DAKAR, Nov. 4 (Chinese media) -- Adherence to the socialist development mode with Chinese characteristics is the foundation of China's prosperity, Ali Sow, president of a research center of Senegal's development policies, told Chinese media in a recent interview.
Sow, who has visited China for three times, has witnessed the country's development and changes in over 40 years.
Forty-four years ago, Sow was received by then Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing when he visited China for the first time as the head of a delegation of the West African Federation of University Students.
The two-hour meeting still remained fresh in his memory, during which Mao told the students to build their own countries with hard work and by self-reliance, Sow said.
He recalled that China's economy was backward in the 1960s. However, the situation changed a lot in the 1980s when he made his second visit to China.
In 1986, Sow visited China as the head of a delegation of Senegalese entrepreneurs. "Newly-built factories popped up all over the country and many high-rises were erected. This is a picture of prosperity," Sow said.
At that time, some foreign investors had realized that China, a country with great economic potentials, would become one of the most vigorous markets in the world, according to him.
The Senegalese financial expert visited China for the third time in May 2007 when he met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at an annual meeting of the African Development Bank in Shanghai. The visit impressed him a lot.
"China's earth-shaking changes are amazing. During the visit, I saw a country with prosperity, social stability, confident people and wise leaders," said Sow.
"In almost 30 years, China has ranked itself among world powers with its double-digit economic growth, which has attracted world attention," said Sow, who is also a financial expert and senior advisor of the Senegalese government.
According to him, China and many African countries were at the same level in their economic development in the 1960s, but China's reform and opening up introduced in 1978, especially the socialist development mode with Chinese characteristics, have contributed a lot to its prosperity.
In the 1990s, western countries initiated a wave of west-style multiparty democracy in Africa, only to cause great chaos that has still been haunting the continent until now, Sow said.
From their own experiences, some African countries have realized that democracy is not the ultimate goal. What's important is to establish a mode of development that conforms to the social, economic and political development, as well as the historical and cultural traditions of the African countries, he said.
Sow noted that China's development mode with its own characteristics can serve as a model for the African countries.
Referring to the earthquake that struck China's southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12, he said the Senegalese people were deeply touched by the quake relief efforts made by the Chinese government and people.
The quick reaction of the leaders, the well-organized actions of the government and people's unity and generosity in the face of the disaster all showed that "China's ongoing policies and development mode have unquestionable advantages," Sow said.
China's mode has not only ensured its prosperity and national unity, but also triggered reflections on the new concept of governing a country, which will leave a great influence on Africa and the whole world, according to him.
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