China's decade-long efforts to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty are increasingly being offered to Africa as both a development model and practical support in its own fight against poverty.
China has established itself as a key partner in advancing Africa's sustainable agenda through investments in infrastructure, energy, agricultural technology transfer, vocational training, and strengthening institutional capacity.
Among officials, economists, and global business leaders, confidence in China's economic prospects remains high. The world's second-largest economy continues to demonstrate resilience, dynamism, and long-term growth potential despite external difficulties.
Experts note that China remains well-positioned to achieve an annual growth target of 4.5–5 percent, as well as further progress in innovative growth, which is supported by a strong start to the year, effective macroeconomic support, and the rapid expansion of new growth drivers. Thanks to favorable growth prospects, a vast domestic market, and growing innovative capabilities, China will continue to serve as a primary engine of growth for the entire world.
At the 'Tao' Summit in Dalian, Premier Li Qiang stated that the phenomenon some call 'China Shock 2.0' should be viewed as 'China Opportunity 2.0'. Cooperation between China and Africa in the energy sector is a prime example of this. While some Western countries view China's strength in solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles as a competitive threat, many African nations see these technologies as a chance to expand electricity access, accelerate industrialization, and create jobs.
Recent customs data points to the future of economic cooperation between China and Africa. In April, exports of solar cells and panels from China to African countries increased by 83% compared to the previous year, reaching 123,787 metric tons. This figure is significant not only because it indicates high demand for China's clean energy products but also because it points to a broader opportunity: solar energy trade could become the foundation for Africa's industrial transformation.
When discussing development issues, people often focus on obvious results such as the construction of roads, railways, factories, and ports, as well as the reduction of poverty and improvement in quality of life. These signs of progress are highly significant.
However, they also raise a deeper question: how can a country transform long-term national goals into sustainable improvements in the lives of its population? This question concerns many countries in the Global South. Modernization is not a ready-made formula nor does it follow a single path; it is shaped by history, culture, institutions, resources, and the choice of each people. No country can simply copy another's path, but states can learn from each other in the search for effective governance, sustainable development, and a better future.
China's experience represents one contribution to this broad dialogue. As a large developing country with a population of over 1.4 billion people, China has faced complex challenges in achieving development, maintaining stability, and improving welfare. Its successes were not the result of a single policy or moment, but rather the gradual accumulation of experience through the ability to maintain a clear direction while adjusting methods according to changing circumstances.
An important aspect of understanding this experience is the link between continuity and change. Development requires patience: infrastructure, education, healthcare, industrial modernization, poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and environmental protection—all require years of coordination and investment. A country must be able to look beyond short-term pressures and remain focused on long-term objectives.
China's Five-Year Plans reflect this emphasis on continuity, serving as strategic roadmaps. They define priorities, guide resources, and set political direction, while leaving room for local experimentation and adjustment. The value of these plans lies not only in the planning itself but in linking planning to implementation. Goals must be translated into concrete tasks, and policies must be executed at various levels.
Nevertheless, continuity does not mean rejecting change. Reforms have played a central role in China's development. After reforms and opening up, China advanced through experimentation, experience, and adjustments. Many important measures began as pilot programs, local trials, or sectoral reforms before being expanded more widely. This approach allowed China to test solutions in real conditions, learn from practice, and gradually refine policies. Therefore, China's governance cannot be viewed as a fixed model; it is a constantly evolving process. From special economic zones to industrial parks, from rural reforms to digital governance, from poverty eradication to green development, China has often moved by combining national guidance with practical experimentation.
Another aspect of China's experience is its people-centric approach. Economic growth is necessary, but it is not the ultimate measure of development. The true measure is whether people are living better and have more opportunities. China's campaign to combat extreme poverty illustrates this approach. Instead of applying a uniform formula everywhere, China identified poor households, studied local conditions, and implemented targeted measures, including infrastructure improvement, local industry development, education, healthcare, and resettlement where necessary.
The significance of this experience lies not only in the scale of poverty reduction but also in the fact that effective governance must reach real people in real places. National averages are important, but they cannot replace an understanding of the actual situation of households, villages, and communities. This customer-oriented approach continues to shape China's focus on employment, education, public health, social security, and rural revitalization.
Modernization should be assessed not only by cities, industries, or technologies, but by how many more people can participate in development. Green development offers another example of China's constant adaptation. As a developing country, China has been forced to balance growth, industrialization, energy security, and environmental protection. This is a complex task for any country, yet China has made significant progress in renewable energy, electric vehicles, battery technology, and green infrastructure. For the Global South, the green transition must be equitable, practical, and supportive of development.
China's governance experience also holds broader significance. For a long time, modernization was sometimes presented as if there was only one path. China's path demonstrates that development trajectories can be diverse. A country can learn from the world while remaining rooted in its own conditions. It can embrace cooperation while retaining the right to choose the path suitable for its people.
This is also the spirit with which China approaches cooperation with Africa. China does not seek to export a model nor does it believe that one country holds all the answers. Cooperation must be based on equality, mutual respect, and mutual learning. China's cooperation with African countries has focused on practical areas such as infrastructure, trade, investment, agriculture, education, public health, and people-to-people exchange, as development is the foundation of peace, dignity, and stability.
China and South Africa are important members of the Global South. Both countries share a long friendship, strong political trust, and a wide scope for cooperation. Here, in KwaZulu-Natal, exchanges in trade, investment, clean energy, skills development, tourism, digital economy, education, and local-level cooperation can help bring partnerships closer to communities and daily life. Such cooperation is not about one side teaching the other; it is about leveraging each other's strengths, learning from experiences, and creating opportunities tailored to local conditions.
The key to understanding China's governance achievements is not a mystery. It lies in seeing how a large developing country has strived to combine continuity with reform, planning with implementation, national development with people's well-being, and internal progress with openness to the world. Ultimately, governance is about a country's ability to turn its vision into reality. China's path shows that development is built step by step through long-term efforts, practical actions, and continuous learning. This can be a useful key to understanding China's experience and the contribution China can make to the global pursuit of development among the Global South.
Xi, who is in his 14th year in power, stated that China has achieved in just a few decades what the most developed countries took centuries to achieve.
During the ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi advocated for the creation of a community with a shared future for humanity. He offered China's wisdom, solutions, and strength to tackle major global problems.
China, which has long questioned the hegemony of the United States in the international order, maintains that it does not intend to replace the international system but rather to reform it so that it better reflects the interests of developing countries. In his speech, Xi mentioned that the world has entered a new phase of transformations and turbulence, placing humanity at a crossroads.
He reaffirmed the commitment to fostering a 'new type of international relations' aimed at promoting world peace and progress. These statements echoed central themes from Xi's previous speech at the CPC centenary in 2021, such as the need to strengthen China's military capabilities and realize 'reunification' with Taiwan.
The Chinese leader defended accelerating the modernization of the armed forces to reach 'world-class standards,' while emphasizing the importance of maintaining the Communist Party's unquestionable leadership over the military forces. In recent years, the anti-corruption campaign promoted by Xi has led to the removal of several high-ranking generals, which analysts view as a way to solidify the armed forces' loyalty to Chinese leadership.
Xi Jinping stated that the CPC must eradicate all 'viruses' that corrode its 'healthy organism,' ensuring that the party never changes its nature or color, in a passage dedicated to internal discipline. Furthermore, the Chinese leader considered resolving the Taiwan issue and achieving China's 'reunification' as a 'historical task' of the Communist Party of China.
He called for deepening integration and exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, promising to combat 'separatist forces' supporting 'Taiwan independence' and any 'external interference' with 'firmness,' indirectly referring to the United States. Taiwan, which has had self-governance since 1949, remains a central point of contention between Beijing and Washington, as China claims sovereignty over the island and has never ruled out the use of force to achieve 'reunification.'
