By Amin Kef (Ranger)
During the First Session of the Face to Face with China Platform on the 23rd February, 2023 which was a Press Reception Program hosted by Ambassador Wang Qing and the Guest Speaker being the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray held at the Chinese Embassy on Spur Loop. In attendance were journalists from various Media Houses as well as representatives from various Sierra Leone-China Friendship Organizations. It must be noted that Face to Face with China Platform has replaced what was referred to as Information Saloon.
During the programme, H.E.Wang Qing, the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone delivered a statement.
He first expressed heartfelt thanks to all their media friends for attending the first session of “Face to Face with China” Platform further thanking Honorable Mohamed Swaray for attending the day’s event saying they are honored by his presence.
The Ambassador intimated how he arrived at the beginning of this year adding that in the past two months he has met with a lot of Sierra Leonean friends from all walks of lives. He continued how he has noticed that Sierra Leonean people are very interested in China, and are eager to know more about China maintaining that they want to know how a developing country with 1.4 billion people has risen to become the world’s second largest economy and eradicated absolute poverty in just a few decades.
He pointed out how they want to know what the code is behind China’s success and whether it can be replicated by African countries continuing that they also want to know what the realities of China are in relation to the “democracy versus authoritarianism” narrative which is often peddled by some Western media.
The Chinese Ambassador said of course the best way to understand China is to go and see it for yourself adding that the reality is that the vast majority of people still rely on media reports to understand China which is why they have launched the platform “Face to Face with China” to meet regularly with our media friends, to introduce the latest developments in China and China-Sierra Leone cooperation, and to release authoritative information.
He underscored that a true, multi-dimensional and panoramic view of China will be presented through media reports to the Sierra Leonean people.
Saying that it is the first session he would like to share some important perspectives on understanding China.
He said to understand China people need to understand the Communist Party of China (CPC).
According to him, the CPC was born in the turmoil of war in 1921 and over the past century, the CPC has grown from a small party of 59 members to the world’s largest ruling party with more than 98 million members, leading China from being bullied and abused to national independence, from national incompleteness to rejuvenation, from poverty and weakness to prosperity and strength.
He said the key to the success is that the CPC represents the overall interests of the Chinese people and it upholds the fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people and practices a people-centered philosophy of development.
The Ambassador said between 2003 and 2016, Harvard University conducted eight surveys in China, and published its findings in July 2020.
He said according to the findings, over 90 percent of Chinese public are satisfied with the Chinese Government and clearly shows that the leadership of the CPC is the choice of history and the choice of the people.
“Respect for China requires respect for the leading position of the CPC and the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics chosen by the Chinese people,” he stated.
Another perspective he said to understand China is the need to understand the Chinese Modernization.
He continued that over the past two hundred years, the western modernization seems to be the only model for development saying however, by copying the western modernization, many developing countries have not only failed to modernize, but also fell into a “strange circle” of stagnant economic development, severe social contradictions and continuous political instability.
“It is clear that the West is only a pioneer of modernization, but not a model for modernization, and not the only criterion for measuring other countries’ modernization,” he maintained adding that based on their decades of exploration and practice since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, especially since the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, as well as the new breakthroughs made in theory and practice over the past 10 years, they have succeeded in advancing and expanding Chinese modernization.
He said Chinese modernization contains elements that are common to the modernization processes of all countries, but it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context.
According to him, it is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development.
He disclosed how China has completed in a few decades the industrialization process that the developed countries have undertaken for hundreds of years, creating a miracle of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
The Ambassador intimated that the exploration and achievements of the Chinese people have proved that there is no one-size-fits-all model or standard of modernization in the world.
He said the Chinese modernization presents another picture of modernization, expands the channels for developing countries to achieve modernization, and provides a Chinese solution to aid the exploration of a better social system for humanity.
Ambassador Wang Qing stated that to understand China there is need to understand China’s national condition with a comprehensive and objective view.
He said many Sierra Leonean friends are talking about China’s fighting against poverty revealing that at the end of 2020, through 8 years of hard work, about 100 million Chinese people got rid of poverty and China achieved the goal of eliminating absolute poverty.
The Ambassador argued that such means China achieves the poverty reduction goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.
He stated that it is a milestone in the history of the Chinese nation and the history of humankind, making an important contribution to the cause of global poverty alleviation.
Ambassador Wang Qing said, however, China is still a developing country maintaining that such is puzzling but it is true.
He revealed that China’s GDP is 18 trillion US dollars in 2022, but said it must not be forgotten that China has a population of over 1.4 billion and its GDP per capita is only about 12,000 US dollars, which is one-sixth of that of the US.
“As a major developing country, China is still facing a lot of severe challenges,” he said giving as an example imbalances and inadequacies in development remaining a prominent problem.
He said there are still wide gaps in development and income distribution between urban and rural areas and between regions, that there are many bottlenecks hindering high-quality development, such as scientific and technological innovation.
The Ambassador said that is why President Xi Jinping, in his Report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, stated that the problems they face today are considerably more complex, and resolving them has become much more difficult saying their future is bright, but they still have a long way to go.
According to him to understand China one needs to understand how China sees the world.
The Ambassador said the 20th CPC National Congress tells the world that China is committed to upholding world peace and promoting common development, and is dedicated to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
He maintained that China holds the view that human race is an integral community and planet Earth its homeland adding that in the face of common challenges no person or country can remain insulated and the only way out is to work together.
“We insist on peaceful development,” he emphasized adding that China is the only country among the five nuclear-weapon countries that promises not to use nuclear weapons first.
The Ambassador stated that they reject the idea of “a strong country must seek hegemony” and believes that “hegemony leads to decline” adding that no matter how far China develops, it will never seek hegemony.
He said they believe in win-win cooperation and common interests adding that China puts forward Global Development Initiative (GDI), which focuses on promoting stronger, greener, and healthier global development, expanding the cake of mutually beneficial cooperation and adhering to fairness, justice and extensive consultation.
China is committed to enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries, promoting the democratization and rule of law of international relations, and jointly building a new type of international relations, he said.
He pointed out that they practice true multilateralism, resolutely opposes “small circles” and “new cold war”, and always maintains the international system with the United Nations as the core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter .
The Ambassador told the audience that China and Sierra Leone have always been time-bonded friends and good brothers since the establishment of diplomatic relations 52 years ago.
“We treat each other as equals, cooperate for mutual benefit and common development,” he disclosed adding that the cooperation in human resources development, education, agriculture, health, energy, communications, infrastructure and other areas has achieved numerous tangible results.
He revealed that on the third day of his arrival, he witnessed the handover of the Foreign Service Academy Building built with Chinese aid gratis, which marks a new milestone in the close cooperation between the two countries.
The Ambassador stated that meanwhile, Sierra Leone has been working closely with China on issues of common interests in the international arena adding how they appreciate that Sierra Leone has stood firmly in adhering to the one-China principle and supporting China’s legitimate efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
He said it is of no doubt that China and Sierra Leone are reliable friends to each other and they have a strong belief in creating a better world together.
“As a newcomer, I have already felt the beautiful scenery and colorful culture of Sierra Leone, the warmth and friendliness of the Sierra Leonean people, the traditional friendship between China and Sierra Leone, and the great potential of our cooperation,” he said furthering that he is confident that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries will continue to make new progress in the new era.
He expressed hope that through their pens, cameras and microphones, their media friends will try their best to tell the people a real China and enhance mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between China and Sierra Leone.
In his address, the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray intimated the audience of the significance of maintaining and upholding the friendly relationship between Sierra Leone and China. He further expressed profound thanks and appreciation for all the kind and timely gestures that China had been extending to the country adding that concrete efforts must be made to cement the bilateral ties between the two countries.
