China's Ministry of Commerce and the Academy for International Business Officials opened a two-week seminar in Beijing on Wednesday, urging developing countries to adopt China's development model. Wu Hao, Deputy Director of the Executive Department at China Aid Training Programme, highlighted how four decades of reform and opening-up had lifted millions from poverty, industrialised the economy and positioned China as the world's largest manufacturer. He cited upgrades in industrial structure and technological innovation as key drivers behind China's rapid growth and social stability, calling on other nations to replicate these strategies. Over 20,000 training programmes in 17 fields and 120 topics have been held for nearly 160 countries, benefiting over 50,000 participants, with MOFCOM leading these efforts under South-South cooperation.
Wu Hao stressed that the initiative focuses on equipping participants with skills rather than short-term aid, quoting the proverb: "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime." Costa Rica's Harold Rosales praised the programme for offering practical solutions like smart city development and digital transformation, while Armenia's Narine Suleymanyan emphasised the role of global value chains in economic security and communication.
Wu Hao's insistence on teaching "how to fish" reveals a calculated shift from charity to capability-building, but the real test lies in whether African nations will adapt these models without China's scale of state intervention. If Nigeria's policymakers take this seriously, they might finally move past rhetoric on industrialisation and start investing in technical training centres that mirror China's approach. The seminar's focus on global value chains also exposes Nigeria's lag in integrating local industries into international production networks, a gap that risks leaving the country further behind in the next decade. Without urgent action, the difference between China's 40 years of progress and Nigeria's stalled industrial dreams will only widen.
