The Journey to Youth Creation on Shared Prosperity:Sharpening Mutual Learning for Shared Futurefor Humanity

From July 2 to 15， 2023， at theinvitation of the InternationalDepartment of the CPC Cen- tral Committee （IDCPC）， I visited China together with my brothers and sisters from Namibia， Zimbabwe and Tanzania， which was my second visit to China. I am very glad and grateful that China has set up a plat- form for us African visitors to discuss challenges and ways to participate in building the Belt and Road Initiative and the community with a shared future for mankind， and at the same time to draw on China’s experience and wisdom in solving our own prob- lems and promoting Africa’s devel- opment.

During the seminar， I have active-ly promoted African civilization andlearned how to cherish it. Representa-tives from the four member states ofthe Southern African DevelopmentCommunity （SADC） participated inthe discussion both online and of-fline， and exchanged ideas on how topromote the development of Africain general and SADC in particular.

In order to promote economicdevelopment， we should consider set-ting up new economic developmentzones， learning from China’s practiceof building infrastructure accordingto local conditions， especially build-ing a complete railroad system andnetwork system， upgrading the levelof economic and social development，and better benefiting the people; and building large-scale shopping centers to provide cost-effective and highquality goods and services. We can make use of the GETO platform and other exchange platforms to learn from China’s economic development methods， to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people communication on the Belt and Road Initiative， and to publicize Africa’s theoretical knowledge and cultural development.

Poverty alleviation is undoubtedly a serious challenge that all African countries must face together. The most pressing questions are： who and how should work on poverty eradication？ What resources should be utilized to fight poverty？ China has provided us with a good platform for learning and dialogue， which helps us gain a deeper understanding of China’s poverty alleviation policies and theories. During our visits to China’s rural areas， we not only learned from the experience of poverty alleviation， but also met many outstanding people who， with love for the Chinese people and the CPC， have changed the appearance of the countryside through their unremitting efforts and long-term dedication. Poverty alleviation is a long-term strategic plan formulated by the CPC and the Chinese government， and is organized and implemented in accordance with local conditions， with the government providing policy support and relevant resources， experts providing professional technology， and grass-roots organizations in rural areas formulating specific solutions to problems according to the actual situation， dispatching all the resources needed， and wholeheartedly helping farmers to get rid of poverty.

Africa needs to learn from China’s experience and practices， and looks forward to China’s efforts to promote infrastructure construction in Africa through the Belt and Road cooperation projects， to help Africa develop and modernize people-centred economy of its own， and to help Africa promote green and low-carbon development and achieve harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature， and to continuously improve the level of Africa-China cooperation in this process.

Regarding agriculture and rural development， we have learned many interesting cases through visits and talks. For example， in Beijing’s Pinggu District， some farmers accustomed to farming planted peaches according to local conditions， some young people with open minds used online platforms to help farmers sell peaches， and some entrepreneurs with social responsibilities took the initiative to participate in rural construction， promoting stronger cooperation between enterprises and rural areas， and strongly promoting eco- nomic development. In Panzhou City， Guizhou Province， farmers have real- ized the scientific cultivation of crops on the poor conditioned mountains， which is remarkable. If South Africa could also master this type of hillside cultivation technology， it could help many local people to solve the prob- lem of famine.

In China’s rural areas， there are many people who are determined to serve their country and work hard， such as Mr. Huang Dafa of Unity Village， PingzhengGelao Township， Baozhou District， Zunyi City， Guizhou Province. When Unity Village was facing a shortage of water resources， Huang Dafa led the villagers for 36 years to build a 10，000-meter aque- duct around three major mountains， breaking the fate of the village’s long-term water shortage and grind- ing a path to poverty alleviation and prosperity. It is touching that the CPC has never forgotten those who have made outstanding contribu- tions to the country and the people. Xi Jinping， General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee， personally awarded Mr. Huang Dafa the “July First Medal”， which is the greatest recognition and respect for the old man’s lifelong dedication， and also greatly inspires people’s determina- tion and enthusiasm to do good and practical work for poverty alleviation and enrichment. No matter how big the challenges are， we are inspired by Mr. Huang Dafa’s perseverance and determination to go forward and never give up.

The CPC and the Chinese gov- ernment， upholding the principle of serving the people， have formulated a coherent plan to combat poverty and vigorously carry out infrastruc- ture construction in various regions， especially in the most remote rural areas， so as to help the people get ridof poverty and solve the various prob- lems they encountered in their eco- nomic development， which is aston- ishing. At the same time， China also has a number of models who serve the people wholeheartedly， many of whom are members of the Commu- nist Party， contributing to the devel- opment of the country regardless of personal gain or loss， and leading the people in impoverished areas out of poverty and into prosperity.

After successive struggles， the great Communist Party of China has realized the millennial dream of the Chinese nation of becoming moder- ately prosperous， won the largest bat- tle against poverty in human history， lifted nearly 100 million rural poor out of poverty， and relocated more than 9.6 million poor people from their hometowns， thus solving the problem of absolute poverty histori- cally，which has made a significant contribution to the world’s cause of poverty reduction， and provided an important lesson for the cause of poverty reduction. This trip to China has touched me deeply and made me have a more profound understanding of China’s poverty eradication and rural revitalization strategies. Afri- can countries should work towards a common goal， actively learn from ad- vanced practices and continuously in- novate development concepts. Learn- ing from China， African countries should formulate their own rural re- vitalization strategies and implement them according to local conditions， strengthen communication and co- operation among governments and various departments， and especially attract more young talents to contrib- ute their wisdom and strength to the development of their own countries and Africa. At the same time， Africa should reduce internal conflicts， work closely with each other， strengthen cooperation with China， accelerate the development of an open econo-my， and promote Africa-China relations to a new and higher level.

Stephen Mothusi Tsitsing is Former District Secretary of SACP Yusuf Dadoo amp; District National Organizer of YCLSA