Reference News Network reported on March 3 (text / Sun Lei) Chen Ke (Klaus Heinrich Ladidio), a scholar at the University of Philosophy in Delhialkara, Indonesia, believes that the development model is not single, but diversified, and Chinese-style modernization has broken the myth of "modernization = Westernization" and formed its own development model according to the actual situation, and its successful experience is worth learning from Indonesia and other developing countries.
A reference for developing countries
Reference News: Chinese-style modernization has five important characteristics - modernization with a huge population scale, modernization with common prosperity for all the people, modernization in harmony with material civilization and spiritual civilization, modernization in harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and modernization on the road of peaceful development. How do you understand these five characteristics? How do they relate to China's overall national conditions?
Chen Ke: For a country with a huge population like China, it is not easy to develop the economy or other aspects, it is very challenging. China has eliminated as many people living in extreme poverty as the population of a medium-sized country.
It is admirable that China has been able to develop its culture while developing its economy. Developing countries need to learn from China and should not lose their roots in developing the material dimension.
On the ecological front, China put forward its dual carbon goals and commitments at the UN General Assembly in September 2020. I think it's a bold promise, and China can deliver on that promise. That would be a huge contribution by China to the world, and I think China is really ensuring sustainable development. Sustainable development cannot be achieved if we ignore the environment.
One of the characteristics of Chinese-style modernization is the realization of common prosperity for all the people. What contribution do you think China has made in this regard?
Chen Ke: I think the concept of "common prosperity" has a considerable connection with socialism with Chinese characteristics. China has made great achievements in the past 40 years, and China's economic development is undoubtedly very amazing, and its economic growth rate is ahead of many countries in the world.
But I would say that one of the side effects of market mechanisms is a widening of income inequality. That is why China is narrowing this gap by developing its western region and providing more social insurance.
With the success of economic development, China has added another color to the development model. The world can learn from China's case that there is more than one development model, and China's success provides a new reference for other developing countries.
Given the sheer size of its population, any success China achieves is a contribution to the world. China's prosperity will help the world become more prosperous.
Chinese-style modernization seeks to strike a balance that focuses not only on material development but also on cultural and moral progress. If the law does not have supremacy and people do not have ethical and moral thinking, rapid economic growth will only increase the gap between the rich and the poor and breed corruption.
Reference: The harmonious coexistence between man and nature is an important feature of China's modernization. What efforts do you think China has made to implement this concept?
Chen Ke: China has made a commitment to reduce emissions, and China's carbon emissions will peak by 2030, and then continue to reduce carbon emissions every year until carbon neutrality in 2060. If China can achieve carbon neutrality, it will be a huge contribution to the world.
Present a different picture of modernization
Reference: How do you think the Chinese-style modernization path is different from that of Western countries?
Chen Ke: The West modernized a long time ago, and it took a long time for them. The West has excellent conditions for modernization, while China is starting from scratch. China has achieved rapid development in a relatively short period of time, and it has been able to achieve development in a short period of time because of the efficient governance of the government. This is different from the situation with Western modernization.
China is a country with a population of more than 14.<> billion. What does modernization mean in such a populous country? What does this mean for China and the world?
Chen Ke: China proposes that Chinese-style modernization has broken the myth of "modernization = Westernization" and presented another picture of modernization. I deeply agree that the development model is not monolithic, but pluralistic. China also stressed that development is the legitimate right of every country, but no country should blindly copy the development model of other countries.
The development model itself is never exclusive, but open, a combination of multiple models. China's development model is actually comprehensive, not just China's own experience. For example, China also adopts a market economy, also draws on some Western experience, and also vigorously develops science and technology. Therefore, any country can form its own unique development model according to specific conditions. They will succeed, just like China.
Infrastructure is the foundation for sustainable development. Given that Indonesia has so many islands, we must focus on infrastructure. Without interconnected infrastructure, economic growth in one place or region will not spread to other regions, especially the less developed ones. Only by strengthening infrastructure can we achieve common prosperity. The fact that the current Indonesian government has really taken connected infrastructure into account shows that we are really learning from China, and China has helped Indonesia achieve this through a number of initiatives. This is precisely where we can develop bilateral relations.
Reference: How do you think other developing countries can learn from China's path of modernization?
Chen Ke: First of all, Indonesia and other developing countries can learn from China in terms of bold experiments. No initiative is guaranteed to succeed, but we must be bold enough to take small steps towards development. We must rely on ourselves to achieve development.
Second, developing countries must pay attention to infrastructure development. Without a solid connectivity infrastructure, no country can guarantee sustainable development.
Third, developing countries can also learn from China in terms of balancing material and social, cultural and spiritual development. We must take environmental protection into account.