Interview: Understanding China Conference helps world see China in peace, stability, harmony, progress -- expert

This photo taken on Dec. 2, 2023 shows the opening ceremony of the 2023 Understanding China Conference (Guangzhou) in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)

The Belt and Road Initiative "is the only project of its kind that was launched with the sole objective of peaceful global development to achieve the goal of common prosperity for mankind," says Pakistani expert.

by Jamil Bhatti

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Understanding China Conference going on in Guangzhou has helped the world recognize how China boosts development, peace, stability, tolerance and harmony at home and abroad, said a Pakistani expert.

It also helps the world better understand China's important initiatives for the welfare of mankind, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said Zafar Uddin Mahmood, president of the Understanding China Forum, a Pakistan-based think tank, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Since the conference was launched in 2013, it has evolved into a unique platform for government leaders, politicians, scholars and academicians to enhance their understanding of China, and exchange and share views on development, said the expert.

The 2023 Understanding China Conference is being held from Friday to Sunday in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, under the theme of "China's New Endeavors amid Unprecedented Global Changes -- Expanding the Convergence of Interests and Building A Community of Shared Future."

Mahmood, who has witnessed China's reform and opening up since 1978, emphasized that the policies introduced by the Chinese leadership have brought significant benefits to the Chinese people and the global community.

China's economic reforms and opening-up policy have "brought fundamental changes in the lives of the common people, economic development, and prosperity," he said.

The BRI is a unique initiative promoting peaceful global development and common prosperity via its transparent structure, financial resources, and inclusive approach, welcoming the participation of all countries, noted the expert.

"The BRI is a well-thought-out initiative with confirmed availability of appropriate financial resources, and it is the only project of its kind that was launched with the sole objective of peaceful global development to achieve the goal of common prosperity for mankind," said Mahmood, who also served as a special assistant to the Pakistani prime minister.

This aerial photo taken on May 23, 2023 shows the Rashakai Special Economic Zone under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. (China Road and Bridge Corporation/Handout via Xinhua)

Mahmood said Pakistan is a major beneficiary of the BRI, which provided substantial investments for the country's infrastructure projects, addressed its critical energy and connectivity issues, laid a solid foundation for its long-term and sustainable development, community building and human resources development, and created employment opportunities.

Launched in 2013, the CPEC, a flagship project under the BRI, is a corridor linking the Gwadar Port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.

Mahmood said that people worldwide should know more about today's China, particularly what successes China has achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party of China(CPC).

"To understand China, one must understand the CPC. There is a need to understand the important role the CPC has played in leading the Chinese people and making China a progressive developing country," he said.

Many developing countries are learning from the Chinese path to modernization and the results are quite encouraging, the expert said, adding that the model and philosophy of China's peaceful rise are the solution to many problems of today.

"Economic development and prosperity of the common people should be the priority of any development model, and China has shown the world that this is possible," Mahmood said. He added that lifting some 800 million people out of poverty is a tangible example of China's success.

Regarding the vital role of science, technology and innovation in economic development, Mahmood said China's significant successes in these areas have made it a global leader in fields like information technology, artificial intelligence, high-speed trains, electric vehicles and space exploration.