Dr. Mohamed Noman Galal, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations and former ambassador to China, said that the political development in the Middle East and China's economic development have challenged the concept of the ballot box as a basis for political legitimacy.? 

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Mohamed Noman Galal, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations and former ambassador to China, delivers a speech on "Chinese Developmental Democracy" at the fifth World Forum on China Studies in Shanghai, March 23, 2013. [Photo/Sun Yuqing/chinadaily.com.cn]

The election as a means to achieve democracy resulted in Islamic movements taking power and has lead to riots and complaints from various ethnic or religious minorities, he said at the fifth World Forum on China Studies held in Shanghai.? 

The future situation in the Middle East is still unclear as liberal and religious parties are still quarreling following the Arab Spring. The ballot box in the Arab world invited in some forces that do not understand the meaning of democracy, said Galal, who has been in Egypt's foreign services for 38 years.

China's trajectory from a poor nation to the world's second largest economy and its political system provides a pioneering model for economic growth.

He suggests that one pillar of China's development model is the ability of the Communist Party of China to adapt and align Party ideology with ongoing changes and developments at home and abroad. 

Although China faces challenges, including the widening gap between emerging classes, the process of urbanization and the promotion of capitalism–based entrepreneurship projects can drive China's further growth.

Galal said democracy and legitimacy by performance and achievement is a far more rational approach than through ballot boxes in areas where poverty, insecurity and corruption prevail.

China's development is commendable also because it seeks no domination or hegemony. Instead, it has created various mechanisms such as the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and China-Africa Cooperation Forum to establish strategic relations.