Ephrahim Bahemu looks into a microscope during a visit to biopharmaceutical company SINOVAC

“I am so happy to meet you my African brother;” “It’s a pleasure to have friends coming from afar;” “Building Africa-China community with a shared future in the new era;” “China will always be Africa’s partner of mutual respect”... 

These are expressions that I have often heard during the more than six months I have been in China.  

They came from some of my Chinese friends and officials who I met on diff­e­rent occasions in this big and beauti­ful country with the world’s largest population and second-largest economy. 

As a Tanzanian citizen, in a country where China is the number-one foreign investor and a major business partner, the remarks of the Chinese people as well as their thoughts on Africans have a great meaning for me and my colleagues in general. 

There is unquestionably a lot other developing countries can learn from the progress in China. In terms of growth and poverty alleviation, China has set a unique record in the world, and people are trying to understand how the miracle has been achieved.  

As a guest journalist of the Public Diplomacy Association, I had the opportunity to visit several areas in China and witness many interesting and surprising examples of development. 

Technology and digital innovation is one such area. The numerous innovations made by the country have made life easier, such as e-commerce. Today, if I ask about the lasting memory of a person who has lived in China, one of the common replies is food delivery anytime anywhere. Millions of people have benefitted from this business, which undoubtedly contributes greatly to the Chinese economy. 

When you are in China, you can easily see the operation of the digital economy, and the role of digital creativity in economic development and people’s life. 

For me, many things grabbed my attention: the hospitality of the people, the preservation of history, beautiful cities, and the great progress in different fields, especially in construction, infrastructure, and industrial development.  

Given the fact that there are so many people and vehicles on the road, I was curious about the occurrence of accidents in China’s big cities. When I asked a local resident, he replied that there are very few serious accidents, and although he did not have official figures, he thought it was at a very low level.  

Many roads in China have been set up with digital systems to control careless driving and to ensure that people follow the road safety rules. Drivers yield to pedestrians who also follow the rules. 

The thing that interests me the most is safety in general in China. It is very rare to hear of crime in this country of more than 1.4 billion people. During the entire period that I have been in China, I have never heard of a crime like robbery or personal harm, unlike other big countries where you often hear about shootings and gun attacks. The incidents of crimes like robbery and physical violence are very low.  

Almost everywhere, in every corner, there are security cameras, and in any wrongdoing, the person involved will be identified. There’s some criticism that such kind of monitoring is interfering with people’s privacy, but the use of these cameras is not about privacy invasion, but the safety of people and their property. You can go anywhere at any time without the fear the being robbed. 

Among the things that may surprise many visitors is the way the grass, flowers, and trees are cared for in different cities. Where necessary, trees are even treated with injections or drips. In addition, many trees are protected from being damaged by human activities and their growth is followed up to ensure that they have the appearance they should.  

Grass and flowers have been planted on the roadside and under the flyovers in cities. On a walk with my friend from Africa, in the city of Weihai, we were surprised to see red roses planted on the side of the road. 

People who visited this country in the past say that it was normal to see heavy smoke in big cities and even the air was not good, but now you can see the sky clearly and breathe clean air. 

That shows China’s progress in environmental protection and ecological civilisation, and the building of a new relationship between humans and nature, which is indeed impressive. 

The author is journalist based in Tanzania