the Africa Tech Challenge, Season 5 in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, July 26, 2018. (Xinhua/Charles Onyango) Kevit Desai, principal secretary of the State Department of Vocational and Technical Training in the Mi

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The South Africa government will establish ten digital hubs across the country to bridge the digital divide among township residents and equip the youths with skills and knowledge to prepare them for the fourth industrial revolution, said a senior government official on Friday. The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Nomalungelo Gina on Friday said the digital hubs would be built inside the state-owned industrial parks. They will focus on creating a central meeting point for technology, innovation and creative businesses in the areas surrounding the industrial parks. She stated that these will assist start-up accelerator programs, business incubators and training programs. "The digital hubs seek to provide young people with skills and access to e-learning opportunities, basic business development support and business intelligence in order to encourage them to pursue entrepreneurship," said Gina. She said the government would like to prioritize the creation of digital hubs as part of its efforts to skill the country's youth and reduce youth unemployment.

US stock markets have fallen for a second day following a decision by Donald Trump to impose new tariffs on a further $300bn of Chinese imports. The three main US indexes all closed the week down, following sharp falls in Europe and Asia. The US President's move came after the latest round of bilateral talks showed little sign of a breakthrough. The 10% tariffs, due to take effect on 1 September, effectively tax all Chinese imports to the US. US-China trade war in 300 words

NAIROBI, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Samson Onkoba is among the African youths that have benefited from advanced training in technical skills courtesy of Chinese firm AVIC International which finances the Africa Tech Challenge (ATC). The 25-year-old Onkoba learnt software engineering he was selected to join ATC. "I hope to use the skills I have acquired to develop products that will help to accelerate Africa's industrialization process," Onkoba told Xinhua on Thursday during the launch of the sixth edition of the ATC. ATC Season 6 will focus on skills development for industrial transformation and see participation by 17 teams from across eight African countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Zambia. The ATC five-week training will culminate in a competition that will see the top six teams walk away with cash prizes worth over 1,000,000 Kenyan shillings (9,600 U.S. dollars) while the top two teams will also be awarded manufacturing contracts worth 96,000 dollars. After performing well during ATC, Onkoba was awarded a scholarship to study MBA at the Beihang University in Beijing. He observed that African youths are keen to learn advanced manufacturing technology from China in order to help the continent expand its industrial base. Africa has the least developed industrial sector in the world, despite having huge natural resources that can be processed to produce manufactured goods.

LUSAKA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- A Zambian peace and development expert has urged African governments to continue enhancing China-Africa relations stating that the continent still has a lot to learn and share with China given that country's economic success. Lawrence Banda, who is Universal Peace Federation-Zambia Chapter Vice Secretary General told Xinhua that it is in the best interest of Africa to continue to further enhance Africa-China relations as China has demonstrated unwavering support to Africa. Banda further commended China for assisting African governments to meet people's growing demands for services and infrastructure within a short period of time. "In the case of Zambia, we now have in place ultra modern health, telecommunications as well as education facilities and road networks that have been put up with the support of China," he said. Banda observed that even after 55 years of Zambia-China cooperation, China has remained committed to the development of Zambia and the whole of Africa, which is witnessing unprecedented infrastructure development supported by China. According to him, a good number of African governments do not want to engage entities that insist on economic reforms that do not serve the interest of African populations. China's support allows African governments to have access to finance, expertise and investment capital without much stress, Banda observed. He was, however quick to point ou

A batch of oversized engineering cables carried by Goglobal has been tied and shipped to the port of Tema in West Africa to complete the shipment at the Shenzhen port. The batch of materials for a Ghanaian engineering company in China to purchase large-scale engineering cables, due to the weight of up to 30 tons each, the size is also seriously exceeded, the height of up to 4 meters. In order to ensure the safety of the transport of goods, Goglobal tailored the transport ation plan for the shipment, made a detailed cargo binding plan, and strictly implemented, to ensure the smooth boarding of the goods.

On July 23rd, the Yantian port area welcomed the first voyage of the "MSC Gulson", the world's largest container ship with the largest capacity. With a total length of 400 meters and a width of 62 meters, the ship can carry 23,756 tetherates with a total tonnage of 230,000 tons, making it the largest container ship in the global shipping market. MSC-Gurson serves the Asia-Europe route and sails for about 36 days. The Yantian port area is the last port for the ship's maiden voyage in China, which will then sail to Europe via the Malaysian port of Parapas. "MSC Gulson" in the Yantian port port berthing period, the entire use of shore electricity, a total of about 4200 boxes. It is reported that "Mediterranean Gulson" is the Mediterranean shipping order edgout of 11 23,000 TEU ships delivered the first, the other 10 similar class of super-sized ships will be put into use. The wheel is optimized to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Super-large ships for the port of water depth conditions and loading and unloading capacity put forward higher requirements, Yantian port area as a natural deep-water port in southern China, with 20 large container deepwater berths, natural channel water depth of 17.6 meters, the world's largest container ships can freely enter and exit the port area. With its natural deep water conditions, advanced terminal facilities and efficient operation capabilities, Yantian Port Area is frequently favored by the world's Big Mac cargo ships.

The first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) kicked off Thursday in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, focusing on cooperation in the fields of agriculture, infrastructure, cross-border e-commerce and finance. CAETE, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), aims to build a platform for both sides to deepen economic and trade cooperation. President Xi noted at the opening ceremony of FOCAC that China will implement eight major initiatives with African countries in the next three years and beyond, covering fields such as industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, and green development. Some 10,000 guests and traders are attending the three-day event that runs from June 27 to 29, including attendees from 53 African countries and representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Food Programme, and the World Trade Organization. "Industrial development and free trade among ourselves will foster faster growth for our mutual benefit," said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at the opening ceremony. "This Forum should, among ot

The United States' capricious way of policymaking and swinging "big sticks" at negotiations will do no good in solving problems, and China has to take strong countermeasures, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. Gao Feng, spokesman for the ministry, said the two sides had achieved positive outcomes in the agriculture and energy sectors during previous talks both in Washington in May and in Beijing early this month. "The two sides had agreed to have another round of talks on manufacturing and service sectors and hold a detailed discussion on the structural issues in the following days," Gao said. "However, we are deeply sorry that the US has been acting unpredictably with its policy-making and has triggered a trade war." Gao said despite the positive outcomes of earlier talks, China is being forced to respond in a strong manner. "The US is accustomed to negotiating with others while holding 'big sticks'," Gao said. "But it does not work with China, and such irrational behavior will do no good in solving any issue." To counter the Trump administration's threats to slap a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese products - in addition to issuing a t