China brings opportunities for the world with its own development: head of Iraqi Communist Party

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, walks with foreign guests to attend the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

“I had the honor to listen to the important speech delivered by general secretary Xi Jinping of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. His deep thoughts, open vision and broad mind impressed me very much,” said Raed Fahmi, secretary of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), recalling his meeting with Xi during a visit to China in 2017.

The CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting was hosted by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, 2017. Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.

The meeting was joined by over 600 representatives from nearly 300 political parties and organizations in more than 120 countries.

“It was a world event of historic significance. General secretary Xi’s keynote speech charted the course for future development with a global vision,” said Fahmi.

What impressed him the most was Xi’s remarks that the CPC will continue to uphold global peace and tranquility, promote common development for all and promote mutual enrichment among civilizations.

“The CPC has made friends all over the world and continues to contribute to human progress,” Fahmi noted.

Inspired by the fruitful results achieved at the high-level meeting, Fahmi shared his experience of participation in an article published in Iraqi media.

He said the equal and friendly dialogue between the CPC and world political parties was definitely of important significance. The CPC upholds openness and inclusiveness, shares governance experiences and promotes inter-civilization exchanges and mutual learning with political parties of other countries, which vividly mirrors the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Fahmi said in the article.

Raed Fahmi, secretary of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party (Photo provided by Raed Fahmi)

The ICP leader has visited China twice. Following the development of China for a long time, Fahmi had a more profound understanding of China’s achievements and the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics when he walked on the streets of Chinese cities.

“China’s huge achievements are reflected in its rapid urban and rural development, in its beautiful ecology and in the confidence of the Chinese people,” he said.

The successful development path indicates the obvious institutional advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and China’s exploration and practice for socialist construction is attracting worldwide attention, Fahmi added.

Today, Iraq sees urgent tasks to maintain security and stability, accelerate development reconstruction, as well as improve people’s livelihood.

Living a happy life is the primary human right. Fahmi noticed that the CPC has followed a people-centered development philosophy, and implemented a series of major policies and measures to safeguard and improve people’s livelihood and resolve difficulties of them.

“As a result, the Chinese people have gained a strong sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security,” Fahmi told People’s Daily.

He spoke highly of China’s success in eradicating absolute poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

“China has achieved the poverty alleviation goal set on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. It is actively launching international cooperation on poverty alleviation, fulfilling its international responsibility in this regard and providing assistance to other developing countries to the full extent of its ability. It is an active promoter of global poverty alleviation,” Fahmi said.

He added that relevant countries should learn from China’s poverty alleviation experience especially when the number of global impoverished people is constantly growing due to COVID-19, the climate crisis and regional conflicts.

Iraq receives a batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government at the Baghdad International Airport, Aug. 12, 2021, local time. (Photo courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Iraq)

China has proposed and is practicing the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, bringing opportunities for the world with its own development, Fahmi said. He believes that China and Iraq’s joint effort in building the Belt and Road Initiative is an example of the two countries upholding the vision and achieving mutual benefit and common progress.

Today, the cooperation projects between the two countries cover multiple aspects such as the oil industry, communication technology and infrastructure construction, which is important for Iraq’s reconstruction.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has dispatched medical expert teams to Iraq and provided batches of medical materials and vaccines to the country, which boosted Iraq’s confidence in fighting the disease, Fahmi told People’s Daily.

He noted that China, launching wide international anti-pandemic cooperation and actively building a global community of health for all, has made prominent contributions to safeguarding global public health security.

China is always committed to promoting international justice and equity, and to safeguarding and practicing real multilateralism. It has forged a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, promoted the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security among nations, and proposed the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative.

“China has kept its words and set an example for the rest of the world,” said Fahmi, citing Xi’s remarks that “Major countries should act like major countries. They should provide more global public goods, take up their due responsibilities and live up to people’s expectations.”

Fahmi extended his congratulations on the success of the 20th CPC National Congress. “The ICP attaches high importance to its friendly relations with the CPC, admires the remarkable achievements made by the Chinese people and appreciates the selfless support and assistance for Iraq from the Chinese side. We are willing to continue deepening exchanges and cooperation with the CPC and work for further development of Iraq-China strategic partnership,” he said. 

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)