First Impressions of China

2024-10-27

by Apollinaire Niyirora

Reporter of Burundi National Radio and Television, Burundi

BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI – China is famously known as a huge country, with the size of a continent, located in eastern Asia with a high development rate in all sectors. China has the second-largest population in the world after India.

The country has its unique style of governance that has allowed it to move from third world countries to an emerging country in a very short period. China and five other countries with emerging economies have created a bloc whose acronym is BRICS which was at the beginning made up by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but which now extended to Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.

Recently, the country’s leadership turned the high population growth into an opportunity of a strong workforce that led the country to economic development, instead of being described as “a burden” for some developing countries.

China is currently among the most powerful economies at the world level.

Its infrastructure and technological sectors are highly appreciated worldwide.

Thanks to their expertise, Chinese companies mainly in the construction sector are in many parts of the world and some of their agents are Chinese nationals.

However, the country has now taken measures to control child births.

In diplomacy and cooperation, China has been promoting south-south cooperation through supporting productive sectors like the sectors of agriculture, energy and infrastructure in developing countries. It is in this framework that the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was created in 2000.

In the same sector of diplomacy, China does not interfere in the politics of other countries. Instead, it promotes win-win partnerships and mutual support at the level of international organizations like the United Nations and its organs.

China’s cultural and sports sectors are also diverse and very rich, with the country being often among the lead competitors in international events or in Olympic Games.

*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.