A new chapter in South Africa’s digital development opened in Woodmead this week with the launch of the China South Africa Digital Innovation Hub, known as C Park. The initiative is positioning itself as a major driver of youth skills, entrepreneurship, and cross border trade, with plans to train thousands of young people and create up to 5 000 jobs each year.
C Park is backed by Wuhan Changjiang International Trade Group (CJITG), a large Chinese state owned enterprise with global interests in agriculture, mining, logistics, and e commerce. Its arrival signals a growing shift towards deeper cooperation between South Africa and China in areas that sit at the heart of economic growth, including technology, trade, and workforce development.
At the launch, Chinese Consul General Pan Qingjiang reflected on almost ten years of cooperation between the two countries in education and training. He said the new hub builds on that foundation by offering practical, forward looking programmes designed around the realities of South Africa’s shifting labour market.
“This is where shared priorities take shape, in spaces that bring young people closer to real opportunities, industry partnerships, and global networks,” he said.
C Park CEO Li Wei described the hub as more than a training centre. He called it an ecosystem designed to move young people from learning into real participation in the digital economy.
“We are focused on building entrepreneurs who can stand on their own feet. That means skills, yes, but also access to markets, finance, supply chain partners, and the support needed to localise and grow a business,” he said.
By 2026, C Park aims to train 2 000 young people a year through partnerships with several SETAs, including LGSETA, INSETA, and WRSETA. From this pipeline, at least 100 new e commerce ventures will be incubated each year and linked into CJITG’s supply chain networks. This includes opportunities tied to established Chinese brands such as Midea and Bestore, as well as export pathways into Hubei Province.
Li noted that many small South African businesses are blocked from competing in global markets due to the cost and complexity of logistics, compliance, and distribution.
“Our goal is to remove those barriers,” he said. “We want South African entrepreneurs to participate in international trade in a way that feels possible and not intimidating.”
The choice of Woodmead as a base is intentional. Located between Sandton, Midrand, and Alexandra, the site is positioned to bridge some of the stark economic divides in Johannesburg. The hope is that young people from nearby townships, who often face obstacles such as transport costs, limited access to data, or lack of digital tools, will be able to engage meaningfully with the opportunities the hub offers.
The launch of C Park arrives at an important moment for South Africa, where youth unemployment is at crisis levels and the digital economy continues to outpace skills supply. If it delivers on its promises, the project could become one of the most significant public private interventions in shaping a generation of digitally capable young people and in giving small businesses a pathway into high growth sectors that are often out of reach.