JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- China has made tremendous progress in political stability, economic growth and technological advancement, said experts at a public seminar here on Wednesday.
"Chinese leaders' pragmatism managed to catapult the country from low economic growth to where it is now the second biggest economy," said Martin Jacques, a British journalist and political commentator at the event titled "The People's Republic of China at 70 Years: Policy, Institutions and Development."
"The leaders managed to build a politically stable state with good governance and a culturally united society," said Jacques, highlighting China's accomplishment to have lifted around 800 million people out of poverty and eradicated illiteracy.
He said that through the Belt and Road Initiative, China aspires to share its development and prosperity with the rest of the world.
There is a need for Africa to emulate good practices from China and use indigenous knowledge to develop, said David Monyae, co-director of the Center for Africa-China Studies, a joint initiative by the University of Johannesburg and Nanjing Tech University of China.
"Chinese growth and development is a blessing for us. The world now has a choice, and it is not only the West that holds the golden key to development," said Monyae. "China has made advancement in the fourth industrial revolution."
