He emphasized the benefits affordable Chinese products provided to ordinary consumers. A Chinese-made watch costing 100 yuan could meet the same basic need as a far more expensive one, he said.

　　He also pointed to knowledge sharing, vocational training, agricultural technology and rail infrastructure as forms of cooperation African countries could draw on to strengthen their own capabilities. "China is showing you how to catch the fish," he said.

　　Glenn Diesen, a professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway, said the emergence of several technological powers could give smaller and medium-sized economies more choices.

　　Competition among suppliers could help them diversify technology sources, obtain expertise and seek technology transfers, while stronger cooperation among developing countries could expand those opportunities, he said.

　　Learning from China does not mean reproducing its model wholesale, he cautioned. Its scale, extensive supply chains and industrial capabilities are distinctive advantages. Other countries need approaches suited to their own circumstances, including greater autonomy in strategic industries and more diversified trade.

　　A data collector trains a robot to sort components at a robotics training base in Hefei, Anhui, on July 15. LIU JUNXI/XINHUA

　　Deepening cooperation

　　China's demand for goods and services also gives overseas producers a stake in its development. Australia's exports of goods and services to China totaled about $126.4 billion in 2025, accounting for 29 percent of its worldwide exports, according to data from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.