Interview: China offers successful example for world development, says Guinea-Bissau's ex-PM

Antonio Artur Sanha, former prime minister of Guinea-Bissau, receives an interview with Xinhua in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Oct. 16, 2022. (Photo by Bacar Camara/Xinhua)

DAKAR -- China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has embarked on a development path suited to its national conditions and achieved growth and prosperity, offering a successful example for the world development, Antonio Artur Sanha, former prime minister of Guinea-Bissau, has said.

Sanha first visited China in 2000, and has since made four trips to China with the longest lasting 45 days. His personal experience and long-term observation about the country have impressed upon him that the CPC is a people-centered party, Sanha told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"I see there is an extraordinary bond between the CPC and the people," he said, stressing that the CPC always puts the people at the center and is dedicated to the interests of the people.

Underlining the CPC's decisive role in eliminating absolute poverty in China, Sanha said, "the CPC has made outstanding contributions to human well-being, world peace and poverty reduction."

In the past decade, China has made great achievements that reflect its great innovation in the development of various fields, and now has an indisputably high level of international competitiveness, he said.

In his view, the CPC not only cares about the interests of the Chinese people, but also the common interests of all humanity. As the world is facing common challenges, the blueprint outlined at the 20th CPC National Congress will make new contributions to promoting world economic recovery and building an open economy, and bring fresh opportunities for world development, he said.

"China has huge potential, and its development model is inspiring the world," Sanha emphasized.

Sanha said he fully agrees with China's concept of building a human community with a shared future, and affirms China's important role in improving global governance, respecting human rights, fighting the pandemic, and maintaining world peace.

He expressed confidence that China will continue to improve global governance, foster a new type of international relations, uphold multilateralism, and promote common development.

Guinea-Bissau is one of the least developed countries in the world, and its agricultural cooperation with China has impressed Sanha.

Chinese agricultural experts stationed in Guinea-Bissau have provided technical training for tens of thousands of local people, helped them cultivate improved varieties of rice to increase harvest, thereby advancing the development of local agriculture, he said.

When it comes to bilateral cooperation in various domains, Sanha said that the two countries have always maintained cooperative, amicable and fraternal relations, and that China has long been assisting Guinea-Bissau in infrastructure construction, health, agriculture, and other aspects.

China has also provided considerable assistance to Guinea-Bissau in training personnel in such fields as human resources, medicine, agriculture, information and communication technology, he said, adding that the people of Guinea-Bissau are "grateful for this."