On the afternoon of November 26, 2019, Prof. Tao Yitao, invited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), gave a lecture to an Ethiopian government delegation in Beijing. Prof. Tao is the director of the China Center for Special Economic Zone Research (CCSEZR), Shenzhen University and the president of the Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development (BRRI). The lecture was themed “The Successful Experience of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Its Historic Contribution to China's Reform and Opening-up”. At the meeting, they discussed how to apply the successful experience of Shenzhen SEZ to the economic development and industrialization of Ethiopia, providing Chinese solutions to development challenges of developing countries, and truly translating China’s Going-Global policy into practice.
This lecture is an integral part of the training and exchange activities on China-Ethiopia Sustainable Investment Program jointly organized by UNDP, the Ethiopian Investment Commission and the China Chamber of International Commerce. And the Program is funded by the China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund and has been included in the list of achievements of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. With a focus on the opportunities related to sustainable investment under the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this exchange event revolved around how to promote sustainable investment in Ethiopia with alignment to local needs. It aimed to promote effective knowledge exchange and SEZ experience sharing among the BRI partner countries, and bolster the ability of relevant decision-makers and technical experts to address the bottleneck in sustainable investment, thereby creating a more conducive environment for sustainable investment in Ethiopia.
Prof. Tao is giving a lecture
Prof. Tao’s lecture received a warm response from the Ethiopian officials present. Abebe Tessema, Member of the Tigray Investment and Export Commission, Northern Ethiopia, spoke highly of Prof. Tao’s pithy summary of the successful experience of China’s SEZs. He also invited her to visit Ethiopia at her convenience to systematically impart knowledge and experience in the planning and building of China’s SEZs to Ethiopian government officials and business people.
Attendees listen carefully to Prof. Tao’s speech
In the discussion session, Ethiopian officials also actively asked questions about the lecture and the industrialization path of Ethiopia. Prof. Tao responded to all issues in a profound yet easy-to-understand manner and shed theoretical insight on the choice of industrialization path in Ethiopia that has an agriculture-based economy. Prof. Tao Yitao believed that industrialization was not only a simple replacement of the primary sector with the secondary and tertiary ones, but also the industrialization and modernization of the primary sector. Prof. Tao finally said: “Prosperity and strength are almost the common aspirations and goals of people around the world. Although many goals pursued by human beings are the same, the paths and means to achieve them are diverse, and there is no one-size-fits-all development approach and mode. Though the development experience of all countries can be shared and learned, yet only the one that suits the specific conditions of a country is the best, the most useful, and thus the most productive. I hope that China and Ethiopia can create their own and mankind’s bright future and miracle in sharing and common prosperity!”
