Interview: China's tailored development a model for LatAm: Costa Rica's ex-ambassador

In pursuing development, China crafted a plan according to its own needs, and this is the lesson Latin America should learn from the Asian giant, Costa Rica's former ambassador Marco Vinicio Ruiz told Xinhua.

Cookie-cutter solutions are rarely as effective as tailored plans, and in that sense Costa Rica and China have something in common, said Ruiz, who is also former minister of foreign trade.

"I believe we have not strictly followed what others told us (and) neither did China .... They decided what they wanted to do and they have made enormous progress in different areas, especially in lifting many of the people out of poverty," said Ruiz.

Costa Rica's formula has been promoting education and a skilled work force, said Ruiz.

"Costa Rica is an example of a country that has promoted development in the past 30 years by investing in our people, in education, in developing a culture of sustainable development," said Ruiz.

When devising their own development programs, regional countries can learn from China's experience, said Ruiz, who helped broker the free-trade agreement between China and Costa Rica.

"China's example, in certain ways, is very important for Latin America. They have done a terrific job in trying to develop less developed areas, such as bringing people from the countryside into the industrial age and at the same time improving their quality of life. That's the reality," said Ruiz.

"We have to find ways for people to really progress -- that is the only way any political system can be sustained -- and China has done that for the past 30 years. That sets a good example," he added.

"In terms of infrastructure, China has shown that it is much better to build infrastructure first, and then development will follow. That is what you can see anywhere you go in China," he said.

"In Costa Rica, we strongly believe that one of the advantages of having ties with China is so we can learn a lot from its development," said Ruiz.

Inspired by China, Costa Rica is studying the feasibility of establishing special economic development zones, "similar to the ones China has built along its eastern and southern coasts," said Ruiz.

"That's a good example of how we can collaborate, learning from China's experience," he said. Endi