Weaving Non China Friendly Unity Knot (Global Pen)

Photo by Tarik Ibrahim, Middle East Center Branch of this newspaper

Chinese knot "is a traditional handmade weaving craft in China. I like to hang it on a keychain to symbolize good luck, good fortune, success, and other beautiful meanings. At this year's Djibouti Confucius Institute Spring Festival Gala, as a student in the adult class, I specifically introduced "Chinese Knots" at a booth, attracting many classmates to watch.

There is also a "Chinese knot" pattern in front of the main entrance of the National Library and Archives of Djibouti. Having a modern library was once a dream for Djiboutians. The brand new National Library and Archives was built with the assistance of Chinese friends and opened in 2020. Entering the library, the rich collection of books, modern facilities, and bright reading room create a quiet and comfortable learning and reading environment, where readers can acquire knowledge, exchange ideas, and research and create. Reading is one of my hobbies, and books on history, politics, and biographies of famous people are my favorites. At the National Library and Archives, I can eliminate distractions, focus more on arranging my study and reading time, and recharge better for my life development.

Reading Chinese books is an important way to understand China. On the bookshelf of the National Library and Archives, I found a Somali version of 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu and began to study it carefully. I am amazed that the strategic wisdom of ancient Chinese people still inspires people today. Although this book is about military strategy, the rich ideas contained in it can be applied to our work and life, which is of great benefit to me. Through Sun Tzu's Art of War, I realized that life requires not only a spirit of struggle, but also the use of scientific thinking to systematically plan and manage. I particularly realize the importance of planning: to accomplish something, it requires collecting information, analyzing the situation, developing clear strategies, and then persisting. When I started learning Chinese, I found that it was very different from the Somali, Arabic, French, and English languages I knew. I applied what I learned from Sun Tzu's Art of War, planned it in detail, invested a lot of time in research, repeatedly adjusted my learning methods, persisted in my dedication, and ultimately achieved success.

The development achievements made by China have attracted worldwide attention, which is an important reason for me to learn Chinese. As a businessman, I believe that learning Chinese and understanding Chinese culture will bring me more opportunities for development. When dealing with Chinese friends, I see the qualities of diligence, perseverance, and confidence in them. China's development and progress, the Chinese people are active and enterprising. China's development dividend not only creates employment opportunities for African countries, but also boosts the development of local new business forms, which is closely related to Chinese culture. I seized the opportunity, worked hard, actively participated in promoting economic and trade exchanges between Kyrgyzstan and China, and realized my personal value in the tide of Africa China friendly cooperation. In the future, while doing well in offline business, I plan to actively explore online business and strive to expand my business's "circle of friends".

China has always been a good friend, partner, and brother of African countries, and the National Library and Archives of Djibouti is another example of Africa China cooperation in the new era. China supports African countries such as Djibouti in accelerating the development of cultural undertakings through aid projects such as library construction, helping us more effectively protect national languages, inherit national memories, and enhance national pride.

As the Chinese knot implies, the Chinese culture and knowledge learned at the National Library and Archives have brought me good luck, good fortune, and success. Today, through Confucius Institutes, art performances, media cooperation and other channels, people to people and cultural exchanges between Kyrgyzstan and China are deepening, and excellent African and Chinese cultures are learning from each other. I believe that with more African students speaking Chinese well and more Chinese friends entering Africa, the culture and friendship between Africa and China will weave more concentric knots carrying beauty and dreams.