Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published: July 16,2024
A readers’ seminar on Chinese President Xi Jinping’sbooks on governance was successfully held in late June at the national library in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, as the works have aroused enthusiastic response among local readers.
“This work is of great significance for us to learn from China’s reform and opening-up experience and promote Tajikistan’s reform and development,” said Rashid Alimov, former secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Titled “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China,” the work concentrates on Xi’s in-depth thinking on China’s national governance and global governance issues, drawing worldwide readers since the debut of its first volume ten years ago. “President Xi Jinping’s work has put forward many new ideas, new insights and conclusions, which have important practical value for countries around the world in an era of globalization,” said MatlubakhonSattoriyan, Tajikistan’s Minister of Culture.
Over the past decade, a series of essential works by Xi, including “Up and Out of Poverty,” “The Belt and Road Initiative,” “On Building a Human Community with a Shared Future,” and a compilation of excerpts from discourses on Chinese modernization, have been translated into over 40 languages and published in around 180 countries and regions. These have provided a “window of thought” to understand China’s reform efforts and distinctive path to economic success.
SECRET TO CHINA’S REFORM & DEVELOPMENT
Continuing reform on all fronts is a recurring theme throughout Xi’s series of four books on governance. The Chinese president elaborates on his vision of deepening reforms in these volumes, offering valuable insights and judgments such as “reform and opening up is always an ongoing task and will never end” and “as reform goes deeper, it is more necessary to shoulder responsibilities.” For Wirun Phichaiwongphakdee, director of the Thailand-China Research Center of the Belt and Road Initiative, this book is like the “secret to successfully governing a country.” He calls it “a valuable treasure for developing countries.” “Every time I read ‘Xi Jinping: The Governance of China,’ I feel like I’m seeking wisdom from a learned sage, experiencing the Chinese leader’s love for his family and country through his down-to-earth words,” said Phichaiwongphakdee.
“Most importantly, it allows the world to experience the remarkable course of China’s reform and development through the macro perspective of the Chinese leader,” the expert added.”Through this book, I see President Xi’s firm determination to continue deepening reforms, which sets an example for our development in Cambodia,” said Chea Munyrith, president of the Cambodian Chinese Evolution Researcher Association.
Simon Lichtenberg, a Danish entrepreneur who has lived in Shanghai for over three decades, is not only a witness to China’s reform and opening up but also a beneficiary of a series of China’s policies, such as the development and opening up of Pudong and the Shanghai pilot free trade zone. In his view, the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the courage of self-revolution are the fundamental guarantees for the success of reform and opening up and the “secret” for China to efficiently further reforms on all fronts. In Western countries, Lichtenberg said, if the government is not working well, the most common scenario is to change the ruling party or the government. “But in China’s case, the party has been able to evolve and live up to new times, new challenges and new world orders, still keeping the same fundamentals of the country and putting the people at the center while modernizing and reforming the industry, infrastructure, health, education, technology … so many areas where China has moved very, very fast,” he added.
This has avoided short-term behavior caused by changes in political parties and ensured the consistency and efficiency of reform and development plans, he said. “President Xi has taken Marxism and Chinese history and married them. It is a huge undertaking,” said Stephen Perry, honorary president of Britain’s 48 Group Club. “Few in the world understand what a mission it is and how effective he is.”
THE WELL-BEING OF BILLIONS
“Maintaining good governance in a country is to make its people prosperous,” Xi once quoted an ancient Chinese political and philosophical text. The old writings were named after Guan Zhong, a philosopher and statesman in China’s Spring and Autumn period who focused on how to enrich the country and strengthen the people.
In China’s fight against extreme poverty, almost 100 million people have been lifted out of absolute poverty. The victory has been hailed as a miracle in human history, achieving the poverty reduction target outlined in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ten years ahead of schedule. Developing countries worldwide see China’s war on poverty as inspirational. When the Uzbek edition of Xi’s book on poverty relief, “Up and Out of Poverty,” was published in November 2023, Uzbek President ShavkatMirziyoyev wrote a foreword for the book. “This book by President Xi Jinping has rich political, economic and philosophical connotations, and reflects his profound thinking on poverty alleviation and the well-being of the people,” he wrote.
“After reading works such as ‘Xi Jinping: The Governance of China’ and ‘The Belt and Road Initiative,’ what impressed me the most was that President Xi’s thoughts and viewpoints are all aimed at achieving, in various ways, the development and well-being of the Chinese people and people around the world,” said Tamara Berro, a member of the Cairo-based Arab Association of Political Science.
President Xi has been leading China towards implementing comprehensive, deeper-level reforms, which have not only removed many obstacles to China’s modernization but also offered profound lessons for countries seeking to learn from China’s experience, Berro said. In Xi’s eyes, one of the five unique features of Chinese modernization is a harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. For him, ecological and environmental protection is a century-long plan for the benefit of the people. “Some environmentalists in Western countries believe that protecting the natural environment must come at the expense of human development,” said Jean Delvigne, a senior expert on French at the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the CPC. “However, China’s successful practices have made Westerners realize that ecological and environmental protection, as well as economic development, both serve people’s pursuit of a better life. They are not contradictory and can be achieved simultaneously,” Delvigne added.
Last year, the UN Environment Program honored China’s Blue Circle environmental initiative with the 2023 Champions of the Earth award — the UN’s most prestigious environmental recognition — for its innovative marine plastic treatment technology. The initiative, launched in east China’s Zhejiang province, uses blockchain technology and the Internet of Things to monitor the entire lifecycle of plastic pollution, encompassing collection, regeneration, re-manufacturing and re-sale.
In Delvigne’s view, achieving harmonious coexistence between humans and nature is a significant feature and important accomplishment of Chinese modernization. The philosophy that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” put forward by President Xi, is worth learning from for all countries, he said.
PROPOSALS FOR SOLVING GLOBAL CHALLENGES
President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has long kept an Arabic version of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” signed by President Xi himself. He said Xi’s governance philosophy aims to bring happiness to the Chinese people and benefit populations worldwide. This philosophy could be a guiding principle and benchmark for all global leaders. “Xi’s book is itself the latest contribution in a millennia-long line of Chinese reflections on the relations of human beings with nature and with each other,” says Martin Albrow, a fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences. “China’s unique history and culture have prepared it for adopting a global leadership role in advancing peaceful cooperation between all peoples while joining in the economic progress of each and every one,” he added.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi has put forward a series of Chinese proposals and initiatives, such as the building of a community with a shared future for humankind, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. These initiatives offer Chinese solutions to improving global governance and resolving challenges in human development. Berro said these initiatives constitute a new framework for international relations, helping to shape a fairer and more just international order, promoting equal treatment among different countries, strengthening international security and stability, and advancing global common development.
China, through its intellectual capacity, can create balance “in a world in full change, in full imbalance,” said French writer and sinologist Lea Bessis. “This is what I hope to find in this new book. As its title suggests, China must show us a new mode of governance,” Bessis added, referring to the book “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.” President Xi’s efforts to develop new quality productive forces and promote Chinese modernization aim to transform China into a high-quality economy, Bessis said. The expert believed that these efforts could benefit regional and global development, offering numerous opportunities to French and international companies. “China has, through its history, become the guarantor of global stability,” Bessis said.
