Experts and politicians from around the world talked about the 19th CPC National Congress at think-tank symposium

The International Think-Tank Symposium on the 19th CPC National Congress: Implications for China and the World was held on November 16 in Beijing. This one-day symposium was attended by politicians, scholars and experts from countries including China, Japan, the U.S., France, Italy, Russia, India, Pakistan and Kenya. Minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Huang Kunming, Former Prime Minster of France Dominique de Villepin, Zeng Peiyan, former Vice-Premier of the State Council of China, Yasuo Fukuda, Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia and former Prime Minister of Japan, and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz attended the opening ceremony.

Huang delivered a keynote speech. He remarked that the symposium is conducive to understanding of the CPC and China’s development path. It will also facilitate the exchanges and cooperation among think-tanks in China and the world as well. Huang also said that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the fundamental guide for the world to understand China. He indicated that China’s entry into the New Era will not only influence the world and bring developing countries with more experiences and inspiration, but also serve as a reference for countries that intend to accelerate growth and be independent at the same time.

Yasuo Fukuda praised China’s speed of growth, saying that China has been different every time he visited. He mentioned his experience of taking a Chinese-made bullet train four years ago in Hainan Province, which was not only fast, but also quiet and comfortable. He compared the bullet trains in China and Japan, hailing China’s speed of constructing a high-speed railway network that is seven times longer than that of Japan.

Shaukat Aziz said that the Belt and Road Initiative has profoundly influenced the world. He said that the new type of connectivity will certainly bring more job opportunities to the whole world. As one of the beneficiaries, Pakistan has witnessed improved people’s standard of living, infrastructure, and industry. He believed that the Belt and Road Initiative will make developing countries fulfill their potential for development.

Dominique de Villepin believed that the stable mutual trust between China and Europe is the foundation of sustained prosperity around the world. In the future, the cooperation between Europe and China will focus on tackling environmental problems, promoting multilateral dialogues and playing a significant role in safeguarding world peace.

Kenneth M. Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation, mentioned the poverty alleviation effort President Xi noted in his report to the 19th CPC National Congress. He said that the report is an amazing story of how China has transformed in the past five years. The Chinese should be proud that no other country has achieved such a great work of poverty alleviation. He also noted that the Belt and Road Initiative is crucial to poverty alleviation. He told the African people to learn from China in this field.

After the opening ceremony and the plenary session in the morning, two parallel sessions were held in the afternoon, during which experts discussed topics such as “Major Achievements and Implications for the World of the 19th CPC National Congress,” “China in the Course of Development and Reform and New Opportunities of Global Economic Development,” and “Chinese Foreign Policy and Peaceful Development of the World.”

Sudheendra Kulkarni, Chairman of Observer Research Foundation Mumbai, remarked that Xi spoke in the report to the 19th CPC National Congress with conviction about the need to continue globalization, preserve stability and ensure peace in the world as a precondition for the development of all nations. This is good news for India and the rest of South Asia.

Sergei Luzianin from RAS Institute of Far Eastern Studies believes that having taken important moves including the Belt and Road Initiative, China is able to launch a new, Eurasian wave of globalization based on the principle of mutual benefit and common development. The Belt and Road Initiative and the project of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) offer the opportunity to activate the processes of economic integration, openness and liberalization through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

José Alfredo Graça Lima, Director of Brazil International Relations Center, noted that Brazil and China have been close partners for decades. In addition to their common membership of the BRICS group, the two countries share many common views on how the world should evolve, while respecting each other’s differences. Both have been enjoying complementarity in trade and investments that will also bear fruit in the long run. Both struggle, each within its own political reality, to overcome challenges and build modern and prosperous societies. They are the largest developing nations in each hemisphere of the planet. They have an interest in cooperation.

The 19th CPC National Congress was held in October. The congress elected a new leadership and enshrined Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in the Party Constitution.