Interview: Developing countries look to China for modernization strategies, says Polish expert

WARSAW, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China's transformation from a poor nation to a major global economic player over the past few decades, driven by its deep and comprehensive reforms, has been "a source of inspiration" for many developing countries, a Polish expert on Chinese economic development has said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Leszek Slazyk, 57, frequently traveled to China in the 1990s after he had joined a large Polish textile company, LPP, which was importing Chinese-made textiles at the time. Later, he shifted his focus by getting a master's degree in political science and launching his own business and website.

Speaking to Xinhua, Slazyk said that contrary to some claims that the Chinese economy is on the brink of collapse, the country's innovation-driven development model will enable it to sustain its growth momentum and overcome economic headwinds.

"From my point of view, China will be for a long time the main source of developed products, not only for consumers but also for any kind of business, especially for those industries manufacturing consumer goods. This is the future which I can already see after my visits to China," Slazyk said.

During his most recent visit to China in May, he participated in the 2024 Round Table for Journalists of China and Central and Eastern European Countries held in Ningbo, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province. He also took the opportunity to visit several Chinese enterprises and infrastructure projects such as the Ningbo Zhoushan Port --the busiest port in the world in terms of the cargo tonnage handled.

Having seen his videos about China on his YouTube channel, which has over 10,000 followers, a group of Polish businessmen proposed to go on "a study tour to China," Slazyk told Xinhua. "Now I am trying to arrange for 15-20 entrepreneurs or managers of big companies to visit large or medium-sized companies in China, and let them see automated robotized ports in China, and how infrastructure in China works, including railways, highways, and also IT infrastructure."

Slazyk believes that seeing the "real" China will inspire them to formulate a longer-term vision of what they want to achieve as businessmen in Poland in the next 10 or 20 years.

China is also a great source of inspiration for developing countries, Slazyk said.

While dismissing the narrative that China is trying to force its ideological and economic models on others, Slazyk said China's transformation from a very poor, underdeveloped country at the end of the 1970s into a major economic force in today's world, especially in the manufacturing industry, is exemplary.

"People from Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East, and South America are asking how it could happen. They are looking to learn from China and adopt some elements of the Chinese model to boost economic development and growth and to say goodbye to poverty," Slazyk said.

He mentioned the expansion of the BRICS cooperation mechanism as an example. Originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the group welcomed Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia as new BRICS members on Jan. 1, 2024.

With more countries aspiring for BRICS membership, Slazyk stipulated that one of their main motivations must be to get closer to China, because "then they will have the opportunity to learn something, to be beneficiaries of Chinese development."

"They look at China as a real, proven source of inspiration, because China has shown how to lift 800 million people out of poverty within 40 years. For those underdeveloped countries, it's a very important issue for their future."