South Sudanese and Chinese experts have gathered at a symposium to exchange views on jointly advancing modernization based on key outcomes from the recently concluded fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The one-day symposium, organized by the Chinese Embassy in South Sudan on Thursday, brought together officials, scholars, and other representatives from both countries.
“We can benefit from your commitment to vision, discipline, and the continuous refinement of governance. We will draw inspiration from and adapt the Chinese model of national service to instill values and foster a sense of shared identity among our youth,” Kuol Manyang Juuk, a senior advisor to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, said at the event held in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
Leben Nelson Moro, director of the Directorate of Scientific and Cultural External Relations at the University of Juba, stressed the need to build a multilateral global order to preserve equal development and security for all nations. “The experience we learn from China is that decades of peace and stability made it possible to plan development,” Moro noted.
Han Hua, co-founder and secretary general of the Beijing Club for International Dialogue, emphasized that China’s four global initiatives — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative — offer realistic solutions to global challenges, such as conflicts, economic crises and climate change.
“Every country, big or small, has both the right and the responsibility to help shape the global order. Across Africa and Asia, we have seen how this approach can translate into tangible progress from roads to power grids to digital networks, but the real goal is not to build structures but confidence and capacity so that countries can stand on their own feet,” Han said.
Xue Li, deputy director of the English and International Studies Unit of China Foreign Affairs University, said that the 15th Five-Year Plan for the 2026-2030 period demonstrates China’s promising vision for win-win cooperation with the rest of the world, especially at a time of instability and uncertainty.
“China’s steadily advancing modernization will undoubtedly create vast opportunities for the common development of the world. Historically, China and African countries have worked hand-in-hand and forged a profound friendship in the process of striving for national independence and national liberation,” Xuesaid.
Melha Ruot Biel, executive director of the Juba-based Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies, said maintaining sustainable peace, unity, and collective efforts for common development has been instrumental in driving China’s modernization.
“Africa and the rest of the world need to learn from China on how they achieved their modernization, and how to maintain peace and unity,” he added.
Xinhua
