“I know the answers!”
Right after Yang Xiaobo, vice-chairman of the Committee on Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee, asked African participants about the founding time of the CPPCC and the details of the First CPPCC Plenary Session, Ms. Alaa MOHAMED, a Sudanese participant, immediately turned on her microphone on the other side of the screen and replied:
“CPPCC was founded before the founding of the People’s Republic of China. At that time, the Communist Party of China was leading Chinese people in the war of liberation to build New China. The First Plenary Session of the CPPCC was held on September 21, 1949, when China’s democratic parties, public figures without party affiliation, and other representatives gathered in Beijing to discuss state affairs. Chairman Mao Zedong of the Communist Party of China gave the opening address. The Session adopted a provisional constitution titled the Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, selected Beijing as the capital, and decided on the national flag, national anthem, etc.”
During the lecture on “Overview and History of the CPPCC” given by Mr. Yang Xiaobo, Alaa always stood ready to give simple and accurate answers whenever questions were raised. Impressed by Alaa, Mr. Yang praised her as a “teaching assistant” in this workshop.
A Sudanese friend participated in China-aid training twice
Alaa, the “teaching assistant”, is well informed about China, but in fact, she has never been to China before. Born in 1996, she has just turned 26 years old. She works for the International Cooperation Department of the Sudan News Agency (SUNA). Much of her knowledge of China comes from the “Workshop on Building and Operating Digital TV Network for English-speaking African Countries” organized by AIBO from April 22 to 28, 2022.
“It is my honor to attend this workshop. Hearing about this opportunity, I immediately submitted an application to my department director and told him I want to participate.” Alaa, happy and excited, told us at the workshop’s ice-breaking session. After the opening ceremony, Alaa reported on the launch of the workshop on SUNA’s official website (see Figure 1). She praised the workshop for “demonstrating China’s commitment to helping developing countries achieve economic and social progress” by quoting the opening speech made by Mr. Liu Rutao, Vice President of AIBO.
During the workshop, AIBO organized more than 10 lectures and discussions to introduce China’s national conditions and the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. AIBO also invited many experts and scholars with a profound academic background and full knowledge of African countries from the National Radio and Television Administration, StarTimes Group, and other organizations to discuss with the participants. In the workshop, Alaa, with perfect attendance, was always energetic. She took detailed notes of every bit of China-related information, engaged in topic discussions, and bonded with the Chinese staff.
Alaa delivered a speech on behalf of participants at the closing ceremony of the workshop on April 28. She praised, “The past week has been amazing, as the productive workshop promoted the exchanges and knowledge sharing in the media sector between Sudan and China, which stepped up the development of Sudan’s national news media and the digitalization of radio and TV networks”. She also hopes to participate in more training programs organized by the Chinese government.
Her dream soon came true. From May 13 to 26, with the support of the General Office of the CPPCC National Committee, AIBO organized the two-week “Workshop on Parliamentary Capacity Building for Young African Parliamentarians”. A number of vice-ministerial officials of relevant CPPCC special committees, including vice chairman Yang Xiaobo, delivered lectures to the participants. To expand exchanges and better tell Chinese stories, AIBO, at the suggestion of the CPPCC, gave full play to its advantages and invited outstanding African participants, including Alaa, in previous seminars to join in various activities of this workshop together with parliamentarians from other countries.
A Sudanese friend who appreciated China-Africa
friendly relations
On May 25, during the “Workshop on Parliamentary Capacity Building for Young African Parliamentarians”, an exchange activity was held on building a community with a shared future for China and Africa in the new era. Wang Min, deputy head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee and deputy head of the CPPCC National Committee's China-Africa Friendship Group, and other members of the friendship group, including Zhou Shuchun, Chang Zhenming, and Cui Li, discussed with the African participants in the activity. On that day, Alaa had already been there as a special guest speaker from the media. We were also delighted to find that she had invited her colleague Sana ABOSWAR, an outstanding participant in our previous seminars, to listen to the presentations of other participants.
During the seminar, Alaa made a keynote speech on China-Africa people-to-people exchanges and media cooperation. She outlined the friendship and exchanges between Sudan and China, indicating that our two countries have strong relations in various fields such as politics, diplomacy, economy, and trade, and have fruitful exchanges and cooperation in culture, art, journalism, radio, and television. SUNA, where she works, has also been in close contact with China’s Xinhua News Agency.
When it comes to China-Africa friendship, Alaa said that China, as the friend and good partner of African people, has long been committed to helping African countries gain development and has done many practical things to bring tangible benefits to their people. Organizing such workshops and exchange activities despite the pandemic is a vivid reflection of the deepening of China-Africa relations. Looking to China-Africa cooperation in a new era, Alaa believes that it is crucial to enhance the awareness and capacity of African people to gain progress. Workshops and seminars provide a good platform to empower Africa’s development. She hopes to participate more workshops like this one. In doing so, African people could have a deeper understanding of advanced China’s philosophy of governance and its experience in economic development. In the interview, Alaa told the reporter from the CPPCC Daily, “During this workshop, Chinese experts, instead of giving one-way lectures all the time, were eager to hear our voices from Africa, which made me feel valued. The high-quality lectures and the lively atmosphere of discussion are exciting and impressive”.
After the exchange activity, Alaa told us that this workshop organized by the Chinese government had once again inspired her. She had written a special report about the workshop on SUNA’s official website (see Figure 2). At the end of the workshop, Alaa extended her sincere gratitude to the Chinese government, the Ministry of Commerce, the Chinese Embassy in Sudan, and especially the workshop coordinating team of AIBO. She warmly welcomed Chinese experts to Sudan for business visits and media exchanges and looked forward to the opportunity of visiting China to observe its development and meet with her Chinese friends from the workshops when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Strive to build a community with a shared future for mankind
As the headquarter of Cooperation in Human Resources Development, AIBO has undertaken the implementation and management of Programs of Cooperation in Human Resources Development for years, covering more than 100 specialties in 17 fields such as politics, diplomacy, national development, and poverty reduction, health care, etc. To strengthen China’s international communication capacity, AIBO continues to explore new training fields. In 2022, the “Workshop on Building and Operating Digital TV Networks for English-Speaking African Countries” and the “Workshop on Building and Operating Digital TV Networks for French-Speaking African Countries” were held successively and welcomed nearly 100 participants from 12 African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Sudan. Through these programs, China had more friends from foreign media.
As a saying goes, the fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose. Similarly, China will benefit from helping other countries. Our participants reported the two workshops in the mainstream media of their countries, which further enhanced China’s international influence. It demonstrates that China has sown the seeds of friendship through China-aid training programs and gained a number of friends who promote cooperation. AIBO bears in mind the significance of the mission of China-aid training and spares no efforts to enhance China’s cooperation with African countries and other developing countries, thus continuously promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Figure 1: The news coverage of the “Workshop on Building and Operating Digital TV Network for English-speaking African Countries”
Source: Sudan News Agency
https://www.suna-news.net/read?id=737310
Figure 2: The news coverage of the “Workshop on Parliamentary Capacity Building for Young African Parliamentarians”
Source: Sudan News Agency
https://www.suna-news.net/read?id=739998
Figure 3: Alaa MOHAMED, participant from Sudan News Agency
Figure 4: Alaa MOHAMED (left) and Sana ABOSWAR (right) attended the session on building a community with a shared future for China and Africa in the new era
