On the flight I took from Beijing to Johannesburg to report on the Johannesburg BRICS Summit last week, I met a South African woman and her daughter who were seated beside me.
What attracted my attention was that the little girl, around 10 years old, was watching a Chinese comedy being shown on the flight and giggling from time to time.
Her mother told me they spent two weeks visiting Guangzhou, Yiwu, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing and were flying back home.
When I asked whether her daughter understood the film, she laughed and said “no”, but added that she wanted her daughter to know about China.
She said that’s why she took the girl to China, far from her home in Johannesburg.
“South Africa and China have an increasingly close economic bond. I wanted her to see China with her own eyes to give her a chance to know about the country, its people, its culture and ultimately, so she might be able to work for a Chinese company when she grows up.”
I was astonished that she was so farsighted about China-South Africa relations that she was nurturing the next generation to promote ties — though she might not have been aware of doing that.
I can’t help but recall my first visit to South Africa 10 years ago, when I worked for a Chinese mining investment company and was sent to Johannesburg for around 12 months.
At the time, I was not aware that I was among thousands of Chinese people who were promoting China-African relations through the investment, trading or people-to-people exchanges pushed by the Chinese government.
I still remember the first sight of purple jacaranda and flaming red fire lily on the streets of Johannesburg, which stuck in my memory, emblematic of the stunning natural beauty of the African country.
What impressed me most also was the friendliness of the people. Whether in an office or shopping mall or restaurant, I was often greeted by local people with smiles and a few Chinese words like ni hao (how are you) or xie xie (thank you).
Some young guys even tried to get me to teach them Chinese kung fu because they knew kung fu stars Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee from films.
Ten years passed. When I landed again on the shores of the “rainbow nation” as a reporter, I had learned about the much closer links between China and South Africa, and even the whole African continent, not only in trade or investment but also in mutual political trust and coordination in international affairs.
Besides bilateral cooperation, a number of multilateral platforms have been set up to boost traditional friendship and partnership such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative.
South Africa is no exception if you put China in the bigger picture of the African continent — China has a unified policy toward Africa.
President Xi Jinping pointed out on various occasions that China treats its friends in Africa with sincerity, engages in cooperation with Africa with solid outcomes, strengthens China-Africa ties with friendliness and addresses problems of cooperation in good faith.
He has said China and Africa form a community of a shared future, passing through thick and thin together.
Nelson Mandela, whose 100th birthday was celebrated on Wednesday, once said: “Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely daydreaming, but vision with action can change the world.”
My confidence is boosted by the vision of jointly building a community of shared future for mankind proposed by President Xi, which, in the long run, might result in a change that will lead to a better world, as China has been consistently taking actions in promoting lasting peace, universal security, open and inclusive development, common prosperity and clean and beautiful environment.