The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China aroused enthusiastic responses in Nepal

The successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has aroused enthusiastic responses around the world and aroused strong resonance among people with lofty ideals for peace and development in various countries. The Global Times reporter learned that recently, a seminar called "The New Leadership of the Communist Party of China and Its Impact on the World Order" was held in Lalitpur, Nepal's second largest historical and cultural city. Many well-known Nepalese political leaders and scholars discussed the development achievements made by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese past ten years, believing that China's development has stood at a higher historical starting point and will provide Nepal with an opportunity to develop synchronously with China.

It is understood that the seminar was organized by the Nepalese non-profit organization "Nepal Alliance for Social Change and Human Rights Protection", chaired by Nepal Army Major General Devendra Medarsi, and attended by many Nepalese economists, foreign policy analysts and media personalities. Khadja, a professor at the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy at Tribhuvan University in Nepal, delivered a keynote speech at the conference, introducing China's major achievements since 2013, "By mobilizing the whole country to launch a targeted poverty alleviation campaign, China has won the largest poverty alleviation battle in human history," Khadja said in his speech, noting that all of China's 832 state-level poor counties and nearly 100 million rural poor people have been lifted out of poverty, of which more than 9.6 million poor people have been relocated. China has solved the problem of absolute poverty once and for all and made significant contributions to global poverty reduction.

Referring to China's economic development achievements over the past decade, Khadgar cited specific figures that comprehensively illustrate the dramatic changes that have taken place in China in the past decade: China's GDP has grown from 54 trillion yuan to 114 trillion yuan, accounting for 18.5% of the world economy. It rose by 7.2 percentage points; China is the world's second largest economy, with per capita GDP rising from 39,800 yuan to 81,000 yuan; China's grain output ranks first in the world, ensuring food and energy security for more than 1.4 billion people; by the end of 2021, the urbanization rate of China's permanent population was 64.72%, an increase of 11.6 percentage points over the end of 2012; China's manufacturing industry is the largest in the world, and its foreign exchange reserves are also ranked first in the world.

People from all walks of life in Nepal attending the meeting also believed that China's great development achievements are also a development opportunity for Nepal. "China has built the world's largest high-speed railway and highway network, and made great achievements in infrastructure construction such as airports, ports, water conservancy, energy, and information." Khadgar said. Nepal could benefit from various development initiatives launched by China, including the Belt and Road Initiative. Nepal can diversify its trade by strengthening rail links with China. At the same time, Nepal can also tap into a wide range of export markets, including China, by boosting domestic productivity.

Nepalese independent journalist Shresti said in an interview with the Global Times that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is of great significance on the diplomatic front. It focuses on promoting world peace and development, emphasizes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and embodies the concept of common development of all countries. This is what the world needs most, and it is especially important for developing countries such as South Asia. And for neighbouring countries like Nepal, the idea of shared development can open up more opportunities and pave the way for a better future. Whether in infrastructure construction, investment, disaster fighting, fighting the epidemic, or overall economic construction, China has extended a helping hand to all developing countries in the region. Given the many challenges facing the South Asian region, China's diplomatic concept can become a growth engine for friendly cooperation and make the South Asian region shine even more.

Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi said in an interview with the Global Times that Nepal is an important partner of China in building the "Belt and Road" in South Asia. Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road Cooperation in 2017, China and Nepal have made positive progress in cooperation in various fields such as connectivity, economy, trade and investment, infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges, making important contributions to Nepal's economic and social development.

Some Nepalese people also admitted that the differences between Nepal's various parties have not fully grasped the development opportunities brought by the "Belt and Road" initiative, "We signed the 'Belt and Road' agreement in 2017 and selected nine development projects. The consensus of all parties is crucial to the smooth implementation of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. ”

In Khadja's view, Nepal's political parties should be better equipped to deal with the risks posed by the evolving international situation and the worrying geopolitical landscape. "The United States seems determined to enter a new Cold War with China and Russia. The U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) between the U.S.-Japan, India, and Australia, the Australian-U.K.-U.S. Trilateral Security Agreement (AUKUS), and the U.S. evolving national security strategy to balance and contain China and its Belt and Road Initiative in global affairs are all proofs. ”

Khadja said in an interview with the Global Times that under the increasing influence of regional powers and major world powers, Nepal will always adhere to an independent and non-aligned foreign policy in its exchanges with its neighbors and major world powers. Nepal has realized the changes in the strategic layout and international pattern of the United States in Nepal, and Nepal opposes the Cold War mentality of one major power in international affairs to contain and squeeze another power, "Therefore, the correct implementation of the nine priority projects of the 'Belt and Road' will be the will of the people, and the Nepalese government will not pay too much attention to any global force because of public sentiment." ”

Krishna Bahadur Mahalla, former speaker of Nepal's House of Representatives, also said in an interview with the Global Times that some Western countries always regard socialist countries as a threat, denigrating China out of ideological prejudice, and Western media and political analysts always try to obstruct China's development under the support of Western political forces, and their ultimate goal is to achieve capitalist monopoly. And socialism is a science aimed at raising the standard of human living. China has the ability to implement socialism with Chinese characteristics and achieve success, setting an example for other countries, "China can introduce its own development ideas and successful experience to other countries." Other countries can also combine these ideas with the characteristics of their own countries. Nepal should also follow such a development strategy. ”

Speaker of Nepal's National Assembly, Ganisi Prasad Timirshina, said at the meeting that all walks of life in Nepal gathered together not only to discuss the relevant spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, but also to discuss the future development direction of Nepal, Nepal should get rid of its dependence on economic assistance from external countries and achieve development in the principle of independence and self-determination.

Source: Global Times