Experience of China's 30-year reform helpful to Nepal

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-23 21:27

KATHMANDU ?-- After a decade long civil war and wanting to develop itself, Nepal can shape its own economic policy by sharing China's experience, a Nepali journalist recalled his 16 times visit to China and offered his insight into China's 30-year "Reform and Opening-up".

Political stability is the essence of economic development, which is the best lesson for a country like Nepal which has just ended a decade long civil war, said Kishor Shrestha, in an interview with Xinhua on Sunday.

Shrestha is an editor of Nepali weekly newspaper Jan-Aastha published from Nepali capital Kathmandu.

Nepal can acquire knowledge of political stability and economic development in China especially when Nepal is setting an agenda of "New Nepal", he said. "Nepal's economy has been grounded due to the decade long civil war now it is the time to think high like China," Shrestha told Xinhua on Sunday.

Shrestha said, "It is not necessary to copy China as it is, rather we can change or modify its political ideological as well as economic policy to be suitable for Nepal."

Shrestha, claiming his support for communism, said, "Who says communism is a rejected and failed ideology? ?Those that have been badmouthing communism need only to look towards China once to a subtle answer to the question."

"The largest country in the world in terms of population and the world's third largest country in territory, China has been successfully applying the principles propounded by Marx, Engels and later refined by Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping," Shrestha said.

Even Nepali ruling communist party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) , few years ago used to accuse China of having strayed from communism, but is now beginning to formulate a new position in China, Shrestha analyzed CPN-M's ongoing foreign strategy in his own way.

"The CPN-M is making preparations for a 180-degree turn in its previous position about China at the party's Seventh General Convention to be held early next year," he said.

He, thus, even suggested the Nepali ruling communist party to follow wide sense of political vision. "The CPN-M talks about have- not groups in their speech which makes it only the party of have- not group. It has to be a large party by summing up varied number of groups in country," he added.

Since Nepal is rich in water resources, hydropower industry can boost up Nepal's economy. There is much probability of China to invest in Nepal's hydropower sector in future days, Shrestha outlined the possibility how Nepal can achieve benefits from China. "Nepal should shape its economic policy as China is doing," he stressed.

Pointing out the unemployment in Nepal, Shrestha said, China has not only managed to provide basic needs to its large number of population but has also begun to provide employment to citizens of the most powerful country in the world.

"We cannot see any foreign citizen working in our government offices, but there are about 118,000 foreigners working in Shanghai alone," he said, "These include the Japanese and Koreans (about 50,000 each) and about 10,000 Americans. There are even about 100 software engineers from India workings in Shanghai."

All this rapid economic progress resulted after the country ended central-controlled economic policies and took on the policy of "Reform and Opening" in 1978, Shreshta viewed.

Shrestha visited China 16 times and surprisingly he said that each time he found China in a new look. His first visit to China was in 1991.

He expressed his admiration for China's astonishing achievements since 1978. He believed that China could leave the rest of the world far behind by 2020.

"There were no private institution before 1978, but now the private sector contributes about 30 percent of China's Gross Domestic Product, with another 30 percent contributed by foreign investment and another 30 percent coming from the public sector. It would not be possible if China would not have taken opening up policy," said Shrestha.