A new life on distant horizons

Chinese merchants prosper in new-found home

In Akwa, the commercial hub of Cameroon's commercial capital, Douala, there is a large building known as China Shopping City.

The old, blue and purple building is located on a main road. Inside, space is subdivided into a warren of stalls, most occupied by small merchants from China, some of whom have been hawking mostly Chinese goods there for years. There are bargains to be had, and haggling is commonplace.

Few have much to say to a stranger, especially a reporter, saying they speak neither French nor English, Cameroon's two official languages.

But finally, a seller who identified himself as Li agrees to talk.

"I will try to respond to you just for a moment," he says. "I'm in this country, and specifically here where I'm selling shoes, since 2004. My wife helps me a lot. Our child is not here, he's in China, and we have only one employee, a Cameroonian."

Why did they choose Cameroon for their business and a new home? "Peace," Li says. "It's a peaceful country. That is the first reason that motivated my wife and me when we were searching in which African country to stay, to find some new horizons." Li's wife says they already had friends in the country who told them many good stories about the place.

The couple sells shoes from China to a mostly Cameroonian clientele. Other Chinese merchants sell wigs, evening attire for men and women, suitcases, underwear and a host of other products.

Nearby, Wen Zuohai, 45, says he is from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. "I have been here since 2004. I decided to sell clothes because I didn't want to sell the same products as others.

"I feel good," Wen says. Then he adds, thoughtfully, "If I had a suggestion, I would like more security for us." The Chinese community has sometimes been a target for robbers. He keeps a video camera in front of him to keep an extra eye on his shop.

Chinese people living in Douala have formed a small community in Akwa instead of living scattered around the city. Many live at area hotels, like the Saint Juliet Hotel, and there is a Chinese restaurant and a dance club that caters to the community.

Cameroonians get along fine with their new neighbors, though some wish for a greater number of Chinese companies that could provide jobs and transfer technology to help the country advance.

"China masters technologies well," says Serge, a Cameroonian student. "I would be more proud if they also had some companies here."

"It would create more jobs. It would permit us to plan our proper progress, to lift ourselves out of poverty, you know, to acquire technologies, the know-how, acquire in the same way the means to become developed."

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/14/2014 page26)