Roundup: Experts, officials applaud Xi's pledge to promote peace and development in National Day speech

BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Experts and officials around the world have applauded Chinese President Xi Jinping's latest pledge that the Chinese people will score more remarkable achievements and make greater contributions to the peace and development of humanity.

"We must always stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human civilization and progress, hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and strive to promote world peace and tranquility and common progress of mankind," said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, as he addressed a reception held Monday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Xi's speech comprehensively reviewed China's major achievements in national rejuvenation and provided clear strategic guidance for a Chinese modernization drive, Eduardo Regalado, a senior researcher at the International Policy Research Center of Cuba, told Xinhua.

Impressed by the concept of "putting people first" in the speech, Regalado said he believes this demonstrates the humanist character of China's development model in the pursuit of collective well-being.

In the past 75 years, China has achieved "great, steady and significant accomplishments," benefiting not only its own people but also the international community, said Iranian Vice President Shina Ansari in a message to a reception commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the PRC held in Tehran Saturday.

China's achievements over the past 75 years are the result of Chinese modernization. The Chinese government creates policies based on the people's needs, and the mechanism that is Chinese democracy can quickly translate policies into actions and actively respond to various challenges, said Fausto Pinato, president of the Brazil-China Parliamentary Front of the Brazilian National Congress.

China's development has benefited the world, with several Chinese companies sharing the dividends of the country's development overseas. Pinato said China's development concepts and democratic model have inspired other developing countries.

"President Xi's speech is always an inspiration to us," said Yeidckol Polevnsky, former president and general secretary of Mexico's ruling party National Regeneration Movement (Morena). "China should be an example to all governments."

Polevnsky said the speech illustrates how China advocates and supports multilateralism and promotes developing and revitalizing countries in the South.

In his speech, the president repeatedly referred to a crucial idea -- putting the people first, and this shows that at the heart of this philosophy is the belief that all policies must put people at the center and at the foundation, said Polevnsky, noting that no policy is effective if it does not address the needs of the people.

This philosophy is also highly consistent with the Mexican government's governing philosophy: politics only makes sense when it serves the people. Polevnsky added that Latin American countries and people are content with China because the country has always worked alongside the people of Latin America for win-win cooperation.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the country's effort to build a community with a shared future for mankind demonstrate that China is not only focused on its own development but is also directly contributing to the successful development of other countries and peoples, Galina Kulikova, first deputy chairperson of the Russia-China Friendship Association, and a recipient of China's Friendship Medal, said Monday at a photo exhibition opened by Xinhua in Moscow to showcase China's historical transformation over the past decades.

The international recognition of China's development model serves as a reassurance of China's positive global role.

Mukerrim Miftah, an assistant professor at the Ethiopian Civil Service University, said China has proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative and actively promotes building a community with a shared future for mankind.

More and more countries have recognized these ideas. China's successful experience is worth learning from for developing countries like Ethiopia, Miftah said. ■