Rhythm of life

Experiencing a country firsthand and building personal bonds foster profound connections

There is a particular moment that stays with anyone who has lived long enough in another country. It arrives quietly. One morning, the streets that once seemed impossibly dense with noise and motion become familiar. The faces at the corner shop are no longer strangers. The language, once a wall, becomes a window. That is the moment when perception shifts into something deeper. That is the moment when a place becomes real.

My own experience of China began in Shenzhen in November 2003. I was 19, and China was unlike anything I had previously experienced. The scale, the pace, the construction, the technology and the sheer energy of the city were striking. But what stayed with me was not simply the skyline. It was the rhythm of everyday life.

Over the years, that first encounter developed into a much deeper relationship with the country. I studied, lived and worked in China, traveled extensively across every region of the country and witnessed its transformation from different perspectives. I also encountered many Africans who were doing something similar: studying at Chinese universities, establishing businesses, conducting research and developing professional relationships that connected China with their home countries.

That is where the true nature of international influence reveals itself. It is not merely reflected in the headline-grabbing statistics, though such figures matter. It is also found in the quiet decision of a young person to study in a country far from home, in the entrepreneur who searches for a Chinese business partner, or in a tourist who discovers a country different from the one they had imagined from afar.

Recent polling suggests that these encounters are becoming increasingly common. A July Pew Research Center survey of 42,151 adults found that China is now seen more positively than the US in most of the 36 countries surveyed. In Africa, China recorded particularly strong favorable ratings in several countries, including 76 percent in Kenya, 78 percent in Nigeria and 52 percent in South Africa. These figures should not be interpreted as evidence that African countries have chosen China to the exclusion of other international partners. African countries pursue diversified foreign policies and maintain relationships with countries and regions across the world. But the figures do raise an important question: Why is China viewed favorably by significant sections of the African public? One answer may be found in firsthand experience.

This year marks 70 years since China established diplomatic relations with its first African partner, Egypt. Over the ensuing decades, the China-Africa relationship has developed far beyond formal diplomatic exchanges. It now encompasses trade, infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, scientific research, investment, tourism and increasingly technology and innovation.

Education is particularly important because its effects extend well beyond the classroom. An African student studying in China does not simply obtain an academic qualification. That student encounters Chinese society, universities, research institutions, technology companies and cities. They form friendships and professional networks. They experience successes and frustrations. They begin to understand China not as an abstract concept, but as a lived society, with all its complexity.

According to China's National Immigration Administration, China recorded 22.91 million inbound trips by international visitors during the first half of 2026, an increase of 20.4 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. Visa-free travel accounted for 77.7 percent of international entries.

For many visitors, travel becomes a form of education that no classroom can fully replicate. There is a difference between reading about China's high-speed railway system and standing on a platform as a train pulls in. There is a difference between hearing about the country's digital economy and watching ordinary transactions take place through mobile technology. There is a difference between reading about China's cities and walking through them.

And once that understanding takes root, it does not necessarily remain private. It travels home in the form of stories, professional relationships and new ideas. A student who spends several years at a Chinese university returns with more than a degree. A businessperson who develops relationships with Chinese suppliers returns with more than a commercial contract. A researcher who works with Chinese counterparts returns with more than a publication. They return with connections.

This is where the relationship between China and Africa becomes increasingly significant. It is no longer defined solely by what governments announce in communiques. It increasingly lives in classrooms, laboratories, companies, farms, construction projects and markets.

A new vocabulary is emerging around such experience. In some Western Gen Z circles, the term "Chinamaxxing" has been used to describe an intense interest in experiencing or adopting aspects of contemporary Chinese life. But for Africans, the phenomenon can be understood in a different and perhaps deeper way: feeling China's rhythm.

For many Africans, this is not simply about discovering Chinese consumer products or following a social media trend. It is about experiencing a society that has undergone extraordinary economic and technological transformation, understanding how its cities function, building relationships with its people and considering what lessons may be relevant to Africa's own development.

For Africa, this engagement brings both opportunity and responsibility. The objective should not be merely to deepen ties with China, but to ensure that those ties produce meaningful development outcomes: greater local value added, stronger skills, technology transfer, entrepreneurship and opportunities for African businesses to participate more effectively in global value chains.

For China, sustained international influence will likewise depend on the quality of its partnerships. Influence cannot be reduced to economic size or diplomatic reach. It is also built through openness, exchanges and the accumulated experiences of millions of people.

There is a particular kind of connection that forms only through shared experience. It builds slowly, through conversations that cross languages, meals shared after long days, professional collaborations and the mutual recognition that comes from working side by side on something difficult and worthwhile.

Perceptions may begin with what people read or hear. But they are strengthened, and sometimes transformed, by what people experience.

As more Africans travel to China, study in its universities, trade with its companies, conduct research with Chinese counterparts and explore its technological ecosystem, the relationship between China and Africa will increasingly be defined not only by what governments declare, but by what people and institutions accomplish together.

In the end, that may be one of the most enduring forms of international influence: not simply asking people to believe in a country, but giving them opportunities to experience it for themselves.

There is an old saying that one more friend means one more avenue. In an increasingly interconnected world, every new friendship between China and Africa can open another avenue for understanding, cooperation and shared opportunity.

The author is a former China chief representative at the Mauritius Economic Development Board Representative Office in Shanghai, and a former economic and commercial counselor at the embassy of Mauritius to Beijing. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.