Could China’s model of growth be its biggest export to the world?
- Beijing’s combination of authoritarianism, capitalism and infrastructure has proved appealing to some countries weary of Western neoliberalism
- But that approach is a product of its past and could struggle to gain a real foothold elsewhere, observers say
As China marks a century since the founding of the Communist Party, this series looks at the past, present and future of the country’s political system. Here, Shi Jiangtao and Jevans Nyabiage explore whether other countries can grow along the same lines.
Half a world separates Ethiopia from China but the East African nation gives an idea of what a China-inspired path of development can look like.
Leaders of the continent’s second most populous country and one of the poorest, have tried to emulate China’s economic and governance model, building special economic zones and pursuing infrastructure-led growth since the 1990s.
From skyscrapers, roads to dams, airports and rail links, evidence of Chinese money and influence is everywhere – so much so that Ethiopia has been described as the “China of Africa”.
And just like China, Ethiopia has achieved this without meaningful political reforms. Addis Ababa is one of Washington’s key military allies in the region but authorities in Ethiopia have traditionally been sceptical of the Western concept of democracy and human rights.
But Beijing’s state-led formula, which is not readily defined, is arguably unique to China and may not take root so easily in other countries, observers say.
