An Yongyu (PHOTO BY NI YANSHUO)

An Yongyu, 75, is proud of the African arts and crafts adorning his Beijing apartment. The 24 years spent by the veteran Chinese diplomat in Africa has left him with an endearing fondness for the continent and to this day he still works as a consultant to promote Sino-African relations at the Chinese-African People's Friendship Association and China-Africa Business Council.

An's connection with Africa dates back to the 1960s. At that time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in urgent need of translators. An was one of the selected language graduates to be sent abroad. He soon found himself in Ghana to study Hausa, a local language widely spoken in West Africa, especially in Nigeria, Ghana and Niger.

In Ghana, An experienced a life-changing event that shaped his future in Africa.

In late 1963 and early 1964 Chinese late Premier Zhou Enlai visited 10 African states. Just before he was about to visit Ghana, a failed assassination of the then Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah took place. Considering the instability, many people suggested Premier Zhou should suspend his visit to Ghana. But Zhou insisted on going on with the trip, saying that the more difficulties they had, the more China should help them.

"His (Premier Zhou's) comments impressed me greatly. I felt the deep sincerity of Premier Zhou for the African people," An told ChinAfrica. He accompanied Zhou throughout his Ghana trip.

An said seeing Zhou treat Africans like his brothers and sisters inspired his work philosophy in Africa.  

An's African ventures were put on hold during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) when he returned to China and was sent to work in a chemical fiber factory in Hebei Province. However in March 1971 he received two telegrams from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking him to go to Nigeria to establish the Chinese embassy with five other colleagues.

"That was my second visit to Africa. During that time, I got a lot of help from the locals," said An.

He recalls a local in Nigeria who impressed him greatly. Soon after An and his colleagues reached Lagos, then capital of Nigeria, Beijing sent the embassy 13 cases of equipment. At Apapa Port An could not find three cases. He was very worried since he was also new to the city. Then he saw a young African man who volunteered to help him.

Together they searched more than 10 warehouses in the port and finally found the three missing cases. An never forgets the kindness from a stranger.  

"I can still remember what he said to me," recalled An. "He said, my country had just ended a civil war and was in a process of reconstruction; we welcome our Chinese friends to come and support us."

It set the tone for An's time in Africa and he always carried out his work with sincerity. 

This attitude was fully reflected while he worked as the Chinese Ambassador to Namibia from November 1993 to August 1996. "I can say that I greatly promoted Sino-Namibian relations during the two years and nine months," said An.

During his work there, he helped build many projects related to local people's livelihood, such as the pumping stations to help irrigate farmlands.

His efforts also won the confidence of the then Namibian President Sam Nujoma. In 1994-96, the president invited An and his wife to go fishing for one week every year. "We lived in the same house, watched the same TV programs, ate together and fished together," recalled An. "Many problems related to the bilateral relations were solved in daily talks."

Nujoma also invited An to his hometown to see his mother. "This showed that the president trusted me very much. I believe if you show sincerity to African people, they will do the same to you. Making friends is a good way to do diplomatic work," stressed An.

Talking about his work in Africa, An is emotional. "Africa is my second home. If I were to live my life over again, I would still want to work in Africa,"said An.