This episode of ‘Understand China’ features a conversation between Liu Hongwu, director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, and Yoro Diallo, a 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award recipient, senior researcher at the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, and director of the Institute’s African Museum. The “Understand China” program, produced by People’s Daily Online, aims to interpret China’s planning, opportunities, and governance, to eliminate misunderstandings, and to enhance comprehension and recognition between Chinese and international audiences through in-depth dialogues between Chinese and foreign scholars. Together, they delve into the institutional advantages of “seeing the overarching roadmap through to the end” and explore the certainty and stability that China’s five-year plans bring to the world.
Diallo emphasised that to understand China, people need to deeply understand its history and the history of the CPC. “When you know about China,” explained Diallo, “you will understand the way China’s development is based on five-year plans.” Diallo highly praised China’s commitment to a people-centered development philosophy. He believes that the philosophical foundation of China’s development path, when translated into an African context, is “Ubuntu,” which means “I am because we are”.
