Striving to create a miracle in human history
(People's Daily Online)
Editor’s
Note: On Sept. 29, People’s
Daily published a commentary on its front page, expounding on China’s achievements over the past
70 years and the reasons behind them.
Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC),
China has achieved the dream of the millennium, marched toward national
rejuvenation, and led one-fifth of the world’s
population to approach the center of the global stage, said the article titled “Striving to create a miracle
in human history.”
The article pointed out that China made a massive success in
the economic field and became the most stable and prosperous economy in the
world. In just several decades, the country has finished what took developed
countries several hundred years to complete.
It has fully proved that the Communist of China (CPC) plays
a crucial role in leading the country and the people to make new advances
unseen in the century and supporting the nation to manage its own affairs well.
It also shows the world that the CPC and the Chinese people are fully confident
to provide a Chinese solution for the exploration of a better social system for
all humankind.
The main points of the article are summarized as follows:
Seventy years is merely a fleeting instant in the history of
human development. However, the Chinese people have created a magnificent
miracle with 70 years of hard work. Since the founding of the People's Republic
of China (PRC), the CPC has led the people to create a miracle of rapid
economic development and a miracle of long-term stability and guided the
country to stand up and become vibrant and influential.
The past 70 years is a historical process in which the
ancient civilization pursued the dream of the millennium and marched toward
national rejuvenation. It is also a process for China to lead one-fifth of the
world’s population toward the center
of the global stage.
Chairman Mao Zedong described China’s national industry as incapable of producing a
plane, a tank, a car or a tractor. Besides, there were doubts that the CPC did
an excellent job in making military strategies and political strategies, but
performed poorly in the aspect of developing the economy. Some even asserted
that the victory of the CPC would not last long.
Reform and opening-up was a game-changing move in making
China what it is today. It enables the country to liberate the mind and break
institutional barriers that hinder its development, replace the highly
centralized planned economic system with a socialist market economy full of
vigor, become an open economy from a closed and semi-closed one, and put its
economy on a fast track of development.
From 1952 to 2018, China's GDP jumped from 67.9 billion yuan
to 90 trillion yuan, an increase of 174 times. The GDP per capita increased
from 119 yuan to 64,600 yuan, an increase of 70 times.
China has risen to the second-largest economy in the world,
the number one trader of goods, holder of the world's most substantial foreign
exchange reserve and home to the longest high-speed mileage and largest banking
system in the world.
In one day, China’s
GDP increases by 246 billion yuan, trade of goods by $12.6 billion. In one day,
140 million parcels are delivered and sent, and 76,000 vehicles are manufactured
in China.
These achievements were beyond imagination in the past.
Today, China is one of the world’s 20 top players in terms of innovation and is home
to more than 100 million market entities. With a strong determination to pursue
high-quality development with unceasing efforts, the country has become full of
innovation momentum, and everyone aspires to become better.
US economist Jeffrey Sachs said that China is a very
successful story in the world of economy.
From stressing that youth is the hope of the nation, to
yearning for rebirth and reconstruction of the nation and calling for national
rejuvenation, generations of our predecessors have fought for the country.
Those who could not stand on their own feet cherish most the
joy of being able to stand up; those who were impoverished aspire to become
wealthy; those who are marching toward rejuvenation are most confident to
become strong and healthy.
China, which contributed 30 percent to global economic
growth for years in a row, has become the primary stabilizer and source of
power for world economic growth. The country, which has managed to lift 700
million impoverished rural people out of poverty, or 70 percent of the total
world impoverished population, has created a miracle in global poverty reduction.
China, which has been through ups and downs in the past 70
years, is still full of energy to swim against the tide in the new era. The
country, having a long history, embraced modern civilization along its
development course. The country, which has undergone many vicissitudes, carries
the dream of rejuvenation with it while making strides toward a better future.
With a burning passion to strive for what it pursues China
has experienced the joy of handling crises successfully. With the spirit of never
retreating in the face of setbacks, the country has made epic accomplishments.
The grand rejuvenation of the nation, which carries the
exploration of people with high ideals in the past more than a century and
gathers together aspirations of millions upon millions of people, is like a sun
shining in all its splendor.
For many people, what is amazing about the dramatic changes
in China is that they are enormous in terms of scale. China has a population of
nearly 1.4 billion, which is much bigger than the total population of all other
major countries in the world before its rise. Besides, China made these
achievements in a very short time. In just several decades, China has finished
what took developed countries several hundred years to complete.
While making considerable achievements in a short time,
China has also maintained long-term social stability, and let vitality of
economic and social development come out in an orderly manner. In this way, it
has struck a balance between vigor and order, and between development and
stability.
The principles of historical development have indicated that
a country experiences social contradictions and risks while it is in the
process of modernization.
China was compared to a “compressed
capsule” on the way of modernization,
as it had been through many changes in a short time while meeting and solving
all kinds of contradictions and problems. A tiny issue will be maximized in
China, given its huge size.
From this perspective, China’s capacity to maintain stability is as important as
its capability to create a development miracle. It should be valued that the
country, even after undergoing complicated and drastic economic and social
changes, remains a stable society in the long run. After thorough research on
China’s development, a foreign
scholar pointed out that the correct economic strategies and the stable
political system of China are the secrets of China’s continuous economic growth.
With effective social governance and good social order,
today’s China can deliver a better
sense of gain, happiness, and security to its people. The country is hailed by
foreign guests as one of the safest countries in the world and the most stable
and prosperous economy in the world by foreign media.
Looking back on Chinese history, stability seemed
intertwined with chaos, and unity was usually followed by separation. For
thousands of years, China had witnessed more turbulent days than peaceful ones,
not to mention prosperous times. The long-term turmoil and frequent wars had caused
people to suffer.
As a result, whether the country can maintain lasting peace
and order has become the essential criterion for people to decide whether the
regime and system are good enough.
From such a historical perspective, it is a miracle that China
has maintained long-term stability for the past 70 years.
Amazed at the miracle, some western scholars said that
whoever could explain China’s
success deserved a Noble Prize. Some even claimed that China is an exception of
all the rules.
What are rules at any rate? Rules are the intrinsic
connections between things and the constant and deep-seated truths of the
changing and empirical world. They determine the inevitable trend of the
world's development.
As Friedrich Engels said, the course of history is governed
by the general rules of history, and the problem is to discover these rules.
Development is like a long river composed of tributaries and
reaches. Only by understanding and grasping the laws of the development of
human society, which is the “long
river", the rules of the development of our own country, which is the “tributary", and the
principles of the historical stage, which is "the reach", can we swim
with the historical trend and rush forward.
In the past 70 years, the CPC has continuously deepened its
understanding of the law of its governance, the building of socialism and the
development of human society, which is how the Chinese miracle has been made.
It is generally acknowledged by international observers on
China affairs that the CPC has made continuously incredible achievements with a
magical power to overcome the difficulties.
Over the past 70 years, China has encountered blockades and
containment from the outside as well as impetuous and rash decisions from
within. The country has been challenged by significant disasters such as
floods, earthquakes, and epidemics and by international turmoil like financial
crises and trade frictions.
It is under the strong leadership of the CPC that China has
been able to survive a series of risks and challenges, overcome difficulties
and obstacles, and steer a steady course in the right direction.
The leadership of the CPC enables China to concentrate
resources to accomplish large undertakings and organize and carry out various
tasks effectively. The CPC has led the Chinese people into a new stage of
development, proving that its leadership is the key to doing well China’s own affairs.
The CPC is a party of Marxism and the people and has always
exercised its power in the interests of the people. It believes that the Party
and the people are interdependent like fish and water, considers public
opinions the most important thing in politics and people's support the greatest
strength in its governance.
It is a proven fact that the CPC is a political party in the
interests of the country and the people, instead of in the interests of itself.
The miracle in China is a mirror of the 70-year-long
tireless practice and investigation of the ruling political party in China.
The CPC firmly believes that only by finding a way that
actually suits the country can China’s
problems be addressed.
While introducing the market economy system, it did not
undergo the radical “shock
therapy” following the so-called
Washington Consensus. Instead, it has taken a road of gradual reform, which not
only let the market play the decisive role in allocating resources but also let
the government play its functions in effectively curbing the cyclical ups and
downs of the market economy. In this way, China has maintained stable growth on
the whole.
In rural land reform, the CPC did not simply privatize the
land. It introduced the household responsibility system and encouraged the
separation of farmland ownership rights, contract rights, and management
rights.
China promoted human-centered urbanization, creating
conditions for peasants to settle in the cities and avoiding slums in the urban
areas.
For the past 70 years, the miracle has witnessed the
ceaseless experiment and innovation of a Chinese Marxist party.
To understand the Chinese miracle, it is necessary to
understand socialism and the practice of the CPC on building socialism.
A former foreign ambassador to China once said that China
had an urban population of more than 300 million, basically equaling the total
population of Europe, and the country’s
rural population which stood at over 800 million was also equivalent to that of
Africa. So China was Europe and Africa combined, the former ambassador said.
Based on such national conditions, the CPC creatively put
forward the theory of the primary stage of socialism. It has been completely
clear about this fundamental dimension of the national context and based its
work on this most important reality—the
primary stage of socialism.
It also has been fully committed to the Party’s primary line as the source
that keeps the Party and the country going and that brings happiness to the
people.
From 1949 to 2018, the average per capita disposable income
of Chinese residents increased 59.2 times factoring in inflation, and the average
life expectancy also rose to 77 from 35. These drastic changes happening to the
life of the Chinese people have well defined the people-oriented philosophy
that China has always been upholding.
If China’s
development is considered a unique “Chinese
path,” then its development goals
and continuously improved livelihood over the past 70 years are demonstrating
to the world the “Chinese
value” – also the value of socialism.
Since 70 years ago, socialism with Chinese characteristics
has showcased strong vitality and enormous advantages by adhering to Party
leadership, the people running the country, law-based governance and democratic
centralism. During this period, China’s
development reflected the essence of socialism and enriched the connotation of
socialism.
The development miracle created by socialism with Chinese
characteristics is telling the world that socialism can also be a leading
player in human development practices, and the CPC and Chinese people will make
unremitted efforts to achieve this goal.
A piece of information about the building of the pilot
demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics in Shenzhen
attracted colossal attention in August this year. From a special economic zone
to today’s pilot demonstration area,
Shenzhen’s development is an epitome of
the Chinese miracle.
There is no precedent for a massive country like China to
achieve modernization, and a new path which suits itself must be made. To
understand the Chinese miracle, one must understand the Chinese path and how
the country perceives the development laws of human society.
China was considered a weak country a century ago, and such
weakness was at materialistic, systematic as well as spiritual levels. However,
the country has evolved from a world factory to a world market, and then a
world platform as it is releasing stronger and stronger spillover effect. Also,
the Chinese philosophy that propels China’s
development is also now expected to drive the development of the entire world.
Entering the new era, the glorious Xi Jinping Thought on
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has attracted attention
from the globe for its broad vision, marvelous political wisdom, and remarkable
strategic foresight.
Today, the CPC has stepped into a new realm thanks to its
understanding, mastering and applying of the three laws of dialectical
materialism, namely the unity and conflict of opposites, the passage of
quantitative changes into qualitative changes, and the negation of the
negation.
American scholar Ross Terrill said in his book “Xi Jinping's China Renaissance” that Xi is completing the
three leading ideals of Chinese governance -- the governance of the ruling
party, nation, and the global community.
Even those who hyped the so-called “end of history”
theory started “correct” their views given the new
miracles that are springing up in China.
Chinese voices are now widely heard on multiple
international conferences, and Chinese development mode is becoming central
topics.
A Mozambican consultant from the country’s finance ministry who studied at the Institute of
South-South Cooperation and Development three years ago noted that he wanted to
find a development path that suited his own country by learning from China’s development model.
Forty years ago, China’s
per capita income was less than even 1/3 of those in the sub-Saharan countries,
while today, many African countries are learning from China in an attempt to
find a development path of their own.
This is a representative story from the time, and it is not
about only Chinese, but also the entire human being. This is how foreign media
has described Chinese development.
Such voices resonate with Xi’s remarks that the CPC and Chinese people have every
confidence in their ability to provide a Chinese solution to aid the
exploration of a better social system for humanity.
The national rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is not only
the manifestation of improved comprehensive national strength but also the rise
of a civilization that carries rich connotation.
Facing the rising tides of anti-globalization, trade
protectionism and populism, China firmly believes that to channel the waters in
the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible. With
confidence, it welcomes each country aboard the express train of China’s development, proposes to
joint construct the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), shares its development
experiences with the world and shoulders the responsibility to protect free
trade, multilateralism and economic globalization.
Chinese miracles prove that economic globalization is an
irreversible trend of history, and peace and development remain an aspiration
held dear by all of mankind. Only by jointly building a community with a shared
future for humanity can the world embrace a bright future. Such a perception of
the development law would only help to make a massive contribution to the
development of human society.
The CPC is the most opening and inclusive political party in
history. The Marxism it believes in is the essence of the human spirit, and
socialism it commits to is a common aspiration of human society.
Since the reform and opening up, the CPC has been actively
learning from the remarkable civilizations created by global people and has
been applying what they learn by its own national conditions.
Looking into the future, the CPC, which is determined to
strive for human progress, will keep promoting China’s development and creating more opportunities for
the world, explore the laws of human progress and share the experiences with
the world, and take more responsibilities to make more contribution to
humanity.
Xi had an inspection tour in Guangdong province last October
and visited an exhibition that was opened to celebrate accomplishments
pertaining to Guangdong's development during the past 40 years since the reform
and opening up.
During the visit, the Chinese president remarked that coming
to Shenzhen, his first destination for inspection after the 18th CPC National
Congress, he wanted to declare to the world that China will never drag its feet
on reform and opening-up, and the country is sure to show the world impressive
new achievement in the future.
What he said once again indicated the firm belief, faith,
and confidence of the CPC, as well as China’s
ambition for development.
Striving to create a miracle in human history
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