[Photo provided to China Daily]

"The program allows China to market itself. It's like a melting pot of different cultures. Young Sinologists from all over the world come to see what's going on here, rather than read textbooks about it," says Tochukwu Innocent Okeke, a lecturer from the department of history and diplomatic studies at the University of Abuja, Nigeria.

Like others, he appreciates the opportunity to interact with Chinese scholars, so they can get firsthand information about China.

"It helps me open my heart more so I can connect with China in a more profound way," he says.

"I'm happy about being able to read books in the library of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences because outside China it's not easy to find such a rich collection. I also met many professors and our talks have given me more insights about my research focus."

When he was pursuing his PhD several years ago in Wuhan, Hubei province, he found the history of China-Africa relations could be traced back at least to the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when Emperor Yongle sent his admiral Zheng He on seven expeditions to the Indian and Pacific oceans.

"Now the visiting program has stirred my interest in the topic again. I want to know about the ancient relationship between China and Africa, especially during the Ming Dynasty. I want to know about Zheng's statecraft and diplomacy," he says.

Like him, other young Sinologists also benefited greatly from talking to Chinese scholars.

"Chinese professors give me precious suggestions about my research on agriculture. I want to figure out what lessons African countries can learn from China. One of the challenges between China and Africa is that there is little research in the area," says Gedion Jalata from Ethiopia, the program manager for Africa-China Dialogue Platform at Oxfam International.

"Since reform and opening-up was launched in 1978, China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty. We're planning to have scholars and policymakers discuss this at our dialogue platform, so African countries can learn from China's experience to reduce poverty," he says.

Contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn