Professor Ömer Sahin Ganiyusufoglu. (COURTESY PHOTO)

By LONG Yun  

In April of 2006, 52-year-old  Ömer Sahin Ganiyusufoglu, a member of German National Academy of Science and Engineering, accepted an offer to work at a Sino-German joint venture in a Chinese coastal city  Dalian, which began the first chapter of the German's China story.

At that time, Ganiyusufoglu was already a world-renowned expert in the international engineering field. He told Science and Technology Daily recently that moving to China seemed not that difficult. After all, he is passionate about taking on new challenges and breaking new ground.

An unbeatable country

His first impression of China was its vast population and close connection between people. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, however, gave him new insight into the resilience of the Chinese people and the "power of China." This is what motivated Ganiyusufoglu spend so many years in the country. "At that time, Chinese people united as one body and worked for one aim to get through difficulties," he said.

After 16 years of many adventures in China, he now serves as an industrial developement consultant at Qingdao International Academician Park, an international platform for sci-tech innovation and commercialization. Thanks to his previous experiences accumulated in both business and academia, he is able to view China's development and its implications for the rest of the world with greater objectivity and depth.

When Ganiyusufoglu first visited China, the machinery industry was underdeveloped. Now, however, he says advanced manufacturing technologies are being vigorously promoted in China. Furthermore, the industrial sector is experiencing a period of unprecedented digital transformation. Ganiyusufoglu has seen the growth of China as a major player in advanced international technology, not only in his field, but in a wide range of industries. Meanwhile, Chinese high-tech businesses are expanding their global reach.

He attributed China's rapid growth to its combination of top -down strategy and bottom -up initiative. From his perspective, the Chinese government is good at creating long-term and meticulously planned strategies. More importantly, unlike some politicians in Western countries, China's top leaders take concrete steps to realize all the goals of social-economic development. At the same time, "Chinese people are very business-oriented," he said, noting that the effectiveness of the Chinese people in turning concepts into tangible benefits also contributes to China's development.

Win-win cooperation

Ganiyusufoglu is an active practitioner of promoting international cooperation. As a Western expert working in China, he strikes a balance in promoting mutual understanding between China and Western countries. In dealing with cross-cultural relationships, he cherishes the role of "understanding," "respect," and "adapting"  to remove barriers.

As a result, he is one of those experts who value China's growth as an opportunity instead of a threat. "China's participation is crucial to address global challenges effectively," he said, believing cooperation with China should be a long-term strategic choice for Western countries, including Germany. On many important occasions, he appealed for dialogue and exchanges between Germany and China and applauds China's role in promoting global opening-up and cooperation in the recent past.

Based on his observations, Ganiyusufoglu saw the potential of the two countries working together in many fields. For example, combining Germany's machine-building capabilities with China's digital tech could generate tangible benefits for win-win cooperation. Moreover, in the educational sphere, China could gain some advanced experience from the German dual educational system. He advised that China's educational system should better deal with the relationship between the theoretical and practical.

Although the U.S. continues its attempt to "decouple" from China, more and more countries and experts are clearly seeing the negative impact of such an irrational action on the world.  "Such an erroneous move as decoupling goes against the trend of the times and will not benefit any country or any person," he said.

"The world is interconnected and the future lies in win-win cooperation," he highlighted, adding that countries can benefit humanity only by building consensus and working together for progress.