China’s development provides new ideas for Africa

By Jewel Howard-Taylor

I am very eager to see that China is growing stronger and stronger, but always treats African countries peacefully, friendly and equally, and helps developing countries with practical actions. In Liberia, for example, Chinese companies built roads for us, improved infrastructure projects, and helped build facilities such as SKD Complex, International Radio Station, and the Parliament Building. Recently, Roberts International Airport Upgrade Project, China Aided Project of Ministerial Complex was also successfully completed and put into use. At the same time, Chinese experts promoted agricultural technologies such as hybrid rice in Liberia to help solve the food shortage problem and realize agricultural modernization, and cultivated a large number of technical talents. China was one of countries first time to help Liberia fight the Ebola outbreak in 2014, while actively participating in the United Nations peacekeeping operations in Liberia.

China’s independent development path in the past 70 years has enabled African countries to see successful practices, China’s development provides new ideas for Africa. China has achieved tremendous development in the past 40 years of reform and opening up, which can be largely attributed to its change of development ideas. In the past, some African countries copied development strategies from developed countries in the west. However, these strategies have been proven to be ineffective for African countries since they only suit the conditions in developed world. Started as one of the world's most underdeveloped countries, China shared similar basic development conditions with Africa. Therefore, the experience and theories drawn from China's 40 years of reform and opening are of more value of reference for African and other developing countries.

Today, the China-Africa Cooperation Forum and the “Belt and Road” are creating unprecedented opportunities for African countries. In September last year, the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum was successfully held in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping and African leaders reached broad consensus on further deepening China-Africa friendship and cooperation. Not long ago, during the “Belt and Road” international cooperation summit held in Beijing, Liberia signed a memorandum of understanding on international cooperation in the “Belt and Road Initiative”, and Liberia and China cooperated to open a new chapter.

The Belt and Road Initiative creates conditions for Africa’s infrastructure construction. At present, the prevalence of underdeveloped infrastructure in Africa has become a bottleneck for the continent’s development. Fortunately, the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Africa cooperation can find a solution to the bottleneck and create conditions for Africa to seize the opportunity to realize industrialization. Other areas, such as technology and culture, will also benefit participants.

What China has achieved in the past 70 years indicates that poverty is not destined, but something that every country is able to get rid of, and the key to prosperity lies in industrialization, modernization, and globalization. China-Africa cooperation generates opportunities, conditions, and ideas for African countries’ industrialization. China and African countries will work together to achieve common prosperity defined in the construction of a community of a shared future for mankind.

(The author is the Vice President of the Republic of Liberia.)

Source: People’s Daily