19th Party Congress a vision for the future

Editor's Note: At the recent "International Think-Tank Symposium, the 19th CPC National Congress: Implications for China and the World", organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and China Center for International Economic Exchanges, some foreign scholars presented their views on the impact of the 19th Party Congress. Excerpts follow:

Better understanding need of the times

China is entering a new era in which it is paying more attention to narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, and addressing the regional and rural-urban development imbalance and inadequacies, and according greater priority to the spiritual and cultural needs of the people. Thus, a new awareness and sensibility for sustainable development is emerging, and a new approach to the needs of civil society is growing rapidly.

To that end, fostering peace and prosperity, encouraging dialogue, and promoting friendship and cultural understanding across the world are of great importance for building a new basis for development in the 21st century.

Besides, China is promoting Chinese culture and studies abroad not only to support its own culture, but also to extend its own influence and boost cooperation in ambitious projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiative. Indeed, the misunderstanding, the fears, and the lack of proper communication, due to cultural differences, can harm global development, while proper understanding and respect for different values can help improve international relations and boost business investment.

Elena Avramidou, associate professor, Peking University

Initiative can help integrate South Asia, reduce poverty

The world is changing, and it will change faster after the 19th CPC National Congress. The increased pace of change, also its new direction, will be set by China's rise.

China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative is both its internal necessity for the future growth of its economy and a wise and innovative attempt to give a new positive push to globalization under a non-Western leadership. It is a product of China's civilizational wisdom applied to the needs and possibilities of the modern world.

India, like China, is a great and ancient civilization. Our two civilizations have interacted fruitfully in the past. Now the time has come for Indian and Chinese civilizations to embark on a new era of interaction and cooperation for mutual good and for the good of the world. And the Belt and Road Initiative provides a rare opportunity for such India-China cooperation.

The biggest opportunity for China and India is to cooperate in implementing a grand South Asian Economic Corridor under the Belt and Road framework. South Asia's combined population is more than 1.7 billion, the highest for a region of that size. South Asia is also home to the largest number of poor people in the world. Yet it is also the least integrated region in the world. China's initiative could help to not only integrate this region but also to alleviate poverty there.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai

Eurasia is set to play more important role

President Xi Jinping's idea of building a community of shared future contains several new approaches to understanding global and regional development and security. At the global level, having taken important foreign policy steps, including the Belt and Road Initiative, China has launched a new wave of globalization based on the principle of mutual benefit and co-development.

The Eurasian version of upgraded globalization within the Belt and Road Initiative framework can improve upon the Western (American) globalization model of the 1990s. The Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union project offer the opportunity to activate the processes of economic integration, openness and liberalization through the recently established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

China's intensified diplomatic activities clearly signal to the world that it intends to facilitate the building of a closer community of shared future along the Asia-Europe vector.

Eurasia is the largest and the world's most populated region, and for the past 100 years it has been connected with almost all the events that have had a great impact on the world. Frequent regional conflicts and economic problems have become the negative factors preventing this vast region from playing a more important role in contributing to political stability and economic growth in the world.

In the current complex global situation, Eurasia finds itself at a new crossroad, so all Eurasian countries should use the opportunity to unify within the framework of the "shared future" concept and, by making joint efforts, stand counter to the risks of continuing economic recession as well as settle the conflicts and problems by avoiding past mistakes.

Sergei G. Luzianin, RAS Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Russia

'Going global' policy vital to Central and Eastern Europe

China's economic policy of "going global" has attracted worldwide attention. It is a crucial theme of domestic policy, which General Secretary Xi Jinping confirmed at the 19th CPC National Congress when he said China has entered a "New Era". The "going global" policy is also one of the most discussed issues in the media and among academics.

Major global powers have always fascinated other countries but scarcely been trusted by them. This is not the case with China. In Europe, China is becoming an economic priority, even though the European Union-China strategic partnership has not fulfilled its expectations.

The booming agenda of China and Central and Eastern Europe is being seen as a big test, with many countries watching whether the agreed plans and projects are realized.

CEE states have little interest in big political games unless they pose a security or economic threat. This works to the advantage of China, as it has so far not played any game-changing role in the regional and domestic politics of CEE.

China represents a new moderate opportunity for economic stimulation as an additional source of investments, which also provides an alternative trade destination beyond the markets of the EU, the United States and the other BRICS member states. Rudolf F��rst, Institute of International Relations, Prague

Innovation will improve people's quality of life

The most important achievement of the 19th CPC National Congress is to lay out a medium-and long-term strategy for China. This is important not only for China but also for the rest of the world.

Innovation has been described as having two purposes. First, the aim of innovation is to make China a scientific and technological power. And second, innovation is meant to bring more prosperity and improve the quality of life for the entire Chinese population.

More importantly, the 19th CPC National Congress emphasized that innovation will be important only if it helps improve the quality of life of the Chinese people. But it also stressed that innovation must become a great space for dialogue with the rest of the world. This is where innovation and cooperation could help build harmony between different nations and cultures.

The principle of socialism with Chinese characteristics is also very important. Along with rescuing its theoretical and ideological origins, the 19th CPC National Congress also said that it is necessary to apply the principle to the new era.

Fernando Reyes Matta, a researcher at Universidad Andres Bello, Chile, and former ambassador to China