Yinchuan – The growing popularity of Oman and Egyptian water-saving irrigation systems designed by Ningxia University in Northwest China has witnessed a win-win cooperation between China and Afghanistan.
The system consists of underground pipelines, wind and solar power generation equipment, and mobile intelligent control equipment that allows water to more accurately diffuse to the target location than many ground drip irrigation systems currently deployed in Arab countries.
Sun Zhaojun, dean of the School of Resources and Environment at Ningxia University and head of the Joint Laboratory for Resources and Environmental Governance in the Arid Region, said: “It is more water efficient and can be remotely controlled via a smartphone.” “It saves labor, is cost effective, and is very popular in Arab countries.”
The third China Arab Expo held in 2017 witnessed the signing of a technology transfer cooperation agreement between Ningxia University and Oman University. So far, more than a dozen sets of such water-saving irrigation equipment have been exported from China to Oman.
Subsequently, China and Egypt conducted similar cooperation in water-saving irrigation technology and signed an agreement at the Fourth China Arab National Expo held from Thursday to Sunday.
Ahmed Galal, dean of the Agricultural College of Ain Shams University in Egypt, said that the Chinese water-saving irrigation system is “very impressive, especially because it can be used in deserts where electricity is scarce. area”.
Garal welcomed the cooperation. He said the Egyptian government is seeking to replace the outdated traditional irrigation methods with modern methods to save irrigation water.
At the China Arab Expo, which has been held every two years since 2013, this is only part of a broader bilateral cooperation between China and Afghanistan. The Expo has become an important platform for cooperation between China and the Arab countries in pursuing the “Belt and Road”.
High-tech cooperation
This year’s Expo has several exhibitions that showcase high-tech innovations in artificial intelligence, aerospace, new energy and Internet Plus healthcare, and showcase the latest achievements in China-Arab cooperation.
Among the exhibitors at the show, Huawei demonstrated a series of equipment using 5G technology, including safety robots.
Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, said during the World Expo that with the rapid development of the country, China and the Arab countries are in science and There is great potential for technical cooperation. 5G, artificial intelligence, blockchain and Internet of Things and other state-of-the-art technologies.
He said: “This is in the interest of both parties.” “This will help open up new markets for Chinese goods and help implement the Arab countries’ own development plans.”
In recent years, China has made significant progress in the development and application of AI and 5G technologies. As of June 2019, its mobile Internet population exceeded 840 million.
According to the latest statistical report on China’s Internet development, in 2018, China’s total digital economy was 31.3 trillion yuan (4.4 trillion US dollars), accounting for 34.8% of its GDP.
Khaled Hanafy, secretary-general of the Arab Chamber of Commerce, expressed the hope that the Arab countries will use the fourth industrial revolution to cooperate with China in more fields, not just trade, such as the Internet of Things, 3D printing and Internet Plus.
Hanafi said: “The close cooperation between China and Albania in science and technology will contribute to the overall development of both sides.”
mutual benefit
In recent years, China-Arab economic and trade cooperation has been flourishing. Last year, bilateral trade reached US$244.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 28%.
To promote technical cooperation, the China-Arab Technology Transfer Center opened at the 2015 World Expo.
Guo Bingchen, head of the science and technology department of Ningxia, said that in the past four years, the organization in Ningxia has established eight sub-centers in Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco. .
Guo said that the technology transfer network has played a “key role” in training personnel and technology that matches the needs of both parties.
A report released by the China Economic Information Service brand Xinhua Silk Road at the World Expo pointed out that China-Arab cooperation has great potential in infrastructure construction, energy, international shipping, 5G and AI.
The report said: “Effective policy communication, good economic and trade relations and strong economic complementarity are favorable conditions for deepening China-Arab third-party market cooperation.”
Cao Jian delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Expo on Thursday
