July 1 marked the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Under the CPC’s leadership, China completed in mere decades an industrialization process that took Western nations centuries, a feat scholars at home and abroad widely regard as key to understanding the country’s governance success. Today, Chinese modernization has become a keyword in overseas China studies, drawing especially strong interest from Global South countries. Recently, CSST interviewed a number of international scholars on the trajectory of Chinese modernization, the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western modernization, and China’s global contributions through its distinctive modernization model.

Improving people’s livelihoods steadily

Over the past 105 years, the CPC has remained the central force behind Chinese modernization and the steady improvement of public well-being. “To speak of the history of the Chinese modernization is to speak of the history of the CPC,” remarked Luis Antonio Paulino, Brazilian director of the Confucius Institute at S?o Paulo State University in Brazil. “Without the Party’s effective operation, everything about modernization would amount to nothing more than empty rhetoric.”

On the occasion of the CPC’s 105th anniversary, Volker Tschapke, honorary president of the Prussia Association Berlin-Brandenburg in Germany, extended his congratulations. He emphasized that party leaders around the world—especially in Western countries—would benefit from studying the CPC’s governance philosophy in depth. Doing so, he asserted, would help foster deeper mutual understanding and promote working together toward a brighter, more peaceful future based on mutual recognition.

Ignacio Villagrán, director of the Center for Argentina-China Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, noted that the historic achievements of the century-old CPC stem first from its pivotal role in striving for national liberation and improving people’s livelihoods—particularly those of rural residents. Such progress, he said, is reflected across both material and social dimensions, including “not only improving material aspects such as access to goods and services, but also improving conditions of education, access to culture, recreation and enjoying a beautiful country and harmonious society.”

“The modernization achieved by China over the past decades represents one of the most profound socioeconomic transformations in contemporary history,” said José Medeiros da Silva, a professor at Zhejiang International Studies University and director of its Brazil Research Center. “Within a relatively short period of time, the country has made remarkable progress in areas such as industrialization, infrastructure, technological innovation, education, and improvements in people’s living standards.”

In da Silva’s view, “one of the most important contributions of the Chinese experience is to demonstrate that the capacity to generate innovative solutions to the challenges of development and human well-being is not confined to any single group of countries or civilizations.”

Sudheendra Kulkarni, founder and chairman of the Forum for a New South Asia in India, explained that that in China, inadequate governance capacity in the ruling party would pose risks extending far beyond the Party itself, potentially destabilizing the entire national governance system. This implies that the CPC must shoulder greater responsibility for self-renewal and consistently maintain a high level of public trust.

Modernization does not equal Westernization

The notion that “modernization equals Westernization” was long taken as an axiom, but Chinese modernization has shattered that myth. Paulino pointed out that Chinese modernization under the CPC’s leadership pursues prosperity for all and harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Rather than relying on war, colonialism, or the exploitation of other nations, it is, he said, anchored in a vision of world peace and shared development, demonstrating that viable pathways to modernization exist beyond the Western model.

Fred M’membe, president of the Socialist Party of Zambia, said that African countries that adopted Western models failed to achieve genuine modernization. Instead, they became trapped in dependent development and saw their governance systems break down. The Chinese path, he said, shows that modernization can be designed according to a country’s own conditions. Such a path entails long-term policy planning, people-centered governance, and an uncompromising commitment to national sovereignty.

Kulkarni stressed that while modernization is a shared goal for all countries, there is no single model that fits every nation. Today, many countries have come to realize that the Western modernization model is not universally applicable. Chinese modernization has achieved remarkable progress, and fine traditional Chinese culture—including the philosophies of thinkers such as Confucius and Mencius—has exerted a growing influence on the CPC’s innovation in governance concepts.

Kulkarni also observed that since 1978, the CPC has advanced the great cause of reform and opening up with remarkable political and theoretical courage. Taking poverty alleviation—a landmark achievement of this process—as an example, China met the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s poverty reduction target 10 years ahead of schedule. Beyond eradicating domestic poverty, China has also called for reform of the global governance system and worked to build a world free of poverty.

Inspiring other political parties

In today’s world, development has become an increasingly urgent agenda, placing higher demands on the modernization governance capacity of political parties around the globe. In response to these mounting challenges, the CPC’s governance experience stands out as a compelling reference point, offering valuable insights for political parties in other countries—particularly those across the Global South. Villagrán noted that guided by the CPC’s international vision, Chinese modernization has made positive contributions to the development of relevant countries and regions by “improving trade, investments, and finance across the world, and particularly with countries of the Global South.”

“The point is not that the Global South countries’ modernization should copy the Chinese model, but that they can draw some lessons,” M’membe asserted. He cited, for example, the Global Governance Initiative proposed by China in September 2025, noting that it has been widely welcomed by the international community and has so far garnered support and positive responses from nearly 160 countries and international organizations.

Charles Onunaiju, director of the Center for China Studies in Nigeria, said that as a forward-looking political party committed to openness, the CPC has rolled out a series of far-sighted initiatives to tackle key challenges in global governance, development, and security. Since launching the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has made concrete contributions to global development. Onunaiju added that by advancing the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, the CPC has helped chart a more inclusive path forward for all humanity.

“Few societies possess such a vast accumulation of historical experience recorded over millennia. Naturally, the challenges of the 21st century cannot be solved merely by looking to the past. Nevertheless, this historical heritage offers valuable insights into public administration, planning, adaptation, and the governance of complex societies,” da Silva concluded.