THIS scribe recently returned from a twelve-day study tour of China, meticulously organized by the State Council of Information.

The tour—covering industrial zones, ports, and logistics centres—offered profound lessons in governance, development, and social welfare. Chief among them was China’s structured approach to eliminating absolute poverty through community-led empowerment, a model that sparked renewed purpose in an Islamabad-based charity initiative.

To appreciate this revival, we revisit a pivotal moment in 2017. At the behest of Madame Bao, spouse of then-Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong, a group of Pakistani women entrepreneurs—including a senator’s wife, school board leaders, a World Bank executive, a hotelier’s spouse, and this scribe’s wife—visited China to observe grassroots development efforts.

What they encountered defied the typical development narrative. Rather than top-down aid, the delegation saw participatory governance in action. Community members co-designed their own uplift—regularly engaging with local officials to build essential services: schools, vocational training centers, clinics, and canteens with a strong focus on senior care. This collaborative, citizen-centric approach is central to President Xi Jinping’s vision to eradicate extreme poverty—a goal officially met by China in 2020.

This ethos stood in sharp contrast to Pakistan’s development framework, where local initiatives often operate in isolation, with fragmented support and minimal state backing. For this scribe’s wife and her peers, China’s approach wasn’t just inspirational—it was a blueprint for redefining civic engagement.

On returning, she deepened........

© Pakistan Observer