BEIJING - The international community has attached great importance and spoken highly of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which successfully concluded on Wednesday.

It is believed that the important guidelines formulated at the congress have directed China's future development and contributed to world peace and development.

Thaba Moyo, mayor of Bulawayo, the second largest city of Zimbabwe, told that the achievements made at the congress would exert huge influence on the development of China and the world at large.

Moyo said the congress has developed a practical and achievable blueprint for China to build an overall well-off society by 2020.

He praised that China has promoted the building of lasting peace and prosperity in the world and adhered to the development of socialist democracy within the country.

Sumathi Dharmawardena, secretary-general of the Sri Lanka-China Friendship Association, said the CPC congress was held amid complex global economic and political situations, and that it has laid a solid foundation for the country's socio-economic development, and made contributions to the stability and development of the region and the world.

The congress has further addressed the issue of imbalanced economic development in the country, and has been seeking a balance between boosting the economy and improving the living standards of its people, the secretary-general said.

Frans-Paul van der Putten, a senior researcher at Clingendael Institute, a Dutch think tank, said the important congress would bring huge changes to the country. He believed that China would move forward along its own path and that China's rise would make a significant impact on the world.

Kastorius Sinaga, in charge of external affairs at Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said every move of China, as the world's second largest economy, exerts a vital influence on the global economy.

The world has paid attention to the changes brought by the congress and to China's future development, Sinaga added.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, a leader of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), told that China's foreign policy set at the congress would further strengthen the relationship between China and its partners, and that countries from Africa, America, Europe and Asia would benefit from China's development and Chinese government policies.

Peruvian Minister of Economy and Finance Luis Miguel Castilla said the congress would significantly impact China's economic development. China would develop a new growth model, and pursue economic adjustment and reform after witnessing rapid growth in the last decade.

Jerome Guedj, president of the general council of Essonne, France, said China, as the world's most populous country, has played a critical role in global economy.

China will take crucial steps to achieve a balanced economy and attain sustainable use of energy, which will further contribute to protecting the global environment, Guedj said.

Professor Severino Cabral, director of Brazil's China and Asia-Pacific Research Institute, said the 18th CPC congress was held at a critical moment for China's future development.

China is the biggest developing country with the world's largest population, he said.

China is also the second biggest economic entity in the world, Cabral said, adding that both developed and developing countries will benefit from the sustained growth of the Chinese economy.

He believes that with its progress and peaceful rise in the coming decades, China will play a leading role in promoting the stability and democratization of the international order, and will extend its influence on world economy and politics.

China plays a critical role in the establishment of a new multi-polar world, he added.

Mehari Taddele Maru, international consultant on the African Union (AU) and African peace and security, said China's amazing development over the past three decades and the ongoing 18th CPC National Congress have drawn great attention from the media and scholars across the world.

He said it is very inspirational that China managed to get 1 billion people out of poverty and put the country as the second biggest economy in the world in three decades.

Many African academics, economists, and politicians have been interested in China's success, said the scholar.

Koffi Ahadzi Nonou, president of the University of Lome, said the 18th CPC congress is a big event for both China and the world.

The achievements that China has made over the last 30 years should be attributed to the policies and decisions of the CPC, he said.

He believed that the 18th congress will have a big impact on China's politics, economy, and social development in the future.

The significance of the 18th congress lies in the fact that China, as a strong diplomatic, military and economic power, greatly influences the development of the world, the university president said.

Mohamed Khalil, president of the association for friendship and exchange between Morocco and China, said he used to be a Moroccan student who studied in China for 10 years.

He personally experienced and witnessed the great development and changes of China.

The development strategies to be mapped out at the CPC congress, a grand meeting that attracts worldwide attention, will create a rosy outlook for China's future, he said.