'China solution' is diversified solution

With the beginning of a new year, the world is looking for new solutions. The global South has had enough cookie-cutter models applied by certain Western institutions and as espoused by their governments. Western models that talk democracy, transparency and governance (while failing to practice these ideals themselves) often ignore core issues that developing and less-developed nations need to address in order to pull out from poverty into a trajectory of sustainable development. Without infrastructure, transport, communications, electricity, water and healthcare, people's lives will not improve. External solutions that may have worked in Europe or the Americas may not work in China or other developing countries.

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China marked the beginning of a "New Era" for China, and for the developing South as well. In crystallizing "socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era," President Xi Jinping focused on eliminating poverty, closing income gaps, promoting ecology and green energy, resuscitating Chinese culture and heritage, and sharing its development experiences with other nations.

The 19th Party Congress for the first time emphasized China's role in an integrated global context, putting forth the concept of a "China solution" to global challenges. But the "China solution" by no means promotes China as a single model. It emphasizes the need for local solutions by people themselves who understand their own circumstances, rather than external theories imported from outside think tanks or multi-lateral institutions that may be insensitive or even unaware of local conditions and contexts.