Former Brazilian politician gauges China's reform

BEIJING - Chinese reformists are not the only ones eagerly awaiting the upcoming Party meeting, which is expected to unveil a number of new measures. Wladimir Pomar, a former senior official of Brazil's left-wing Workers' Party (PT) and an expert on China, will also be keeping a close eye on proceedings.

"I hope that social problems arising from China's three-decade reform will be placed high on the agenda at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and that the conference seeks to enhance the status of the people," the 77-year-old said in an interview with Xinhua.

Son of a former high-ranking official of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Pomar was a founder of the PT, the country's current ruling party, and an ex-member of the PT's national executive committee before he went into business in the 1990s.

Keeping a close eye on China's development and carrying out extensive research for decades, Pomar has published four books on Chinese history and modern society, as well as explaining economic and political reforms of the country.

In his view, a reduction in job opportunities caused by growing productivity has constituted a major challenge for the world's second largest economy that is embracing a technological revolution.

He said this situation could last 30 to 50 years, but it should be handled now, saying the issue will be discussed at the meeting.

Pomar believes "the CPC and the Chinese government are able to maintain the country's nature of socialism while successfully deal with challenges facing them today and in the future."

He first visited China in June 1981, after it had decided to open up and usher in reforms at a key policy-planning meeting in 1978. However, the breakthrough led many around the world to speculate whether the country had embarked on a capitalist road.

"There was fierce debate in Brazil. Western media said China had embraced capitalism. PCdoB as well as the majority of Brazilian lefties were convinced," recalled Pomar.

This prompted Pomar to find out with his own eyes.

During a 22-day tour, Pomar and his wife visited Chinese rural areas that were undergoing profound change. Before the visit, he had learned about the country through listening to Portuguese-language programs of China Radio International and reading Spanish and French translations of CPC leaders' works.

The linchpin of the rural reform was the household contract responsibility system. Aimed at stimulating farmers' initiative, it allowed families to use the land through long-term contracts, choose what to grow and keep produce after paying taxes, instead of working for the rural collectives.

Pomar also found the Chinese government's procurement price for cereals had risen sharply, signaling a weakening of its nearly three-decade policy of state monopoly for purchase and marketing of grains, which was eventually called off in 1985.

"We were truly surprised to see the roles of the family-contract system and price adjustments in boosting grain output, and amazed to know 'People's Communes' were transformed into enterprises processing and exporting agricultural produce," he said.

In contrast to the prevalent "capitalist China" view in Brazil, Pomar concluded that China did not convert to capitalism and that it would have bright prospects.

He drew an analogy between China's reform at the time and the Soviet Union's new economic policy adopted in the 1920s, which permitted farmers to trade their surpluses and the government substituted grain collections with a tax.

In 1984, Pomar visited China again to help the PT establish relations with the CPC. The first-hand experience further enriched his understanding of the country's reform in full swing.

Three years later, he published his first book on China -- "The Chinese Enigma: Capitalism or Socialism."

"My thoughts in the book were heard, but not taken seriously. People said I was a dreamer and the Chinese experience was just a bubble that would not last long," Pomar said.

But clearly they were wrong. China's gross domestic product (GDP) shot up 140 times between 1978 and 2012.

"Two decades after the book's release, some in Brazil began to realize that 80 percent of my predictions came true. I would owe that to the wisdom of the Chinese people, rather than mine," he said.

In 1996, Pomar made his third trip to China, leading a delegation of Brazilian enterprises with a keen interest in the emerging economy.

Seven years later, he started a company in Brazil, dedicated to attracting Chinese investors, primarily in the fields of hydropower and heavy machinery.

As a politician-turned-businessman, Pomar has felt significant adjustments of China's macroeconomic policy.

"For many years, export-oriented production remained crucial to bolster growth in China. However, building a powerful domestic market has become an important part of the government's policy now," he added.