中文
By Xia Fangting
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has evolved from a revolutionary party into a governance force that remains highly relevant to innovation, a Malaysian expert said at a Beijing forum on June 26.
Its global initiatives, he argued, offer an alternative paradigm to the Global South that has long chafed under donor-driven conditionalities imposed by the Global North.
Ong Tee Keat, president of the Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia Pacific (BRICAP) and former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Malaysia, made the remarks at the 2026 Think Tank Forum on National Governance in Developing Countries.
"The CPC has proven its profound vigor in evolving from a grassroots-based revolutionary party into a governance force that remains highly innovation-relevant in changing times," Ong said.
He pointed to the plans to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) as a clear example.
"From the Chinese perspective, the core issue of our era is not technological competition within a framework of zero-sum rivalry; rather, it is about how the global majority can harness innovation to improve productivity, expand human opportunity, and strengthen collective competitiveness," he said.
Ong argued the approach reflects a deeper continuity. "Plainly put, the CPC's modern statecraft remains anchored in the structural interests of the global majority — vividly aligning its future trajectory with the very ideals that defined its inception 105 years ago."
He noted that the CPC's alignment with the developing world "has long resonated with the deepest aspirations of the global majority," and that China's consistent commitment to the United Nations Charter "continues to rekindle global hopes for resetting a faltering international order that has been repeatedly thrown into disarray by the unilateral overreach of the reigning hegemon."
Ong highlighted that Chinese-initiated global frameworks — the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) — form "a comprehensive, mutually reinforcing architecture" of pragmatic, law-based solutions to systemic challenges linked to sustainable peace and collective order.
On the GDI, proposed in 2021, Ong said it offers an alternative to traditional development models.
"China's monumental achievement in lifting 800 million people out of poverty over the past four decades stands as an undeniable testament to the CPC's ideological commitment to emancipating its populace from destitution," he said. "To the Global South, which has long chafed under traditional, donor-driven conditionalities imposed by the Global North, the GDI offers an alternative paradigm: practical, demand-driven and horizontally integrated cooperation."
Regarding the GSI, launched in 2022 and endorsed by more than 120 nations, Ong emphasized its doctrine of indivisible security.
"The GSI champions the profound doctrine of indivisible security — asserting that no state should unilaterally enhance its own security at the expense of others' legitimate concerns," he said.
"Rejecting the imperialist playbook of deploying troops or establishing coercive military alliances on foreign soil, China has focused on capacity building," Ong added.
Ong also commended the GCI, proposed three years ago, for debunking the notion that Westernization represents the singular path to modernization.
"By flatly rejecting assertions of cultural superiority, it successfully debunks the West-centric myth that Westernization represents the singular path to modernization," he said.
Ong cited a CGTN poll conducted in collaboration with Renmin University of China, surveying respondents across 41 countries, which found that more than 70% view Chinese civilization as an important stabilizing force for global governance.
The 2026 Think Tank Forum on National Governance in Developing Countries brought together scholars, policymakers and experts to discuss the mission and contribution of political parties.
