Ancient nations look forward to a bright future together

Visiting Sudan was my first trip to Africa, and I was more than a little surprised when one of the first things I saw after touching down at Khartoum International Airport was the Chinese flag.

It was printed on a green shuttle bus along with the words "China Aid". I instantly got the feeling that the country was not as far from my motherland as I'd imagined.

Omer Eisa Ahmed, the Sudanese ambassador in Beijing, had told me China is the biggest supporter of his nation's economy.