Page 107 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

ARTICLE

ZTE’s MEA CTO Outlines Path to a Resilient Digital

Ecosystem at the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit

2025

A Path to a Resilient Digital Ecosystem
There is an urgent need for a sustainable and inclusive digital
ecosystem in the Middle East and Africa. During his keynote address
at the 2025 SAMENA Council Leaders' Summit, Chen Qiong, CTO for
the MEA region at ZTE, highlighted this crucial point. He stressed
that the region is at a pivotal juncture, where collaboration will be key
to fostering future growth and development. Chen's message was
clear: the region stands at a crossroads, and collaboration is the key
to moving forward.

With the right partnerships, technologies,
and policy support, the MEA region can move
from infrastructure build-out to ecosystem

empowerment—and ZTE is positioning itself
as a key enabler in that journey.

A Regional Vision Backed by Global Experience
Chen opened his address by highlighting a transformative initiative:
ZTE’s intelligent 5G factory in Nanjing, China. With an investment of
RMB 20 billion and an annual output exceeding RMB 50 billion, the
factory demonstrates how 5G-driven connectivity can revolutionize
industrial ecosystems. This model has been successfully replicated
in 18 sectors, including steel, mining, and logistics.

Chen believes such digital industrial clusters offer MEA countries
a replicable and scalable model to strengthen their own digital
Chen Qiong economies—fostering resilience, sustainability, and cross-sector
CTO of the MEA Region collaboration.
ZTE
MEA’s Growth: Ambition Meets Efficiency Challenges
While praising the MEA region’s rapid progress—particularly in 5G
penetration, fixed broadband, and data center infrastructure—Chen
also emphasized that, despite the region’s rapid infrastructure
development, key efficiency challenges remain. Network utilization
shows room for further optimization, and the average power usage
effectiveness (PUE) in data centers currently ranges between
1.3 and 1.5. Achieving the sub-1.2 benchmark, often associated
with next-generation AI-optimized facilities, will require targeted
improvements. Addressing these gaps will be crucial to maximizing
return on investment and unlocking the full potential of MEA’s digital
infrastructure.

107 JUNE-JULY 2025