Cargo ships dock at Yangpu port of Hainan province. In June last year, China released a master plan to build the island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port, showing the country's commitment to further opening-up. Liu Yang/For China Daily
IN 1986, when Koh King Kee organised the first-ever seminar on China’s reform and opening-up policy in Kuala Lumpur, he was impressed that the Chinese government officials - all members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) - who spoke at the seminar were open, inquisitive and eager to acquire fresh knowledge.
According to Koh, the president of KL thinktank Centre for New Inclusive Asia, the CPC leadership’s openness to learning from more advanced countries helped China find a development path suited to its own national circumstances.