lessons

David Dollar and I have both posted recently about lessons from China for Africa.  Here is one more view, from Joe Remenyi who recently served a stint as Research Director for the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC).  IPRCC was one of the main organizers of the Experience Sharing Program on Development between China and Africa which David and I wrote about last month.

I pretty much agree with Joe’s observations and conclusions.  On the poverty reduction front, I would only add that if one uses a “cost-of-basic needs poverty line”, the reduction in incidence of poverty in China is even more dramatic, dropping from 64% of the population in 1981 to 6%-7% in 2007.  We’ll be featuring this in the new World Bank Poverty Assessment that will be released soon. 

Last week I posted some reflections from the field visit portion of last month’s Experience-Sharing Program on Development between China and Africa.  The program covered key aspects of China’s development experience including agricultural and rural reforms, infrastructure development, the process of opening-up the economy through trade and foreign direct investment, and China’s growing engagement with Africa.  David Dollar has also posted some thoughts about the program.

Thirty African officials visited China for 12 days in May on a pilot South-South knowledge exchange organized by the Chinese government with assistance from the World Bank.  My colleague, Phil Karp, has written about the program, including the study tour around China that he accompanied.  I met the officials in Beijing both before and after their travels and would like to add some personal reflections.  Most of the officials had never been to China or had only attended a conference in a big city.  Visiting farms, local governments, economic zones, and enterprises was a real eye-opener.