Interview: "People-centered" coperation between China, Africa yields great fruits, says diplomat

ACCRA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The practical cooperation between China and Africa, which focuses on improving people's well-being on the continent, has yielded great results, a Ghanaian diplomat has said.

Speaking to Xinhua in a recent interview, Adam Abdul-Rahaman, minister-counsellor at the Ghanaian Embassy in Burkina Faso, said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has achieved tremendous success by leading China to become one of the world's largest economies, offering plenty of experience for Africa.

Abdul-Rahaman, board chairman of Ghana-based think tank the Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations (ASCIR), paid his first visit to China in 2017.

Apart from enjoying the skyscrapers in Shanghai and historical sites in Beijing, he said the trip gave him a deeper insight into the CPC's leadership and how it works.

During that trip, Abdul-Rahaman was struck by the rapid development of China's economy and society, which bolstered his belief that a focus on "development" appropriately describes the CPC.

"After China's reform and opening-up, we have seen the CPC has concentrated on developing China's economy. So if you look from 1978 up to today, China has been able to impress the world -- they feed themselves, they trade with the world, and I think it's an impressive development," he said.

"I have to commend CPC's leading role in that regard," said Abdul-Rahaman, adding China's development illustrates the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the CPC's people-centered philosophy.

The trajectory of China's development under the leadership of the CPC holds valuable lessons for Africa as the two share a similar history and vision for development, he said.

Abdul-Rahaman and his colleagues at ASCIR have long focused their research on China-Africa cooperation and witnessed how the African people benefited from the Belt and Road Initiative.

In March, a Chinese-built interchange project commenced operation in Tamale, the capital of Ghana's Northern Region, where Abdul-Rahaman was born and raised.

Abdul-Rahaman said the project, the first of its kind in the region, has dramatically improved the traffic conditions in Tamale and beautified the city's skyline.

Chinese-built projects in Ghana are "both infrastructure-wise and culture-wise," Abdul-Rahaman said. "This is where we should be happy about the cooperation. It is people-centered."

Abdul-Rahaman added that ASCIR is willing to contribute more to China-Africa cooperation, which he believes is set for further expansion.

"I think the CPC is at the center of all this," Abdul-Rahaman said, "with good leadership, with leadership vision."