My Memory of China｜China's 75-year journey brings historical opportunity for the world

（ECNS）-— 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. In an interview with China News Network, David Gosset, founder of the China-Europa Forum and the China-Europe-America Global Initiative, retrospected his experience in China since he stepped onto the land 28 years ago. Over the past 75 years, China has made a lot of achievements, including the eradication of extreme poverty, according to Gosset. "China’s development is wonderful for Chinese people and brings a historical opportunity to the world,” he noted.

28 years ago, Gosset, as a teenager, visited China to see the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang by himself. “That was a fantastic trip,” Gosset remembered.

“In a sense, I am in love with China for 28 years, and what fascinates me is that my attraction for China is still very strong, because I like the diversity in China and appreciate its nuances more and more,” Gosset explained, adding that that is why he has created a series - the Inspiring series - including Inspiring Tianjin, Inspiring Shanghai, Inspiring Shanxi, and Inspiring Greater Bay Area that is coming out soon, to present China in an innovative and nuanced way.

Having stayed in China for decades, Gosset keeps discovering China. “We could speak a lot about achievements that have been made since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 75 years ago.” During the interview, Gosset specially highlighted China’s achievement in the eradication of extreme poverty, claiming it a major achievement that the world should learn from.

According to the World Bank, over the past 40 years, China has lifted nearly 800 million people out of poverty, accounting for close to three-quarters of global poverty reduction. And in China’s Progress Report on Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2021) released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by the end of 2020, China had completed its poverty eradication target on schedule, with altogether 98.99 million rural residents living under the current poverty lifted out of poverty, meeting the poverty eradication goal of the 2030 Agenda 10 years ahead of schedule. In this regard, Gosset pointed out that after having the privilege to visit many parts in China, he finds out that he likes to go to China's countryside, where one will not encounter extreme poverty anymore.

“This is an enormous achievement actually in such a short time and for such a large country, an achievement that has no equivalent in the entire history of mankind,” praised Gosset.

Looking to the future, Gosset is convinced that China will go on to grow and develop. “China is not reaching a peak,” he noted, “and is in the moment of transition from quantitative growth to qualitative growth.”

He also referred China’s development as the “Chinese Renaissance”, claiming that it is wonderful for the Chinese people themselves, and is an historical opportunity for the world.

“We have Chinese and non-Chinese to work tirelessly for the progress not of several people or one country, but the progress of mankind,” Gosset concluded.