Does BiH understand China?
The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China is an event of first-class importance, not only for China, which is expected because the leadership of the ruling party of a large country is being elected, but also for the whole world. And that’s not surprising either, if we take into account what China means today in the global framework: to mention only the fact that over 18% of the world’s gross domestic product is China’s share.
Therefore, it is not surprising that we dedicated this entire issue to the Congress. From different aspects. First, we bring a comprehensive overview of basic information such as the personnel appointments, the basic messages and guidelines from the speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping who received his third term as the head of the CCP. In this connection, we are publishing a part of the political biography of the Chinese president, the man who sovereignly leads China in these globally turbulent times.
Secondly, we have the analyzes of distinguished economists, academics and diplomats who look at the completed congress from an economic, political and sociological point of view. All the texts were carefully chosen, but we would still single out the text of “our” man, the former president of the Republic of Slovenia, Danilo Turk, whose angle is particularly significant for the region of Southeast Europe and Europe as a whole. It is a very important text because it opposes the narrative that is imposed in certain circles as “normal”, namely that in the West and China are ideological enemies and as such, doomed to conflict.
Third, we bring texts that talk about achievements in some of the most important social sectors, such as space research, ecological civilization, but also the next economic reforms that await China, especially with regard to further reforms and the role of the market in opening up, and the concept of dual circulation. Finally, we end the issue by noting the socially responsible action of one of the Chinese companies that are working on large and significant projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In this way, dear readers, we have tried to wrap up one big story, one Chinese journey that is happening in front of our eyes on the big global stage, because the century that flows inexorably belongs to China. Some of us will live to see the realization of the second centennial goal in 2049, when China should become a modern and prosperous country in all segments. At the same time, and this is what should always be kept in mind, we should see how small Bosnia and Herzegovina can take advantage of the development momentum of big China. And in order to take advantage of that, we need to answer affirmatively the question posed by the former Slovenian president in the title of his article: Does the West understand China? BiH has no reason not to understand it.
Faruk Boric
editor-in-chief of “Voice of China”
