CPC proves to be "skilled sailor" in tough seas -- former BiH ambassador to China

SARAJEVO -- "Tough seas make stronger sailors, and the Communist Party of China (CPC) has proved itself to be a skilled sailor," said Amel Kovacevic, former Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) ambassador to China.

The former diplomat made the remarks in a recent interview with Xinhua, talking about the century-old history of the CPC.

Now CEO of a Tirana-based bank, Kovacevic served as BiH's ambassador to China from 2010 to 2013. Before that, he was a lecturer in the International University of Sarajevo, where he taught management at Faculty of Economics and Bussiness Administration. His rich political and economic experience and close observation of China gave him a unique and profound understanding of the CPC.

"If we compare the (Chinese) society to a human body, government institutions represent organs, bones and muscles but the Communist Party of China represents the nervous system that coordinates smooth functions of a human body. If there is no central nervous system, full potential of the human body could never be reached. Today's success of China could never be achieved without the pivotal role of over 90 million members of the Chinese Communist Party," said Kovacevic, expounding on his understanding of the role of the CCP in Chinese society.

During his three-year tenure in China, Kovacevic has been deeply impressed by his dealings with many CPC and government officials.

"I have a strong feeling that Communist Party of China represents the strongest political organization in the world. That strength was derived from strong emphasis on meritocracy and moral values that are continuously creating selection of capable individuals who serve and strive together for prosperity and well-being of their nation," the former embassador said.

"I believe that many political parties around the world can learn a lot from CPC on how to recruit, organize and motivate the most competent individuals in their country to contribute to the public good," he said.

Kovacevic preferred to analyse China's success from a management specialty perspective. He firmly believes that a giant country like China needs to be governed in an effective and efficient manner, with governance capacity strong enough to cope with the numerous and often extremely challenging socio-economic issues.

"The ultimate goal of any political organization should be prosperity of the nation and well-being of individuals. Many political organizations in the past have failed to do so but results of fantastic economic transformation of China and improvement of life quality of average individual testify to the success of CPC," Kovacevic said.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world. But in the same year, China completed the historic goal of eliminating absolute poverty, and achieved the poverty reduction goals set out in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, making historic contributions to poverty eradication and peaceful development worldwide.

"The struggle to eradicate poverty is the most complex social activity in human history. The determination of the Communist Party of China to achieve this goal has not been shaken by the pandemic," Kovacevic said.

He also commended China's role in the global fight against the epidemic. "China has provided a lot of medical equipment, vaccines and expertise that has saved many lives around the world, and we should be grateful for China's presence."

When it comes to the international political situation in the past decade, Kovacevic pointed out that it is regrettable to see some negative trends appearing on the international stage, including xenophobia and isolationism, which have opened a Pandora's box of discrimination and human rights violations.

"We should advocate for an inclusive and shared future, regardless of race, creed or social status. I believe that China's overall efforts in this field represent a powerful voice. China continues to send signals of stability and responsibility to the world," Kovacevic said.

"I pay tribute to the leadership of the Communist Party of China and its members for their unprecedented development," he said.