by Xinhua writer Zhang Yongxing

SUVA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A more confident China has made remarkable achievements over the past decades, especially over the last 40 years thanks to its reform and opening-up, and there is no doubt that China is advancing toward a bright future it deserves, a Fijian expert has said.

"China is not at all what I had expected it to be when I first decided to go in 2013, my first visit. And after spending a couple of years there, I would say that China is a real great country which has made remarkable achievements and has been turning itself into 'a country with endless opportunities'," Keshmeer Makun, a lecturer of the University of the South Pacific's School of Economics based in the Fijian capital Suva, told Xinhua on Sunday.

"China is now more confident than ever before. It has done extremely well particularly in the last 40 years since its opening to the rest of the world, with respect to reducing poverty, creating jobs and global governance," he said.

"After the reform and opening-up, it is, in fact, 'a new China.' The Chinese people's living standard has been raised a lot. And the continued economic growth has also helped lift millions of people out of poverty," he said.

"It is amazing that China, a country with a population of more than 1.3 billion, has been on a fast track of development," said the expert.

Makun, who studied in China for almost four years and traveled to China twice in recent years, spoke highly of the infrastructure development in the world's most populous country.

"What has impressed me most is the expressways and high-speed trains' networks as well as the new and modern airports across the East Asian country," he said.

Makun believes that China is now a very important country in the world as it has not only been developing itself, but also helping develop the rest of the world.

"Indeed China has become an important global economic player and its contribution is very appreciated by the world, especially by developing countries including those in the South Pacific region," he said.

"In fact, academic research suggests that China's affordable exports have enabled consumers in the West to improve their real purchasing power by hundreds, and in some cases thousands of U.S. dollars every year. Besides its exports to the world, China is also a major importer, and the Shanghai Import Expo is just the symbol," he added.

Besides strengthening its investments across the world, China, the world's largest source of tourists, is now a big player in the world tourism market.

From Makun's point of view, China has been playing a very important role in safeguarding world peace and stability.

"From providing roughly 3 percent of total financial contributions in 2013, China currently contributes 10.25 percent of the UN peacekeeping budget. I think China is a real alternative in the world peacekeeping operations," he said.

The Fijian expert believes that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a great contribution China has made to the world, saying that the BRI has been welcomed by a lot of countries because it has provided a great platform for all participating countries to seek win-win cooperation.

The Pacific island countries lack infrastructure and supply chain logistics to increase exports, he said.

"I think China's assistance through the BRI to the Pacific region is helping substantially and consequently injects impetus to further cooperation through trade and investment."

Makun believes that China has been redoubling its efforts to reach its goal of becoming a modern and prosperous country.

"For me, China's future is bright and China will achieve its ambitious goal of becoming a modern and prosperous country," he added.