Wang Qingfeng is doing fieldwork in Africa

Over the years, Wang Qingfeng, a Chinese scientist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Wuhan Botanical Garden (WHBG), has witnessed many changes in biodiversity exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa. In fact, his entire career has revolved around the relationship. His first visit to the African continent was in 1996, and currently he is the Chinese chairperson for the academy's Biodiversity Conservation Studies in East African Flora project that was launched in 2010.

Beginnings

Wang's first visit to Africa dates back to 1996, when he was a young lecturer at the College of Life Sciences at Wuhan University. That year, he was sent to the University of N'Djamena in Chad, where he worked in foreign aid for a year. In his spare time, Wang did scientific research in Chad and other neighboring countries. Chad's local distinctive biotypes piqued a keen research interest in him.

He often rode a small motorcycle to do fieldwork. When he arrived in an area, four or five African children would help him carry his bags and specimen folders. They asked him where he would go and what specimens he needed, which they then helped him to collect. Wang was touched by such hospitality.

"If I didn't go to Chad, everything would have been different," he says. "Once you've been to Africa, you feel connected to the continent, and you like to do things related to Africa."

After he returned from Chad, he heard about Robert W. Gituru, a Kenyan student who wanted to pursue doctoral studies in China but had been rejected by many schools because he could not speak Chinese. After some discussion with another professor, they agreed to bring Gituru to do his doctoral research at Wuhan University. Wang says his efforts to help Gituru were tied deeply to his own experiences abroad in Africa.

As his teaching and research advanced, an idea came to Wang: Would it be possible for China and African countries to do joint research on African flora biodiversity conservation studies?

In macro-biology research, historically, older generations of Chinese scientists could not go abroad to do research, but now Wang realized it was becoming necessary to travel to broaden scientists' horizons. The biodiversity of African flora, so different from Chinese flora, offered a unique study opportunity.

While African countries need to prioritize biodiversity conservation, most of them lack the advanced technology, experts and research capacity necessary, which makes it difficult to carry out independent research. This is where cooperation comes into play.