A staff member works at an assembly line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in a factory of Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east China's Anhui Province, Oct. 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is "extremely important" not only for China and the Chinese people, but also for the whole world, as China has taken a major role in the international community after decades of development, said Laurent, also president of the National Council of the French Communist Party, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

PARIS, Oct. 26  -- The Chinese path to modernization, a model adapted to the realities of China, is "important and must be respected," Pierre Laurent, vice president of the French Senate, has said.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is "extremely important" not only for China and the Chinese people, but also for the whole world, as China has taken a major role in the international community after decades of development, said Laurent, also president of the National Council of the French Communist Party, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Among the efforts the human society has made, China has managed to find a new way suited to its own situation, Laurent said, adding that this political choice "bore its fruits" with the policy of reform and opening up, and then the efforts to speed up the country's development.

During his mandate as the national secretary of his party between 2010 and 2018, Laurent made two visits to China in 2011 and 2016 and was greatly impressed by the spectacular progress China had made within the five years.

"In the past decade, what is obviously striking when you visit China is the path (China) traveled to get the country out of poverty, and to put itself on the path of development by fulfilling the objectives that were set to make it a moderately prosperous society, as the Chinese leaders and the Communist Party of China proclaim," Laurent said.

Speaking of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping's initiatives to promote world peace and development and to build a human community with a shared future, Laurent said that France and other countries in the world could also take actions to move forward these initiatives.