Through Foreign Eyes, Still African: Diaspora Reflections from China | OFei Lens

There are an estimated 500,000 Africans living in China today. They are not concentrated in one place, nor do they share a single purpose. They are students, traders, engineers, researchers, teachers, musicians, factory workers, business owners, and entrepreneurs. They live in coastal cities with long histories of migration, and in inland provinces that have become new centres of Africa China cooperation.

Education is one of the strongest bridges. The most recent precise figure publicly released shows that 81,562 African students were enrolled in Chinese universities in 2018, making Africa one of the largest sources of international students in the country. At the 2018 Forum on China Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing, China pledged 50,000 government scholarships for African students and a further 50,000 training opportunities, deepening its long-standing commitment to education cooperation. Chinese universities continue to host large communities of African scholars, postgraduate researchers, language students, and vocational trainees. Travel restrictions during the pandemic disrupted mobility, but the interest in China as a study destination remains strong and many of the pre 2020 scholarship pathways continue.

Migration is shaped by economics as much as education. China is Africa’s largest trading partner, and China–Africa trade reached 282 billion dollars in 2022 (State Council of the People’s Republic of China, 2023). Behind those numbers is a steady movement of African traders, sourcing agents, logistics workers, and company representatives who live part time or full time in China. Others come through joint government programmes, vocational training partnerships, or research exchanges that link Chinese and African institutions.

Hunan (where OFei is based) has grown into one of the major gateways of Africa China cooperation. The province hosts the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo, the only national level platform dedicated entirely to Africa, and manages the Pilot Zone for China Africa Economic and Trade Deep Cooperation, a flagship initiative created to streamline trade, investment, and industrial links between the two regions. Through these platforms, African businesses have gained new access to Chinese markets, while Chinese companies have expanded into African industries with clearer guidance. As a result, cities like Changsha, now host growing communities of African students, workers, and entrepreneurs.

Frameworks such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, the Hunan Pilot Zone, and the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo form the structural background. But behind the investments, scholarship numbers, and trade corridors are the everyday lives of Africans who wake up in Chinese cities, navigate new languages, adapt to new systems, attend universities, negotiate with suppliers, raise families, build businesses, and rethink what it means to belong.

Living abroad creates a quiet shift.
Distance changes the shape of identity.
China becomes a mirror.
Being African becomes clearer.

This article draws on the reflections of Africans living in China today, from those who have spent more than a decade here to those who have only recently arrived. Their experiences show how life in China sharpens identity, reshapes perspective, and deepens the understanding of what Africa is becoming.

Living Between Worlds

Living in China creates a kind of double awareness, a feeling many Africans described in almost the same words: being further from home yet somehow closer to it than ever before.

A respondent from Ghana captured this duality clearly:
“Being away makes me appreciate my roots more deeply. Distance sharpens gratitude.”

Another Ghanaian participant described the shift even more directly:
“I feel like an outsider in my own country. People can tell I am not from there.”
This experience is common across the diaspora, but it often feels sharper within Africa. In many African societies, travelling abroad still carries the connotation of success, a quiet assumption that “they have made it”. Returning home can therefore create an unexpected sense of separation, as if the very people who once felt closest now see you through a different lens. The connection remains, but something in the familiarity has shifted.

A participant from Zimbabwe echoed the same emotional blend:
“Living in China has made me feel both closer and further from home. I appreciate my culture more, yet the lifestyle differences sometimes make home feel distant.”

Someone from Cameroon spoke about the clarity that distance creates:
“Being away has sharpened my sense of identity. I see Cameroon more clearly now. I defend it more fiercely. I understand it more deeply.” The same respondent added:
“I am more up to date on Cameroonian politics and music than some friends back home.”

For others, the feeling is even stronger. A respondent from Sierra Leone said:
“Living in China has made me feel extremely far from home. Sometimes it feels like I have been here all my life.” Yet even that distance does not erase home. It simply reshapes it: “I think of nowhere else other than China, but of course I would love to visit home soon.”

Across these reflections, one message repeats.
Living abroad does not weaken African identity.
It reveals it.

A Cameroonian participant expressed it simply: “China makes you see who you are. Home becomes clearer through absence.”

China, with its pace, structure, and difference, becomes the mirror through which many Africans come to understand their own heritage more deeply. The further they move from home, the sharper home becomes. Living between two worlds creates a deeper understanding of both.

Living between two worlds means carrying two sets of expectations, two social rhythms, and two cultural mirrors. China does not replace home, and home does not fade simply because of distance. Instead, both become sharper in contrast with each other. Several respondents described China as a place that tests discipline, patience, and emotional resilience, while Africa remains the anchor that holds meaning, humour, and memory together. The combination creates a deeper self awareness. It is not always comfortable, but it is always revealing. In this sense, life in China does not move Africans away from themselves. It draws them inward, towards a clearer understanding of who they are, where they come from, and what they carry.

“I see Cameroon more clearly now. I defend it more fiercely. I understand it more deeply.”

The Mirror of China

For many Africans living in China, the country does not simply feel different. It reflects things back. It becomes a mirror that reveals qualities they did not notice at home, or did not have words for until they saw them contrasted with China’s rhythm and pace.

A respondent from Ghana put it simply: “China forces you to grow.”
Another described the pace of life here as something that “humbles you,” especially when comparing personal discipline to the quiet consistency of ordinary Chinese people. Several participants spoke about moments that challenged their assumptions about their own habits, motivation, or routines. One described the way older Chinese residents wake early, complete their chores, move through the day with purpose, and never announce their discipline.
“You think you are hard working,” one participant laughed, “until you meet a Chinese grandmother.”

Others pointed to the systems that shape daily life. Respondents mentioned order, structure, long term planning, and the stability that comes from strong institutions. A Sierra Leonean participant highlighted the sense of safety and predictability in China’s cities, while a Malawian noted how efficiency becomes part of the air you breathe. These observations were not framed as praise for China alone but as reflections on what their own countries could one day build towards.

China’s way of doing things becomes a contrast through which Africans see themselves more clearly. It is not that China defines African identity. It is that China’s difference reveals the shape of one’s own values, history, and habits.

In this sense, China is not just a place to live.

It is a mirror that shows Africans who they were, who they are, and who they might become.

What African Can Learn From China

Living in China gives many Africans a front row seat to systems and habits that shape national development. Respondents did not speak about China as a model to copy, but as a place that demonstrates what is possible when intention and execution move together.

A participant from Malawi said the most striking lesson was “the work ethic and efficiency in places of work and business.” Another respondent noted that China’s greatest strength is its ability to plan far ahead, committing to goals that may take decades to achieve.
As one person put it, “China does not plan for today. It plans for the next generation.”

Several respondents spoke about infrastructure. A voice from Zimbabwe described how China’s roads, bridges and transport systems “grow as fast as the cities themselves”, and saw this as a reminder that development is built, not wished for. Those who have been here a decade or longer will see how rapidly things have changed in such a short period of time.

Someone from Sierra Leone reflected on China’s stability, saying:
“Safety, security, strong legal systems, education, innovation. These are things we need.”

Another participant from Ghana highlighted unity of purpose:
“When China decides to do something, the whole country moves.”

Across all voices, the themes remain consistent.
Long term thinking.
Execution that matches ambition.
Infrastructure that makes growth visible.
Discipline that becomes culture rather than performance.

These are not lessons about becoming China.
They are lessons about what Africa already has the potential to build when vision and commitment find each other.

What China Can Learn from Africa

If China teaches discipline, structure and long term vision, Africans in China also see clearly what China could gain from Africa. The strongest theme across all responses was human connection.

A Zimbabwean respondent described Africa’s greatest strength as “the strong sense of community and the emphasis on family ties.” Another participant explained that in many African countries, social life is woven through shared meals, easy conversations and a sincerity that does not need an occasion. A Cameroonian respondent said,
“There is a warmth, an openness, a joy in the present moment. We celebrate together for no reason other than to be together.”

This is not simply friendliness. It is Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is the understanding that a person is a person through others. It is the belief that humanity is mutual, that dignity is shared, and that community is a living force. It is the social glue that allows African societies to bend without breaking. As one respondent beautifully put it, “Our happiness and openness are a form of wealth.”

A participant from Ghana added a reflection on emotional generosity, describing how forgiveness keeps communities from collapsing under the weight of conflict:
“Ghanaians know how to forgive, not in a timid way, but in a way that keeps community alive.”

Others noted that African cultures are naturally expressive and adaptable, shaped by diversity and challenge. One respondent said,
“Africans lead with heart.”

Together, these insights point to something deeper than cultural difference. They suggest that while China excels in order, efficiency and ambition, it could learn from Africa the value of softness, connection and shared humanity. Ubuntu teaches that progress is strongest when people remember how to be human with one another.

These are not alternatives to development.
They are the foundations that help development feel meaningful.

Africa is Becoming…

“Africa is becoming confidently itself.”

“Africa is becoming united.”

“Africa is becoming more self-aware and independent.”

“Africa is becoming the place where potential is waking up.”

“Africa is becoming more strategic than before.”

When asked to finish the sentence “Africa is becoming…”, the responses revealed a shared confidence that crosses regions, generations and experiences. Although each person described a different angle of transformation, the underlying message was the same. Africa is stepping into itself with greater clarity, strategy and self belief. Whether expressed through unity, rising potential, independence or simply the joy of being seen in a new way, every answer pointed towards a continent that is no longer waiting for permission to define its own path. These reflections show a shift in mindset as much as in reality. Africa is not moving towards someone else’s idea of progress. It is moving towards its own.

Through the Eyes of the Diaspora

Living in China gives Africans a vantage point shaped by distance, contrast and clarity. Home becomes easier to see when viewed from elsewhere, and identity becomes sharper when placed in a different rhythm.

Across every reflection, one idea stood out. The diaspora is not separate from Africa’s story. It carries that story in a new way. Respondents compared China’s discipline and pace with Africa’s warmth and community, and through that comparison they understood themselves, and their continent more deeply.

They saw Africa becoming united, strategic and confident. They saw potential waking up and identity growing stronger. These insights do not come from looking back with nostalgia, but from seeing home through a new lens.

In the mirror of China, the diaspora finds clarity.
Identity adapts, connection deepens, and Africa feels closer, not further.
Through the eyes of the diaspora, Africa emerges as a rising, deliberate and confident force shaping its own future.

I would especially like to thank everyone who took the time out of their busy days to contribute to this article. I feel I have seen some people I know in a new light, and it has made me feel uplifted knowing that there is such enthusiasm for intellectual, sociological and cultural discussion.