Srilanka, Feb. 2 -- When a fellow Governing Council Member of the Marga Institute suggested that I represent our organisation at the 2nd Global South Think Tank Conference in Nanjing, China, I did not anticipate the profound and intellectually enriching experience that awaited me.

Having never visited China before, I was well aware of the polarised discourse surrounding the country-often framed through competing ideological narratives.

On one side, a neo-liberal, pro-American perspective warns of China's expanding global influence; on the other, an opposing view champions China's State-led development model as a blueprint for success.

Navigating these contrasting perspectives, I approached the conference with both curiosity and sceptic...