by Lu Hui
BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhuanet) -- China's transformation from a poor and backward nation into a modernized and prosperous one is proven to be an amazing achievement in human history of tackling poverty and providing a valuable experience for others including Laos, said Lao ambassador to China Vandy Bouthasavong recently.
In a written interview with Xinhuanet, the ambassador spoke highly of China's achievements over the past 70 years, saying China not only is an important driving force of global economic growth, but also makes significant contribution to maintaining world peace and stability as well as promoting interconnectivity between countries and regions.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and is vital for China to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
The ambassador noted that profound changes have taken place over the past seven decades as China has become the second largest economy and its foreign exchange reserves and goods trade volumes are all ranked first in the world.
The ambassador highly valued China's efforts in poverty alleviation.
"Over the past few years, the Communist Party and the Chinese government have given top priority to winning the battle against poverty and made great achievements, further improving people's living standards," she mentioned.
Poverty relief is high on China's 2016-2020 agenda, and the government has vowed to lift the entire impoverished population in rural areas out of poverty by 2020.
The ambassador also praised China's accomplishments in the reform and opening up in the past 40 years and highly recognized China's efforts in further deepening reform and opening up, especially in increasing imports and attracting foreign investment. She appreciated China's standpoint on globalization and mutual benefits, saying it is insightful as it takes into account the interests of all parties.
"China's commitment to widening opening-up and promoting interconnectivity fully embodies its determination to create a better future for mankind with all nations," she further mentioned.
Commenting on the Belt and Road Initiative, the ambassador said it is visionary as it encompasses the common interests, reflects the demands of all parties, and fully demonstrates China's determination to work together with countries throughout the world to build a better future for mankind.
She pointed out that the Initiative not only promotes cooperation in the economic and trade fields, but also provides opportunities for the coordination of development strategies and infrastructure interconnectivity between China and countries along the Belt and Road routes.
As to what opportunities the initiative will bring to Laos, the ambassador said it will reduce transportation costs, increase employment, attract foreign investment, and promote economic development for Laos, thus better serving its development strategy of transforming from a land-locked country into a land-connected one and enabling Laos to achieve shared development with other countries.
"It is worth mentioning that the Laos-China railway, which is under construction, has made smooth progress so far," she added.
The ambassador believed that the cooperation between the two sides has a bright future in light of the profound relationship and strong potential complementarity.
Laos has abound resources of vast land, forest, water and minerals, while China has sufficient funds, advanced science and technology, experience, and a huge market, she added.
"Therefore, the two countries should focus on strengthening cooperation in the fields of agriculture, forestry, tourism, energy, science and technology, electronic commerce, and Internet products," the ambassador further mentioned.
Concerning China's scientific innovation in recent years, she congratulated and highly praised China's achievement in the Chang'e-4 probe's first ever soft-landing on the far side of the moon, commenting that the feat has made an important contribution to human landings on the moon, and further showcased china's rapid progress in high technology and innovation.
She expected that Laos and China will have more cooperation in the field of science, especially in research and innovation that will benefit economic development and improve people's wellbeing.
