China's progress hailed across globe

Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, said its impact should not be viewed only through trade and investment statistics.

"What we should really look at is the number of lives that have been transformed, the businesses that have been established, the relationships that have been built, the patients who have gained access to new treatment, the worker whose livelihood depends on overseas customers, and the many, many, many young people who studied side by side on both sides of the Pacific over the years," Stein said.

Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore Business School, said: "China has undoubtedly made great strides, particularly in the recent decade, when it emerged as a formidable global leader excelling in various economic and technological fields.

"Most notably, it has contributed as a responsible superpower to advance humanitarian and environmental causes for the greater good."

Speaking at a reception held by the Chinese embassy in Ghana last week, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Ghanaian minister for environment, science and technology, noted that Ghana and many other developing countries have much to learn from China's experience.

Agyeman-Rawlings lauded the compassionate and skillful manner in which Chinese medical teams take care of Ghanaians, showing the ever-growing strong and brotherly bonds between the two countries.

Addressing a reception held by the Chinese embassy in South Africa on Wednesday, former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe said, "May the next chapter of South Africa-China relations contribute to a shared future for humanity and the construction of an international order founded upon equality among nations, mutual respect and shared humanity."

Lia Zhu in San Francisco, Rena Li in Los Angeles, Yifan Xu in Washington, DC, and Minlu Zhang at the United Nations and Xinhua contributed to this story.