China earns newfound respect with Mashair

By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS
Published: Nov 20, 2010 00:13 Updated: Nov 20, 2010 00:46
MINA: Perhaps the most notable improvement of Saudi Arabia s many projects to accommodate Haj pilgrims is the railway that shuttled tens of thousands of people around the holy sites.
As the modern, high-tech trains picked up and dropped off passengers, they created a newfound respect for Chinese-made products and Chinese-engineering prowess. Officials said the multibillion-riyal project that was started last year will about triple its capacity from present levels when completed in 2012. Nonetheless, the rail system has already alleviated vehicular traffic around Mina and made travel for many pilgrims a snap.
The Sino-Saudi relationship has been growing over the last decade as China has sought more fossil fuels to power its economic growth. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah helped realign the nation s trade relationships with the implementation of a Look East policy, which has fostered imports of heavy machinery and construction equipment as well as consumer goods. China has also raised the quality of its exported goods to fight earlier perceptions that its exports were inferior to products manufactured elsewhere.
We would go to shopping malls and ask for Made-in-Germany and Made-in-Japan stuff. We would look down upon Made-in-China stuff, said Suleiman Al-Hatrash, a social-sciences teacher at an Abha college. We started taking China seriously when we went to the Western countries and saw their shopping malls filled with Made-in-China goods.
However, the state-of-the-art rail system is changing peoples perceptions about China almost as fast as it is whisking passengers around Mina.
People couldn t believe their eyes when they saw pilgrims being ferried between the holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat, said journalist Hadi Fakihi. Those who rode the train were gushing about its high-tech aspects. China has overnight become a nation to respect and emulate.
China has won hearts with this successful project, said Rashad Husein, vice president of the South Asian Pilgrim Establishment. It is the first time China has executed such a massive project in the Islamic world. This will not only bring China and the Muslim world closer; this will strengthen the bond between Saudi Arabia and China.
The technology transfers are not one way. Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom s national oil company, has lent refining expertise and resources to oil and petrochemical projects in partnership with Chinese companies. Some less tangible things are being exported back to China as well.
Of China s population of nearly 1.4 billion, about 23 million are Muslims. About 13,000 Chinese Muslims performed Haj this year, which included imams, doctors and government officials. Most of the Chinese railway engineers were not Muslims when they arrived in the Kingdom. A special town was set up for them beyond the jurisdiction of Makkah as the holy city is off-limits to non-Muslims. During the course of the construction of the railway, many of the Chinese engineers embraced Islam.
That led to even greater love and respect for the Chinese, said Ali Al-Harithy, a Saudi businessman conducting commerce with China. He said he also was impressed that the new stronger ties with China don t seem to be disruptive to the Kingdom s longstanding associations with the United States and Europe.
It was America that helped the Arab states discover oil, and ever since ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States have been very close, Al-Harithy said. For China to create space for itself in this region is phenomenal. This Makkah Metro is world-class, and every single aspect of it was carried out in Chinese factories by Chinese technicians and engineers. It is an engineering marvel. Hats off to the Chinese.
Made in China is no longer a taboo label, said Sudanese journalist Hassan Ibrahim. It has now earned a halo of respectability.

"Made in China" is no longer a taboo label, thanks to Mashair railway. (AN photo)