QUITO, Oct. 1 -- China's economic and social development in recent decades has set an admirable example for other developing countries, said Alejandro Suarez, director of the Diplomatic Academy at Ecuador's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

In an interview with Xinhua Tuesday on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Suarez credited China's rapid progress over decades to socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Since 1978, when China's reform and opening-up started under late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, the country has seen significant growth, Suarez said.

"Thanks to its economic policy, it has been radically transformed, reaching the level it has today," he said, adding that China's evolution is "admirable and set an example" for other developing countries.

China achieved an average annual GDP growth of 9.4 percent between 1979 and 2018, well above the global average of 2.9-percent during the same period, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.

It's not just China's growth that attracted worldwide attention, but also its success in reducing poverty and creating jobs as a means to drive social development, said the diplomat, who had also served as Ecuadorian ambassador to Canada and Colombia.

"China's government has lifted so many millions out of poverty. It adopted a very smart development policy that took into account the reality of the country, its characteristics and the potential of the Chinese people," said Suarez.

The former ambassador also said he believes that China will achieve higher levels of modernization and further improve people's living standard in the future.