The Party absorbs experience from all over the world to provide more effective governance
In 1986, when Koh King Kee organized the first-ever seminar on China's reform and opening-up policy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he was impressed that the Chinese government officials－all members of the Communist Party of China－who spoke at the seminar were open, inquisitive and eager to acquire fresh knowledge. "They asked me a lot of questions, including how the outside world saw China and how the country could better develop itself," he said. "They were sincere and keen to interact with the outside world and learn from other people's experience."
During the following decades, Koh, president of the Centre for New Inclusive Asia, a think tank in Kuala Lumpur, has frequently been asked similar questions by CPC members and Chinese government officials.
"If you review the history of the CPC's 100 years, it is easy to see that the Party has been open in listening to different ideas and constantly trying to improve itself in its long struggle for national liberation and to improve governance of the country after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, especially after reform and opening-up in the late 1970s," he said.
Indeed, the CPC leadership's openness to learning from advanced countries helped China find a development path suited to its national conditions and become the world's second-largest economy in a span of about 30 years, lifting domestic living standards and contributing to global economic growth, Koh said.
Since the start of reform and opening-up, China has lifted more than 770 million rural people out of poverty and has reached the poverty alleviation target set by the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of the specified date.
China has also been willing to share its experience with the world, and its achievement is a great contribution to the alleviation of global poverty, Koh said.
President Xi Jinping has called on the world to work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, based on the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect and love for Mother Earth, Koh added.
"China has also proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, an international cooperation project which aims to better connect countries through policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade and investment, financial integration and people-to-people ties," he said.
"The BRI is China's offer of public good to the world, which embodies the Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit."
'Message of hope'
In the keynote speech delivered via video link at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021, Xi reiterated China's commitment to making the BRI "a public road open to all" instead of "a private path owned by one single party". He said: "All interested countries are welcomed aboard to take part in the cooperation and share in its benefits. Belt and Road cooperation pursues development, aims at mutual benefits and conveys a message of hope."
Koh said the concept of building a community with a shared future and promoting development of the BRI under the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits were added to the CPC Constitution in 2017, which best demonstrates the Party's openness.
Moreover, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has joined the global community in combating the common enemy of mankind and extended help to many countries, such as offering vaccines and masks, which is another example of the Party and Chinese government's openness.
Wang Yiwei, professor at Renmin University of China, said China has held openness as a basic State policy and put it into the country's Constitution and the CPC Constitution as well, which is rare in the world and shows that the Party and Chinese civilization have always adhered to openness.
He said the CPC has been localized in China, and sinicization means it has become integrated with the Chinese revolution and traditional culture, transforming the traditional ideals of eliminating wealth gaps and grand unity under heaven into today's building of a society with all-around moderate prosperity and realizing all-around modernization.
He said the CPC has always held an open attitude in its development, and China has learned a lot from Western civilization.
"Traditional China has developed into modern China and is striding toward a China that faces the world, as is evident through the BRI and the idea of 'a community with a shared future for mankind'," Wang said.
He added that the CPC's openness actually drives the openness of China, as well as making a contribution to the world. For instance, China's high-quality reform and opening-up since the late 1970s has boosted the country's economic development and also injected vitality into the global economy. The CPC's exchanges with parties in other countries can also contribute to innovation and the development of humanity's political civilization.
Merits
"The CPC is people-centric and has vowed to serve the people and make a contribution to the world; thus, being open and to keep learning and innovating itself are always its merits," Wang said.
Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said he quickly fell in love with China and its people on his first visit many years ago. Since then, every time he has returned to China, he has been proud of the great development promoted by the CPC and the Chinese government in both urban and rural areas.
Lins said the CPC has the important feature of being open, which has helped it be victorious in the past 100 years.
"Its leaders have always had a great vision of the future. They prioritized the well-being of people and with the processes of openness they have worked to fulfill the dreams and desires of the population," he said.
He added that staying open and being willing to absorb the achievements of human civilization have always been fundamental in the CPC's history, though the dimension and context of different times have helped fine-tune the characteristics of the openness process.
In Lins' opinion, the CPC leaders have made fundamental decisions for China's opening and economic development, which has transformed a poor China into one of the world's most significant commercial powers.
For instance, since the start of reform and opening-up, China has taken a series of measures to make itself open to the outside world. For example, the creation of special economic zones, which allowed opening that attracted substantial foreign investment and technological knowledge, and significantly boosted China's economic and social development.
Moreover, under the leadership of the CPC, China has become more open in recent years, including as a firm believer in multilateralism, sharing its experiences of poverty eradication with the world, and holding various global events such as the China International Import Expo to strengthen exchanges worldwide.
"China has shown great willingness through the Party and the government to strengthen the country's opening-up process," Lins said. "We have seen that the Party always knows how to open up according to the country's development needs throughout history. Its grades and specifications are set according to the needs of times."
He added that China could strengthen multilateral relations with countries and institutions globally. "China's greater involvement with the world is an essential strategy for acquiring and disseminating knowledge and experience," he said. "That is how a great country develops."
Development
Maria Gustava, Mozambique's ambassador to China, said the CPC has managed to adjust itself to the different stages of development and realities, based on the fundamental principles and objectives of creating favorable conditions for prosperity and better lives for the Chinese people as well as promoting ties of friendship, cooperation and solidarity with the whole world.
She said the CPC has also led China in its efforts to help many colonized countries achieve independence and to promote international peace, stability and economic development, the values of equity, South-South cooperation and North-South cooperation, among other factors.
"In this context, under the CPC's leadership, China opened up, introduced reforms in order to work and cooperate with all the nations in the world independent of political system, ideology, culture, religions and level of development, based on respect, non-interference and win-win cooperation," she said.
"In this process, China transmitted its experience and wisdom to the world and also absorbed (those things) from the others."
Under the CPC's leadership, China has launched many initiatives, such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the BRI, to promote and deepen the ties of friendship, cooperation and solidarity with different countries, she added.
Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development in Morocco, said the CPC's openness can be understood from two perspectives.
He said that when the CPC was founded 100 years ago, China was suffering from numerous unstable internal factors.
The CPC vowed to safeguard national sovereignty and pursue the great cause of reunification. Its openness is reflected in the fact that it has always maintained close communications and consultation with the people in different historical periods.
Externally, the feature of being extremely open lies in its tradition of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs and making joint efforts with other nations through consultation, he said.
He added that since the 2008 global financial crisis, protectionism has been spreading across the world.
China has proposed the BRI with the aim of boosting the development of more countries, which is also a great manifestation of openness.