China's human resources cooperation benefits many

A Chinese doctor trains Egyptian students in a laboratory at the Jiangsu Province Hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on July 28. HOU YUMENG/XINHUA

Teka Gebreyesus Entehabu, the state minister for trade and industry in Ethiopia, became an overseas student at Peking University three years ago. He wanted to learn about China's methods of achieving modernization and development.

Noting that he had visited China many times as a government official, Entehabu said he was always curious to know how changes took place in the country.

When he heard about a scholarship program to study in China, he applied without hesitation. Currently, Entehabu is pursuing a PhD at the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development in Peking University.

The institute was established in 2015 as a platform for training high-caliber talent and conducting research and exchanges among developing countries.

Entehabu said the program offers him an opportunity to learn about the development of Chinese modernization, the industrialization process and how the country's technologies developed.

"I have seen farmers using technology in their work during my visits, and witnessed how the technologies make their work more efficient," he said.

Noting that Ethiopia shares some similarities with China, Entehabu believes that by learning in China, he can adopt experiences suitable for Ethiopia's unique situation.

Entehabu said he is thinking about making more practical plans and improving communication with the private sector and the communities when he returns to Ethiopia.

"I learned from the Chinese how they implement plans, not just make plans. That's what I want to implement in my country."

He underlined that the Chinese government's scholarship is an opportunity for individuals to explore China, and it is not an imposition of the "China model".

"China is not trying to force you to practically implement what you learn in the country. It's up to you," he said.

Entehabu is one of the 400,000 government and technical personnel China has trained over the past 70 years, as human resources development cooperation has become a highlight of China's foreign aid.

The country started human resources development cooperation with neighboring countries in the 1950s. Since 1980, the country has cooperated with the United Nations Development Program to provide technical training courses in various fields for developing countries.

Now, more than 180 countries have benefited from China's human resources development cooperation programs, covering 23 fields and over 100 specialties such as agriculture, health and climate change.

Xu Wei, spokesman for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said, "To support other developing countries, we have offered 100,000 training opportunities under the Global Development Initiative, contributing toward world economic recovery."

Such cooperation enhanced development capacity through exchanges and mutual learning, and deepened partnerships through cooperation and mutual assistance, he told China Daily.

In a congratulatory letter sent on the 70th anniversary of China International Human Resources Development Cooperation last week, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that true development is sustainable, and good development is development for all.

Human resources are important resources and fundamental support for economic and social development, he said.

China will make good use of its foreign aid to align with the development strategies of other countries, consider their needs, and train professionals to share advanced technologies, management experiences and development concepts, Wang said.

According to Luo Zhaohui, head of CIDCA, the trainees in China are also expected to deepen their understandings about the country's language, history and culture, and help promote exchanges between their home countries and China to deepen bilateral friendship.

Bodh Prasad Bhandari, a Nepalese engineer who currently studies in Beijing Jiaotong University, said the education program not only allows him to learn from China's technical management in the railway sector, but also helps him to better understand the Chinese people.

"While studying, we stay here a long time and have interesting interactions with the Chinese people," he said, adding that he hopes such exchanges will enhance more extended and stabilized relations between Nepal and China.

Entehabu echoed Bhandari's views. "I got the chance to see the country's culture and communicate with ordinary people in China," he said, adding that he was impressed by the hospitality of the Chinese people.

"We are ambassadors of China-Ethiopia relations because we not only learn here, we also get so many important benefits from human resources cooperation, so we can be a bridge for the countries to strengthen cooperation and make the relationship more strong," he said.