Forging Ahead

by Li Zhuoxi

Over the 10 years since 2012， the world has witnessed a determined and prosperous China that is pressing ahead with great causes while shouldering greater responsibilities.

In the last decade， China’s economic volume passed the 100-trillion-yuan（US$15.42 trillion） threshold， with its per capita GDP eclipsing US$12，000， and the country contributed over 30 percent of global economic growth.

Nearly 100 million impoverished rural people in China were lifted out of poverty， a historic achievement in eradicating absolute poverty. The per capita disposable income in the country has increased by nearly 80 percent from 2012. China’s total value of trade in goods and services has topped the world for two consecutive years since 2020.

In the past 10 years， China saw continuous emergence of major innovation achievements including the landing of Chang’e spacecraft on the moon， the deployment of the BeiDou navigation satellite system， the Tianwen probe’s exploration of Mars， and the manned submersible Jiaolong reaching the depths of the South China Sea.

China has improved its ranking on the Global Innovation Index list dramatically， and vowed to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. It has completed the construction of the world’s largest clean power generation system， becoming a leader in renewable energy development.

In the decade， a global governance concept of extensive consultation， joint contribution and shared benefits， proposed by China， evolved into a civilizational vision of equality， mutual learning， dialogue and inclusiveness. The common values of humanity collected in the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative have been more readily absorbing distinctive Chinese characteristics to provide optimal guidance and new driving forces to solve the various challenges faced by humankind. China will continue to unswervingly follow a path of peaceful development， promote construction of a community with a shared future for humanity， and make unremitting efforts to create a better future for mankind.

Upholding Party Leadership

Since 2012， the Communist Party of China （CPC） has continued to strengthen its comprehensive and strict self-governance.

The CPC has grown from a political party with only a few dozen members when it was first founded into the world’s largest ruling party with more than 95 million members. It has been in power for 72 consecutive years in the world’s most populous country with global influence still growing.

The Party has led hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and transformed China into an economic and technological powerhouse of the world. One key secret behind such remarkable achievements is insistence on comprehensive and strict governance of the Party， which empowers it to remain advanced and selfless in complex situations and withstand various tests. This is also the most distinctive feature of the CPC.

Deepening Reform and Expanding Opening Up

Over the past decade， China has made great strides in deepening reform and opening up， from rolling out the Foreign Investment Law and promoting construction of Hainan Free Trade Port to further opening up the financial market while maintaining the stability and development of the domestic economy. These measures have provided valuable development opportunities to other countries and injected confidence and impetus into the stability of the world economy.

The country also introduced several major measures for opening up and created new highlands for an open economy with a higher level of openness and a better business environment. A sound industrial support system， abundant human resources， a good innovation environment， and unparalleled domestic demand potential have attracted many foreign-funded enterprises to settle in China and grow alongside the Chinese economy.

Huddled Together for Ice and Snow

Cooperating with the International Olympic Committee （IOC）， the International Paralympic Committee， and other international sports organizations to overcome difficulties and challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic， China delivered a“simple， safe， and splendid” Winter Olympic Games to the world in 2022.

With a gentle sprinkle of ice and snow sports and the Olympic spirit， China lit a beacon of hope， solidarity， and cooperation for the pandemic-weary world. By hosting the Winter Olympics， China again communicated its original aspirations for world peace， mutual respect and equality， and pursuits of peaceful coexistence， solidarity， and development on a world stage.

Moderate Prosperity in All Respects

A moderately prosperous society across all respects is one wherein all people share the fruits of development， no individual， region， or ethnic group is left behind， and the well-rounded development of all is promoted.

The drive to achieve moderate prosperity in all respects has made China more prosperous with happier people and a more stable society. This is how China—the world’s most populous and largest developing country—is contributing to world peace and development in its own way. China’s methods have created positive momentum and various opportunities for the recovery of the world economy， contributing greatly to the construction of a global community with a shared future.

High-quality Development

October 1， 2019， marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Over the past seven decades， China has achieved great improvements in all respects， with its overall national strength and international influence constantly growing.

In 2017， “high-quality development” was proposed at the 19th CPC National Congress. It announced that China’s economy will shift from a stage of high-speed growth to a phase of high-quality development. In recent years， China has made significant progress in urbanization and coordinated regional development， and improved systems and mechanisms to boost high-quality and more efficient， equal and sustainable development.

People’s Democracy

China’s democracy is people’s democracy. The people’s status as masters of the country is the essence of people’s democracy. With complete institutions and extensive participation， whole-process people’s democracy has evolved from an idea into a system and mechanism of governance that has taken root in the soil of Chinese society.

The Chinese people have explored and initiated numerous popular and pragmatic grassroots practices—residents councils， residents workshops， democratic discussions and hearings， courtyard discussions， neighborhood meetings， offline roundtables and online group chats. All these down-to-earth and pragmatic forms of democracy encourage people to voice their opinions and suggestions and conduct extensive consultation on matters related to their vital interests. This helps to coordinate the interests of multiple stakeholders， mitigate conflict， and maintain social stability and harmony at the grassroots level.

Statistics show that Chinese people’s overall satisfaction with the government has remained above 90 percent in recent years， which is the most direct reflection of the strong vitality of China’s democracy.

Breakthroughs in Infrastructure

From Beijing， travelers can reach any of 54 Chinese cities by high-speed rail within half a day. The convenience is a microcosm of the transformation and upgrading of China’s transportation infrastructure in the past decade. Over the years， China has been building a dense infrastructure network， not only accelerating construction of traditional infrastructure such as roads， but also making breakthroughs in new infrastructure construction. The country has built the world’s largest network infrastructure with advanced technology in the past decade. Over the past 10 years， the access bandwidth of the optical fiber network has increased from 10 Mbps to 1000 Mbps， and mobile networks have made breakthroughs in 3G， 4G and 5G.

Fighting Poverty

In 2012， China organized and implemented the most resolute poverty alleviation campaign in human history at an unprecedented scale with efforts benefiting the most people ever. On February 25， 2021， China announced to the world the elimination of absolute poverty in the country. The campaign not only lifted everyone in China’s rural areas out of poverty， but also solved a series of problems hindering transportation， supply of drinking water and electricity， education， healthcare， and communication—issues that had long haunted poverty-stricken areas in the country.

After eradication of absolute poverty， China designated a five-year transition period to consolidate the achievements and comprehensively promote rural revitalization to ensure agricultural development becomes more high-quality and efficient， rural areas more livable and business-friendly， and farmers more happy and optimistic.

Rural Revitalization

Since 2012， the Chinese government has placed top priority on solving issues concerning agriculture， rural areas， and farmers. In 2017， the rural revitalization strategy was proposed at the 19th National Congress of the CPC， which stressed that issues concerning agriculture， rural areas， and farmers were fundamental to China’s national economy and people’s livelihood.

Over the past decade， China has consolidated and improved its grain production capability， eradicated absolute poverty， and significantly improved the living conditions in rural areas. Agriculture is becoming a promising industry， the countryside is getting more livable， and farming is becoming an attractive occupation.

Green Development

Over the past decade， China has made remarkable new commitments to fighting climate change， notably announcing at the United Nations General Assembly in 2020 its goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and realizing carbon neutrality by 2060. A decision to stop building new overseas coal-fired power projects was announced at the General Assembly in September 2021.

China has supported an average annual economic growth of 6.5 percent with an average annual energy consumption growth rate of 3 percent， and its energy consumption intensity has dropped by 26.2 percent， equivalent to 1.4 billion tons less standard coal and 2.94 billion tons less carbon dioxide emissions. The reduction in emission intensity per unit of GDP exceeded the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions target.

Fighting the Pandemic

Facing the severe challenge brought by the COVID-19 pandemic， China demonstrated special strength and speed， which was widely recognized. From new-born babies to centenarians， China made all-out efforts to save every life.

With the pandemic raging around the globe， fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines was a tall order. Despite huge pressures from its own epidemic prevention and control efforts， China endeavored to provide assistance to the international community， carried out joint production of vaccines with more than 10 countries， and supported exemption of intellectual property rights on the vaccines for most developing countries. So far， China has provided more than 2.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations， making it the biggest donor of COVID-19 vaccines in the world.

Innovation-driven Development Over the past 10 years， China has made great progress in science and technology. The substantial increase of research and development （R&D） funding has brought the emergence of various world-leading achievements in basic research and strategic high-tech fields， and rapid improvement of technological innovation. Technological advancement has been the primary driving force for high-quality economic development and improving people’s livelihoods in China.

Space Milestones

Over the past decade， China’s space program has developed by leaps and bounds， demonstrating extraordinary “Chinese speed.”

In 2016， China launched the quantum experimental satellite Mozi. In 2019， Chang’e-4 landed on the far side of the moon， the first in human history. In 2021， the Zhurong rover explored Mars， and three Chinese astronauts completed the mission to the country’s space station.

The universe is shared by all mankind. The achievements of China’s space program are for all countries. China’s space station welcomes visits from foreign astronauts and has opened to the member countries of the United Nations for the first time in history.