BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) — A lot of things taking place in China these days would have been unimaginable a century ago.
In 2022, Beijing, where invading imperialists wreaked havoc more than 100 years ago, will host the Olympic Games for a second time, a chance for the world to stand stronger and together in solidarity. Hong Kong, formerly a British colony, will turn a new page as the seventh-term Legislative Council members take oath soon, as patriots govern the special administrative region. In space, three Chinese taikonauts will enter the lunar New Year in China’s space station which will continue orbital construction in the year. China’s journey to national rejuvenation is one of Chinese Communists leading 1.4 billion Chinese people in an unyielding struggle against all obstacles and challenges.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) in July of last year celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding, and this year it will convene its 20th national congress. It is necessary to maintain a stable and healthy economic environment, a secure and safe social environment, and a clean and righteous political environment. Last year marks the critical juncture where the timeframe of China’s two centenary goals converge — to complete building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the CPC celebrates its centenary, and to start building a great modern socialist country in all respects by the time the People’s Republic of China celebrates its centenary in 2049.
On the new journey, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, is undoubtedly the core figure in charting the course of history. “We must always keep a long-term perspective, remain mindful of potential risks, maintain strategic focus and determination, and ‘attain to the broad and great while addressing the delicate and minute’,” President Xi said in his 2022 New Year Address on Friday. Xi paid tributes to the Chinese people who have been hard at work and looked back at the extraordinary journey traveled by the CPC. “I sincerely hope that all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation will join forces to create a brighter future for our nation,” he said.
MODERNIZATION, THE CHINESE WAY
China is walking on a model of modernization that has not been seen before. Characterized by an innovative, coordinated, green, and open development path that is for everyone, it is a model leading socialist China out of a development trap reliant on extensive and inefficient growth at the cost of ecological damage, shifting the country to high-quality development, and avoiding situations where the rich become richer and the poor poorer. China’s economy is estimated by some international organizations to have grown 8 percent last year to reach 110 trillion yuan (about 17.3 trillion U.S. dollars). How to “divide the pie” is a world challenge and also one that China is committed to tackling.
Nationwide, measures have been taken to prevent runaway expansion of capital, maintain order in the market, galvanize market entities of all types, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises, and protect the rights and interests of workers and consumers. China’s “common prosperity” initiative “is meant to end monopolies, increase innovation and competition, and give fairer opportunities, so now is the best time to invest in China’s hinterland,” said Shaun Rein, founder and managing director of the China Market Research Group, a strategic market intelligence firm. Zhejiang Province, an economic powerhouse in east China, has drawn up detailed plans to achieve common prosperity, including labor remuneration will account for more than 50 percent of its GDP by 2025, and the ratio of residents per capita disposable income to per capita GDP will continue to increase during the period.
Modernization also reaches less developed regions such as the southwestern province of Guizhou, which has become the front-runner of China’s big-data industry since being approved to build the country’s first national big-data comprehensive pilot zone in 2016. Tech giants including Apple and Microsoft have established their cloud computing and big-data centers and their regional headquarters in the province. Leveraging its accommodating climate, clean air, and advantageous geography, Guizhou is now one of the regions with the highest number of mega-data centers in China and even in the world. The rejuvenation spans more than just material goods such as China’s impressive high-speed trains or emerging fleet of new energy cars. By 2035, China is set to basically achieve socialist modernization, becoming a strong country in culture, education, talent, sports, and health. China is also aiming to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. A top-level design document has been released toward the ambitious goal.
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CONFIDENT TOWARD CHALLENGES
The Party has established Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and defined the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This reflects the common will of the Party, the armed forces, and Chinese people of all ethnic groups, and is of decisive significance for advancing the cause of the Party and the country in the new era and for driving forward the historic process of national rejuvenation. Today, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process, but it will be no easy task like a walk in the park, as Xi said on Friday: It will not happen overnight, or through sheer fanfare.
China’s economic development is facing pressure from demand contraction, supply shocks, and weakening expectations, and the external environment is becoming increasingly complicated, grim, and uncertain. China also faces an aging population. In deepening reform and opening up, certain deep-seated institutional problems and impediments from vested interests became increasingly evident. China’s reform thus entered a critical phase fraught with tough challenges. Some elements in the world still deem themselves superior, and always want to impose their own will on others: They throw out arbitrary rules and use human rights, democracy, and other high-sounding excuses to smear and contain China and many other developing countries. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China must not compromise or back down. “Instead, we must face them head-on, and pull together with most countries to defend fairness and justice and do the right thing for humanity,” Wang said in an interview on Thursday.
The people are the source of the power of the Party and the country. In the people’s war against the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese people rally around the Party’s call and establish a firm wall against the virus. Now a billion netizens online create unprecedented digital opportunities and over 150 million market entities bring about the largest scale of job creation in the world. While viewing itself as the equal of any other in the world, China is also unequivocal that it remains open and engaged with the world. In September, China officially filed an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The Chinese people are both patriotic and open-minded to the world. Harry Potter books and products remain as popular as ever, and a recent online concert by Westlife, the Irish band, proved a huge hit in China.
RENEWED INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
In 2022, China’s resolution remains unyielding toward carrying through its commitments of building a community with a shared future for mankind. Facing the raging COVID-19 pandemic, China shouldered its responsibilities as a major country. Determined to make COVID-19 vaccines global public goods, China has provided more than 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 120 countries and international organizations and has become the biggest provider of outbound vaccines among all countries. At its border, China, along with other member countries, are ready to benefit from the zero tariffs made possible by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), taking effect on Saturday. RCEP comprises 15 member countries and approximately 30 percent of the world’s population and global gross domestic product.
In just over a month, President Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, having stayed in close strategic communication throughout the previous year, will get together for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. On China-U.S. relations, Xi and President Joe Biden pledged in November to steer China-U.S. relations back on right track, making clear that a sound and stable China-U.S. relationship is required for advancing the two countries’ respective development and for safeguarding a peaceful and stable international environment. The high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative is set to extend, and the China International Import Expo, an attraction to international businesses interested in the Chinese market, is expected to take place for the fifth time this year.
In its continued engagement with the world, China upholds and practices true multilateralism, urging countries to resolutely uphold the authority and standing of the United Nations, jointly oppose division and confrontation, stand together against zero-sum games, and make constant efforts for greater democracy in international relations. As Xi said on Friday, “Only through unity, solidarity and cooperation can countries around the world write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind.”
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