China Africa Talk

Africa is accelerating its drive for industrialization. China, with its manufacturing expertise, technology, and investment is playing an increasingly important role in that process. Cooperation is expanding across renewable energy, local manufacturing, and industrial value chains. We visit a production site and speak with the people working to strengthen industrial value chains in Africa through local sourcing, skills development, and job creation.

Fifty years after Guangxi sent its first medical team to Niger, Chinese doctors continue to work alongside African colleagues. More health workers are also coming to China for specialist training. Through their experiences in Niger, the Comoros, and Guangxi, we look at how that exchange is helping strengthen local medical care.

Named after Lu Ban, an ancient Chinese craftsman and inventor, Luban Workshops offer hands-on training to young people in Africa. In Ethiopia, students learn to program industrial robots and prepare for work in automation. In Mali, trainees explore traditional Chinese medicine and its connections with African healing practices. We meet the students and teachers putting new skills to work and explore how that training could support local development.

European clubs spent heavily in the summer transfer window, with African players featuring in some of its most closely watched moves. We discuss which signings could make an impact, how price tags shape expectations, and why direct transfers from African clubs to Europe remain important for the continent's football.

Nairobi is set to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, the event's first edition in Africa. We discuss the excitement among athletes, the preparations ahead, the potential benefits for local businesses, and how organizers can make the championships accessible to local fans.

Africa is home to an extraordinary range of cultures and traditions, but how much do we really know about them beyond familiar stereotypes? In this episode, voices from Kenya, South Africa, the Central African Republic and China come together for a lively conversation about culture and everyday life. They share personal stories, challenge assumptions, and discover some unexpected similarities along the way.

With a young workforce, abundant renewable energy resources, and an expanding manufacturing base, Ethiopia is seeking to turn its potential into sustainable growth. As a BRICS member, the East African country is also looking to deepen cooperation with China and other Global South partners. Nahom Berhanu Wendaferew, Minister Counselor at the Embassy of Ethiopia in China, discusses Ethiopia's development ambitions, and opportunities for China-Ethiopia cooperation.

Zimbabwe is looking to tap into Chinese expertise and investment to expand its renewable energy, lithium processing, and agricultural sectors. At the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services, Pedzisai Mwayera, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Zimbabwe in China, shares Zimbabwe's CIFTIS agenda and how deeper economic cooperation with China could support industrial development and create new opportunities for shared growth.

Across Africa, the dream of regional currencies has been decades in the making. Supporters say common currencies could boost intra-African trade, cut transaction costs and deepen economic integration. But repeated delays, economic disparities and concerns over national sovereignty continue to stand in the way. Could growing cross-border trade and digital payments finally change the equation? We discuss what is driving Africa's push for regional currencies, and whether the continent can turn a long-held ambition into reality.

As China-Africa ties continue to deepen, journalists on both sides have an important role to play in strengthening mutual understanding and challenging stereotypes. Nigerian journalist Michael Onjewu recently visited China for the second time, traveling to different cities and attending major China-Africa media exchange events. He shares his observations on China's development, the opportunities created by growing China-Africa trade, and why firsthand reporting matters in telling the China-Africa story.