China’s message of hope to the world through its development cooperation

As I look at the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) extraordinary feats over the past hundred years, which is a continuation of the progressive logic of humankind, one word comes to mind: Hopeful. Hopeful in the sense that China’s message to the world through its contributions, recounting the struggles, sacrifices and efforts made to the global economy, is a message of hope to the over 7 billion people living around the world today. Since it is only those that feel your pain that can create your joy, the CPC’s message of hope is letting the world know that you do not have to be born with a silver spoon to live a golden life. This is a testament to China’s growth and development over the past four decades under the CPC’s leadership.

Bringing hope to China

The sources of the CPC’s robust leadership and strong governance that have led to the nation’s remarkable development are its strong governance capacity and people-oriented mindset, which have guided the CPC from triumph to triumph despite the numerous hardships it has endured in the past hundred years. Therefore, the CPC, by my evaluation, has not just been in power, but has made the best use of power.

How is a good use of power delivered? It is simply giving leadership that drives growth and moves society towards unfettered improvement.

The remarkable achievement of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC from revolution and reconstruction to transformation is the message of hope. This message of hope is based on the needs and aspirations of the Chinese people that have been directed towards one goal — the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Today, the Chinese people lead the comfortable lives they have aspired for – from becoming independent in 1949 to becoming prosperous, strong, and working towards common prosperity.

China has eliminated absolute poverty, and significantly improved the living standards of its people. By the end of 2020, 98.99 million impoverished rural residents in China had all been lifted out of poverty and all 832 impoverished counties had been removed from the poverty list.

China’s inflation has been maintained at a lower rate in recent years compared to other nations. With the development of the internet and logistics across the nation even in rural areas, many Chinese can gain access to more consumer goods, using flexible payment systems. By August 2022, China had a total of 2.1 million 5G base stations, hiking the number of mobile internet users to around 1.46 billion, 43.37 million more than at the end of 2021.

Aerial photo taken on July 28, 2022 shows the fourth phase of the full-automatic pier at the Nansha Port in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

Bringing hope to Africa

The party believes that the strength of a powerful political party or a powerful nation lies in its open mind, broad vision, and great sense of responsibility. It firmly believes that making a great nation requires robust and competent leadership devoted to the fundamental interests of the people.

This is the same mindset China portrays in its relationship with Africa under the Forum of China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). For example, China is committed to supporting Africa in building the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a key aid program under the FOCAC healthcare initiative. Work on the project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, started in December 2020. The building will boost Africa’s capability to cope with diseases.

At the 2021 FOCAC event, China announced that it would provide another 1 billion doses of vaccines to Africa, including 600 million doses as a donation and 400 million doses to be offered through such means as joint production between Chinese firms and relevant African nations.

Laborers work at the construction site of the Headquarters Building Phase I Project of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Aug. 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

Such joint production has already started happening. On May 21, 2021, Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac’s first batch of vaccine raw materials arrived in Cairo, Egypt, where they were processed into vaccines by a local company. On September 29, 2021, Algeria started producing vaccines locally when its vaccine facility in Constantine city started operations in collaboration with Sinovac.

These efforts by China and Africa illustrate the critical importance of cooperation and multilateralism in unlocking economic and social potential and bringing about quick recovery.

In addition, China has given strong support to Africa's development in many other areas, including agriculture, industrialization, infrastructure, capacity building and so on.

Workers upload a batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines onto a truck in Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Feb. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)

In terms of infrastructure, from 2000 to 2020, China built more than 13,000 kilometers of roads and railways in Africa, bringing hope to African countries. In Nigeria, for the past two decades, China’s investment in Nigerian industries, especially in transport, has provided the country with the capital and expertise needed for industrial development. The investments have been accompanied by a broad acceptance of China’s goodwill. Chinese investments in Nigeria are substantial. For instance, the construction of the standard gauge railway linking the country’s capital of Abuja to Kaduna, a trade center and transportation hub in northwestern Nigeria, was completed in 2016 and drew widespread praise from the people living near the railway.

People board a train of the Chinese-built Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) at Ngong Station in Kenya, March 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Long Lei)

Shuaibu Ibrahim, a father of five children who runs a provision store at the Rigasa railway station, is one such person. In an interview with me, Ibrahim said: “In less than a year, I have managed to build a house. But earlier, despite working for an oil company for years, I couldn’t even buy a plot of land. The train station has not only changed the lives of those of us doing business here, but has also brought development to the entire Rigasa community.”

This is an indication that China’s message of hope follows the principles of China’s Africa policy of sincerity, real results, amity, and good faith. Looking forward, China is well-positioned to remain a steady development partner of Africa and to assist African people in finding the continent’s own solutions to its problems and pursuing the continent’s aspirations.

A light rail transit (LRT) train is seen during a trial running in east of Cairo, Egypt, on July 3, 2022. Egypt's first electrified light rail transit (LRT) system jointly built by Chinese and Egyptian companies started its trial run on that day. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Bringing hope to the world

China’s leadership believes that cooperation in attaining the goals of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and building on the principle of “leaving no one behind” should be a top priority for the international community. This reaffirms why China’s long-standing Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, namely mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence, still apply to the nation’s foreign policy today.

Through the positions taken at multilateral platforms, as well as through its development projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s leadership at the global level has been further accentuated by the contribution the nation has made in terms of supporting nations in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. China has attached great importance to promoting global cooperation in fighting against the pandemic, which included the sharing of information on COVID-19 with the global community, and providing bilateral and multilateral assistance to affected nations.

In conclusion, China’s message of hope through the building of a community with a shared future for mankind shows that the CPC seeks happiness not only for the Chinese people but for the headway of humanity as well. Therefore, no matter how the worldwide situation might change, the CPC will always remain steadfast and continuously pursue the shared human values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom for humankind. It is no wonder that the CPC is yearning for global cooperation and a solidarity that displays unity like never before to overcome today’s emergencies, and get the world moving, working, and prospering again.

About the author: Dr. Michael Ehizuelen is an associate research fellow, and Executive Director of the Center for Nigerian Studies at the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University.