by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China's robust economic growth, broad international cooperation and steady domestic political situation are vital for the world's geopolitical stability, a Cuban expert has said.

Jose Luis Robaina, a scholar at Cuba's International Policy Research Center, told Xinhua in a recent interview that it is good for the world if China continues the path of stable development that stresses innovation and multilateralism.

"China plays an essential role in maintaining political and economic stability in the world," he said, adding that as long as China sticks to its current development model and foreign policy principles, "it will be a key factor in maintaining balance around the globe."

The expert spoke highly of China's remarkable economic growth, its increasingly active engagement in global affairs, the modernization of its armed forces, as well as the landmark achievement in lifting millions of people out of poverty.

"These characteristics are key to understanding where China is going," he said, adding that some Western countries tend to use economic cooperation as a leverage to foment political changes in other countries or compel them to make concessions.

Robaina appreciated China's commitment to high-quality economic growth, which the scholar hailed as a "smart move" by the country's top leadership.

"There is a central idea in the (government work) report that China is gradually moving to a high quality economy. A few years ago China's economic development was based on investment, export and foreign trade but it has begun to transform into one that focuses on domestic consumption and innovation," he said.

He also mentioned the 6.5-percent target for China's GDP growth in 2018, saying it is in line with the government's emphasis on the quality rather than quantity of its economic development.

The scholar also highlighted China's goal of lifting the rest of its poor above the government-designated poverty line by 2020, which he said is a goal that demonstrates Beijing's political will to build a prosperous society for the Chinese people.

He said "the whole (Chinese) population in general today lives better than ever before in many aspects," adding that China's poverty reduction efforts over recent years are "an unprecedented feat in history."