When he was 5 years old, Natan Colombo's parents took him to a Chinese restaurant, a rarity in his home city of Milan, Italy, at the time. He never imagined that experience would herald a future bond with China.
The 34-year-old has now lived in China for more than 10 years. After obtaining a doctorate in international law at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing in 2013, Colombo became a lecturer at the Hainan Tropical Ocean University in Sanya, a resort city in South China's Hainan province.
The first time he visited China was in 2011 when he spent a short holiday with some friends in Sanya. It took him just a few days to fall in love with this city because of its amazing seaside scenery, interesting and colorful culture, and tasty food and delicacies, he recalls.
In his eyes, Hainan is dynamic, as it is developing very fast, and warm, not only because of its climate, but because of the friendly people here. Hainan is therefore attractive, not only for companies but also for tourists, he says.
A lecturer in charge of economics, business management and law-related courses at the university, Colombo loves his job. "Being a lecturer in China is truly very special because you feel you are part of a large community and a complex system that is constantly developing," he says.
"I would have never imagined I could feel so welcomed and loved here," he adds.
Prompted by this strong feeling, he managed to donate 14,000 surgical masks from Italy to the Hainan Tropical Ocean University during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
"I could not stand the thought that my students, colleagues, and friends were vulnerable and suffering from the virus," says Colombo, who went all out to collect the masks and send them to the university.
Due to the pandemic, he couldn't come back to China for two years, but he still insisted on teaching online and did his part in promoting Sino-Italian educational exchanges.
Last June, he helped organize the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between Hainan Tropical Ocean University and Carlo Cattaneo-LIUC University of Italy. "This is a small step in a larger plan of deepening the cooperation between these two universities," he says.
"I am committed to facilitating the cooperation between China and Italy from an educational perspective, by conducting collaborative academic programs and research projects with universities, supporting the exchange of students and faculty members, and promoting conferences, seminars and lectures on issues of mutual interest," he says, noting that he can act as a bridge between the two countries.
He believes there is a natural attraction between Italy and China in both culture and education, since Italy and China share a very long history.
Colombo says he is confident that in the future the Sino-Italian relationship will be reinforced by bilateral commercial cooperation as well as educational and cultural exchanges.
