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Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 73 years ago, my country’s economic and social development has achieved world-renowned achievements, and the country’s appearance has undergone tremendous historical changes. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the people’s yearning for a better life has become a reality, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has shown unprecedented bright prospects.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 73 years ago, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, my country’s economic and social development has achieved world-renowned achievements, and the country’s appearance has undergone vicissitudes of life. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, our country and nation suffered from internal and external troubles, accumulated poverty and weakness. Today, China is prosperous and stable, and its comprehensive national strength continues to improve. The Chinese nation stands tall among the nations of the world with a high-spirited attitude. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country’s economic strength has jumped to a new level, people’s lives have been improved in all aspects, the construction of ecological civilization has undergone historic, turning and overall changes, and its international influence has increased significantly, and a moderately prosperous society has been built on the land of China. , a historic solution to the problem of absolute poverty. The people’s yearning for a better life is constantly becoming a reality, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has shown unprecedented bright prospects.
Economic strength leaps to a new level
Economic construction has laid a solid material foundation for China’s development and progress. After the founding of New China, our party united and led the people to creatively complete socialist transformation, established the basic socialist system, and established an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system. During the period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, our party led the people in a great new revolution of reform and opening up, which greatly liberated the productive forces of society. At the beginning of the reform and opening up, my country’s economic aggregate ranked eleventh in the world, jumped to third in 2007, and second in 2010. At the same time, my country’s urban construction, industrial development, and foreign trade have undergone earth-shaking changes.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has insisted on focusing on economic construction and promoting high-quality development as its theme. Scientific and technological strength and comprehensive national strength have leapt to a new level.
The total economic volume has increased substantially. In 2021, my country’s GDP (gross domestic product) will reach 114.4 trillion yuan, 1.8 times that of 2012 at constant prices. From 2013 to 2021, the average annual real economic growth rate will reach 6.6%, and the average contribution rate to world economic growth will exceed 30%. In terms of per capita terms, my country’s per capita GDP will exceed US$12,000 in 2021, which is close to the latest threshold for high-income countries released by the World Bank.
The modern industrial system has been continuously improved. In the 10 years of the new era, we will take the development of a modern industrial system as an important measure to strengthen the real economy, continue to deepen the supply-side structural reform, promote the green, digital and intelligent development of the industry, and cultivate a group of leaders that are in line with the world‘s advanced level. strategic emerging industries. my country’s new energy vehicle sales have ranked first in the world for seven consecutive years, communication technology has achieved technological catch-up from 4G synchronization to 5G-led technology, and the industrial Internet has achieved a butterfly change from budding to rapid development.
World-class urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas are accelerating the layout and construction. In the 10 years of the new era, we have further promoted the coordinated regional development strategy, and successively planned 19 national-level urban agglomerations to promote the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and the Yellow River Basin. Major national regional strategies such as ecological protection and high-quality development have achieved remarkable results. For example, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei has achieved significant results in transportation integration, industrial transfer cooperation, and coordinated air pollution control. Remarkable achievements have been made in building a new open economic system; the Yangtze River Delta region has achieved many landmark achievements in the coordinated development of the industrial chain, high-level opening to the outside world, and innovation in cooperation mechanisms; and so on.
The capability of independent innovation continued to improve. In basic science, the number of international papers published by Chinese scholars has grown rapidly, accounting for nearly 24% in 2020, up from 12% in 2012. In terms of innovation entities, in 2021, 683 Chinese companies will enter the top 2,500 global companies investing in R&D. In terms of major science and technology, achievements in cutting-edge science and technology fields such as “Chang’e” lunar exploration, “Haidou” deep diving, “Beidou” navigation and quantum computing continue to emerge, and my country’s independent innovation level is constantly approaching the world‘s frontier.
All-round improvement of people’s life
The fundamental purpose of all our Party’s struggles is to make the people live a better life. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of my country, the people’s life in our country has achieved a historic leap from insufficient food and clothing to an overall well-off, and toward an all-round well-off. In 1949, the per capita disposable income of Chinese residents was only 49.7 yuan. In 2021, the per capita disposable income of Chinese residents was 35,128 yuan, a nominal increase of 705.8 times. At the same time, the types of residents’ consumption are extremely rich. In terms of food, the consumption of meat, eggs, and milk continues to grow; in terms of clothing, the transformation from warmth to fashion and beauty has been realized; in terms of durable consumer goods, refrigerators, color TVs, and washing machines have become household “standards” , Mobile phones and computers are gradually popularized.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to the people-centered development philosophy, and has made great efforts to make up for the shortcomings of people’s livelihood security, so as to provide education in early childhood, education in learning, income through work, and disease in illness. Medical care, elderly care, housing, and support for the weak have continued to work hard, and people’s lives have been improved in all aspects.
A historic solution to absolute poverty. Under the current standard, nearly 100 million rural poor people have all been lifted out of poverty, and infrastructure construction in poverty-stricken areas has advanced by leaps and bounds. 1.1 million kilometers of rural roads have been newly renovated, the reliability rate of rural power supply in poverty-stricken areas has reached 99%, and the proportion of administrative villages nationwide with access to optical fiber and 4G has reached more than 99%. The living environment in rural areas has been greatly improved, and domestic waste and sewage have been effectively treated. The ratio of per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents will drop from 2.88 in 2012 to 2.50 in 2021.
New urbanization promotes the improvement of residents’ living standards. With the rapid advancement of new urbanization in my country, the income and living standards of urban residents have continued to improve. In 2021, the urbanization rate of my country’s permanent population will be 64.7%, an increase of 11.6 percentage points compared with 2012. In 2021, the per capita disposable income of urban residents will be about 47,000 yuan, nearly double that in 2012; the Engel coefficient of urban residents will drop from 32% in 2012 to 28.6%. The renovation of housing in urban shantytowns, the renovation of old communities, and sewage treatment has been accelerated, greatly improving the quality of life of urban residents.
Build the world‘s largest social security system. In the past 10 years in the new era, our party has always regarded the realization of universal coverage of social security as an important goal, and implemented a series of important reform measures. Basic old-age insurance has covered more than 1 billion people, and basic medical insurance has covered 1.36 billion people, building the world‘s largest society. The security system enables people to work more at ease, live more comfortably, and have more confidence in the future.
Remarkable achievements have been made in the development of health care. At present, the average life expectancy of Chinese residents has increased to 78.2 years, which is higher than the world average. The public’s medical burden has been continuously reduced, the problem of “difficulty in seeing a doctor” has been effectively alleviated, and the problem of “expensive medical treatment” has been alleviated. In the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, my country adheres to the principle of putting people first and life first, efficiently coordinating epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and protecting the lives and health of the people to the greatest extent possible.
The level of education popularization has achieved a historic leap. In 2021, the gross enrollment rate of senior high school education in my country will reach 91.4%, and the gross enrollment rate of higher education will reach 57.8%, an increase of 6.4 percentage points and 27.8 percentage points respectively over 2012, and the gap with high-income countries will be significantly narrowed. The average number of years of education for the working-age population has reached 10.9 years, and the quality of employed personnel has been greatly improved.
The construction of ecological civilization has undergone historic, turning and overall changes
At the beginning of the founding of New China, my country was in the early stage of industrialization and urbanization, and natural resources had not been fully utilized. After the reform and opening up, in the process of rapid economic development, ecological and environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution once became the shortcoming of my country’s modernization development. A good ecological environment has become a major yearning for a better life of the people.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has incorporated the construction of ecological civilization into the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. China’s construction has taken major steps, and my country’s ecological civilization construction has undergone historic, turning and overall changes.
Remarkable results have been achieved in the battle against pollution. In the past 10 years, my country’s air quality has improved significantly, becoming the country with the fastest air quality improvement in the world. The quality of the water environment has been gradually improved, and the proportion of excellent water body sections of Class I-III surface water in the country has reached 84.9%, which is close to the level of developed countries. Soil pollution risks are effectively controlled.
Green and low-carbon development has been steadily promoted. In the past 10 years, my country’s energy utilization efficiency has been greatly improved, and the national energy consumption per unit of GDP has dropped by 26.2%. The energy structure has been significantly improved, and the installed capacity of wind power, photovoltaics, hydropower and biomass power generation ranks first in the world. The carbon sink capacity continued to improve, the forest area continued to grow, and the carbon emission rights trading market was launched. The “1+N” policy system of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality has been accelerated to promote the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.
The efforts to protect the natural ecological environment have been significantly increased. Over the past 10 years, the establishment and improvement of my country’s ecological and environmental protection system has been accelerated, and a series of laws and regulations such as the Biosafety Law and the Wildlife Protection Law have been formulated and revised. The supervision of ecological protection has been significantly increased. The ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River has achieved remarkable results. The Qilian Mountains and the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains have achieved ecological restoration from chaos to governance. Major biodiversity protection projects and endangered species rescue projects have achieved initial results, and wild populations of more than 300 rare and endangered wild animals and plants have been well restored. Comprehensively promote the integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand, and the ecological security barrier has been effectively consolidated.
Significant increase in international influence
Since the second half of the 20th century, the global political and economic landscape has undergone profound changes. One of the most significant changes is the collective rise of emerging market countries and developing countries represented by China. At the beginning of the founding of New China, my country’s share in the world economy was less than 5%. In 2021, my country’s GDP will reach 17.7 trillion US dollars, accounting for 18.5% of the world economy.
China cannot develop without the world, and the world cannot develop without China. In the 10 years of the new era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has carried out major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in an all-round way, actively promoted the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and brought new opportunities to the world with China’s new development. my country’s international influence has been significantly enhanced.
Unswervingly expand opening up. In terms of foreign trade, in 2021, my country’s total import and export of goods will reach US$6.05 trillion, and trade in services will exceed US$800 billion, up 56% and 70% respectively from 2012. In terms of international investment, my country’s actual use of foreign direct investment in 2021 will amount to 173.5 billion US dollars, an increase of 55.3% over 2012, and the quality of foreign capital utilization will be further improved. In terms of system construction, the Foreign Investment Law was promulgated, the management system of pre-entry national treatment and negative list for foreign investment was fully implemented, and the negative list for foreign investment access was reduced for five consecutive years. Thirty-one so far.
Actively participate in global governance. The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind has been widely recognized by the international community and has been included in UN resolutions for many times, pointing out the direction for addressing current global challenges. Actively promote the reform of institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and promote regional cooperation such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the CICA Summit, “China + ASEAN”, and “China + Five Central Asian Countries”. Multilateral cooperation forums such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation have been held continuously, and cooperation in multiple fields has been pragmatically advanced. He proposed global development initiatives and global security initiatives, coordinated development and security from a broader perspective, and contributed Chinese solutions to promoting sustainable world development and addressing global security governance challenges. After the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, my country has actively carried out international cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, vaccine research and development, medical rescue and other aspects, and has provided anti-epidemic material assistance to more than 150 countries and 15 international organizations.
The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” has changed from a vision to a reality. From 2013 to 2021, the annual trade volume between my country and the countries along the “Belt and Road” will expand from US$1.04 trillion to US$1.8 trillion, an increase of 73%; Dollar. my country has signed 7 free trade agreements with 13 countries along the route. As of the end of July this year, my country has signed more than 200 cooperation documents on the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” with 149 countries and 32 international organizations. The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” has become a popular international public product and international cooperation platform in the world today.
In the 73 years since the founding of New China, especially in the 10 years since the new era, my country has made great achievements in economic and social development, which fully proves that without the Communist Party of China, there would be no New China, no happy life for the Chinese people, and no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. On the new journey, we must deeply understand the decisive significance of the “two establishments”, continuously strengthen the “four consciousnesses”, strengthen the “four self-confidences”, achieve the “two maintenances”, and continue to coordinate and promote the overall layout of the “five in one”. , coordinate the promotion of the “four comprehensive” strategic layout, continuously realize the people’s yearning for a better life, and strive to write a new chapter in the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.
(Author: Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)