China's rapid advancements in productive forces and its commitment to sharing modern technologies are positioning it as a global leader, with significant implications for developing countries, prominent political and academic figures said in Beijing on Sunday.
Solly Mapaila, general secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), spoke highly of China's unparalleled progress in production and innovation in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN). He also expressed pride in China's achievements as a socialist country, viewing them as a success for socialists worldwide.
"I think China firstly, has leaped quite extensively forward with production and in all respects, it is undeniable now that China is leading the rest of the world in the development of productive forces. So that on its own, and its continuous strive for innovation has elevated to higher level. We have watched with a surprise and of course, pride, because the achievement of China, as a socialist country, is the achievement of all socialists everywhere," he said.
Mapaila further highlighted China's contributions in technology, especially in the field of artificial intelligence.
"The development of high quality machines and everything else in the field of technology has been quite wonderful and we are looking forward to see how a country like China can contribute to the role of artificial intelligence in development of the people, not only in profit maximization," he said.
Qu Qiang, a fellow at the Belt and Road Research Center at Minzu University of China who was also invited to the interview, elaborated on how China is empowering developing countries through technological transfer. He pointed to practical examples of how modern technologies can transform local economies.
"Now we can go to South Africa, we can give them solar panels, wind farms, distributed energy generations. So for the first time they do not have to rely on outside power. They can use green power, which marginal cost is basically the more you use it, the marginal cost is getting to zero. They can power up their chicken farm. They can have their own small processors. They can have their own industries. So we're empowering people by giving them back the latest technology with a kind mind. And the more we've been doing this, more people will benefit from this," he said.
China leads world in development of productive forces, empowers developing nations
