BY SHERIF BADEA ELNOUR AHMED OMAR
Deputy Managing Editor of AlAhram, Egypt
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Seeing China Beyond the Headlines
My first impression of China did not begin when my plane landed in Beijing. It began years earlier, through news reports, political discussions, economic statistics, and the countless products carrying the words “Made in China.” Like many journalists in the Arab world, I had formed an image of China from a distance: a vast country, a global manufacturing power, a rising political force, and an increasingly important partner for developing nations.
Yet visiting China transformed that distant image into a lived experience.
As an Egyptian journalist and content creator, I travelled to China with questions rather than fixed conclusions. I wanted to understand how a country with such a large population had managed to build modern infrastructure, develop advanced industries, reduce poverty, and expand its international influence within only a few decades. I was also interested in a larger question: what can China’s experience tell us about global governance and the future of relations between developed and developing countries?
What I found was more complex, human, and thought-provoking than the simplified images often presented in international media.
A Country Moving at More than One Speed
The first thing that captured my attention was the coexistence of history and modernity.
In Beijing, ancient sites such as the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, and traditional neighbourhoods stand beside modern business districts, advanced transportation networks, digital services, and rapidly developing technological industries. China does not appear to see tradition and modernity as opposing forces. Instead, both are presented as parts of one national story.
This balance is particularly important. Modernization in many countries has sometimes meant abandoning local identity or copying Western models . China’s experience suggests a different path: a society can embrace technology, industrialization, and global engagement while continuing to protect its cultural memory.
For a visitor, the scale of China is immediately striking. The cities are large, the infrastructure is extensive, and the pace of work is fast. But the deeper impression comes from the level of planning. Roads, industrial zones, public transportation, educational institutions, and new urban areas often seem to be connected to a broader long-term vision.
As an Egyptian, this naturally led me to compare China’s development experience with the ambitions of my own country and with the challenges facing many nations in Africa and the Arab world. Developing countries do not lack dreams or talented people. What they often lack is continuity, long-term planning, sufficient financing, and the ability to turn national strategies into measurable results.
From “Made in China” to “Created in China”
Before visiting China, many people in my region still associated Chinese manufacturing primarily with low-cost goods. However, this image is becoming increasingly outdated.
During my stay, I observed a country investing heavily in electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, digital platforms, renewable energy, advanced transportation, and high‑ quality industrial production. Chinese companies are no longer competing only through price. They are increasingly competing through innovation, speed, design, and technological capability.
This transformation offers an important lesson for developing countries. Economic progress does not happen in one sudden leap. It is a long process that may begin with basic manufacturing, then gradually move towards higher‑value industries, scientific research, technological development, and internationally recognized brands.
China’s rise was not achieved without challenges, sacrifices, or mistakes. No national model can simply be copied and transferred to another society. Nevertheless, China demonstrates that development is possible when education, infrastructure, industry, technology, and state planning support a shared long-term objective.
Development as a Form of Governance
My understanding of global governance was also influenced by visits outside China’s most famous urban centres.
In Ningxia, I encountered development projects that revealed another side of the Chinese experience. The story of Minning Town, for example, is not simply a story about moving people from one area to another. It is a story of targeted poverty reduction, cooperation between regions, job creation, infrastructure development, and the attempt to provide people with a more sustainable future.
I was also impressed by efforts to combat desertification. Seeing areas where communities had worked for years to stop the movement of sand reminded me that governance is not only about speeches, diplomatic conferences, or international institutions. Governance is also about whether people can find work, receive education, access transportation, protect their environment, and imagine a better future for their children.
This is where China’s approach to global governance becomes particularly relevant.
China often presents development as the foundation of stability. According to this view, many global crises cannot be solved only through political pressure or military alliances. Poverty, inequality, weak infrastructure, food insecurity, environmental degradation, and lack of economic opportunity are themselves threats to international peace.
For developing countries, this argument has strong appeal. Many nations have spent decades listening to lectures about governance while still struggling to secure financing for roads, ports, electricity, hospitals, schools, and industrial projects. They are increasingly demanding a global system that listens to their priorities rather than defining those priorities on their behalf.
China and the Global South
My experience in China was also shaped by meeting participants from different countries across the Global South. Despite our different languages and cultures, many of us shared similar concerns.
We came from countries seeking greater representation in international institutions. We understood the frustration of societies that are often discussed by major powers but are not always included as equal participants in global decision-making. We also recognized that the current international system was largely designed during a historical period very different from the world we live in today.
The global economy has changed. New powers have emerged. The populations of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America are demanding a stronger voice. Yet many international institutions still reflect the political and economic balance of the twentieth century. China’s call for a more inclusive system of global governance therefore resonates with many developing nations. Initiatives based on infrastructure, trade, connectivity, technology exchange, and South‑South cooperation provide alternatives that were not available in the past.
However, partnership should never mean the absence of questions.
As a journalist, I believe relations between China and developing countries must be examined with seriousness and transparency. Every major project should be evaluated according to its economic value, environmental effect, financing conditions, impact on local employment, and long-term benefit to society. Developing countries must enter partnerships with clear national strategies, strong institutions, and the ability to negotiate their own interests.
China can offer opportunities, experience, technology, and financing, but each country remains responsible for defining its priorities. A successful partnership is not one in which one side gives and the other simply receives. It is one in which both sides contribute, learn, and benefit.
Looking Beyond Competition
Much of the international discussion about China is framed as a competition between Beijing and the West. This perspective may reflect the concerns of major powers, but it does not always reflect the interests of ordinary people in developing countries.
For many African and Arab societies, the central question is not whether China or the West will “win. ” The real question is whether global competition will provide better education, more jobs, modern infrastructure, technological access, fairer trade, and greater opportunities for future generations.
Developing countries should not be forced to choose between international partners. They should have the right to cooperate with China, Europe, the United States, and other global actors according to their own national interests.
A healthier system of global governance would be based not on exclusive blocs, but on cooperation in areas where humanity faces common threats: climate change, pandemics, food security, water scarcity, technological inequality, conflicts, and economic instability.
No single country can solve these challenges alone.
The Human Side of China
Beyond politics and economics, my first impressions of China were also shaped by people.
I encountered curiosity, discipline, hospitality, and a strong interest in learning about Egypt and the Arab world. Many people I met knew about ancient Egyptian civilization, the pyramids, the Nile, and the historical importance of my country. These conversations reminded me that relations between nations are not built only by governments. They are also built by journalists, students, artists, researchers, business people, travellers, and ordinary citizens.
This is why media has a special responsibility.
Too often, countries are reduced to stereotypes. China may be presented only as an economic giant, a political rival, or a mysterious civilization. The Arab world is also frequently reduced to conflict, oil, or ancient history. These narrow images prevent societies from understanding one another.
As a content creator, I believe stories can create bridges where politics sometimes creates distance. By presenting China to Arab audiences through real experiences, historical context, development stories, and everyday human encounters, I hope to contribute to a more balanced understanding.
A New Impression, Not a Final Conclusion
My first encounter with China did not give me final answers. It gave me better questions.
How can developing countries create long‑term national development strategies? How can global institutions become more representative? How can major powers compete without dividing the world into hostile camps? How can infrastructure and technology serve people rather than increase inequality? And how can journalists help audiences understand a changing world without turning complex countries into simple headlines?
China’s rise is one of the most important stories of our time. It is not only a Chinese story. It is also a story about the transformation of global power, the aspirations of the Global South, and the search for a more balanced international order.
My first impression of China is therefore not limited to its modern cities, ancient monuments, fast trains, factories, or technological achievements. It is the impression of a country that has chosen to participate in shaping the global future rather than merely adapting to decisions made elsewhere.
Whether the coming international order becomes more cooperative, inclusive, and just will depend not only on China, but on all of us.
The future of global governance should not be written by one country, one civilization, or one political model. It should be built through dialogue, mutual respect, shared development, and the recognition that different nations may follow different paths while still working towards common human goals.
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.