Abuluoha village, China's last village without a road, is connected to the outside world with its new road in Butuo county, Sichuan province as seen in June, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
China’s rise from the depths of poverty and underdevelopment to become the world’s second-largest economy can be a serious case study for researchers, so that others can learn from the country’s success.
The nation has demonstrated excellence and superiority across various fields such as science, technology, education, industrialization, infrastructure-building, defense and, most important, poverty eradication.
Not only has China become a producer of modern aircraft, slick cars and mega highways, the country is also home to countless top-grade colleges, universities, incubation centers and research institutes, and also top-notch State-owned enterprises.
This is what we call New China: smart, resilient, fresh and fiercely proud of its own identity, as well as its past, present and future.
Ever since China went with the tide of economic globalization by leveraging the strength of its huge market in the early 1980s, the nation’s achievements have been mind-boggling. It is doubtless a story of how efficiently and swiftly a once-laggard country can manage grave economic crises.
It is a story of how a nation can strengthen its capacity to respond to risks and challenges, and a story of how it can maintain its vigor and vitality.
And what is most important, it is a story of how China has lifted the living standards of its 1.4 billion people.
Ever since it embarked on the reforms implemented under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping in 1978, the Chinese economy has witnessed exponential growth. From being one of the poor societies on Earth, China has risen to a level of per capita income that is close to the global average — measured by purchasing power parity.
The achievements go beyond the spectacular progress that the country has made on all fronts — from school and higher education to science, technology, innovation, agriculture, high-speed trains, space missions, trade and commerce. The fact that China has pulled hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty in the past four decades will certainly go down as an epochal feat in world history.
One does not need to be Chinese or an ardent China fan to sit up and take note of the country’s achievements. The World Bank has said China is a “growing influence on other developing economies through trade, investment and ideas”.
It certainly is.
Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has come a long way, and the role and contribution of the Communist Party of China in shaping the nation’s destiny is immense. Under the leadership of the CPC, China keeps producing new models of development.
China’s success stories are synonymous with the CPC, which has steadfastly promoted and nurtured a culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
At the recent sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, a landmark resolution was adopted “resolutely upholding Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and upholding the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership to ensure that all Party members act in unison”.
The CPC has also adopted a resolution on the major achievements and historical experience of the Party’s endeavors in the 100 years of its glorious journey, urging all Party members to stay true to the Party’s founding mission to better uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.
Held from Nov 8 to 11 in Beijing, the CPC Central Committee’s plenary session called for “uniting and leading the people in making continued efforts to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation”.
President Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, explained the draft of the resolution on the major achievements and historical experience of the CPC’s 100 years of endeavors.
The meeting participants stressed the significance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in advancing the cause of the Party and the State, and said the Thought is the Marxism of contemporary China and of the 21st century.
“It embodies the best of the Chinese culture and ethos in our times and represents a new breakthrough in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context,” a communique said.
All this goes to show the pre-eminent position the CPC enjoys and the key role it plays in shaping the policies of modern China.
Significantly, all this has been happening at a time when the balance between established forces has changed. New China has come to denote a byword for excellence, innovation and prosperity for all.
The author is a freelance writer for China Daily based in Kolkata, India.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.