Interview: CPC's reform and opening-up helps world cope with development challenges: ex-diplomat

WARSAW, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has helped the world cope with contemporary development challenges, Sylwester Szafarz, former consul general of Poland in the Chinese city of Shanghai, has said.

"During my tenure as Consul General of Poland in Shanghai I visited the site of the first National Congress of the CPC there many times," Szafarz told Xinhua in a recent interview, adding that the congress was a "glorious beginning 100 years ago."

"Since its establishment in 1921, the CPC has made countless extraordinary achievements, the most outstanding among which is the reform and opening-up that has continued to contribute China's momentum to the stability and prosperity of the world economy," he said.

The CPC, which will celebrate its centenary on July 1 this year, is still "advancing with the times and constantly developing and updating the reform and opening-up policy," he added.

Szafarz praised China and the CPC for providing vaccines, anti-pandemic materials and experience to the world to fight against COVID-19.

"In my opinion, these are the continuation and latest manifestations of the reform and opening-up policy," he said.

"Moreover, China's will to continue working with other countries in unremitting efforts to completely defeat the COVID-19 pandemic is a convincing and clear-cut testimony that the CPC and (the) Chinese government truly and fully understand the gravity of the global situation and are prepared to improve and to overcome it as much and as soon as possible," he said.

Describing the CPC's efforts to fight the pandemic as a "brave behavior," Szafarz said that "it did not surprise me at all, because the CPC has always demonstrated its bravery and fearless spirit throughout its 100-year history of development."

"In one word, the term 'heroic' is the most appropriate term to describe the CPC in my impression," he added.