LIMA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China's achievements are an excellent example of what can be accomplished when a party is in step with the times and pursues high ideals in service to humanity, said Alberto Moreno, president of the Communist Party of Peru (Red Fatherland).
"The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that the Communist Party of China (CPC) follows is original and responds to the demands of today's world, as well as to the conditions of China," Moreno said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
On the occasion of the CPC's 100th anniversary, the Peruvian political leader said that from the earliest days of its founding until today, the CPC has adhered to one principle: combining Marxism with Chinese revolutionary ideals and continuing to innovate in practice.
Moreno, a seasoned 80-year-old politician, has firsthand experience when it comes to China. He first visited the country in December 1966 for some seven months, leading a delegation of members of his party.
"(For) A good portion of that time I stayed in Beijing. We visited Shanghai, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanchang, Chongqing, Wuhan, Changsha, Xi'an and Yan'an. Of course, I arrived in China with the dream of a country building socialism, a different world from the society from which I came," he said.
"The China of those days was a rural China, a China of traditional cities, with the possible exception of Shanghai," Moreno recalled.
But that China no longer exists today. "Its development is impressive, the population's standard of living is surprising, (and) its technological progress, compared to what I saw, is overwhelmingly different," he said.
Moreno returned to China on several occasions, the last time being three years ago. He said that "each visit has meant a discovery -- its accomplishments are remarkable."
"The achievements made by China, in a relatively short space of time, are the wonder of the world. It is a reality that cannot be ignored, (and) that the peoples of the world applaud," Moreno said.
A member of the Communist Party of Peru since he was 23, Moreno believes the centenary of the founding of the CPC "is an event of great historical global significance."
It is "a party that is in constant renewal, that does not lose its ties to the grassroots, that always goes on facts, and preserves its communist working style and ethical values," Moreno said.
Under its leadership, "the Chinese people have created a true miracle ... That is a reality that cannot be ignored and people over the world admire it," he said.
China's development is not a threat "as the defenders of hegemony in the world believe," but a guarantee of global peace, stability and security, he said.
"We wish the Communist Party of China new and greater victories! Its successes in achieving its great goals and in building socialism with Chinese characteristics are signposts that point the way forward for humanity," Moreno said.
(Video reporters: Zhang Guoying, Yu Li; Video editor: Zheng Xin)■
