Leadership the key for beating poverty

Editor's note: As China aims to eliminate extreme poverty and be a "moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) in time for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China next year, we talk to experts for their take on the country's commitment.

Firm direction has been vital in China's efforts to raise living standards, providing inspiration for Africans in growth quest, Kenyan politician says

Raphael Tuju, secretary-general of the ruling Jubilee Party in Kenya and a cabinet secretary without portfolio, has said China's growth over the past few decades has been too rapid for the West to grasp.

Speaking in Nairobi, Tuju congratulated the people of China for having lifted more than 850 million people from poverty in only about 40 years.

"I still remember back then when we were in school, the image of China in our heads was that of a Chinese farmer in a straw hat in a rice field, but fast forward to today and China just recently launched its first independent mission to Mars," he said.

"If you look at that contrast you will understand why no one would have imagined China would be where it is today."

The Chinese miracle has happened so suddenly that the West has not come to terms with it, he said.

"The images that we have from China 20 years ago or 30 years ago are completely different with what China is today," he said.

"The fact that most people in the West have not absorbed the extent of China's development in recent years and have not had a chance to visit the big and modern metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen still makes them think that probably London, New York or Paris are way ahead, because that is how people's thinking in the West has been shaped for several generations. So it will take them a while to understand what a great development China has achieved."