Jérôme Tafani (right) and Li Li (middle) celebrate their 10-year friendship in Beijing on the Little New Year on Jan. 25, 2022, a traditional festival that usually takes place a week before the Chinese New Year.

My meeting with Jérôme Tafani dates back to 2007, when we were taking Chinese lessons together at university. Having made the choice to settle permanently in China, he embodies a wonderful example of integration in my eyes. I would like to share with you his journey.

While doing an internship in France for his bachelor's degree in logistics, this Franco-Italian met a Chinese internship supervisor. His kindness and good temper impressed Jérôme deeply, while they communicated somehow in English. Listening to his trainer from Shandong talk with collaborators in Mandarin immediately aroused Jérôme's curiosity. The Chinese language had a magnetic effect on him: It was so different! This experience led to his decision to embark on an adventure in China and spend six months of a gap year in learning Mandarin. The short semester soon turned into two years which allowed him to reach a relatively decent level. After this period of total immersion in Chinese, he was finally able to follow a conversation without difficulty. Once this first goal was achieved, he returned to France to continue his university education.

A few years later, when he was looking for an internship at the end of his studies, he met by chance a Chinese importer at a booth of a wine fair in Italy. Being undoubtedly one of the few Europeans attending the fair who speak Chinese, Jérôme hastened to talk to him. The magic works; it is a total surprise. Li Li (the first and last name of the man) is under the spell of this young French man who speaks Mandarin with a Beijing accent.