8-year search helps Cameroonian put missing pieces together

Editor's note: China Daily presents the series Friends Afar to tell the stories of people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries. Through the vivid narration of the people in the stories, readers can get a better understanding of a country that is boosting openness.

When Joseph Olivier Mendo'o came to China aged 23, he had a burning desire to uncover the secrets behind the country's economic and social transformation over the past 40 years.

It took him eight years to come up with some kind of answer, one conveyed largely in the affability and industriousness of the people of his adopted country.

In fact, the seeds of Mendo'o's curiosity were sown when he found there were two contrasting views of China in his life. While studying at the Free University of Berlin until 2013, his impressions of China were primarily shaped by Western media.

"Back then we only knew about China mainly through Western media, which is often depicted negatively and as though it's backward," he recalled.

After returning to his home country of Cameroon in 2014, he noticed an increasing Chinese presence, with various infrastructure projects being built by Chinese companies. That was what prompted him to delve deeper into understanding China's development.

"The development data of the nation seemed to tell an entirely different story from the media. That's when my curiosity about China and its people was piqued," Mendo'o says.

His first stop on his quest for answers was the Confucius Institute in Yaounde, Cameroon's second-largest city.

Mendo'o's initial goal was to learn the language and find out a bit about Chinese culture. As chance would have it, several months into his studies, in 2015, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Cameroon, and Mendo'o was able to meet him as a youth representative.

"I told him I wanted to understand Chinese culture and promote China-Cameroon relations, and he suggested I study at Peking University," Mendo'o says.

Mendo'o sought advice from his Confucius Institute teachers and learned that Peking University is one of China's top educational institutions.

"I was willing to take on the challenge, so I started to work hard and finally got enrolled in a master's course there."

Arriving in China at the end of 2015, preconceptions he had about the country quickly began to evaporate.

"Arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport, I was overwhelmed by how big and modern it was. The urban environment was also very impressive. I saw the modern side of China with its development and infrastructure. All the images I had got about the country through the media were washed away."

He also recounted his experience at his first dinner meet in China.

"My Chinese Peking University classmates invited me to dine with them, which is exactly what we do in Cameroon — eating and sharing.

"When I arrived in China, I was really into getting into meeting people, something that helped me realize we are all very much the same."

However, it would take outings in a park for the veil on the real China to really be lifted for him.

"My first friends were old people, because I often jogged in the morning, exactly when these folks do their morning exercises. I tried to engage them in conversations to practice my Mandarin, and they responded warmly, keen to know something about Cameroon and Africa. Over time, I formed lasting friendships with many of them."

Such friendships offered him a new perspective on Chinese society and culture, setting the stage for the rest of his journey of learning and transformation.

"After meeting these old folks, I realized I had to go beyond Beijing. They suggested I travel to other provinces to experience different cultures and different ways of living.

"What they told me inspired me, and I got more curious about China, starting to think about it as though it was a jigsaw puzzle. Beijing was just the first piece, and I needed to go to other places to fit all the pieces together."

Mendo'o says he has since visited 19 provinces, 74 cities and more than 50 villages.

"I found out about poverty alleviation and how China has lifted so many people out of poverty. It also helped me discover my purpose of developing Africa and realizing my own strengths.

Similar successes

"Seeing what China has done has convinced me we can achieve similar successes in Africa. That's why, whenever I can, I would go to Chinese villages to learn and absorb what I see to bring it back home."

Mendo'o says he has been particularly struck by the sense of community and togetherness and the effective use of local resources in Chinese villages.

"The Chinese people-centered philosophy, which stresses that nothing can be done without the help of others, really resonates with me.

"I have served as a volunteer, following Chinese village officials and working with them. I have seen how they really understand the issues faced by villagers and what the villagers want. The villagers see the local officials as someone the Chinese government has sent to take care of them. That is something that is very warm and unique to China.

"What has also impressed me in Chinese villages is that any skill can help alleviate poverty. In Shanxi province, a village alleviated poverty through the selling of paper-cuttings. The local dry climate was unsuitable for agriculture, but the villagers excelled in this craft ... China really knows how to nurture talent."

Mendo'o says that another thing he has learned in China is the importance of social and economic growth that gives full play to local conditions.

"The modernization that China is undergoing is different from that of the West. China has realized there is no single, correct path. You develop based on your own circumstances by identifying your assets and nurturing them. This is something Africa can learn from."

Last year, Mendo'o joined the China-Africa Business Council in Beijing as executive director of its international exchange department.

"I joined the council because it offered a different perspective, one I hadn't been acquainted with. Being on the council allows me to get closer to Chinese business culture and to see how African and Chinese companies can work better together."

He is excited to see the great potential for commercial collaboration between China and Africa, he says.

"Chinese business is very solid, and more and more of the country's companies are setting up a presence in Africa, which brings business and technological know-how to the continent and creates jobs."

Just as Mendo'o drew inspiration from older people when he first set foot in China, now, at the age of 31, he is doing all he can to inspire young people.

He serves as the head of the Africa Youth Delegation in China and co-founder of the China-Africa Youth Federation, and promotes youth exchanges and joint initiatives.

"I'm trying to galvanize young Africans in China to engage with their Chinese counterparts. There's a growing number of Africans in China, the second destination after France for Africans studying overseas. But after returning home, many stop promoting the China-Africa friendship because there is no solid platform for that."

When the federation was founded five years ago, one of its main aims was to fill that gap, he says.

yangran1@chinadaily.com.cn