CPC dedicated to remaining open

The Party absorbs experience from all over the world to provide more effective governance

In 1986, when Koh King Kee organized the first-ever seminar on China's reform and opening-up policy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he was impressed that the Chinese government officials－all members of the Communist Party of China－who spoke at the seminar were open, inquisitive and eager to acquire fresh knowledge. "They asked me a lot of questions, including how the outside world saw China and how the country could better develop itself," he said. "They were sincere and keen to interact with the outside world and learn from other people's experience."

During the following decades, Koh, president of the Centre for New Inclusive Asia, a think tank in Kuala Lumpur, has frequently been asked similar questions by CPC members and Chinese government officials.

"If you review the history of the CPC's 100 years, it is easy to see that the Party has been open in listening to different ideas and constantly trying to improve itself in its long struggle for national liberation and to improve governance of the country after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, especially after reform and opening-up in the late 1970s," he said.

Indeed, the CPC leadership's openness to learning from advanced countries helped China find a development path suited to its national conditions and become the world's second-largest economy in a span of about 30 years, lifting domestic living standards and contributing to global economic growth, Koh said.

Since the start of reform and opening-up, China has lifted more than 770 million rural people out of poverty and has reached the poverty alleviation target set by the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of the specified date.

China has also been willing to share its experience with the world, and its achievement is a great contribution to the alleviation of global poverty, Koh said.

President Xi Jinping has called on the world to work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, based on the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect and love for Mother Earth, Koh added.

"China has also proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, an international cooperation project which aims to better connect countries through policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade and investment, financial integration and people-to-people ties," he said.

"The BRI is China's offer of public good to the world, which embodies the Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit."