(ECNS) – The 8th Understanding China Conference kicked off on Monday in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, attracting experts and scholars across the world to explore China’s development path and its global impact.

At a forum themed “Telling Well the Stories of the Chinese Modernization: Better Methods for Greater Effectiveness”, Kyle Ferrana, author of Why the World Needs China, delivered a thought-provoking speech, addressing pressing global crises and underscoring the significance of China's modernization as an alternative path for the world.

Ferrana began by acknowledging the challenges at present: escalating geopolitical tensions, worsening climate crises, and rising friction between China and the United States. “Our presence at this conference,” he emphasized, “conveys a responsibility. It may be that we have the power to help avert these disasters.”

Western portrayal of China fosters fear and suspicion

Ferrana’s speech highlighted the Western media’s portrayal of China, which he argued fosters fear and suspicion. He urged the refocus of the narrative on addressing the hopes of global workers, migrants, and farmers. “While the Western press is fixated on GDP growth and stock markets, the real story is China’s unparalleled success in elevating living standards and reducing poverty,” he said.

Ferrana argued that this focus should not merely defend China's economic achievements but highlight how they contrast with the struggles faced in the West, such as unaffordable housing and unchecked wealth inequality. “The West worships wealth, but wealth is worthless if it is not shared,” Ferrana remarked.

Kyle Ferrana delivered his speech during the 8th Understanding China Conference. (Photo: China News Service/Chen Jimin)

China’s environmental leadership worth praising

Ferrana praised China's leadership in renewable energy and ecological preservation. He noted that China leads the world in solar and wind energy production, electric vehicles, high-speed rail networks, and reforestation efforts.

“These things are not only to the benefit of China, but to the benefit of all the world,” Ferrana stressed, arguing that these accomplishments result from state policies and long-term investments, in stark contrast to what he described as “the fossil fuel-driven policies of the United States”.

“The knowledge and resources to do what China has done have been available to the West for generations,” Ferrana noted. “But it is China that has chosen to use them this way.”

Chinese system serves interests of the people

Ferrana positioned China's modernization as a global model for addressing inequality, environmental degradation, and social development. According to Ferrana, China’s system was built by the people, and “it remains resilient in serving their interests, even in the grim era of worldwide neoliberal capitalism.”

He concluded with a call to action for global audiences: “The people of the world should hear more stories of households gaining running water and electricity where there was none before, as well as faster trains, cheaper medicines, and cleaner air. They should demand a good explanation for why China can do all these things while the governments of their own countries seem unable.”