KINSHASA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- "The Shanghai World Expo was another great milestone in China after the 2008 Beijing Olympics," Faustin Kiala, an economic operator in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Kiala, who is also the president of the Bana Mbanza Mpangu farmers' association, said that after the successful organization of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the Chinese people have demonstrated to the international community that they have taken their destiny in their own hands and that they are committed to a development process which today makes their country one of the greatest economic, political, cultural and scientific nation on the planet.

"I think that a country like DR Congo should copy the Chinese development model so that she can also become an economic powerhouse in Africa.

"In the agricultural sector, for example, we have a lot to learn from China. In DR Congo, we have very fertile soils and water sources that can help us to carry out extensive farming. China has shown her capability to feed the over one billion people and export more food to other parts of the world. This is a an agricultural powerhouse that we should emulate," he explained.

The president of Bana Mbanza Mpangu association pointed out the need for DR Congo to develop close relations with China, especially in the agricultural, cultural and tourism sectors.

"For us at the associational level, we are using the Chinese model to manage our organization and develop our structures. We are still searching for Chinese partners who can help us to develop our agro-pastoral zone," he said.