PRC's 74th founding anniversary: More than a historic milestone (2024)

Editor's note:Fikrejesus Amahazion, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an educator and research analyst at the Eritrean Center for Strategic Studies in Asmara. His areas of interest include human rights, political economy and international development, with a particular focus on Africa. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

This yearmarks 74 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).Across this period, led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has emerged from isolation and poverty to register myriad achievements, become one of the world's leading economic powers, and assumed a prominent global stature. Beyond just a historic milestone, however, the 74thanniversary of China's founding is an opportune moment to reflect upon key elements underpinning the country's extraordinary rise and transformation.

By any objective measure, China's continued development and multifaceted improvements are a truly notable accomplishment. They merit not only genuine respect, but considerable admiration. They also powerfully attest to the many strengths and diverse qualities of China and the CPC. Globally, the country's founding anniversary has drawn much attention and coverage, largely motivated by a desire to better understand the wide-ranging experiences of the nation. Since founding the PRC, the CPC has led the country to enormous socioeconomic, developmental, political, and other achievements distinguished worldwide in terms of speed, size, and global impact. While there is an array of useful lessons and insights to be extracted, several quickly stand out.

For one, it is not difficult to recognize the especially strong unity and harmony that prevails among the CPC and the people, a tight bond forged over the past decades. In many ways, the Chinese people are the source of the country's strength and the foundation upon which its longstanding success is built. Since new China's founding, the leadership has maintained a people-centered approach, evidenced by practical actions and on-the-ground realities.

One example is China's abolition of extreme poverty, with its unprecedented success in eliminating this scourge contributing three-quarters of the entire global reduction. It is also highly telling that in recent years an assortment of popular opinion surveys conducted by polling groups from around the world have demonstrated that the support of the Chinese people for the CPC has often been over 90 percent.

Another central element that remains at the fundamental core of China's longstanding success is the willingness to change and the unstinting commitment to innovation. The nation, led by the CPC, has relied on learning to get to where it is today and it has relentlessly innovated its theories, practices, institutions, and approaches. Continuous learning, selectively drawing on the experiences of other countries, and constant reform and innovation have all served to powerfully bolster the resilience of the nation, while at the same time rejectingharmful tendencies, such as dogmatism, stagnation, and complacency, firmly at bay.

Here it is worth recalling how over the years China's leadership has issued and carried out literally thousands of reform measures across different sectors. Rather than signifying weakness or embodying failure, this is actually an extremely powerful reflection of deep-rooted courage and confidence, a pragmatic corrective nature, and an openness to change, which ultimately keep the nation abreast with fast-changing times and ever-varying challenges. The indelible fact is that China is characterized by dynamism and the ability to rapidly adapt to shifting circ*mstances, and it continues to be capable of formulating and implementing successful long-term socioeconomic, political, and other policies.

Alongside the above, a distinguishing feature of China's experience is how the nation has stood up. The country's history, like so much of that of the Global South, includes the dark chapter of colonization and foreign subjugation. As countless examples from around the world unfortunately still testify, such a horrific tragedy does not usually remain a relic of the past; it often can make a nation lose its pride, dignity, identity, and self-belief, with the toxic legacy reverberating across generations. Yet, China has not only managed to regain all these, it has even overtaken and surpassed its former colonizers to become the world's second largest economy and a global leader in many sectors. In this, the China story is at its heart one of inspiration and encouragement, demonstrating that a nation that was once colonized and downtrodden can rise to not only stand, but to become a superpower.

This particular point should not be overlooked. It's estaminated that over 85 percent of the world's population will live in the developing worldby 2050. China has thus given the world, particularly the Global South, an alternative place to look for development and encouragement, resoundingly proving that there is more than one path – the Western path – to success.

Finally, China's experience is not only characterized by valuable insights, but also marked by partnership, solidarity, and friendship with countries worldwide. China has cooperated with numerous countries across the globe, helping make headway in the global struggle for development, improved living conditions, and a more just world. In many areas, and through an array of cooperative initiatives and institutions, including the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), FOCAC (the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation), and AIIB (the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank), among others, China's global solidarity has contributed to positive outcomes for people worldwide.

In closing, the elements outlined above – strong people-to-leadership bonds; openness to change and innovate; demonstration that history can be overcome; and global solidarity – are all key aspects of China's story. Of course, they cannot be taken as a template or model to be copied. No country can completely follow any other country's model because circ*mstances, culture, and history are different in different places. And China, as a huge civilization, an enormous economy, and with a vast population, is following a system with Chinese characteristics. It is a very distinctive model and it is China's own. But it is undeniable that China offers a tremendously interesting case and an important example from which anyone can learn.

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