China's development to empower Global South

China's economic growth experience, rooted in a path that aligns with its own conditions and comparative advantages, provides Global South countries with a valuable option and strengthens their confidence in pursuing modernization, a senior economist said.

Justin Yifu Lin, honorary dean of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University, said in an interview with China Daily that developing countries are likely to learn more from China's experience to achieve industrialization and modernization.

"It's not wise for developing countries to simply follow Western economic theories, but rather, they should chart modernization paths suited to their national conditions by building on their own factor endowments and developing industries in line with their comparative advantages," Lin said ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development.

Established in 2016, the institute aims to promote South-South cooperation by sharing development experience and insights with other developing countries. It will mark its 10th anniversary with a celebration ceremony on Wednesday.

Lin, who is also former chief economist at the World Bank, said that since the end of World War II, many developing countries have been pursuing industrialization and modernization while largely following Western models of development — yet most remain mired in poverty or caught in the middle-income trap.

By contrast, Lin said, the few developing economies that have managed to catch up started with industries that matched their comparative advantages, scaled them into competitive sectors and used that momentum to move steadily up the value chain.

"China's development path shows that poverty is not destiny," Lin added. "Before reform and opening-up began in 1978, China was one of the world's poorest countries."

China has since followed a path suited to its own conditions, building on its comparative advantages, advancing reform and developing industries with strong growth potential, Lin said. This has enabled the country to steadily upgrade its industrial structure and grow into the world's second-largest economy.

As China moves up the value chain, Lin said, the country will naturally enter sectors where developed countries previously held comparative advantages and now face growing competition from China.

Addressing Western claims of "over-competition" driven by China's industrial upgrade, Lin said that countries like Vietnam and Cambodia would have suffered most if China's development came at their expense. However, they have maintained strong momentum by pursuing growth aligned with their comparative advantages.

Lin also said that, in the face of competition, countries should not rely on tariff barriers to protect industries that have already lost their comparative advantages. Instead, they should advance industrial upgrading and move into sectors with higher technological and capital intensity.

Lin said the broader significance of China's modernization lies in the confidence it offers Global South countries that industrialization and modernization can be achieved through their own efforts, as long as they pursue development paths suited to their national conditions.

He cautioned, however, that China's experience should not be reduced to a set of specific policies that can be copied wholesale.

"The basic principles are shared, but their specific application must be tailored to local conditions," Lin said, adding that each country must adapt policy measures to its own realities.

For Pierre Ndayisenga, a Rwandan student at the institute, adapting development strategies to local conditions has been key to Rwanda's industrial development. His country has identified light manufacturing as a strategic sector and improved its supporting infrastructure and institutional environment in special economic zones in this regard.

Ndayisenga said that with the knowledge shared by the institute, C&D Rwanda Co managed to become Africa's largest jacket production base, employing over 6,000 Rwandans and exporting high-quality garments worldwide.

China's continued opening-up to Africa is creating broader space for Global South countries to translate their comparative advantages into market opportunities. The country has announced that, starting May 1, it will eliminate tariffs on all tariff lines for imports from 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China.

Contact the writers at zhangchenxu@chinadaily.com.cn