Alain Wong, Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius to China (YU JIE)

China and Mauritius have maintained healthy bilateral ties throughout the 50 years of their diplomatic relations between April 1972 and April 2022, Alain Wong, Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius to China, told ChinAfrica in an exclusive interview.

Bilateral ties have been characterized by several high-level exchanges during the last half-century. President Hu Jintao visited Mauritius in 2009, and President Xi Jinping visited in 2018. All Mauritian heads of state, for their part, have paid official visits to China. “This demonstrates our great friendship with China,” the ambassador noted.

The increase in trade is also a result of this friendship. The free trade agreement between the two nations went into effect on January 1, 2021. This is China’s first agreement of its kind with an African country. Mauritius’ exports to China and vice versa have increased by 25 percent since then. A tariff quota for sugar cane is part of the agreement. Last year, China received 15,000 metric tons of sugar from Mauritius. According to the diplomat, the volume is expected to climb to 20,000 tons this year before progressively increasing to the yearly target of 50,000 tons.

In terms of investment, the ambassador said that a growing number of Chinese are keen to learn more about the living and business environment of the island, which is seen as a key destination for their investment on the African continent. He emphasized that some big Chinese pharmaceutical businesses have signed memoranda of understanding to invest in Mauritius. “Mauritius has long been known as a botanists’ paradise. There are hundreds of one-of-a-kind specimens available,” the ambassador stated. He revealed that the Mauritian Government has committed more than 1 billion rupees ($22.9 million) to attract pharmaceutical businesses to set up operations in Mauritius to develop drugs. “I hope that our collaboration will assist in quickly bringing the globe out of the pandemic,” he remarked.

A shared cultural heritage

China has never been a faraway and strange country for Mauritians, in the view of the ambassador. Indeed, being a descendant of Chinese migrants who arrived in Mauritius in the 1850s, he emphasizes that Mauritian society is strongly influenced by Chinese culture. Mauritius is the only country in Africa where the Spring Festival is a public holiday, although people of Chinese origin constitute less than 2 percent of the population. Mauritius is the country where China established its first overseas cultural center. “For us, a country with a surface area of 2,040 sq km in the middle of the Indian Ocean, this is a great honor,” said the diplomat.

In his community, he recalls, Chinese pharmacopoeia has existed for a long time. “It is a treatment that the Mauritians value highly. In our clinics today, we have Chinese physicians who perform various traditional Chinese therapies, such as acupuncture and alternative medicine.” He was not surprised, therefore, when the Chinese Lianhua Qingwen pills sold out almost immediately after their debut in Mauritius in September 2021. “There is a high demand. We even have a big supply concern because of the pandemic,” he said.

Apart from medicine, the Mauritians’ appreciation of the Chinese culture is also expressed in their love of Chinese gastronomy. In this respect, the diplomat proudly said that “Chinese culture is deeply rooted in the homes of Mauritians.” “Chinese food is served on every household table, and almost every Mauritian owns a wok,” he added. “We have a varied cuisine, but Chinese cuisine is one of the most appreciated by Mauritians.”

Witness to change

The ambassador still remembers his first visit to China in 1987. Although it lasted only half a day, the image of the country at that time made a deep impression on him. “There was smoke everywhere. People were eating in the street. There were only bicycles,” he recalled. In 2009, when he returned on vacation, he could not help but notice the incredible changes. “It was no longer the China we thought it was. It was a new and open China,” he said. And the transformations surprised him greatly when he visited as minister in 2014 and in the years that followed. In Shanghai, on the banks of the Huangpu River, he marveled at the sight of insects in the wetlands that have been built next to buildings to filter the water. “This is a sign of life. This is proof that nature has returned to this green neighborhood,” he said.

He has conducted extensive research on local socio-economic development after taking office as ambassador in Beijing in 2020. He is more supportive of the Chinese Government’s efforts in the governance of the country. “Coming here, you can see that the people are prospering and that everyone is safe. There aren’t many places where a young girl can walk out alone at any time of night. There are no firearms, neither,” he said. “It is clear that the vast majority of people are content with their current lifestyle. As a result, I applaud China’s achievements.”

Key areas of cooperation

Among the many areas for collaboration, the ambassador cites the development of the ocean economy. “Mauritius has an exclusive economic zone which covers more than 2 million sq km. China will be an ideal partner to exploit these resources and contribute to sustainable development,” the diplomat explained. “The sea would be an important outlet for food security. So, we need to know how to develop it so that the world can feed itself.”

According to him, the movie art is another promising field of cooperation. The ambassador stated that his nation provides a wide range of facilities to producers. In Mauritius, filmmakers can get a 40 percent return on their investment. Seventy-two foreign films, including Hollywood productions, were shot there between 2018 and 2020. As soon as the pandemic is over, the ambassador expects to see more Chinese filmmakers visiting the country.

In the future, the ambassador hopes that China and Mauritius can continue to strengthen the 50-year-old bilateral partnership. “Mauritius’ economy is quite diverse and dynamic. We want Mauritian experts to be able to pass on their knowledge to China. China has a lot more to offer to us as well. So we will continue on the path of win-win cooperation,” he concluded.