Former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic has praised China's achievements and said its ongoing opening-up makes it a strong partner for nations worldwide.
In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) on Sunday in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Josipovic said that the dramatic changes he had witnessed firsthand in China's capital serve as a microcosm of the country's remarkable development progress.
"My first visit was to Beijing, to one lawyers' conference. Comparing that time's China and today's China is not easy because the development of China is incredible. I remember Beijing then and Beijing today. It's a big difference and it's a good illustration of how China is doing an excellent job developing itself," he said.
When asked which areas of Chinese society he has been most impressed with, the former Croatian president said he could not possibly choose just one.
"Let's start with something that I really love -- it's culture. You have excellent, all very old culture. I saw new constantly concert halls. I saw exhibitions, modern museums, excellent singers as well. Also, of course, technique. It's incredible -- artificial intelligence, cars, TVs, all kind of equipment. It's really tremendous. And also cities. Now they are very modern, clean, and technically very equipped, many of them, of course," said Josipovic.
He also stressed that China's success in lifting people out of poverty and in opening up its economy to the world are both worthy of recognition.
"It's very visible that the standard of people was improved during those years and I think China should be really proud of it. I'm coming back to policy of opening of China. Definitely, China can be equal, not only equal, but in some cases the dominant partner in economic affairs all around the world," he said.
Former Croatian president highlights China's wide-ranging development achievements
