China's rise to global power holds key lessons for Africa, analysts say

China's growing global influence is increasingly being linked to its rapid economic development, ambitious international initiatives and expanding role in global stability, according to experts.

As the Communist Party of China (CPC) marks its 105th anniversary, analysts say the milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on the Party's role in transforming China from a country once plagued by poverty and instability into the world's second-largest economy.

Founded in 1921 during a period of foreign aggression and widespread hardship, the CPC set out with a mission to improve the lives of the Chinese people and restore national prosperity.

More than a century later, China has recorded major advances in science, technology and living standards while positioning itself as a key player in an increasingly uncertain global landscape.

Michael Borchmann, the former head of the European and International Affairs Department of Germany's Hesse state, credits the country's progress to its people-centred development approach.

He says China reclaimed control of its own destiny, lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and restored national confidence, adding that its development journey offers valuable lessons for Africa and the wider Global South.

"A defining feature of this transformation has been that the Chinese people took their destiny back into their own hands. They cast off foreign humiliation and oppression, successfully lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, and regained their national confidence," Borchmann said.

Africa Policy Institute President Peter Kagwanja describes China's rise as one of the most remarkable development stories of the modern era.

He notes that China has grown from one of the world's poorest developing countries in the 1980s to a global economic powerhouse, while expanding its international influence through the Belt and Road Initiative and a series of global development, security, civilisation and governance initiatives.

"Through its Belt and Road Initiative as well as its four global initiatives... China has amassed immense global influence, becoming a major player in international trade and diplomacy," Kagwanja said.

"China offers lessons and inspiration to Africa and the Global South. Its growth is an inspiration for Africa. Poverty is not a curse for any civilisation. Africa can also rise and lift its people out of poverty.”

Kagwanja believes Africa can draw inspiration from China's experience, arguing that poverty is not an irreversible condition and that the continent can chart its own path towards prosperity.

Zimbabwean Pan-Africanist researcher and political commentator Mafa Kwanisai Mafa says the CPC's 105-year history highlights the value of disciplined leadership, institutional strength, accountability and continuous reform.

He argues that as countries across the Global South pursue their own models of modernisation, China's governance experience will continue to serve as an important reference point for policymakers and scholars alike.

"As nations of the Global South carve out their own sovereign paths to modernisation, the CPC's century of self-improvement and decades of governance practice will remain an indispensable touchstone for scholarly inquiry, high-level policy deliberation and thoughtful localised adaptation for generations to come," Mafa said.