Joining Hands on AI Development

Artificial intelligence (AI) was a hot topic at this year’s annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, also referred to as the Two Sessions. The recently released AI chatbot DeepSeek has quickly gained global attention and users with its rich features.

Daan du Toit, deputy director general of international cooperation and resources at South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation, believes China is already a world leader in AI development, and the discussions and proposals at the Two Sessions this year will further promote its development and international cooperation.

ChinAfrica reporter Ni Yanshuo recently sat down with Toit to learn more about his views on AI development and cooperation between China and South Africa.

ChinAfrica: South Africa ranks among the top in terms of the number of AI companies and AI development in Africa. Can you highlight some of the recent achievements in this field? 

Daan du Toit: We have made a number of investments in developing the digital skills as well as infrastructure capabilities of South Africa, with a specific focus on AI.

For example, we have a dedicated research network for artificial intelligence, the South African Artificial Intelligence Research Network, which is hosted here in Pretoria by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and links several universities together, all working together on AI as a centre of excellence. And we then look at how we apply AI and use AI in support of our government’s economic and social development objectives. It can have various applications, whether in areas such as education, health, drug development, or frontier scientific disciplines such as astronomy.

China is a world leader in AI. We greatly admire China’s world-leading status as an AI power. We are building the blocks to establish a strong foundation for South Africa to be a strong partner for partners such as China in AI.

In your view, in what areas can China and South Africa further strengthen cooperation in sci-tech development? Are there any specific sectors or projects that stand out as priorities for both sides? 

We have a longstanding, privileged partnership in science, technology, and innovation between South Africa and China. Our two ministries, the Department of Science and Innovation and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, co-fund several research projects each year.

For example, we have joint research centres looking at areas such as the sustainable use of mineral resources, with China working with a South African organisation called Mintek. We have very strong collaboration in the area of space science and technology between the South African National Space Agency and its counterpart in China. China is a very important partner for the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope, which is the world’s largest telescope hosted in South Africa.

Both sides have the ambition to further develop this collaboration. When South African Minister of Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande was in Beijing last year for the FOCAC Beijing Summit, he had a bilateral meeting with Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun, and they agreed to intensify efforts to work together.

Some of the new areas we are very keen to strengthen collaboration in include clean energy, clean coal technology, the hydrogen economy, and AI.

We are looking at potentially establishing a South Africa-China joint research centre in AI. Then, in the area of space, we aim to intensify collaboration on the Beidou Navigation Satellite System and build partnerships for South Africa to start using and applying Beidou technology in South Africa.

Finally, an area where South Africa can learn a lot from China and where we are very eager to collaborate is innovation for poverty alleviation. We are in awe of the remarkable success China has achieved in fighting poverty through investment in science, technology, and innovation. Therefore, we want to learn from China and apply some of those best practices to also fight poverty in South Africa.

China’s open-source AI model DeepSeek has attracted world attention. Compared with some other AI models developed by Western countries, what advantages does DeepSeek have in terms of application in Global South countries? 

I think it was truly an extraordinary achievement and again demonstrates China’s status as a world leader in science, technology, and innovation. We follow with much admiration the progress of DeepSeek. I think it is remarkable and important for the Global South for three reasons.

First of all, DeepSeek shows what can be achieved very cost-effectively. It is much cheaper than many of its similar applications and large language models being developed elsewhere. High cost is a big challenge in AI, and I think DeepSeek’s affordability is rather remarkable. It means AI development can become inclusive.

Second, the cost is tied to power use, so it is also more environmentally friendly due to lower power consumption.

Third, I think the fact that the source model is made open is very significant. That is the way China believes innovation should progress – to benefit all. That creates great opportunities for scientists and innovators from the Global South to work with China. 

So I think cost efficiency and the willingness to share make the DeepSeek achievement very remarkable. I actually have the app on my phone.

Do you think AI can drive a new wave of sci-tech innovation worldwide? And how can AI benefit developing countries like South Africa? 

Most certainly. AI, first of all, as a technology, has the potential to make our economies more competitive. In old industries like mining and agriculture, it will allow us to use resources more efficiently.

It creates new opportunities in the digital economy. You can also apply AI in fields such as education and healthcare for societal benefit. But what is extremely important, and we know this is a priority for China, and President Xi Jinping has spoken about this often, is that we need effective global governance of AI, which is inclusive and sensitive to the priorities of the Global South.

Talent development is one of the most important parts of China-South African AI cooperation. Are there any plans in your department to foster more AI talent for South Africa? 

Yeah, most definitely. We know that talent is key to AI development, not just the chips, computing infrastructure, and software. And I think China has shown the way on how to invest in people and develop capacity among scientists and innovators in AI.

So we have various instruments for joint training initiatives and exchange programmes. For example, under the Young South Africa-China Young Science Exchange Programme, we will be sending South African students and South African scientists to China to benefit from the training programmes being held there.

We see China as a key and strategic partner in developing the talent pool for AI in South Africa.

Nowadays, some countries are building smart cities where AI is used to collect data and provide services. Does South Africa have similar programmes for using AI in urban governance? 

Right now, we do not yet have smart cities like China has, but we have the ambition to develop them. And we see the application of digital innovation, whether it’s AI, the Internet of Things, robotics, or drone technology, as crucial to enhancing service delivery.

South Africa has some challenges with electricity, water and sanitation, transport, and logistics infrastructure, which need to be improved. So do safety and security.

We see the use of technology by cities to make cities safer, cleaner, and easier to live in as a big priority. This will be an ambition we will be working on in the coming years. Again, we view China as a very important partner for that and look forward to seeing what we can learn from China’s smart city model.

When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited China in September last year, he also went to China’s electric vehicle manufacturer BYD and said he was impressed by BYD’s technology. Does South Africa have any plans to develop electric vehicles in the near future? 

The automotive industry is very important for South Africa. We host several multinational automotive companies in South Africa, including some Chinese companies, and we’re very grateful for their investment. Of course, the nature of the industry is changing. We are moving away from the old combustion engines to electric vehicles.

Definitely, South Africa has the ambition and the commitment to be part of the electric vehicle revolution. And we are looking at how we can use science, technology, and innovation to modernise the South African automotive industry to be an attractive partner for global multinational companies who want to manufacture electric vehicles in South Africa.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has an electric vehicle strategy for South Africa. There will be science, technology, and innovation support both in terms of production and use of electric vehicles in South Africa.

And we know that China is now the world leader in electric vehicles. We look forward to working closely with China in this area.