SHANGHAI -- After visiting the site of the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shanghai, Mauritian doctor Sumayyah Hosany gained a deeper understanding of the original aspirations of the CPC.

"No matter where I go, I see how people are receptive to what the government is doing for them," she said as she attended the 9th World Forum on Chinese Studies held in Shanghai.

Themed "the Communist Party of China, China, and the World," the two-day forum attracted nearly 200 renowned scholars from 42 countries and international organizations.

Hosany was also impressed by the CPC's efforts on poverty alleviation. "In terms of poverty alleviation, Mauritius has a lot to learn from China. First secretaries were dispatched to help the local people better understand the concept of poverty alleviation and help them achieve their goals," she said.

Jorah Kai Wood, a Canadian teacher at Chongqing Foreign Language School, has been paying attention to China's carbon-reduction efforts.

He said that the Chinese government cares about the natural environment, and China's efforts in pursuit of carbon neutrality are incredible.

"China has also set gold standards for pandemic prevention," he said.

Wood has written a book chronicling his life in China in early 2020, a period when the whole country was engaged in an all-out effort to battle COVID-19.

Another attendee was Pakistani scholar Zoon Ahmed Khan, a research fellow on the Belt and Road Initiative at Tsinghua University. "It's absolutely fundamental and important to improve the level of prosperity and stability, and to address the root causes of challenges that we face in developing countries in Asia," she said.

"One of the facts I have studied and understood about China and its governance model is that it's very practical," she said.