“Cooperation and inclusivity are the key elements of world development nowadays. That’s what China is doing and it is making inroads and success.

China has gone a long way from the ping-pong diplomacy of yesteryears to the panda diplomacy being initiated by its current president, Xi Jinping.

Nowhere is the conservatism that characterized its early years as a people’s republic, pushing the right buttons to eventually emerge as a global model for development.

The 10+3 Media Cooperation Forum, which this paper participated in along with other media representatives early this week, provided us a better insight into the China of today. Nowhere is the sleeping giant that it was once. In its place is a more aggressive, more confident mainland.

There is a lot to learn about China that we care to know. Looked down with disdain on account of its controversial policies in the South China Sea, Beijing’s governance system nevertheless is proving to be what the world needs. This country of 1.3 billion with an economy that is second only to the United States is now ready to assume its role as Asian leader and maybe eventually the world.

China did not copy the Western system of government but adapted its own based on national conditions. The Western way, it believes, is not the only answer.

It first put in order its local governance as the ruling Communist Party of China cracked down on corruption and attained huge success. It initiated reforms in such aspects as politics, economy and culture to science education, public health, environment and poverty reduction.

In infrastructure, delegates marveled at how China was able to harness its natural resources seamlessly when they were taken for a visit to the ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system in the outskirts of Chengdu city in Sichuan province. The oldest irrigation system in the world built in the 3rd century is a marvel of Chinese science and engineering as it is still used to irrigate over 668,700 hectares of farmland, drain floodwater and provide water resources to more than 50 cities in the Sichuan province without the use of dams.

Worldwide, China is a positive force for the global economy. It is the world’s largest growth engine being a staunch supporter of globalization and multilateral trade system environment and poverty reduction.

At the time we were there, journalists from Southeast Asia including those from Japan, South Korea and host China were given a glimpse of the Chengdu International Railway port in the Qingbaijiang district, one of the central areas in Chengdu. It is located at the strategic point of the Silk Road and the Yangtze River Economic Belts.

It is also an important platform to carry out the Belt and Road Initiative and construct the corridor of International Land-Sea Intermodal Transport in Chengdu. The ambitious project, now partly operational, hopes to build a world-level international railway port from inland China to the whole country and eventually connect the world, starting with Europe.

As of today, China Railway Express (Chengdu) has linked about 30 foreign cities, including Lodz in Poland, Nuremberg in Germany, Tilburg in The Netherlands, Hanoi in Vietnam and about 20 domestic Chinese cities to build a network of seven international railway channels and five international rail-sea transit routes.

Despite complicated overseas and domestic risks and challenges, China has stuck to its fundamental national policy of reform and opening up, liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment to promote an open world economy.

Fears that China may use its might to wage war and conquer other nations are totally without basis, according to a member of the organizing People’s Daily.

“China, in its history, has never done that. When it went to war it was only because it had to defend itself from its conquering neighbors. Besides, invading other countries to gain foothold is no longer necessary as before. Cooperation and inclusivity are the key elements of world development nowadays. That’s what China is doing and it is making inroads and success,” he said.

China, he added, can continuously improve itself while learning from other nations and attracting more people from the international community to analyze its global significance.

The Belt and Road initiative proposed by the mainland for global governance, as we have seen, has attracted widespread participation and has become a major cooperation platform in the world that can help boost connectivity and promote common prosperity.

At the rate it is conquering the odds, China is proving the old adage that no one can argue with success. Not even perhaps the United States.

Made in China? Nobody is laughing anymore.