When it comes to "transformational", he explained that not only has China lifted many people out of poverty, but it has also transformed more aspects of the world. "Take the tourism industry for example, the whole global tourist industry is literally being transformed by Chinese tourists," he said.

Tourists from the Chinese mainland made more than 130 million outbound trips last year, spending $115.29 billion in the process, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

O'Neill described an encounter with a Chinese tourist during a hiking trip on top of Switzerland's Schilthorn mountain as memorable and uplifting.

Famous as the location for one of the early James Bond films, the mountain is a big tourist attraction, with many choosing to take the cable car up. An avid hiker, O'Neill chose to walk instead.

"After walking the mountains for hours, I was a bit disheveled and cold given the height of the mountain," he said. "But my spirits were lifted by listening to what seemed like a Chinese lady singing in the most fantastic voice, rather loudly, the famous song The Hills Are Alive from the musical The Sound of Music, and she received a massive round of applause from everyone afterward."

O'Neill said it was indicative of the freedom enjoyed by Chinese people and especially their creativity, adding that it refuted the perception that China has an issue with allowing and encouraging genuine, open imagination.

He attributed China's economic success partly to its Five-Year Plan, which keeps the nation's development aligned with its strategic direction, an idea he said many other countries, particularly developing ones, should copy.

"China had these clear, every five years, repeated priorities about what it wants to achieve ... and by and large, China stuck to that," he said.