I have been to three foreign countries: Germany, Canada, and China.
I have been to three foreign countries, namely Germany, Canada, and China.
I am trying to rewrite the sentences above without using ":" or "namely". Specifically, I would like to use a verb/preposition "include/including" or similar words such as consisting, containing, and comprising. Is such usage acceptable?
The two sentences you give are the normal way to say this.
The other common way to express this idea is to say, "The foreign countries that I have been to are Germany, Canada, and China." Putting "three" in there would be awkward. But it would flow naturally if you're emphasizing that this is a small number, like, "The only three foreign countries that I have been to ..."
Using "including" would be wrong because "including" is used when you are giving a partial list, not a complete list. You could say, "I have been to three foreign countries, including Germany." But if you list all three, than it's not "including" any more. It's the whole list.
"Containing" is used when the things listed are stored in some bigger thing. Like, "I have a closet in my bedroom containing my clothes and my shoes." It's rarely used to talk about countries because we don't normally think of countries as being inside something. Perhaps you could say, "Europe contains Germany and France", but I don't recall ever hearing someone say that. People do talk about "containing" a country when they mean to restrain it in some way, like "During the war the British navy kept Germany contained on the continent."
"Consisting of" and "comprising" are valid if you talk about the countries you have visited as a list. That is, you can't say, "I have visited three countries consisting of Germany, Canada, and China", because there's no object there to do the consisting. You could say, "Here is a list of countries I have visited, consisting of Germany, Canada, and China." But that seems an awkward way to express the idea.
Why don't you want to use a colon or the word "namely"?
Not unnatural as much as confusing. "Including" means what follows is a partial list of what items are included.
Many countries have signed the accords, including Germany and France (and others).
You might follow-up with an example of something not included:
I like many kinds of pasta dishes, including spaghetti and ravioli (and others), but not lasagna.
Your example is confusing because, if you name all three countries, then what other countries would be included in the list? If you used a larger number, it would be fine:
I have been to fifteen countries, including Germany, Spain, Japan, China, and Canada (and ten more).
Make it simple. Start with:
I've been to Canada, China and Germany.
There's a problem here, "been to" might be a bit ambigious. If you were born in the US, have you ever "been to" the US? To avoid this ambiguity you might try:
I've visited Canada, China and Germany.
The disadvantage of the above is that you're only conveying that you've been to the countries above, not excluding you having been to any other countries. So why not try try:
I've only visited Canada, China and Germany.
That might not have the tone that you're looking for though, because it might be perceived as self-limiting. If you're worried about that, drop the "only". If you want to emphasize that further, you can go with "only ever".
The moral of the story is that how to write a sentence has to flow from context, which we've not been given here, and that simple is often better than complete. :-)
Including only includes part of you list, but since you only have three items in your list, it would be awkward. Also, it is more formal to name the countries in alphabetical order. The best way to say it would just be to imply that you have been to three foreign countries earlier on and then say, "I have been to Canada, China, and Germany".
How about:
The three foreign countries I have been to are Germany, Canada and China.
That's changing the emphasis a bit, but communicates the message that you want to get across.
If you want to be possibly more confusing but still accurate:
I have been to three foreign countries, even Germany, Canada and China.
Even is synonymous with namely in this context.
