GUANGZHOU, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian president who is now nearly ninety years old, vividly recalls his first visit to China in the 1980s. At that time, he felt that China was just at the starting point of its development. During subsequent visits to China, he witnessed China's change at a phenomenal speed. Even a simple village, upon his return decades later, has completely transformed.

With these long-term observations, Obasanjo returned to China to attend the 2025 Imperial Springs International Forum held in Guangzhou last week. More than 200 guests attended, including over 30 former heads of state, government leaders, and heads of international organizations from around the world, as well as over 100 well-known scholars and business leaders from both China and abroad.

PLATFORM FOR UNDERSTANDING

The Imperial Springs International Forum was founded in 2014 and is jointly hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Australia-China Friendship and Exchange Association, the People's Government of Guangdong Province, and the World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid.

The forum invites senior international political figures, distinguished scholars, and business leaders from both China and abroad to engage in in-depth discussions on topics such as multilateralism, global governance, and China's development. It has gradually become an important platform for the international community to observe China, understand the world, and build consensus.

Themed "For Global Cooperation and Solidarity," this year's forum covered topics such as global security, global governance, artificial intelligence and green development.

Seychelles consists of 115 islands of varying sizes. Despite being the smallest country in Africa by land area, it ranks among the top in Africa in terms of the human development index, with tourism as the backbone of its economy.

Seychelles' former president, Danny Faure, who attended the forum for the first time, told Xinhua that over the past 31 years, he has visited China multiple times in his roles as minister for education, minister for finance, vice president, and president. "There has been a huge development in China. And I'm really impressed with the development of your country."

"I think the spirit of dialogue that China believes in is very important. China believes in cooperation. Seychelles also believes in cooperation and solidarity," said Faure, adding that there's a lot the two countries can do in terms of climate change.

"China is a true friend of Africa, and is a true friend of the Seychelles," he added.

Leo Varadkar, Ireland's former prime minister, said this was his second visit to China, following his first, as a minister, over a decade ago.

"I think we are going into a world that is going to be a much more multipolar one, in which China is going to be influential. And I think there are opportunities for China as well, and to have a stronger global presence," he said.

"The dialogue is crucial." For Stefan Lofven, former prime minister of Sweden, this forum offers a valuable opportunity for former prime ministers and presidents to meet with their Chinese friends and exchange ideas.

Yves Leterme, former prime minister of Belgium, said the participants, based on their experience and wisdom, enrich each other's perspectives and express their own views in constructive, critical ways.

Leterme added that the Imperial Springs International Forum is one of the platforms that the world needs to facilitate understanding and to make understanding possible.

Nathalie de Gaulle, great-granddaughter of former French president Charles de Gaulle, said this forum allows former leaders to think in broader historical arcs and to share hard-won wisdom about what actually works, rather than abstract ideas without foundation.

According to Chau Chak Wing, founding president of the Australia-China Friendship and Exchange Association and chair of the Asia-Pacific Region of World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid, since the forum was established in 2014, its circle of friends has continued to expand and it has now become an important platform for China's people-to-people diplomacy in the new era.

NEW PLAN GIVING HOPE

At this year's forum, the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) was a frequently mentioned keyword. Many regarded China's development blueprint for the next five years as an important window for understanding China's future and the evolving global landscape.

"I always believe that when China is strong, the world is strong. When China is modern, when China is innovating, the world is getting to be a better place," said former Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, adding that he followed the execution of the 14th Five-Year Plan and admired the new plan.

Artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and the Hainan Free Trade Port all left a deep impression on him.

"The new Five-Year Plan is giving us the hope that China is not only going to modernize internally but to be leading globally in certain strategic areas of the economy, and everybody will benefit from that," said Plevneliev.

"In the world, planning was seen as not being sufficiently effective. And there was a lot of reliance on the free market," said Danilo Turk, former president of Slovenia and the current president of the World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid. However, China has demonstrated that this is not necessarily the case, he said.

"If you have a really powerful engineering capacity, you can develop technology in a way that makes planning much more effective," he added.

Speaking of China's development path, Kim Campbell, former Canadian prime minister, used the word "remarkable."

"The dramatic economic transformation of China is one of the most satisfying things I have seen in my life, because it means that a lot of wonderful people are having more opportunities, a better life, and a better quality of life, and that's a good thing for the world," said Campbell.

PROMOTING WIN-WIN BUT NO DIVISIONS

Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly and former minister of European Union Affairs of Türkiye, noted that the Belt and Road Initiative is not just a construction project but a visionary project.

Bozkir said China will invest in vehicle production in Türkiye, and that China has contributed to the construction of many airports, bridges, and highways there. Chinese banks have also opened branches.

"We are benefiting from the Chinese technology, economic power, and also friendship," said Bozkir.

In 2015, when Plevneliev was president, Bulgaria became one of the earliest Central and Eastern European countries to sign cooperation documents related to the Belt and Road initiative. In his view, China advocates for integration and win-win cooperation, in contrast to the divisions and confrontations pursued by certain other powers.

Regarding distortions in perceptions of China in recent years, Plevneliev strongly believed that China's success is being used by some politicians as a convenient excuse to shift attention away from addressing their own domestic problems.

Plevneliev noted his desire to see a European Union that, grounded in multilateralism, WTO rules, competitiveness, etc., makes its own way with China to boost trade and production.

"I definitely think what I will bring back to Europe and to Ireland is that Europe and China need to speak more because both of us are looking for a stable outlook as to what the world looks like," said Varadkar, adding he always believed in multilateralism in countries working together, trying to find win-wins, and also respecting differences.

For Campbell, China is not only an important competitor but also an important partner.

"I don't think China is a threat to Western countries. I don't see China wanting to take over the rule. I think that China has a great deal to be proud of in terms of what it has accomplished," she said.

Leterme said that we are living through an era of geopolitical rebalancing, when China is reentering and taking up its rightful place, in terms of economic growth and as an impressive example of spreading progress nationwide.

"And what I find very positive over time is that China has this tremendous development of the Chinese nation. It is known as an attitude of responsibility for the whole of the globe," he added. ■