China seeks to bolster cultural bond with Africa

Now more than 20 such institutes have been set up across Africa, offering various language courses and lectures, exhibitions and performances to African students.

China also welcomes African artists, academicians and young people to see by themselves China's rich cultural history.

Taga Nuwagaba, an accomplished Ugandan artist, said his visit to Nanjing, capital of China's eastern Jiangsu province, left him a lasting impression.

"When you look at Chinese art it inclines so much to realism. They do not go so much for abstract art. The Chinese artists are so good with realism," he said.

"When you are a good realist it means that you are also a good impressionist. It means that you do have the means of creating basically anything. When you see an elephant it is not only about the elephant but also the many people it represents," he added.

He said that like China, Africa must guard its history and avoid elements that can distort it.

It was surprising to know that the first man to sail around the world was a Chinese named Zheng He, who began his journey in 1405, 87 years earlier than Christopher Columbus did, he said.

"It kind of changed the way I look at our history. It kind of changed the way I read history," he said.

China has also increased its scholarships for African students to go and study in China, who later returned home with a love for Chinese culture.

Mohamed Setimba, who works for Fang Fang Hotel in the capital Kampala, studied in a university in China's city of Shanghai, where he graduated with a master's degree in international business and economics.

He speaks fondly of China's rich cultures and wishes Africans can enjoy them.

Setimba can speak fluent Mandarin and he hopes to own a trading company which would help Chinese business people open business in Africa and Africans do trade with China.

Unlike the West which tries to exert cultural dominance over Africa, China shares many common values with Africa and seeks to bolster its cultural bond with Africa on the basis of respecting Africa's diversified culture.