HANOI, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The achievements Chinese people have made over the past 70 years carry historic significance and have made contributions to the world, a Vietnamese expert told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

"I've been to China so many times that I cannot count precisely," said Nguyen Vinh Quang, 69, vice chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association.

After working as a diplomat in China for years, he has visited more than 20 Chinese provinces.

"Thanks to those visits, I have seen with my own eyes the drastic changes in China over the years," said Quang, who is also a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic Studies and International Development, a Vietnamese think tank.

"The most obvious changes are in the field of infrastructure," said the Vietnamese expert, who is now a popular analyst on local television channels and the translator of many China-related books.

Quoting a popular Chinese idiom "To get rich, build roads first," the expert recalled that "wherever roads are built and upgraded in China, new development zones and new cities appeared, and the upgrade of urban and rural appearance implies improvement in people's lives."

Considering China's experiences in improving transport infrastructure a useful reference for Vietnam, Quang wrote articles for Vietnamese newspapers to introduce the experience and share China's development stories he had witnessed.

Quang said the speed and achievements of China's socioeconomic development are very impressive, especially the tremendous achievements made over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up.

"Such an astonishing rate of development is unprecedented in world history," said Quang, adding that in the last 40 years, China's economy has annually grown 9.5 percent on average, doubling its size almost every eight years.

"Forty years is long for an individual, but very short for a country," he said. "It can be seen as a miracle."

China's development has not only benefited its own people, but also made a major contribution to the global economy, said Quang.

"At present, the Chinese economy is contributing about 30 percent to the world's economic growth. Amid economic globalization, China's economic stability will help reduce risks for the world economy whenever economic problems such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis emerge."

China's initiatives for development have also been well-recognized by countries around the world, said the expert, who attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. "The participation of more than 6,000 foreign guests from 150 countries and 92 international organizations indicated their support for the initiative."

Quang also expressed the hope that this initiative can be further implemented to benefit the people of China and of other countries, especially developing ones.

Analyzing causes behind China's amazing development, the Vietnamese expert pointed out one of the important reasons -- choosing to "take its own path," the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

"Socialism is not a rigid model for instant application; it is necessary to apply Marxism-Leninism scientifically and creatively in accordance with each country's conditions, and use practice as the sole criterion for testing the truth," said Quang, noting that China's theory and practice deserve to be considered as references by many countries, especially developing ones.

"I hope that China's economy and society will continue to develop steadily and sustainably, and more Chinese people can enjoy a better life, contributing more to the development of humankind," the scholar said.