By Adnan Samara
My first visit to China was in 1976. Every time I arrived in the country, I saw a big progress it made toward prosperity.
Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has made a series of remarkable achievements in economic development, poverty reduction and environmental protection. The living standard of the Chinese people has also significantly improved.
China has adopted strict prevention and control measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, which impressed me very much.
The country has made major strategic achievements in pandemic control, and well coordinated pandemic prevention and control with economic and social development. This couldn't have been realized without the Chinese government's people-first philosophy, the "dynamic zero-Covid" approach and the support and trust from the Chinese people for the CPC and the Chinese government.
Peace and development are a timeless theme for humanity. China has made important contributions to promoting world peace and development, which is indicated by its fair position on the Palestine question.
Last year, the country proposed a five-point initiative on achieving security and stability in the Middle East, stressing that for the region to emerge from chaos and enjoy stability, it must break free from the shadows of big-power geopolitical rivalry and independently explore development paths suited to its regional realities.
China also encouraged the Middle East to establish a trust mechanism, and build step by step a framework for collective, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, contributing Chinese wisdom and plan to the promotion of regional peace and stability in the Middle East.
China is an important provider of international public products. It proposed the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the common values of humanity, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, so as to promote cooperation, prosperity and win-win results through cooperation and by giving full play to countries' advantages.
I participated in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in May 2017. China, upholding a philosophy of peaceful cooperation, is committed to building the Belt and Road into a road of peace, which is a common aspiration of the world and an important measure that conforms to the trend of the times.
As the second largest economy of the world and a responsible major country, China is constantly opening up and sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world. For years, the country has contributed around 30 percent to global economic growth, serving as a stabilizer and source of energy for global growth.
By advocating the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and other financial organizations and holding international trade fairs such as the China International Import Expo, China has contributed its strength to the building of an open world economy.
China is a participator in, as well as a constructor and promoter of economic globalization. I believe it will keep expanding its opening up to share development dividends with other countries.
Democracy is never exclusive to any country. It is a common value formed by countries around the world based on their history and political realities.
The Chinese people always say that whether the shoe fits or not, only the wearer him (her)self knows. By the same token, it is the people of a country that are in the best position to judge the path of development they have chosen for themselves.
In its exchanges with Middle Eastern countries, China respects their sovereignty, supports them to follow development paths that suits their own conditions and advocates equality, mutual benefits, solidarity and cooperation.
Palestine and China have maintained a long-term friendship and cooperation. They are working closely with each other on energy, education, finance, trade and infrastructure. Palestine, relying on its own advantages, will strive for further development under the framework of the BRI.
The BRI is an important bond promoting exchanges, mutual learning and common development. I will do my best to introduce it to my country, as part of my efforts to deepening Palestine-China friendship.
(Adnan Samara is the president of the Palestinian-Chinese Friendship Society.)