By Yao Mingfeng, Yan Huan, People’s Daily
The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a political party that is always innovating, said Jorge Taiana, head of international relations for Argentina’s Justicialist Party as well as former Foreign Minister of Argentina, in a recent interview with People’s Daily.
He noted that the CPC not only formulates medium- and long-term goals for China’s development, but adjusts the goals according to the ever-changing situation in the country.
China proposed building a new development pattern whereby domestic and foreign markets can boost each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay, which will fuel world economic recovery and growth while better connecting the Chinese and foreign markets and stimulating China’s development, Taiana pointed out.
China, with a population that accounts for nearly one fifth of the world’s total, has eradicated absolute poverty and met the poverty reduction target set in the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, which demonstrates that the CPC has always placed people in the first place, he said.
Adhering to a people-centered philosophy, the CPC has promoted leapfrog progress in the Chinese society, the official added.
While serving as Argentina’s Foreign Minister, Taiana visited China for multiple times.
During the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, Taiana attended the activities of the National Pavilion Day of Argentina as a representative of the country, and introduced to guests Argentina’s historical and cultural traditions as well as its achievements in urban construction.
The Shanghai World Expo witnessed the fruits of human civilization development, and enhanced mutual understanding and friendly cooperation between Argentina and China, he said.
Taiana said he has always paid special attention to China, which is located farthest away from Argentina geographically. China’s development achievements have boosted the confidence of other emerging economies, he noted, who believes it the right choice for Argentina to carry out extensive and in-depth cooperation with China.
During his visits to Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xi’an, he saw how history merges with modern development and generates enormous energy as well as the wisdom and diligence of Chinese people. Each visit brought him one step closer to the real China and solidified his confidence of promoting Argentina-China relations.
After resigning as Argentina’s Foreign Minister, he also carried out investigations in China as a scholar, and now serves as a counselor with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.
During an international seminar held in 2018, Taiana shared his views on global economic governance.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is widely welcomed and recognized in Latin America, he pointed out, who explained that it provides important development opportunities for Latin American countries in the context of global economic governance transformation and upgrading, and contributes to wiping out protectionism and facilitating globalization.
For years, Taiana has studied how China, a developing country with a large population, has managed to keep its people closely united and constantly created miracles in development. He attributed it to the CPC, which has always fought for the benefits and well-being of the Chinese people.
Speaking about the fight against COVID-19, he said China has taken the lead in controlling the epidemic at home and steadily achieved economic recovery, which once again shows the strong capabilities of the CPC to pool resources, mobilize people and take actions, he said.
Noting that China was the only major economy that secured positive economic growth in the world last year, Taiana mentioned that China’s remarkable achievement is related to its vibrant economy and tensile industrial and supply chains, and will make other countries more confident about economic recovery in the post-epidemic era.
On February 25, a batch of Chinese vaccines carried by a plane of Aerolíneas Argentinas, Argentina’s largest airline, arrived at the Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Buenos Aires, capital city of Argentina.
As a gesture of gratitude, the Argentine government printed on the fuselage a Chinese zodiac sign of Ox and “Happy New Year and Good Luck in the Year of the Ox” both in Chinese and Spanish, Taiana said, who was excited to witness the moment.
A friend in need is a friend indeed, he stressed. The leaders of the two countries often talked on the phone and exchanged e-mails, reaching important consensus on deepening bilateral relations, strengthening anti-epidemic cooperation and other areas. Meanwhile, China supported Argentina with medical supplies to help the latter tide over the difficulty.
China has kept its promise to make vaccines a global public good, and helps lead human kind out of the specter of the pandemic, according to Taiana.
Taiana pointed out that Argentina’s Justicialist Party, established over 70 years ago, has more than three million members and is one of the largest political party in Latin America.
As the head of international relations for the Justicialist Party, he is proud of helping maintain the sound relations between the party and the CPC. The two political parties have conducted closer exchanges, and often hold seminars to share experiences.
China is a major partner of Argentina, and the two countries have deepened cooperation in economy, trade, investment, and infrastructure construction, he said, who hopes to enhance party exchanges to bring the Argentine and Chinese people closer and further push ahead bilateral relations.
