Fond memories were recalled, friendships renewed and wisdom shared on the afternoon of 30 May at Peking University (PKU) in Beijing, as international alumni of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD) reunited for the launch of a new book, China's Approach, Global Practice, as part of the institute's 10th anniversary celebrations. 

The Chinese version of China’s Approach, Global Practice 

The book is a collection of personal stories by 42 ISSCAD alumni from 25 developing countries, documenting how they applied what they learned in China back home. As Justin Yifu Lin, honorary dean of ISSCAD, writes in the prologue, the book is the first of its kind published in the country. 

The ethos reflected in the book, Lin said at the event, is that there is more than one path to development. “Developing countries need to figure out what they have and what they can do, and augment those advantages instead of following an established model wholesale.” 

He noted that China was once among the poorest countries in the world, a fact that several alumni said had given them confidence that any country, however poor, can identify its own advantages and develop on a path suited to its national conditions. 

The view was echoed by Huang Yiping, dean of ISSCAD, who argued that the Washington Consensus, a set of free-market-oriented economic policy prescriptions, is not universally applicable. “The market has flaws, and sometimes the state has to step in to overcome those flaws by maintaining public order and distributing public goods.” 

He said that the uniqueness of this book lies in its detailed record of alumni's real-life experiences of adapting the “China model” to their respective national conditions. “We want to see more stories like this,” said Huang. “South-South cooperation can only be improved by more dialogue and mutual learning.” 

Since its founding 10 years ago, following an announcement by President Xi Jinping at the UN headquarters, ISSCAD has admitted more than 500 students from over 80 developing countries, building an extensive alumni network. These alumni, drawn from the public sector and academia, bring home not only knowledge but also friendships and a sense of shared purpose, which is central to the institute's mission. 

That spirit was captured by Ethiopian alumnus Degaga Endalkachew Sime, who wrote in the book about his family's life in China and the friendships they formed despite language barriers. A heartwarming moment for him was when his Chinese neighbour in Baoding drove him and his family to the airport on their departure. 

"The most enduring lesson I carry away is that development is not only about factories and buildings. It is about the factories we build in our hearts, the bridges we construct between living rooms and playgrounds," Sime said at the event. 

In an interview with PKU News, he credited ISSCAD's interdisciplinary and soft skills training as indispensable to his work. The immersive global learning environment, he said, allowed him to build an extensive network of fellow African scholars that supports his professional work across multiple regions of the continent. 

Attendees at the book launch event 

Bridges and railways to Pakistan 

For 2023 MPA graduate Farid Ghulam, a Pakistani transportation officer, the lessons from campus have become daily tools for tackling some of his country's largest railway and infrastructure challenges. 

His training at PKU gave him a critical thinking approach grounded in local conditions. He draws heavily on the policy analysis and statistical analysis skills he acquired in Beijing, applying them to real-world problems in Pakistan's public sector. 

PKU's emphasis on cross-cultural teamwork and China's development model has made working alongside Chinese engineers on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor ML-1 railway project considerably smoother. Farid works with his Chinese counterparts almost every day, and a basic grasp of the Chinese language, picked up during his time in Beijing, adds an easy dimension to those interactions. 

He is careful to adapt what he learned to Pakistan's conditions, ensuring that reforms fit the country's institutional and operational context. Among the courses he found most valuable was the Role of the State in China's Economic Development, which relates directly to the public sector projects he now manages. 

The biggest unexpected benefit of his time at PKU, Farid said, was the alumni network, which keeps him connected to development practices across the Global South. Even informal experiences have proved professionally relevant. Late-night conversations at the campus sports complex, touching on national development, still feel connected to his current work and his organisation's future. 

Farid's view of China-Pakistan economic cooperation has shifted significantly since his PKU years. He has moved from reading policy papers to seeing the real impact of that cooperation on infrastructure and energy supply networks on the ground. He said that China's railway governance is more centralised and technology-driven, while Pakistan's system contends with greater institutional and resource constraints. 

Farid Ghulam (right) in an interview with PKU News 

Sacrifice, growth and trade links  

Raluca Boca, a Romanian customs official and 2025 PhD graduate, described the journey from doctoral student to policymaker as one marked by difficult decisions and transformative growth. 

Looking back, leaving her family, including a baby just a few months old, to pursue a PhD in Beijing was one of the hardest choices she has made. But she described the experience as entirely worthwhile. It pushed her beyond her comfort zone professionally and personally, making her more resilient and confident. Beyond academic knowledge and research skills, she gained a broader international perspective, built lasting global connections and discovered strengths she had not known she possessed. 

Working in Romania's Customs Department, Boca has found that her PKU experience gave her a more strategic view of international trade. It helps her identify which customs procedures need improvement and which new mechanisms should be developed to facilitate trade while maintaining effective customs control. 

The knowledge she draws on most is international economics and trade policy. Her studies at PKU helped her understand how trade flows are shaped by regulations, market access conditions and institutional cooperation, a perspective that is directly relevant when evaluating customs procedures and informing her work on EU-China customs cooperation. 

The single lesson from PKU most valuable in her daily work, she said, is the understanding that effective international cooperation requires not only knowledge of rules but genuine appreciation for different institutional and cultural contexts. That perspective guides her work every day as she facilitates trade, ensures compliance and builds connections between Romania, the European Union and China. 

Raluca Boca 

A historian’s lens on the future 

For Mariam Gorethy, a 2019 MPA graduate, ISSCAD was a step into living history. Her background in history gave her a particular vantage point. She saw not just a classroom but a crossroads of the world and found real joy in the mix of perspectives gathered in Beijing. 

Her most vivid experience came in the field, on a visit to Xiaogang Village in Fengyang County, Anhui Province. The village's story held a powerful lesson. Mariam was struck by the account of local farmers who took enormous personal risks by secretly signing an agreement to divide collective land among individual households, an act widely credited with catalysing China's rural reforms. For her, it was a lesson in personal agency that she carries to this day. "If you want something to happen, it starts with you. Don't wait for anybody to change your situation." 

That understanding of grassroots empowerment shaped her academic work. Drawing on China's economic rise, she wrote her dissertation on the National Population and Family Planning Commission, examining how China turned the scale of its population into a driver of growth. Looking at Nigeria, she argued that the country must take a similar approach, investing in and mobilising its young population for development. 

Bello Mariam (left) is interviewed by PKU News 

‘A good friend of Myanmar’ 

Before she set foot in Beijing in 2017 to pursue a master's degree, Khin Mar Aye studied economics in Japan, where academic seminars frequently discussed the mechanics of China's economic miracle. 

“We discussed how China's economy was growing rapidly, but that was only discussion; we only saw it on the internet,” said the 2025 PhD graduate. “When I arrived in Beijing, what I saw was really amazing.” 

That firsthand experience of China paved the way for a decade-long academic journey. Khin earned her master's degree at Peking University in 2018 and returned in 2022 to ISSCAD to pursue her PhD. 

Between her initial arrival and her doctoral research, she witnessed a society undergoing a profound digital and physical transformation. 

“The cities are more modernised, not only in terms of transportation but in their markets and restaurants,” she said. “I noticed that the technology is highly advanced. There is so much innovation, so much science. Artificial intelligence is used everywhere. It was a real eye-opener.” 

For Khin Mar Aye, these urban landscapes are not merely a modern spectacle; they represent a blueprint for her homeland Myanmar as it navigates its own challenges. Now an official within Myanmar's Department of National Planning and Investment, she studies how China's rapid evolution might inform her own country's future. 

“We are both developing countries, and we have a similar culture,” she explained. “That is why we can learn. We cannot copy, but we can reference the Chinese model for our country's development process.” 

That developmental footprint is already visible back home. Khin Mar Aye underscored China's substantial impact on Myanmar's physical landscape, pointing to the infrastructure, including bridges, hydropower stations and other projects built under the Belt and Road Initiative, that cements China's status as Myanmar's primary foreign investor. 

“China is a good friend of Myanmar,” she said. 

Khin Mar Aye 

Plan for the future 

As a senior official at Cambodia's Ministry of Civil Service, Chham Chhavirak believed he had a clear picture of China's economic rise before boarding a flight to Beijing in 2021. 

"But I still underestimated it," said the 2025 PhD graduate. "After I arrived, my eyes were wide open. China is incredibly advanced, technologically sophisticated and moving at a pace I never imagined." 

The gap between expectation and reality became the starting point for his doctoral research at ISSCAD. 

Back in Phnom Penh, Chham oversees public sector performance across cities, districts, communes and sangkats (subdistricts). "Now I can see more clearly where our systems can be improved," he said. "China's experience helps us identify the real levers of reform so we can keep raising the quality of public service." 

At ISSCAD, Chham grounded his research in the economics of national development. He noted that the China-Cambodia relationship has left a visible mark on the country through infrastructure built jointly under the Belt and Road Initiative. 

A year after graduation, Chham has returned to study the strategic logic of China's Five-Year Plans, a model he believes Cambodia can draw on as it builds its own digital future. "In Cambodia, we are trying to integrate digital technology into our national development plan. It is very useful to come here and learn what China is planning for the next five years." 

Chham Chhavirak 

Friends all over the world 

John Smith Jr., a 2026 PhD graduate, describes his vision for Liberia as people-centric development: development that is practically useful to people, improves well-being, generates income, supports livelihoods and strengthens the economy. 

A Liberian national and former Monrovian Youth Leader, Smith completed a doctorate in economics focused on small and medium-sized enterprise incubation for economic development, drawing on case studies from Special Economic Zones in China. Before his PhD at PKU, he worked as a feminist economic policy specialist with UN Women, an assistant professor at the University of Liberia and a consultant with the World Bank. 

John Smith Jr. 

Reflecting on his time at PKU, he said his favourite takeaway was the friendships he made, which made him feel at home. That sense of belonging, he said, is something he and his fellow ISSCAD alumni will carry well beyond PKU's four gates. Wherever he goes in the world, he will find alumni who will welcome him like family.