China Unicom, the country's second-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, has set up a branch in South Africa, as part of its broader push to tap into opportunities in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

China Unicom (South Africa) Operations (PTY) Limited, located in Johannesburg, is the Chinese company's first operation center in the African continent. It is designed to strengthen digital cooperation and communication between China and South Africa. 

The move came as the Beijing-based company is scrambling to expand overseas presence. China Unicom is now building more cloud computing nodes, or connection points for data transmission, in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Sydney and Ho Chi Minh City.