STORY: South African expat shares China stories, seeks friendly exchanges
DATELINE: Aug. 22, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:49
LOCATION: XIAMEN, China
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Aziz Matthews speaking to his collogues
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): AZIZ MATTHEWS, South African expat
3. various of Aziz Matthews playing with students
4. various of BRICS Summit in 2017 (file)
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): AZIZ MATTHEWS, South African expat
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): AZIZ MATTHEWS, South African expat

STORYLINE:

A South African expat living in China's Xiamen said he hopes for building a bridge of communication between his home country and China. 

Aziz Matthews, now 31 years old, recalled how he was attracted to Xiamen eight years ago. 

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): AZIZ MATTHEWS, South African expat
"I've travelled all over the world by that point, but I didn't know much about China. And at the time I wanted to experience something new and something different. So, there was a lot of mystery around China. So, it was the mystery that drew me in to come to China."

In 2017, Aziz witnessed the excitement of Xiamen city to host the BRICS Summit. 

And as he comes from South Africa, one of the BRICS countries, he enjoyed sharing aspects of his country with the locals.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): AZIZ MATTHEWS, South African expat
"As a teacher, I feel it's a responsibility. People that come to Xiamen or to China, they are 'ambassadors' for their country. So any opportunity that I get, I'm always happy to speak to students or colleagues or people I'd like to meet in my social circle and told them about South Africa, and the things that I like about my country, and it's always nice to be able to share things like pictures and videos. In that way, there's also I think it's cross-cultural learning in that. The more I share about my country, the more other people are comfortable sharing what it is that they like about their country."

With the 15th BRICS Summit taking place in his country this month, Aziz expressed his anticipation for the meeting, especially on how the BRICS will contribute to the attainment of sustainable development in emerging economies.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): AZIZ MATTHEWS, South African expat
"I think that BRICS, the summit provides an incredible opportunity for just discourse and then hopefully fameworks to implement sustainable solution. I think these kinds of summit, especially among the emerging economy is so important. I think that it's a symbol. The summit is a symbol of how together we are stronger. I think that China itself has provided an incredible platform, not just for South Africa, but for the world in terms of e-commerce and trade. And China has been incredibly innovative. I think that other countries have a lot to learn from all that is being implemented."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xiamen, China.
(XHTV)