Nairobi, June 30 -- Today, the Communist Party of China (CPC) marks its 105th anniversary. For some observers, the milestone is measured in years. For business leaders and development practitioners, however, it is better measured in outcomes.

After all, anniversaries do not build roads, educate children, expand exports, or lift people out of poverty. Policies do.

The story of the CPC began not in the industrial parks of Shenzhen nor the financial district of Shanghai, but on a modest wooden vessel anchored on Nanhu Lake in Zhejiang Province. In 1921 aboard this modest vessel, known today as the Red Boat, it was there that delegates concluded the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China and announced its founding.

What be...