Development Begins with People: Lessons from a Thai Salon and a Pomelo Orchard
Editor's Note: In the first installment of this series, Wirun Phichaiwongphakdee, Director of the Thailand-China Research Center of the Belt and Road Initiative, explores the human side of international cooperation. Through stories of a hair salon in Kalasin and a pomelo orchard in Guangxi, he illustrates how targeted assistance and mutual learning translate broad development goals into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
My research on China and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as my work promoting Thailand-China and Asia-Pacific cooperation, has taken me to many parts of Asia. I have visited families in northeastern Thailand and villages in Guangxi, China. These experiences have reinforced a belief I have long held: A country’s development ultimately matters because of what it means for people’s lives, and the value of international cooperation is ultimately found in the real difference it makes in those lives.
These years of travel and engagement have also deepened my understanding of President Xi Jinping’s thought on governance. From pursuing people-centered development, to advancing Belt and Road cooperation, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and building a community with a shared future for mankind, I see a consistent idea at the heart of all these efforts. Development should help people lead happier lives. Cooperation should enable more countries to benefit from new growth opportunities. And in the end, humanity should draw on its collective strength to advance our common development.
Today, I would therefore like to share a few stories from my own experience.
For years, I have studied China’s experience in this field. How did China succeed in bringing about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty? And what does that experience mean for Thailand and other countries of the Global South?
For me, the answer begins and ends with people.
In Thailand’s Kalasin Province, I met Ms. Nawawan. She knew how to do hair and beauty work and wanted to use those skills to improve life for her family. Because her family was struggling financially, she could not afford the equipment she needed to start her own business.
After learning about her difficulties, the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Khon Kaen provided her with the equipment and supplies she needed, helping her open a small salon.
When I later visited her, she told me that if she was able to build a better life for herself one day, she hoped to help others in need as well.
This story also takes me back to the question of what enabled China to bring about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty. I believe President Xi Jinping’s concept of targeted poverty alleviation played a very important role. What matters most about this approach is that it translates broad national development goals into solutions to the specific difficulties faced by individual families and individuals.
Poverty reduction does more than raise a person’s income. More importantly, it gives people the ability to build a better life through their own efforts.
In Du’an, Guangxi, China, I saw another dimension of China-Thailand cooperation in poverty reduction.
Du’an County was once deeply impoverished. After lifting itself out of poverty, the county began pursuing rural revitalization through distinctive local agriculture, including the cultivation of Ruby Pomelo introduced from Thailand. Yet because the soil, climate, and growing conditions were different, farmers soon encountered new technical difficulties.
Some local villagers once asked me whether I could bring Thai agricultural experts here to help them.
I promised that I would.
One year later, I returned to Du’an with Professor Wattana Rattanaporn, president of Suratthani Rajabhat University, and a team of Thai agricultural specialists. We went into the orchards together, looking closely at the soil, the leaves, and the fruit, and discussing issues such as fertilization, drainage, and cultivation techniques.
In the past, we often talked about how Thailand could learn from China’s poverty reduction experience. Today, Thai agricultural expertise can also contribute to China’s rural development and help farmers solve real problems on the ground.
That is what cooperation means to me, sharing our best experience and working together to address development challenges.
I also see in this an important message for the Global South from President Xi Jinping’s people-centered approach to development. Countries may take different paths to modernization, but in the end, the ultimate test is the same. Are people living better lives?
(If you have specific expertise, or would like to share your thoughts, please send us your writings at CAobservation@outlook.com)
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