By Jasna Plevnik
It is said development is a flame many countries touch yet few can hold. China belongs to the latter group. Long before the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, it had become apparent that the CPC's leadership would transform many aspects of life in China and the world.
The hard work and dedication of generations of Chinese have made the country the second-largest economy in the world. Under the CPC's leadership, China has not only eradicated absolute poverty and transformed the country into a moderately prosperous society in all respects, but its economic growth also fuelled global growth, created jobs and helped lots of people in Asia and Africa emerge out of poverty.
The CPC's policies and governance have changed China and the direction of the world. Yet I would like to focus on the CPC's foreign policy.
To begin with, thanks to the CPC's leadership, China has opened up its economy to the outside world and cooperated with the rest of the world to address common international issues, including the 2008 global financial crisis and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For example, China has been helping many European, Asian, African and Latin American countries, as well as international organizations with medical equipment and vaccines to contain the pandemic.
As a dynamic party, the CPC has seized the moment to launch a new kind of economic diplomacy, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Central Eastern European Countries Cooperation mechanism, and signed a number of trade deals under these cooperation frameworks with Asian and European countries.
The Belt and Road Initiative and its intercontinental development goals can be attributed to the CPC's concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind. The initiative involves strategic thinking and aims to build a better future for all by urging countries to work together to develop a more balanced global order and rules based on multilateralism and shared development.
The CPC's aim to upgrade the traditional values of international relations, cooperation and peace－through a community with a shared future for mankind－manifests China's will, concept and capacity to build a better world whose zeitgeist will not be geopolitical and technological competition among big powers but cooperation and win-win partnerships.
To build such a world order, the CPC seeks partners that believe in mutual respect, friendship and a sense of reciprocity, which has been displayed by China vis-à-vis the European Union, the United States and other economies.
The tensions between France and Australia as a result of the forming of AUKUS (an alliance of Australia, the United Kingdom and the US), and the cancelling of their submarine deal, show how difficult it is to find a trustworthy partner in today's world.
It would be fair to ask why the US, once a global leader and the strongest proponent of globalization, has been promoting de-globalization and trying to establish new geopolitical alliances in China's neighbourhood. The West can disagree with China on many things and may not have thorough knowledge of China's history and civilisation. But how can it not see the CPC's success in transforming China into thriving economy and moderately well-off society.
China's market economy should remind capitalist countries of the strength and worth of the CPC's socialist ideas, which have charted the country's socioeconomic success story, expanded the middle-income group to 400 million people, and helped many other developing countries to develop their economies.
To build a fairer society, the CPC has urged the private sector, especially the big tech companies, to better protect workers and contribute more to social development. And while remaining focused on its mission, the CPC has not ignored the rhetoric of some Western governments about China or the fact that the Joe Biden administration is still following the Donald Trump administration's China policy.
China has tackled such attacks gracefully and with confidence. But the developed economies should realize that without sharing the global markets and technologies with China, they can neither improve their own economies nor that of the other countries, including their partners and allies.
The author is president of the Geoeconomic Forum Croatia.
The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
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