He Liehui with Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, Prime Minister of Djibouti

A young Chinese man arrived in Ghana in 2000 with only $700 in his pocket. That’s the first scene of He Liehui’s African story, and what later became the starting point of his business empire, an international corporation that engages in international trade, investment, cultural exchange, tourism, real estate, industrial park construction and resource development.

A law school graduate, He, 38, believes his business adventure is all about destiny, which connects him with Africa.

Good reputation

During the early days in Ghana life was very tough, He recalled. For almost three months he had nothing to eat but potatoes. Everyday he went out early and returned late, selling his products from door to door. Looking back, he prided himself for having such an experience and decided to name his daughter “Ghana” to remember those days.

In 2001, he took an order worth $700,000 for cloth, the largest sum he ever received. “For me, such a large sum of money was an astronomical figure,” He said.

Excited with joy at this opportunity, He began to plan on setting up a company and decided to name it Touchroad, which means “a road to the world” in Chinese (da zhi lu). Unfortunately, when the production plan was finally fulfilled, the client said the products didn’t come up to the requirements, claiming a compensatory payment of $200,000.

He later found that when doing business in African countries, people prefer to evaluate the products by common sense, rather than specific evaluation criteria. According to their contract, he had the right to refuse paying compensation, but he still chose to admit his mistakes and satisfied the claim.

“I believe that honesty and integrity are the most important business ethics,” He said. “If a company is considered trustworthy, it means that more clients will come to you and you can create opportunities.”

This case earned him a good reputation. Upon hearing the story, many Nigerian businessmen came to He, and even agreed to pay before receiving products.

Friendship over money

When dealing with the locals, he found a similarity between Chinese and African cultures: they both value friendship, so most conflicts can be resolved through communication and negotiation, rather than resorting to the law.

“Generally speaking, African businessmen value friendship over money. They will introduce their clients to their friends, even though they are competitors selling the same kind of products,” He said.

He also believed in “never putting interests first, but love and goodness in human nature.” The same belief shortened the distance between himself and the locals. He made a lot of African friends, one of whom even saved his life from the Lagos armory explosion in 2002, which left 2,000 killed and 1,100 missing. Before the Nigerian friend risked his life to drive him out of danger, he had been trapped for four hours, witnessing all the horrors and sufferings. The deep friendship moved him deeply.

Over the past decade his company, Touchroad, has established business relations with more than 25 African countries and opened subsidiaries or offices in eight of them.

But he still sticks by his belief through sharing the opportunities with others. He is always willing to help Chinese companies interested in the African market. More than 1,000 Chinese companies and businessmen have entered the African market with his help.

“In business, I always believe in the idea of sharing, because no one can monopolize the world. I would like to let more people benefit from the good opportunities and meanwhile I could make more friends, who will bring me more opportunities,” He said.

Tangible and intangible

As the economic and trade contacts between China and Africa continued to increase, more and more people came to He for help. An idea of establishing a communication platform appealed to He and it was soon put into practice. In March 2008, the first Touchroad China-Africa Investment Forum was held in Shanghai. More than 40 countries have registered to attend the fifth forum, which will be held both in China and Africa later this year.

“It was originally an attempt only, so I was surprised to see my African friends value it so much. The success was far beyond my expectation,” said He. Over 500 Chinese entrepreneurs and representatives of governments and enterprises from 18 African countries attended the meeting.

During the World Expo held in Shanghai in 2010, He hosted delegations of governments, NGOs and enterprises from nearly 30 African countries. Some officials suggested that he set up an African center to further promote China-Africa economic and trade exchange. He was persuaded by the idea and at the end of 2013, the African center was completed in Shanghai. It will open to public this year. Over 40 African countries have signed on to set up their Consulate General in Shanghai and government offices in the center, which will also house a visa application center, an investment and trade promotion center, a cultural and arts center, an African tourism promotion center and an African exhibition center.

“I will keep improving the African center and Touchroad China-Africa Investment Forum, the tangible and intangible platforms, to make my contribution to China-Africa exchange,” He said. “We will increase our investment in Africa, creating more job opportunities and promoting economic growth. Meanwhile, we will help as many Chinese enterprises as we can, clearing away their difficulties in investing in Africa, making people know more about Africa and promoting China-Africa communication.”