The Chinese Dream | Cyprian Nugah Doh

Cyprian Nugah Doh from Cameroon has been studying in Shenzhen since 2011, and he is a firm believer in the great potential in the relationship between China and his continent.

Cyprian Nugah Doh's love affair with China and in particular Shenzhen, began in 2011, and it is still not quite over.

That was the year the 26th World Universiade was held in the city, bringing with it the Shenzhen Universiade Scholarship fund. Doh was among five lucky foreign students to benefit from the fund. He is now studying for his master's degree in international law at Shenzhen University Law School. Feeling blessed in his relationship with China, Doh's research interest is, not surprisingly, China-Africa relations.

Throughout his study, he has been impressed by China's stunning growth and opening up to the world that has captured the imagination of people everywhere.

"President Xi Jinping's speech after he was elected by delegates of the 12th National People's Congress as China's top leader in March 2013, reminded people everywhere of the responsibility we all have toward our own countries," he says.

"The Chinese Dream is seen by many as a call for China to exert greater influence worldwide, and Xi refers to it as a form of national rejuvenation. Some see it as a banner that exhorts greater efforts to achieve economic prosperity, while others see it as the pursuit of individual dreams."

But to Doh, the Chinese Dream, when compared with the American Dream, is not an individual goal, but a collective vision of achieving the revival of the great Chinese nation.

Hailing from Cameroon, the China Dream is of particular interest to Doh. "China benefits from trade with Africa, and also injects even more strength into the African economy. As China pursues its dream, it has convinced Africa that its dream relates not only to China's rejuvenation, but can also benefit others, including Africans, and boost prosperity all around," he says.

The way Doh sees it, the Chinese Dream cannot be realized without a benevolent environment, and that dream will in turn add to peace and prosperity of the region and the world.

"The Chinese Dream is also part of the dream of many in the developing world who now have a great opportunity to grow their economies with China's help. Africa's adoption of the "looking East" policy is recognition of the importance of China among developing nations," Doh says.

Doh says China and Africa are in a honeymoon period, but eventually the practicalities of a marriage will impose themselves, and both parties will need to start analyzing any social and cultural differences between them that could be the seeds of future problems.

But rather than drawing back from one another, Doh says China and Africa should redouble their efforts to deal with anything that threatens to come between them.

"Like many other Africans in China, I feel rejuvenated by the concept of the Chinese Dream. China has been willing and good enough to give opportunities to all those who have sought them, and I count myself among them," he says.

"Chinese investors in Africa need to be taught more about the continent. The culture and legal environment in Africa is one of the most diverse in the world and it is only by understanding this diversity that China and Africa can fully benefit from this relationship that is coming of age."

Research on China-Africa engagement has been critical to China's activities in Africa, but he says there are few people proposing ways the two can work more closely together and how problems can be solved.

"In keeping with the spirit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, myself and those I work with are looking for ways to advance ties. Together with a Chinese student, Zhou Jinbo, I have published a book on the subject, and Zhou will go to South Africa to pursue his doctoral studies. Students and teachers alike have been heavily involved in translating and proofreading the book," Doh says.

All of this is an answer to President Xi's call for young people to dare to dream, work hard, and work assiduously to fulfill the dream and contribute to the revitalization of a great nation. Doh believes that if he and all the university students unite and work hard, as they have at Shenzhen University, that great dream will be realized.

(China Daily 08/23/2014 page16)