VeteraninternationalcommunicationexpertonamissiontodeepenunderstandinginChina-Africacooperation
ByNiYanshuo
SinceretiringfromvicepresidencyoftheChinaInternationalPublishingGrouptwoyearsago,HuangYouyi,amemberoftheNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople’sPoliticalConsultativeConference,China’stoppoliticaladvisorybody,hasmoretimetotravelaroundtheworldandpresentChinatotheinternationalcommunity.Huang’scalendariscrammedwithseminarsandforumswherehehelpsforeignparticipantslearnmoreaboutChina.
Oftheseevents,whatimpressedhimmostweretwointernationalforumsheldinSouthAfricaandItalyinSeptemberandOctober2015insuccession,reflectingthedifferentinterestsaudiencesindevelopedanddevelopingcountrieshaveinChina.
“AtathinktankforuminMilan,Italy,theparticipantsfocusedonChina’seconomicrestructuringandterritorialdisputesintheSouthChinaSea;butinSouthAfrica,Iwasaskedmorespecificquestions,suchasChina’seffortstoaddresscorruption,reducepovertyandboosteconomicdevelopment,”HuangtoldChinAfrica.“IcouldseethatAfricanspaymoreattentiontoChina’sdevelopmentandlivelihoodimprovement,hopingtogetinspirationfromChina’sexperience.”
Huangsuggestedthatculturalexchangesandpeople-to-peoplecontactsbetweenChinaandAfricabebroadened,inkeepingwiththerapiddevelopmentofSino-Africanrelations.“OnChina’spart,weneedtoimproveourcapacitytocommunicatewiththeinternationalcommunity.Thisisanurgenttask,”hesaid.
Culturalexchanges
WhiletablingtheGovernmentWorkReportattheopeningofthisyear’sfullsessionofthe12thNationalPeople’sCongress,China’stoplegislature,onMarch5,PremierLiKeqiangstressedtheimportanceofinternationalculturalexchangesandinternationalcommunicationcapacity.“Thoughthereisonlyonesentence[onthis]inthereport,wecanneveremphasizeitenough,”Huangsaid.“TheinternationalcommunityneedstolearnmoreaboutChina.Moreimportantly,weshouldpresentChinamuchmoreclearlytotheoutsideworld.”
Inrecentyears,theChineseGovernmenthastakenvariousmeasurestoimproveSino-Africanculturalexchangesandpeople-to-peoplecontacts.Followinganinter-governmentagreementonculturalpromotion,theYearofSouthAfricaeventwasheldinChinain2014andtheYearofChinaeventwasheldinSouthAfricathefollowingyear.InJanuary,ChinaandEgyptlaunchedtheChina-EgyptCulturalYear.ExpertssaythatculturalexchangeshavegreatlypromotedmutualunderstandingbetweenChineseandAfricans.
“ChinaandAfricancountriesareincreasinglystrengtheningtheireconomicties,butsuchtiescannotbesustainedwithoutthefoundationofculturalexchanges,”Huangsaid.Accordingtohim,onlythroughappreciatingeachotherculturallycantheChineseandAfricansenhancemutualunderstandingandfriendship.
“ManyChineselikethedistinctiveAfricanculture;Chinaalsohasarichculture.WemustintroduceourcolorfulculturetoAfricans,”Huangsaid,addingthatculturalexchangesshouldbeconductedonanequalfooting.
Languageservice
ForHuang,aprestigioustranslatorinChina,thedevelopmentofthelanguageserviceindustryisanimportantpartinimprovingChina’sinternationalcommunicationcapacity.In2013,Chinaproposedaninternationaldevelopmentstrategyandframework,theBeltandRoadInitiative,encouragingenterprisestoinvestincountriesandregionsalongtheSilkRoadEconomicBeltandthe21stCenturyMaritimeSilkRoad,anextensionoftheancienttraderoutesinvolvingabout60countriesandregionsinAsia,AfricaandEurope.
“YoucannotexpectthatallthepeopleinthesecountrieswillspeakChineseorallChineseenterprisestaffspeakforeignlanguageswhentheygotothesecountries.Sotheyneedlanguageservice,”Huangsaid,explainingthatlanguageservicedoesnotsimplymeantranslationbypeople.“Inthebig-dataera,wealsoneedmachinetranslationsandhelpfromvarioussoftware.”
Statisticsshowthattherearemorethan3,000ChineseenterprisesinvestinginAfricawiththeirinvestmentexceeding$30billion.ChinaiscurrentlyAfrica’slargesttradingpartner.
HuangsaidthatnotallChineseenterprisesventuringabroadareadequatelyawareoftheimportanceoflanguageservice.“Manyenterprisesgoabroadtryingtoexpandtheirbusinessbutfindtheyknownothingaboutthelocalculture,lawsandcustoms.Theydonotknowthatlanguageservicecanhelpthem,”heremarked.“Ontheotherhand,thelanguageserviceindustrycannotdevelopwithoutbeingused.”