Expert says China's development offers valuable inspiration for developing countries
Riyadh (ANTARA) - China’s development, based on an integrated approach combining long-term planning, practical implementation and continuous adjustment to changing realities, offers valuable inspiration for developing countries, a Saudi expert has said.
China’s development is not “merely a historical coincidence” but the result of long-term effort and profound development experience, said Mohammed Al-Sadiq, Head of the Economic Research Department at the Center for Research and Intercommunication Knowledge in Saudi Arabia.
The reason China’s experience is so important for developing countries, Al-Sadiq said in a recent interview with Xinhua, is that it broadens their perspective on possible development paths, reducing total dependence on the Western narrative that has long tied economic progress solely to the Western model.
“China’s experience has inspired the world with new cultural, governance and economic paths,” he said, adding that this does not mean other countries must imitate the Chinese model, but that every country has the right to seek a development path suited to its own historical, social and institutional conditions.
One of the most striking strengths of China’s experience, Al-Sadiq noted, is its ability to translate strategic vision into implementation. The formulation and continuous implementation of China’s five-year plans reflects “a rare institutional continuity in development management,” he added.
According to Al-Sadiq, China’s planning combines strategic stability with practical flexibility. It sets long-term priorities such as industrial modernisation, technological innovation, green development and the expansion of domestic demand, whilst adjusting policies to changing domestic and international conditions.
The ability to blend long-term vision with continuous adjustment offers important lessons for global economic governance, he explained, particularly amid supply chain disruptions, weak economic recovery and accelerating change in energy and technology.
China’s development extends beyond its national borders and carries growing global impact, driven by high-level openness, expanded trade, infrastructure investment and participation in global value chains, Al-Sadiq said.
Citing the Belt and Road Initiative as an example of partnership based on the principle of “win-win” cooperation, he said China invests in infrastructure development in a number of Global South countries when those countries face difficulty obtaining financing.
China has carried out many joint projects with these countries, not to finance short-term consumption, but to invest in infrastructure that helps them achieve real and sustainable economic growth, he said.
As China continues to open its market, expand economic cooperation and participate in cross-border infrastructure development, it not only drives its own domestic growth but also creates new opportunities for its partners, especially Global South countries, Al-Sadiq explained.
“China’s experience offers a model of particular significance for developing countries seeking a development path that combines self-reliance with openness, growth with equity, and economic efficiency with social stability,” he added.