Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell highlights the important lessons gleaned from his visit to the Museum of the Communist Party of China (CPC), particularly the sacrifices made by the Chinese people in their struggle for national sovereignty, dignity and prosperity.
Mitchell arrived in Beijing on Saturday for a seven-day visit to China as this year marks the 20th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Grenada. In his visit to the museum, he learned about the history of the CPC, and had an immersion experience riding China's high-speed train inside the museum's train simulator.
The Grenadian PM noted the museum's portrayal of the significant efforts undertaken by China and its people to protect national sovereignty and unity.
"A couple of lessons I think. One, it shows the enormous sacrifices made by the nation of China and the citizens of China to see territorial sovereignty, the integrity and the unity of China. That came out clearly at the museum, and I think the documenting of it is important because it allows the next generation of Chinese to truly appreciate it, the hard work and sacrifices made by their forerunners. Second, there is a very inspirational quote, 'Each generation having its own responsibility to carry out its task to the best of its ability and to the end, so that the next generation can do so.' And as a leader myself, it left me reflecting on my own task and the need for me to carry out my task to the best of my abilities to the end, so that the next generation of Grenadians can also take up that mantle of and do so. So it was quite a wonderful experience," he said.
Describing his ride on high-speed train simulator, Mitchell said that it's even more exciting than driving cars with adrenaline rush.
"It's more exhilarating than driving a car, and it's quite an experience. I think everyone who was on the simulator had a bit of an adrenaline rush. But it's a fantastic experience and well thought of, and really does give you a bird's eye view of the provinces of China. And some of the remarkable achievements you've been able to accomplish in the last couple of decades," he said.
Mitchell also expressed his excitement about traveling on high-speed trains during his visit.
"Absolutely I do, and it's an opportunity to see more of China. Doing so in a manner also demonstrates the success of China by the high-speed railway as means of transportation. I certainly look forward to it," Mitchell said.
Grenadian PM inspired by visit to CPC history museum
China's commitment to its path of opening up will continue as a long-term national strategy and should increasingly be defined by inclusiveness, a national political advisor said Friday.
Zhou Hanmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, made the remarks in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) during the annual political "two sessions" underway in Beijing.
"Opening-up is and has been a long-term national policy and a strategy ever since China opened itself up (to the world) some 48 years ago. Ever since China joined WTO (World Trade Organization), you could see it has fundamentally changed the formats of economic movements. So opening-up is a reference and also a driving force," he said.
Zhou stressed China must also invite less privileged nations to share in the prosperity of a more open world.
"Inclusiveness is one word that should be used to modify China's opening-up. I (previously) submitted a bill in CPPCC for the zero tariff for those least developed nations' exportation to China. Because for each and every China International Import Expo, you can see quite a large number of exhibitors coming from the least developed countries. We need to give them very genuine help. We are just in the situation of that. We just try to do not only with developed nations, but the Global South and rest of the countries, all together," he said.
Zhou's comments come amid the ongoing "two sessions", the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC. Both bodies serve a five-year term and hold a plenary session each year, generally in March.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively. A main focus is the adoption of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a key blueprint guiding China's drive toward modernization. When asked about key signals from the plan that the international community should closely watch, Zhou outlined several key issues.
"We are now carrying on this Five-Year Plan in the most crucial period of time. We are going to generally modernize the country (in) another 10 years. In this five-year period of time, we need to focus more on creation. Creation not necessarily in the field of technology. Creation means the modernization of the governance, create lots of new things in the system and methods of governance. This is also important," Zhou said.
"The modernization of industrial systems, the further expansion of the ability of consumption, and we try to know very well the longevity, whatever solves people's daily needs. The last but not least, we try to understand fully international collaboration. Opening-up is still a driving force," he said.
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
