On May 14, China InnoTour for African Young Scientists co-sponsored by the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Department of African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Science and Technology Department of Hubei Province came to a successful conclusion. The event is one of the activities specified in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) and an important measure to implement the outcomes of the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit. 

The ten-day event brought 25 young African science and technology personnel from 18 countries including Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia to China. During the event, members of the delegation visited Beijing, Wuhan and Yichang and called upon various government departments, science parks and research institutions, including the Ministry of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhongguancun, Wuhan National Biological Industry Base, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, and Yichang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. In addition to various science and technology visits, members of the delegation also visited cultural venues such as the Palace Museum and the Hubei Museum to learn about the long and colorful Chinese civilization. The young African delegates said that the event was of great significance and greatly benefited them. They expressed their gratitude for the opportunity offered by the Chinese government for them to gain a more intuitive and profound understanding of China‘s economic, social and technological innovation and broaden their new thinking for the development of STI in African countries. They expressed the hope for further strengthening cooperation between Africa and China under the Belt and Road Initiative, continuously smoothing out channels for cooperation in STI between Africa and China, jointly building the China Africa innovation cooperation network, and conducting exchanges and cooperation in wider fields and at higher levels and greater depths, so that China-Africa Cooperation in STI can continue to blossom and bear fruit. Members of the delegation said that they would surely bring back the goodwill of the Chinese people for the African people and make active contributions to deepening China-African cooperation in STI and promoting China-African friendship

The event has produced a positive social impact. Mainstream media in China including Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, China Central Television, China Global Television Network and local media such as Hubei Daily, Hubei Radio and Television Station and Yichang Television Station covered the event in an all-round way through news, video, text and other forms.