China-Africa: Technology cannot be transferred, says forum
No nation can consciously transfer its technology to another and the best model for any nation is to develop a policy framework for technological advancement. This view resonated through the deliberations of the BusinessDay CEO Forum where the plenary session focused essentially on Chinese –Nigeria Economic relations.
The panel during the session which was moderated by Frank Nweke Jr, former minister of information and currently of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, had as its members, Zhang Li Jun of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, Walter Jason Wu Ji of Huawei Technologies, Yibing Wu of Legend Holdings and Dominic Barton of McKinsey. The panel agreed that certain critical factors that propelled the Chinese economic and industrial revolution in contemporary times could serve as a veritable lesson for a country like Nigeria.
Among these success factors are a stable polity, separation of ideology from economic policy making, consistency of purpose, adoption of a reward and appointment system that gives credence to meritocracy, capacity to sustain a system that can learn efficiently from those who had perfected certain technologies, ability to sustain a low-cost high 
quality manufacturing and the leverage on a regional market for export expansion. It can be recalled that China maintains a high volume of intra-Asian trade.
Still on what China could offer Nigeria, the panel stated that the strength of the Chinese in infrastructure development can be tapped through enlisting the support of their construction companies towards the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure. However, the panel equally cautioned that the actual benefits that Nigeria will derive from China would depend more on a strategic bilateral economic relations framework which will ensure that the ties between the countries remain mutually beneficial.
It would be recalled that in recent times China has found Africa a haven for trade expansion and a source of the much needed oil to fuel its massive industrial growth. It is equally remarkable that the Chinese new found interest in the economic potentials of Africa has generated some controversy bordering on its somewhat lackadaisical attitude towards the conflict situation in Sudan and the perception in some quarters that the Chinese companies operating in Africa may after all not be much concerned about the welfare of Africans but would rather be obsessed by what they can get from Africa.
However, it appears that a constructive engagement of Chinese investors by the local business communities and African governments would enthrone a more fruitful business relation between Africa and China.
(businessdayonline.com)
Tags: Nigeria