When the picture of China is complete!

The People's Republic of China extends over a vast area of more than 9.6 million square kilometers. Its borders intersect with 14 countries and its terrain varies between forests, plains and deserts, in addition to the differences in weather across 22 provinces. The republic is distinguished by its ancient history and huge achievements and political, military and economic weight.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the People's Republic of China - which is called in Chinese ‘Zhong Guo’ - to participate in one of the courses of an ambitious program sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Professionals, businesspersons and journalists from a number of Asian and African countries are invited to attend this program. Participants are invited to learn about the Chinese experience in the field of e-commerce, media, finance, logistics, information and communications technology, and other vital sectors.

As part of this program, lecturers and specialists organized a number of workshops and lectures. It also included visits to a number of government institutions and private companies, such as technology giants Alibaba, Tencent and Huawei, in addition to car manufacturers, companies specializing in oil and gas, electricity, healthcare, transportation and logistics. These are vital sectors that countries must push forward to develop by benefiting from the Chinese experience.

Aside from the training program that I was honoured to attend, I must confess to having an incomplete picture of the Republic of China and its people. Geographical distance, language differences, and weak media marketing may have played a role in its incompleteness in my perception of China. In fact, I was surprised by a country that is ancient in its history and huge in its technological, economic and political achievements. What really surprised me most was its friendly, cooperative and organized people; with whom you always start your conversation with a Chinese smile that indicates high morale.

In this republic that flourished in the past on the Yellow River basin were the most important and fastest growing economies around the world. This republic was able to harness its enormous human power amounting to more than 1.450 billion people to serve its economy and achieve comprehensive development, unlike many countries that did not exploit human power to their advantage, until it became an obstacle to its development.

The bottom line: This Chinese giant is a role model in various fields. We must benefit from its experiences. At the same time, it will contribute to achieving balance in the region based on multipolarity and political and economic alliances instead of a single alliance. This is a principle that the Sultanate of Oman has adopted for generations and decades. Investors, entrepreneurs and SMEs can also seriously consider creating promising cooperation with various companies in the Chinese market.