by Julia Pierrepont III

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hard-working Chinese people, the reform and opening-up policy, long-term measurable goals, and the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are among the key factors for China's success in the past several decades, said an expert here in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, Robert Lawrence Kuhn is globally recognized with various titles to his name, ranging from bestselling author, popular TV host, commentator, to documentarian, writer and sought-after China expert.

Kuhn's long relationship with China dates back 30 years ago when he made his first trip to China.

He highlighted some key drivers as the primary reasons for China's "economic miracle" -- its astonishing rise from a poor country to a global economic powerhouse in just 40 years.

The country's transformation is due to its hardworking people, who "work long and hard to improve their lives and develop the destiny of their country."

Another key factor is the reform and opening-up policy -- the new outward-facing policy of international engagement introduced in the late 1970s, which has "encouraged economic development and become a vehicle to enable innovation."

Strong leadership of the CPC is also a key reason for China's success story. "China's anti-poverty program and the dramatic, more efficient restructuring of the government to reduce bureaucracy would be impossible without strong party leadership."

Meanwhile, Kuhn also underlined China's decision-making mechanism, which features a combination of setting long-term goals and short-term policies that are monitored and modified continuously.

"This enables policies that require long-term commitments, such as the allocation of water resources between the south and the north or the restructuring of healthcare in rural areas," he said.

Also significant is the Chinese way of experimenting and testing before implementing large-scale programs. "China has such a large population and has been so vulnerable to natural or other kinds of problems. It's very nervous not to make mistakes."

"So any new approach is tested first in a small way before it is rolled out to other cities or provinces, like Shanghai's Free Trade Zone, a highly successful program that China has since rolled out to other areas."

Kuhn said he is most impressed by China's monumental poverty alleviation program that has reshaped China's socio-economic landscape. After traveling extensively throughout rural China, he produced a documentary titled "Voices from the Frontline: China's War on Poverty," to be aired nationwide in the United States on PBS next spring.

This poverty alleviation program is one of the best ways for foreigners to get a glimpse of the real China, said Kuhn.

"I believe when future historians write the chronicles of our times, China's commitment to the welfare of their poor people and its anti-poverty campaign will be considered one of the greatest achievements of our century," said Kuhn.