41. CHINA: A Place Where My Heart Dwells. By Fahad Javaid

41. CHINA: A Place Where My Heart Dwells. By Fahad Javaid

It seems impossible to sum up 9 years in a few paragraphs, but I will give it a try. My name is “Fahad Javaid” and I belong to the country of Pakistan. This fact alone gives China a special place in my heart due to brotherly ties between both nations.

My journey started in 2013, when I was doing my bachelor’s in Business Administration in Pakistan. I was a top-ranking student in my class, due to which I was provided with the opportunity to visit China as an exchange student at Guilin University of Technology. At that time, my only exposure to China was those old traditional Chinese movies that I used to watch, and I got very fascinated with the culture.

The first city I arrived in was Guilin. It was heaven on earth; those mountains, the cold breeze, lush green grasslands, the countryside. It was everything I loved and those five months were a blast. To learn about the culture more deeply, I always avoided the touristy places, and visited small streets, back alleys, the nooks and corners where everyday life can be seen. I got to meet many people from all around the world in Guilin and develop new friendships.

This experience taught me that someone speaking a different language and coming from a different culture can still connect with another person from a totally different part of the world. The way of life I saw in China, was something I always admired personally, so it was very easy for me to connect and make a lot of Chinese friends. There will always be culture shock, but I never had any issues in getting myself accommodated to Chinese culture. As a Microsoft Certified Professional, I started to help the whole dormitory with laptop repairs and Windows installation for free, and that’s how I made hundreds of friends.

I represented my country in various events in Guilin, from singing to sports, from speech contests to dancing. For me it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I wanted to make full use of it. I was also appointed to be the International Education Advisor by the University’s President and helped them to market their university programs to international students. I traveled and learned about the international trade industry and how China was excelling in it day by day, and I knew that this was what I wanted to pursue in the future.

 

Those five months passed, and I had to return to Pakistan to finish my bachelor’s. The last day before leaving the country, I kept wondering if I would ever be able to return.

Fast forward to 2014, I started to search for MBA (marketing) programs, and since my goal was to work in international trade, the city I selected was Guangzhou. I chose it for one sole reason: Canton Fair (the world’s biggest trade fair).

I was accepted at the prestigious Jinan University, which was also visited by the President in 2018. My program was Sino-international MBA (SiMBA) which allowed me to learn international and Chinese business strategies with 18 other nationalities, including Chinese, in one class. This supported me in establishing my own business in the near future.

During the two years of my MBA, I was able to achieve the following:

• Became the first ever foreign Class Representative in the history of the program.
• Was awarded the first prize of scholarship in both years.
• Represented the MBA class in a New Year program and sang a Chinese song.
• Was selected by Jinan University to study in Europe on a scholarship as an exchange student.
• Was awarded the first position for thesis defense.
• Was awarded the prestigious two-year “Entrepreneurship Visa” by Guangzhou immigration upon graduation.
• Shot a small documentary film on “A Foreigner’s Life in China” in collaboration with “China Radio International” (CRI).
• Represented my country and introduced the culture and life of Pakistan at various forums and events.

During my free time I was always visiting wholesale markets and factories in Guangdong Province. I created a database of suppliers, markets, shops, and factories, and collected data on 400 suppliers in two years. I started to provide consultancy on importing products from China to various companies globally and kept learning everything about international trade.

I remember those days carrying boxes loaded with products all alone in the streets of Guangzhou from markets to delivery companies. It was a dream come true, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I attended Canton Fair over ten times and traveled extensively to places like Shenzhen (the Silicon Valley of China), Yiwu (the world’s largest wholesale market), and over forty other cities all around China either visiting factories and markets or traveling to relax.

In Guangzhou, I joined a group called “IDEA EXCHANGE” and was a member of their organizing committee. This group introduced me to a lot of foreign friends from all around the world, and we used to have weekly events consisting of discussions on various topics. At the same time, I also started training Chinese students and adults for the IELTS exam using my experience of working with the British Council as an IELTS Brand Ambassador.

I graduated in 2017 and established my own business with a small team, and started to provide various services to export products from China to wholesalers, retailers, Amazon sellers, and other online sellers all around the world.

I left China in 2020 during the Chinese New Year holiday for a visit back home. Who knew that COVID-19 was right around the corner and would change the whole world? After spending a month in my home country, I decided to go back. I was lucky to enter China only three days before the government started quarantine regulations for new arrivals. This decision to come back turned out to be the best decision of my life.

I started working as a marketing manager at a company providing legal consultancy to foreigners regarding visas, company formation, etc., and carrying on with my trading business in the meantime. After a year, I decided to move on to my next goal, which was to work in a large Chinese import/export company to further extend my skills and knowledge. I have been serving here for last 2 years as Marketing Manager and Strategic Sourcing Consultant.

I feel blessed to experience life in this amazing country and hope to make many more memories in the coming years.

If you need free guidance regarding visas, company formation, trading industry and IT solutions, feel free to connect with me on WeChat. ID: FJ2015CN

 

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