WUHAN,China/AU Commissioner Strengthens Africa–China Innovation Agenda During High-Level Mission to China

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION DIRECTORATE

Press Release No: 205/2025                                       Date: 22 November 2025
Venue: Wuhan, China        

AU Commissioner Strengthens Africa–China Innovation Agenda During High-Level Mission to China

The African Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, H.E. Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona, has concluded a successful mission to the People’s Republic of China from November 18-21, 2025, marking significant advancements in AU-China cooperation in science, technology and innovation. 

The Commissioner led a cross-departmental AU delegation comprising experts from the ESTI Department, the Department of Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, and the Women, Gender, Development and Youth Directorate. The team participated in the 2025 China–Africa Innovation Cooperation and Development Forum in Wuhan, held under the theme “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization Through Innovation Cooperation.”

The mission commenced in Wuhan with a visit to the Wuhan Botanical Garden, a premier research institution under the Chinese Academy of Sciences housing over 10,000 plant species. H.E. Commissioner Banyankimbona subsequently delivered the inaugural lecture at Huazhong University of Science and Technology on « Co-Creating Africa’s Innovation Future: Bridging Chinese Excellence and African Ingenuity through Open Science and Youth Partnership, » outlining three pillars for deepening collaboration: Open Science for Inclusive Innovation, youth as architects of the future, and ethics, sovereignty, and mutual respect in technological partnerships.

On November 20, the Commissioner addressed the opening ceremony of the 2025 China-Africa Innovation Cooperation and Development Forum alongside H.E. Mr. Qiu Yong, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, and H.E. Mr. Li Dianxun, Governor of Hubei Province, among others. In his address, H.E. Commissioner Banyankimbona emphasized Africa’s pursuit of technology sovereignty through co-designed, co-owned, and co-commercialized innovations grounded in African realities. The Forum featured parallel sessions on scientific and technological innovation, vocational education cooperation, sustainable development, and the Belt and Road Initiative.

« Our collaboration with China is already delivering tangible results, » H.E. Commissioner Banyankimbona stated. « We now seek technology sovereignty—solutions solving African problems and expressed in African languages. By working together, Africa and China can leverage their respective innovations to promote sustainable development, expand technological capabilities, and build resilient economies. »

The mission concluded in Beijing with a bilateral meeting between Prof. Banyankimbona and H.E. Mr. Yin Hejun, China’s Minister of Science and Technology—their third engagement in two months following the G20 STI Ministerial in South Africa and the signing of the AU–China MOU on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Both sides agreed to fast-track MOU implementation through a new Joint Committee, expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, open science, and traditional medicine, and deepen people-to-people exchanges in preparation for the 2026 China–Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.

The Commissioner also visited the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), where discussions explored the possibility of expanding Chinese language programmes for AU staff to strengthen institutional capacity and deepen cultural ties between the African Union and China.

The mission further advances commitments outlined in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027) and builds on the recent launch of the China-Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Alliance and the celebration of China-Africa Innovation Cooperation Day. The ESTI Commissioner has been invited to attend the next STI Conference in China in 2027, reflecting growing momentum in the partnership.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Ms Claudette Chancelle BILAMPASSI MOUTSATSI | ESTI Department- Pan African University | African Union Commission | E-mail: BilampassiC@africanunion.org | Tel: +251 11 518 2014/ +251 11 5182518 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission | E-mail: GamalK@africanunion.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  

For further information, please contact:

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