China reaffirms commitment to opening up and mutual benefit

BEIJING, July 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a news report from Beijing Review:

Safeguarding world peace. Contributing to global development. Preserving international order.  

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, characterized China's international engagement with these catchphrases at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding in Beijing on July 1.  

"The Party cares about the future of humanity, and wishes to move forward in tandem with all progressive forces around the world," Xi, also Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, said.  

While it does not bear aggressive traits, the Chinese nation will never allow any foreign force to "bully, oppress, or subjugate" it, Xi added.  

In the context of a changing international landscape, it is relevant that the CPC sends a clear message. Indeed, it has reason to be confident and articulate. The Party has come a long way from a small group of revolutionaries to the world's largest political party delivering prosperity to the most populous nation.  

A highlight of Xi's speech was the announcement that China has built a moderately prosperous society in all respects. 

China has been the world's second largest economy since 2010 and its per-capita GDP crossed the $10,000 benchmark in 2019. In 2020, it ended absolute poverty with a targeted approach to poverty alleviation.

Moderate prosperity, or xiaokang, is rooted in traditional Chinese culture. It is viewed as a threshold accomplishment necessary for the long-term project of creating datong, or a great unity of peace and harmony, Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said. 

In addition to a well-developed and comprehensive system of social welfare, Confucius depicted the datong society as one with a deeply socialistic ethos, where the infirm and elderly are provided for, where people take care of all children as though they were their own, where doors and gates can remain unlocked, Mahoney said.  

Many of the developments seen since China adopted the reform and opening-up policy in 1978 and especially more recently align closely with some of Confucius' core concepts, he said. These include tremendous efforts to eliminate corruption, advance the rule of law, develop the green economy and address pollution.

Under the leadership of the CPC, China has transformed itself and is making increasingly greater contributions to the advancement of humanity, Qu Qingshan, head of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, said.  

China has sent more than 40,000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping missions, more than any other permanent member of the Security Council, and is the second largest contributor to UN peacekeeping funds. 

China has provided grants, concessionary loans as well as technical and personnel assistance to other developing countries while sharing with them its experience in poverty alleviation. 

Xi has proposed the idea of a community with a shared future in light of the fact that no country can address alone the many challenges facing humanity. The Belt and Road Initiative also put forward by Xi with the aim of enhancing connectivity along and beyond ancient Silk Road routes, has resonated in the international community. Some 140 countries have signed agreements for cooperation with China under this framework to date.  

"We will work to build a new type of international relations and a human community with a shared future, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative through joint efforts, and use China's new achievements in development to provide the world with new opportunities," Xi said in his July 1 speech. 

China is a stabilizer and engine for the world economy, contributing 30 percent of global growth, Qu said. In 2020, the world suffered a severe recession under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. China's GDP grew 2.3 percent year on year, making it the only major economy to register positive growth and rekindling hope for the rebounding of the world economy, Qu said.  

Paid-in foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland surged to 481 billion yuan ($75.3 billion) in the first five months of this year, a 35.4-percent year-on-year increase over 2020 and a 30.3-percent rise over the same period in 2019, the Ministry of Commerce said. 

"We will continue to champion cooperation over confrontation, to open up rather than closing our doors, and to focus on mutual benefit instead of zero-sum games," Xi said. 

By Beijing Review reporter Yan Wei
Comments to yanwei@bjreview.com

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