Young people lifeblood for worldwide ties

BEIJING, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily:

Overseas Chinese have played an important role in China's economic and social development over the past decades. Representatives of young overseas Chinese participated in the 23rd Conference on Overseas Chinese Pioneering and Developing in China held recently in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Ni Lang, born in 1988, moved to France with his family at the age of 16 and began high school life in Paris.

"During my time abroad, I often missed the delicious food and beautiful scenery of home and cherished the memories of my childhood with my friends. In Paris, my parents often took me to gatherings with their Chinese friends. We watched Chinese movies, sang Mandarin songs and reminisced about the good times in China. At that time, although I didn't know what I would do in the future, I was deeply influenced and always had one belief: my roots are in China," he said.

After completing his PhD in 2016, Ni joined the Chinese embassy in France, where he organized events such as the China-France music festival and French Culture Week, contributing to the friendship between the two countries. At the end of 2017, Ni returned to Wuhan and founded Langxing Capital, which invests in leading enterprises in the fields of high-tech and specialized industries.

"The Chinese governments at all levels have provided a lot of support for young overseas Chinese entrepreneurs. There are various learning programs for us, including policy lectures, field visits and support in terms of funding and talent," he said.

Wu Yanxi also left China to study overseas. Born in China in 1992, she went to the US to study at the age of 19.

"The cultural roots of China are deeply embedded in my heart. Every traditional Chinese festival, I gather with other Chinese friends to experience traditional customs and enjoy Chinese festive food. It kindles our longing for our homeland. In the US, I actively promoted Chinese culture. One year, on Halloween, my friends and I dressed in traditional Chinese costumes. We received a lot of praise, which made me extremely proud," Wu said.

After graduation, she returned to China and became a council member of the Liyang Overseas Chinese Business Association.

"Whenever I have the opportunity, I introduce the latest developments in China to my friends in the US, hoping that more people can embrace the limitless opportunities in the Chinese market and integrate their personal aspirations into the country's development. I believe that overseas Chinese who choose to return to China are determined young people willing to contribute to the development of the motherland."

Qin Li, born in Wuhan in 1988, moved to the US with her family at the age of 10. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with a major in special education. After graduating from college, she worked as a teacher in Africa for a year. A year later, she joined the Stamford American International School in Singapore, where she taught for five years.

"My work or travels have taken me to more than 30 countries, but as a Chinese expatriate, my roots have always been in China," Qin said.

In the second half of 2019, she chose to return to her hometown, Wuhan, and founded the Vanderbilt Home in Jiang'an district. It is a comprehensive child development center that provides professional services for elementary and middle school students aged 2 to 12 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning difficulties, developmental delays, the need for psychological counseling and children with autism, helping them integrate into society better.

Huang Yingxin, born in 1980, is a fourth-generation overseas Chinese living in Malaysia. "Since I was little, I knew that my roots were in China, and that my hometown is Tianmen in Hubei province. I can still speak fluent Tianmen dialect, which I learned from my parents."

Huang's great-grandfather, Zhang Qilin, was the president of the Hubei Association in Malaysia. For many years, he promoted China and Hubei overseas, and also mobilized many overseas Hubei people to return to their hometown to start various philanthropic undertakings, contributing to the vitalization of the local economy and the development of education and medical care.

"In 2019, my great-grandfather passed away. I continued to promote my hometown and introduce Wuhan overseas. In 2020, when the pandemic broke out, I mobilized Chinese overseas in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia to donate money and supplies such as masks and protective clothing to Hubei and Wuhan.

"I think the conference is not only an open and win-win platform, but also a window to showcase the achievements of China's economic and social development to overseas Chinese," she said. 

Guo Ming, a Chinese-Finn born in 1989, is currently the president of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology in Finland.

"I graduated from Huanggang Normal University in 2012 with a major in applied chemistry. At the end of 2016, with curiosity and love of science, I went to the University of Helsinki in the capital of Finland to embark on a doctoral journey," Guo said,

"Although I now live abroad, my heart is with my motherland and hometown. In May of this year, as a youth representative, I returned to China to participate in the 10th Conference for Friendship of Overseas Chinese Associations, which gathered leaders of associations from more than 130 countries."

He said the conference, a prestigious international exchange platform for the opening-up of China and Hubei, is a crucial means to boost sci-tech cooperation and strengthen the connections between China and various parts of the world.