When President Hu Jintao pledged in his opening speech at the 18th Party Congress on Thursday that China would double the 2010 average income by 2020, the French politician Jean-Pierre Raffarin said in Paris it was "very welcome news" for debt-ridden Western countries.

"This is not only good for Chinese citizens, whose increased incomes will boost their consumption, but also encouraging for European countries such as France," Raffarin said.

Raffarin, vice-president of the French Senate and the prime minister from 2002 to 2005, said in an exclusive interview that this goal could help China switch the focus of its economic development from investment and foreign trade to domestic consumption.

The new development model will encourage China's expanding middle class to spend more on goods imported from Europe, travel overseas and send more students to Western universities. In addition, China's further industrialization and urbanization will offer more opportunities for European technologies and know-how.

"These trends will help tap the potential of European countries," said Raffarin, who added he has been busy giving interviews on China's development, the role of the Communist Party of China, the outgoing leadership's legacy and what he knows about the incoming leaders as the 18th National Congress of the CPC progresses in Beijing.

"The world is watching this political event because the message from Beijing is vital for the rest of the world," he said.

Looking back, Raffarin said, China's current leadership, led by Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao, consisted of "strategic people" whose endeavors to boost global economic pace are the cornerstones of its legacy.

That they kept China's growth at a fast pace for the past 10 years is a remarkable achievement, he said.