A totally international environment

I came to Shanghai to study. However, during my five years at university my opinion changed totally, so I was pleased to stay on to continue my family's business, selling handmade carpets from my home country.

My father started selling carpets in Shanghai in 2006. He used to tell me about China as a rising economic power. He encouraged me to come to Shanghai, but I was reluctant at first because I was young and wary of new environments. In my country, we all knew Chinese is a difficult language and I was unsure if it would be easy to get along with Chinese people.

After spending a year learning Chinese in Shanghai in 2009, I loved the city more than I could ever have imagined. Shanghai has a totally international environment. At Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, where I studied, I had schoolmates from 101 countries and regions across the globe. I made a lot of friends, both expats and locals.

During my five years at university, another thing I witnessed was the great change in the business environment. When my father first arrived more than a decade ago, he encountered a number of difficulties when he started his business. By the time I graduated, things were totally different. The laws and regulations regarding foreigners running businesses made things convenient, and the local government has really encouraged foreigners to come and set up businesses.

Now I have a store at Shanghai Hongqiao International Pearl City, a popular haunt for tourists, especially from overseas. The mall is not far from Hongqiao Airport.

The price of a medium-quality carpet of regular, living-room size - 3 meters by 2 meters - is between 800 yuan and 1,600 yuan ($116-$233).

I have noticed the number of Chinese customers is rising. They account for almost half the total number because Chinese travel more nowadays and know more about carpet culture.

In my home country, a growing number of young people are looking at opportunities in China, especially since the Belt and Road Initiative (a modern version of the ancient Silk Road trading route) was proposed in 2013.

People in Pakistan are very supportive of the proposal because they believe there will be plenty of benefits for both countries in a range of fields, including the economy, technology, cultural exchanges and innovation.

Habib Jan spoke with Zhou Wenting