Expectations running high on China amid daunting global challenges

--As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, humanity has borne witness to the CPC's commitment to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

--This new development paradigm "fully demonstrates the determination of the CPC and the Chinese government to continue opening up to the outside world," said Ezzat Saad, director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

--The CPC has set an example in both its efforts to combat poverty and the coronavirus.

Members of a medical team are seen on a ceremony before their departure to Wuhan of Hubei Province to aid the novel coronavirus control efforts there, at the Hedong International Airport in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Jan. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- As the year of 2021 begins to unfold, the world is standing at a critical juncture with the cataclysmic COVID-19 pandemic continuing to wreak havoc across the globe.

Against such a challenging backdrop, China has embarked upon a new 15-year endeavor to build itself into a "modern socialist country" under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which celebrates its 100th founding anniversary this year.

With the world striving to tackle the pandemic, economic woes, climate change and various other global challenges, more and more solution-seekers are looking to China for inspiration and insight.

Photo taken on Oct. 8, 2020 shows anti-epidemic supplies from China during the handover ceremony at Hamid Karzia International Airport in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. (Photo by Rahmatullah Alizadah/Xinhua)

BOOSTING COOPERATION FOR SHARED FUTURE

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, humanity has borne witness to the CPC's commitment to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Abbas Zaki, a member of Palestinian Fatah Central Committee and commissioner for relations with Arab countries and China, said China has repeatedly called for joint efforts to combat COVID-19.

"While doing a good job in its own fight against COVID-19, China has attached great importance to anti-epidemic cooperation with developing countries," said Zaki, commending China for safeguarding global public health.

People receive the COVID-19 vaccines at a healthcare center in Honglian Community in Xicheng District of Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

Noting that Laos and China are comprehensive strategic partners, Kingphet Mongkhonvilay, a senior official from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, said that in the early days of the pandemic, Laos provided assistance for China, while China later returned the offer with large amounts of epidemic prevention materials.

"The mutual support stands as an example of building a community with a shared future for mankind," he said.

During their interviews with Xinhua, foreign scholars agreed that China's success against this once-in-a-century pandemic has shown the way forward.

"China has taken the lead in stepping out of the pandemic's shadow and reopening its economy," said Faruk Boric, a China expert in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "It bolsters the morale of the whole world."

Aerial photo taken on July 24, 2020 shows the China-Laos Railway's Ban Ladhan Mekong River Super Major Bridge in Laos. (Photo by Pan Longzhu/Xinhua)

Argentine economist and China expert Gonzalo Tordini said that the Chinese government and its people have demonstrated to the world "outstanding achievements obtained by orderly and persistent efforts to combat COVID-19."

To help developing countries plagued by the pandemic, China has pledged to make its vaccines a global public good, both accessible and affordable.

Noting that China was the first country to identify and largely defeat COVID-19, Dr. G. Weerasinghe, general secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, said China has been providing technical assistance for other countries and actively supporting the World Health Organization's COVAX program, which aims to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for all participating countries.

"The CPC's genuine commitment and dedication to a community with a shared future for mankind is proven beyond doubt through the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

EXPANDING OPENING-UP FOR WORLD RECOVERY

The year 2021 is crucial to China as the first year of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan. The nation is set to achieve its first centenary goal within the set time frame -- the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. It is set to embark on a journey toward the second goal: to fully build a modern socialist country by mid-century.

The year 2021 also marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization.

Facing daunting economic challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of protectionism and anti-globalization, China has unveiled its "dual circulation" development pattern, where internal and external markets can reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.

This new development paradigm "fully demonstrates the determination of the CPC and the Chinese government to continue opening up to the outside world," said Ezzat Saad, director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

Aerial photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows Qinzhou Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Lei Jiaxing)

"It has shown that instead of closing its door, China will share its development achievements with the world," said Saad.

Since its inception, the Belt and Road Initiative has evolved into a crucial platform for global cooperation. Overseas observers noted that more and more countries are turning their attention to this open platform, hoping that a more bolstered connectivity will lead to an early recovery of the world economy.

"Connectivity is changing the fate of the poor and developing countries on a positive note," said former Pakistani Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani. "The Belt and Road Initiative... is triggering an economic development across the world and can become a great opportunity for the whole world."

For Robert Griffiths, general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain, China is "engaging the peoples of many countries in a mutually beneficial plan for growth and investment" through the Belt and Road.

SHOULDERING RESPONSIBILITY FOR GLOBAL PROSPERITY

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues unabated, the world is confronted with other formidable issues including extreme poverty, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

"Peace, health cooperation and poverty reduction are most serious issues facing the world. Without collaboration, there is no way out," said Rabbani, adding that the CPC has set an example in both its efforts to combat poverty and the coronavirus.

Later this year, China will host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15).

China's holding of the COP15 is testimony of the increasing global recognition of the CPC's and the Chinese government's strenuous work in environmental protection, said Annerise Rodriguez, a Cuban expert on international issues.

Aerial photo taken on July 25, 2020 shows the Hongyi River ecological zone in Julu County, north China's Hebei Province. Transformed from a wasteland, the Hongyi River ecological zone has become a leisure area for local citizens and tourists. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Alexey Maslov, acting director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences, said he expects China to foster more positive changes in such areas as climate change and marine ecology.

China has witnessed success in setting practical goals to cope with climate change, said Lionel Vairon, a French geopolitical expert and former diplomat, adding that France-China and European Union-China cooperation in this area is highly anticipated and set to bring about promising results.

Combating poverty has been a primary concern for China, the first developing country to meet one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals directed at poverty.

Aerial photo shows a newly-built community for poverty alleviation relocation at Shexiang ancient township of Dafang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Dec. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

"The UN Millennium Development Goals resonate with China's vision of a shared future for mankind," said Cavince Adhere, an international relations expert in Kenya.

"The realization of such development aspirations can only happen when countries work together," Adhere said.