CPC's national development drive lauded

Chinese modernization is steadily advancing, and China's development has contributed to shared global prosperity while offering valuable experiences for developing countries pursuing their own paths to modernization, according to global experts.

As the Communist Party of China marks its 105th anniversary, its journey reflects resilience, innovation and strong leadership. Under the Party's leadership, China has undergone a profound transformation, they said.

Founded in 1921 against the backdrop of foreign aggression, poverty and failed attempts to save the nation, the CPC set out on a mission aimed at securing happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation.

Under the leadership of the CPC, China has grown into the world's second-largest economy, achieved major advances in science and technology, significantly improved living standards and become an important source of stability and certainty in a turbulent world.

Michael Borchmann, former head of the European and International Affairs Department of the German state of Hesse, said one of the key reasons for China's success is the CPC's unwavering commitment to a people-centered approach.

"The Party regards itself as a servant of the people, without private interests of its own, and derives the legitimacy of its governance largely from the satisfaction and support of the population," he said.

"A defining feature of this transformation has been that the Chinese people took their destiny back into their own hands. They cast off foreign humiliation and oppression, successfully lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, and regained their national confidence and self-respect," he added.

Humphrey P. B. Moshi, professor of economics and founding director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, said that since 1949, China has achieved remarkable progress and historic accomplishments under the CPC's stewardship.

Chinese society has undergone profound transformation in many respects, ushering in a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, eliminating absolute poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, Moshi said.

Peter Kagwanja, president and chief executive officer of the Africa Policy Institute, a think tank in Nairobi, Kenya, said China has transformed itself from one of the world's poorest developing countries in the 1980s into the world's second-largest economy.

Under the leadership of the CPC, China has made rapid progress across a number of sectors, including infrastructure, science and technology, education and healthcare, he said.

"Through its Belt and Road Initiative as well as its four global initiatives — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative — China has amassed immense global influence, becoming a major player in international trade and diplomacy," he added.

"China offers lessons and inspiration to Africa and the Global South. Its growth is an inspiration for Africa. Poverty is not a curse for any civilization. Africa can also rise and lift its people out of poverty," Kagwanja said.

The CPC's 105-year history demonstrates that effective state governance is built on disciplined leadership, sustained capacity building, robust accountability and continuous institutional reform, said Mafa Kwanisai Mafa, a Zimbabwean Pan-Africanist researcher and political commentator.

"As nations of the Global South carve out their own sovereign paths to modernization, the CPC's century of self-improvement and decades of governance practice will remain an indispensable touchstone for scholarly inquiry, high-level policy deliberation and thoughtful localized adaptation for generations to come," Mafa said.

"In a world marked by growing geopolitical tensions, China has contributed to sustained international cooperation that is inclusive of the Global South. This has only been possible because the country is well governed," said Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore.

The international community stands to benefit from China's development plans, particularly through further market opening, stronger innovation and digital partnerships, expanded trade and investment, and faster progress in the global green transition, he added.

Victor Raballa in Nairobi,Zhang Zhouxiang in Brussels and Vivien Xu in Hong Kong contributed to this story.