Beijing – Monitoring Desk + CGTN: China has set goals, tasks, and policies for the cause of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country for the next five years and beyond, as the CPC opened its 20th National Congress on Sunday 16 Oct 2022.
The CPC has secured historic achievements and seen historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country over the past decade said Xi Jinping, who delivered a report to the congress on behalf of the 19th CPC Central Committee.
“The next five years will be crucial for getting the efforts to build a modern socialist country in all respects off to a good start,” he said.
‘Historic feats’ in the past decade
Looking back at the last 10 years, Xi said the country has achieved many “historic feats.”
“We embraced the centenary of the Communist Party of China; we ushered in a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and we eradicated absolute poverty and finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, thus completing the First Centenary Goal,” he said, adding that they were “historic feats” that will be forever recorded in the Chinese nation’s history and profoundly influence the world.
Toward ‘Chinese modernization’
Expounding on the CPC’s central task in the new journey ahead, Xi said the CPC will lead the Chinese people to realize the Second Centenary Goal and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through “a Chinese path to modernization.”
The essential requirements of Chinese modernization are upholding the leadership of the CPC and socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing high-quality development, developing whole-process people’s democracy, enriching the people’s cultural lives, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future and creating a new form of human advancement, according to Xi.
“It contains elements that are common to the modernization processes of all countries, but it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context,” he said.
To build a modern socialist country in all respects, he further stressed several major aspects, such as creating a new development pattern and pursuing high-quality development, invigorating China through science and education and improving the people’s well-being.
“Our future is bright, but we still have a long way to go,” Xi said, urging the Party to meet obstacles and difficulties head-on, ensure both development and security, and dig deep to surmount the difficulties and challenges on the road ahead.
Unswervingly advance the cause of national reunification
Xi Jinping said on Sunday that the Communist Party of China (CPC) will implement its overall policy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era and unswervingly advance the cause of national reunification.
“Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese,” said Xi at the opening session of the 20th CPC National Congress.
“We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary. This is directed solely at interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and their separatist activities; it is by no means targeted at our Taiwan compatriots,” he said.
Xi said that the wheels of history are rolling on toward China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. “Complete reunification of our country must be realized, and it can, without doubt, be realized!”
“We have always shown respect and care for our Taiwan compatriots and worked to deliver benefits to them. We will continue to promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Straits,” Xi said.
“We will encourage people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds,” he said.
Xi Jinping mentioned “development” over 100 times in his report to the 20th CPC National Congress, showing the world China’s unwavering commitment to accelerating the creation of a new development pattern and pursuing high-quality development.
Xi called for fully and faithfully applying the country’s new development philosophy on all fronts, continuing reforms to develop the socialist market economy, promoting high-standard opening-up, and accelerating efforts to foster a new pattern of development that is focused on the domestic economy and features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows.
Opportunities for the world
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown to 114 trillion yuan from 54 trillion yuan in the past decade and come to account for 18.5 percent of the world economy, up 7.2 percentage points, Xi said.
In a report released last month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said China contributed up to 38.6 percent on average to world economic growth from 2013 to 2021, more than the G7 countries combined.
In 2021 alone, China’s economic aggregate accounted for 18.5 percent of the world’s total after currency translation based on average annual exchange rates, the second largest in the world and up 7.2 percentage points from 2012, according to the NBS report.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and rising protectionism and anti-globalization, China has unveiled its new “dual circulation” development pattern, where internal and external markets can reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.
China’s new development pattern is not a development loop behind closed doors, Xi said, highlighting that China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up.
“It strives to create new opportunities for the world with its own development and to contribute its share to building an open global economy that delivers greater benefits to all peoples,” he added.
High-standard opening-up
With 82 routes, China-Europe freight trains now reach 200 cities in 24 European countries, forming a transport network covering the whole of Europe. During the first eight months of 2022, the number of China-Europe freight train trips rose 5 percent year on year to 10,575, with a total of 1.02 million TEU of goods being transported, an increase of 6 percent from a year ago, according to data issued by the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
This is merely a small sample of how the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can improve connectivity to spur global prosperity amid a lingering COVID-19 pandemic and sluggish global growth.
From 2013 to 2021, the total volume of trade of goods between China and countries along the BRI routes amounted to nearly $11 trillion, while two-way investment exceeded $230 billion, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
In his report, Xi hailed the BRI as a collaborative endeavor, saying it demonstrates China has pursued a more proactive strategy of opening-up over the past decade.
The BRI has been welcomed by the international community both as a public good and a cooperation platform, he pointed out, adding China is a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions, leads the world in total volume of trade in goods, and is a major destination for global investment and a leading country in outbound investment.
Xi also vowed that China will steadily expand institutional opening-up with regard to rules, regulations, management and standards.
Efforts will be made to accelerate the country’s transformation into a trader of quality, promote the high-quality development of the BRI, and preserve the diversity and stability of the international economic landscape and trade relations, he added.
