African businessmen/women are also engaged in bilateral cultural contacts. Besides promoting business, they also contribute their knowledge, language skills and values to China. Gizelle, a Cameroonian merchant, has her shop in Yiwu selling hand-made African decor and furniture to Chinese customers, and is happy with her business expansion. ${ }^{8}$ There are many African merchants like Gizelle in China. The market authorities in Yiwu have set up an international commercial dispute resolution platform in order to resolve business disagreements. The office comprises volunteer mediators from twelve different nations. Tirera  
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[^0]:    8 "African merchants thrive in China", http://english.cntv.cn/program/newshour/20120720/110441.shtml. (Accessed 11 February 2015.)  
Sourakhata, a successful Senegalese businessman, and his Guinean partner, acted as volunteer mediator offering help with his language skills in French, English, Arabic and Chinese. ${ }^{9}$ When an observer website reported his story, it attracted 135 responses, 127 reporting 'being joyful', five 'feeling novel', three 'being moved' and almost all of the comments were positive. ${ }^{10}$ The African diaspora in China also has problems with language and communication, pressure from the strict Chinese immigration policy, the dilemma of cultural adjustment, ignorance and misunderstanding of the Chinese around them, and so on. ${ }^{11}$
![img-3.jpeg](img_ref_4)  
Figure 3. Young African students in China photographed with the author (Dr Imen Belhadj from Tunisia and Dr Antoine Lokongo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo)  
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[^0]:    9 Chen Lan, 'Foreigners help foreigners like non-foreigners', Zhejiang Legal News, 24 June, 2014. http:// zjfzb.zjol.com.cn/html/ 2014-06/20/content_76949.htm?from=timeline\&isappinstalled=0. For English report, see http://szb.ywnews.cn/html/2015-02/11/ content_6_6.htm; http://newscontent.cctv.com/ NewJsp/news.jsp?fileId= 280958. (Accessed 24 February 2015.)