JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The growing favorability toward China in many parts of the world can be partly understood through the human dimension of its development experience, said Michael Mbewe, a journalist at Channel Africa International of the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Mbewe, who recently took part in an African mainstream media study tour in China, told Xinhua in a recent written interview that his firsthand experience during the visit gave him a different perspective on China's development, particularly its efforts to reduce poverty and improve living standards in rural communities.
Mbewe said China's targeted poverty alleviation experience was particularly instructive because it focused on identifying the specific circumstances of different people and communities and tailoring interventions accordingly.
"What stood out to me was that poverty reduction was not simply about providing financial assistance. It involved connecting people to economic opportunities, improving infrastructure, strengthening education and skills, supporting agriculture and creating avenues for communities to participate more effectively in the economy," the journalist said.
Noting that one of the strongest impressions from the tour was seeing development extend beyond China's major urban centers into rural communities, he said that a road that connects a previously isolated community to a market, reliable electricity that allows a business to operate, internet connectivity that gives young people access to information and opportunities, and vocational training that enables someone to find employment can have a profound effect on how people perceive development.
"Development generates goodwill when ordinary people can see and feel the impact in their own lives," he said.
Having witnessed the agricultural modernization, improved infrastructure and efforts to develop industries around local economic strengths during his visit, Mbewe said the experience helped him understand why China's development story resonates with many developing countries, particularly in Africa.
"When African audiences see examples of how China has approached some of these challenges, there is naturally interest in understanding what lessons might be relevant to their own circumstances," he said.
Noting that African countries have different histories, political systems, economies, cultures and social realities, Mbewe said they could draw lessons from broader principles, including long-term planning, investment in infrastructure and human capital, agricultural value addition, technological innovation, vocational training and efforts to connect rural communities to wider markets.
"Development is ultimately about people. A policy can sound impressive on paper, but its real significance is determined by whether it improves people's lives," he said.
Mbewe said this perspective had shaped his understanding of the growing international goodwill toward China.
In his view, such goodwill cannot be attributed solely to diplomacy or economic engagement, but also reflects how people respond to tangible development outcomes and opportunities.
China's journey provides examples of what sustained investment, planning, infrastructure development, human-capital development and economic opportunity can achieve, Mbewe said.
"Ultimately, I believe goodwill is strongest when cooperation translates into real improvements in people's lives," he said. "That, for me, is one of the most important lessons from witnessing China's development firsthand."■
