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From community renewal to sustainable transit: two Latin American scholars draw on the people-centered planning embedded in China’s urban development_我的网站

A |     冀时新闻报道 系列报道《自豪！我是雄安人》今天走进建设一线，看中铁建工集团项目经理杜泽文和团队对标新区高标准高质量严要求，发扬铁军作风，全力铸就精品工程。

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    Foreign tourists view a model of urban planning and construction at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center on August 10, 2025. Photo: VCG
Editor's Note:
Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out, "to understand China today, one must learn to understand the Communist Party of China (CPC)." With the rapid development of China's economy and society, and the steady advancement of the Chinese path to modernization, the notable achievements of the CPC have drawn extensive international attention and scholarly interest. Against this backdrop, the Global Times has launched the "CPC in Global Eyes" column, focusing on the feelings, perspectives and insights of international friends from various fields regarding the CPC's historical path and achievements.
They include those who have toured China, who deeply study the CPC in academic fields, who work, live, study, seek employment or do business in various fields in China, and who pay close attention to the CPC's policies and trends, although they haven't visited the country in person. Through their vivid personal experiences, we aim to present a multifaceted overseas view of the CPC.
In the 16th installment of this series, we followed two Latin American scholars as they toured Chinese cities, witnessing how the CPC's people-centered, long-term development vision is translated into tangible everyday improvements - and reflecting on what China's experience might offer for state capacity building in Latin America.

Standing before the glass at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, Ecuadorian scholar María Imelda Robalino gently traced the edge of the giant city model with her fingertips, her eyes reflecting the orderly contours of this megacity stretching toward the horizon. The clear lines linking green spaces along the city's iconic Huangpu River, dense residential neighborhoods and industrial parks drew the public administration scholar, who has long studied urban expansion in Latin America, into deep thought.
Beside her, Mariana Escalante, a Mexican scholar in China studies, gazed at the scrolling timeline of Shanghai's long-term urban plans on a screen and expressed her admiration for the CPC and the Chinese government's all-out efforts in development and construction. "It's very impressive that they're taking care of all the factors that influence Chinese people, not just development and the economy, but also the environment and the well-being of the people," she told the Global Times at the exhibition center.
In June, a delegation of more than 20 think tank scholars from about 15 Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador, started their tour in China. Over the course of more than 10 days, they visited cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, and went into urban planning exhibition centers, residential communities, Party schools, eco-friendly power plants and university think tanks. Robalino and Escalante were among them. Like many others in the group, they came with a shared purpose: to see for themselves what Chinese modernization under CPC leadership actually looks like.
"I always emphasize the importance of seeing and experiencing China with my own eyes, in addition to learning about it through documents, academic research or news reports," Escalante told the Global Times.
    Mariana Escalante visits an eco-friendly power company in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, on June 11, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of Escalante
From plans to everyday life
For Escalante, this trip to China was far from her first encounter with the country.
A professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and founder of Mexican Association of Sinology, she has visited China many times before - yet each journey still brings fresh discoveries. "China is a country that changes at an impressive speed, so I try to visit as often as possible," she told the Global Times. "Every trip allows me to observe new processes, and compare what I study in texts with how policies are implemented."
Robalino approached her China visit with a broader set of expectations. Her institution, Ecuador's National Institute of Advanced Studies, has a Center for Chinese Studies, and this trip was meant to deepen existing academic ties. As a scholar of public policy and innovation, she also hoped to observe firsthand how China builds state capacity.
With different expectations, the delegation set off on a "dialogue" spanning mountains and seas. In Shanghai, the Latin American scholars visited the city's urban planning exhibition center and also stepped into one of its most local residential communities. If the former showed them how a metropolis is "planned" into being, the field visit to Block 228 Changbai New Village Subdistrict, or Changbai 228, revealed how planning is translated into everyday life - through the leadership and support of CPC organizations at every level.
On an afternoon in early June, the delegation stepped into Changbai 228 in Shanghai's Yangpu district. Since its completion in 1952, it has served as a warm home for the city's industrial workers. More than seven decades later, through urban planning, it has been transformed into a mixed-use community that preserves historical memory while offering modern services.
As the delegation walked through the neighborhood, they passed one amenity after another: a convenience commercial center, an affordable sports and health center, a restaurant, and subsidized rental housing. Inside a local Party-mass service center, some residents were dancing, while music drifted out into the hall. At the entrance, several scholars paused and, unable to resist, began clapping along to the beat.
"From the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, I was able to observe how the state plans and envisions the development of the city; at Changbai 228, I was able to observe the results of that action from the perspective of the community and everyday life," Robalino told the Global Times. What intrigued her most was "how a planned intervention can become a space that does not feel rigid or imposed, but instead becomes a place for connection and coexistence." To her, the case revealed one of the less visible dimensions of public action: what happens after planning, during implementation, when public decisions become part of people's daily lives.
Escalante was equally struck by what Changbai 228 revealed about the CPC's people-centered philosophy. "What attracted my attention most at 228 was the close connection between urban renewal and the everyday well-being of residents," she said.
"Urban space should not be organized solely around commercial consumption. Changbai 228 includes commercial services, but it also has public and community spaces where people can meet, rest or take part in activities, without consumption necessarily being at the center of the experience." In Escalante's view, the CPC's people-centered approach had taken on tangible form. "Development should not be understood only in economic terms or in terms of economic gain, but also in terms of the people."
    Foreign tourists visit the Bund in Shanghai on August 17, 2026. Photo: VCG
An immersive understanding

Having visited China in person and seen firsthand how CPC policies are implemented in everyday life and put at the service of the people, these Latin American scholars with a strong interest in China gained a more immersive understanding of some of the Party's core concepts.
Several of the projects the scholars visited enabled them to observe how these concepts are translated into concrete policies and projects, Escalante said. She pointed to some terms often mentioned by the CPC and the Chinese government, such as "people-centered development," "common prosperity" and "Chinese modernization."
"People-centered development" means that development should not be measured solely by economic growth, infrastructure construction or technological progress, but also by its ability to improve people's livelihoods and quality of life, she added.
The scholar further pointed out that, "common prosperity" adds another layer to this vision: growth and modernization should benefit a broader swath of society, and development should help reduce social and regional inequalities. "What is the point of achieving high levels of economic growth or technological development if a significant part of the population is left outside its benefits?"
As for "Chinese modernization," Escalante described it as a modernization path suited to China's own historical, social and political conditions, rather than the assumption that there is only one universal model to follow.
"The leadership of the CPC is also explicitly presented as one of its central elements. From my perspective, the role of the Party is precisely one of the defining features of this process," she told the Global Times. "The Chinese government has considerable capacity to set long-term development goals, coordinate public policies and mobilize resources toward specific priorities. What interests me is how these broad ideas are translated - or are intended to be translated - into concrete policies, and what results they produce at different levels of society."
Cooperation amid challenges
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum. Data show that in 2024 trade between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries exceeded $500 billion for the first time, more than 40 times that of the beginning of this century. In 2025, the figure climbed further to $549 billion. More than 20 Latin American countries had joined the Belt and Road cooperation framework, the Xinhua News Agency reported in May 2025.
Behind the numbers are scholars' observations and reflections. Escalante believes that one of the most practical and promising areas for cooperation between China and Latin America lies in sustainable urban transportation and its integration with new energy - including electric public transit, charging infrastructure, energy storage technologies, smart traffic management systems and shared mobility services. "These are particularly relevant areas for large Latin American cities that face problems such as congestion, pollution, unequal access to transportation and long commuting times," she said.
From the perspective of public administration, Robalino pointed to at least two areas where China and Latin America could find concrete opportunities for South-South cooperation.
"One is the exchange of experience on long-term planning, policy monitoring and strengthening implementation capacity; the other is public innovation," she told the Global Times. "It would be particularly interesting to exchange methodologies for experimentation, institutional learning and scaling up innovations."
When asked about the resurgence of "Monroe Doctrine" thinking in the US, Escalante did not evade the issue. "US influence and pressure on Latin America have a long history," she said. What worries her now, she added, is that the US government has once again publicly invoked the Monroe Doctrine, "which inevitably raises questions in Latin America about sovereignty and the capacity to make our own decisions."
At the same time, Escalante argued that it is too simplistic to explain Latin America's limited autonomy solely through external pressure. "Autonomy also depends on our own capacities. A country with strong institutions, a more diversified economy, lower levels of poverty and inequality, greater scientific and technological capabilities, and a long-term development strategy also has more room to decide with whom it wants to build relations and on what terms," she said.
Looking at Latin America, Escalante said one of the most important lessons from China's experience is the country's ability to define long-term goals and, above all, to translate them into concrete policies.
"Our countries have very different political systems, histories and social conditions, so this is not about copying the Chinese model," she told the Global Times. "However, we can reflect on the importance of building institutional systems that can plan, coordinate policies, ensure a certain degree of continuity and make public decisions truly take effect."
As the scholar put it, "China's experience can prompt Latin America to ask an important question: how do we build states with enough capacity to turn development goals into concrete and lasting improvements in people's lives?"
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C | 中铁建工启动区财富大厦项目经理 杜泽文：下午组织咱对小市政和景观进行一个关键工序的验收。正在项目现场召开调度会的就是杜泽文。由他牵头建设的启动区财富大厦项目主体结构已经封顶，目前已全面进入室内装修、室外小市政及景观工程收尾阶段。财富大厦所在的雄安金融岛片区，将打造为金融机构疏解的集中承载地和金融科技创新中心，成为雄安CBD的核心区。中铁建工启动区财富大厦项目经理 杜泽文：我们承建的财富大厦项目是金融岛片区的首开项目，是整个区域开发的开路先锋，在项目建成之后重点是承接北京金融机构疏解落地。作为建设者，这一辈子能亲身参与这样一座未来之城的建设，我内心无比自豪。两年前，满怀着能够参与雄安这座未来之城建设的自豪感，杜泽文来到了雄安。从此，他把高标准、高质量推进项目建设的理念，落实到日常工作的每一个环节。项目团队创新应用"智慧建造"体系：采用桩基超声波成孔检测仪、复合桩定位器等技术保障基础精度，引入智能收面机器人、抹光机器人替代传统人工施工。中铁建工启动区财富大厦项目经理 杜泽文：切实提升了工程质量和建设的效率。说实话，把这么多的新技术集中在一个项目上，在雄安以外很难有这样的实践机会。正午时分，食堂短暂的就餐时间也成了杜泽文协调工作的窗口。现场沟通协调，立即拍板落实，早已成为项目部的工作日常。

D | 约定验收的时间一到，杜泽文戴好安全帽、穿上反光马甲直奔施工现场。地砖缝隙、墙面平整度，小到毫米级细节，大到整体观感，他一项项认真核验。

E | 在他看来，工程满足验收不是目标，要主动对标更高标准。中铁建工启动区财富大厦项目经理 杜泽文：在雄安你可能做到80分很勉强，大家因为都普遍都是优秀，90多分，是这种标准这种尺度，而且基本上都是百年工程的标准去打造。今年暑假，在北京读书的孩子来到雄安，杜泽文依然每天早出晚归，虽然很少有时间陪孩子，但孩子却没有怨言，因为他知道爸爸是在建设雄安新区。

F | 杜泽文儿子 杜宸逸：作为一个雄安建设者家庭的最小的一辈，我感到非常之骄傲。我肯定要成为他，他现在就是我的榜样。中铁建工启动区财富大厦项目经理 杜泽文：经过两年的攻坚，项目即将完工交付。现在的心情就像看到自己家的孩子，马上要迎接大考，既期待又紧张，看着自己倾注心血的建筑拔地而起，打心底感到骄傲。

G | 九年来，正是无数像杜泽文一样的建设者接续奋斗、默默付出，才让雄安新区5374栋楼宇拔地而起，疏解产业相继落地，人民生活持续改善，一座生机勃勃的未来之城从蓝图走进现实。国网雄安新区供电公司共产党员服务队队长 张锐：在新建片区，我们的中、低压配电网的供电可靠性已经接近了6个“9”，这个标准即将赶超世界一流城市的水平。作为一名电力人，能够伴随新区一同成长，并且为它的发展贡献一份力量，我们心中满满都是幸福和成就感。二十二冶雄安新区起步区青藤小镇（北区）项目经理 刘超群：大到整体空间规划，小到一栋楼房、一个公园，都把高标准、高质量、绿色低碳落到实处。我发自内心为雄安新区的欣欣向荣而骄傲，更为自己能够投身雄安新区建设而自豪。

H | 中铁建工雄安新区启动区财富大厦项目党支部书记 毛炳壮：作为项目的党支部书记，带领全体的建设者，把党建成效实实在在转化为项目建设成果。全力以赴为雄安新区高标准建设，高质量发展贡献中铁建工力量。

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