On coming 1 October, the People's Republic of China will celebrate her 68th anniversary. For the Chinese civilization of over five millenniums, 68 years is just a fleeting moment. But for the Chinese people, these 68 years bear significance that is beyond extraordinary, as the Communist Party of China (CPC) led the Chinese people embark upon a path of national development, reform and opening up, transforming China from what was once ridiculed as the "sick man of East Asia" to the world's second largest economy, lifting 1.4 billion Chinese people out of poverty in the process, and ushering all of them into "xiaokang", a society of moderate prosperity.
| In December 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid his second state visit to South Africa and co-chaired with President Jacob Zuma at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation(Focac), opening up a new era for China- Africa win-win co-operation for common development. |
"Republic of China" having been replaced by the People's Republic of China is the right choice of the Chinese history and people.
On 10 October 1911, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the great forerunner of the China's democratic revolution, led a popular revolution that overthrew the corrupt Qing Dynasty to end the system of feudal monarchy that had existed in China for over two thousand years. The newly founded "Republic of China" gave fresh hope to the Chinese people. But in the years that followed however, the corrupt Kuomintang regime led by Chiang Kai Shek had forgotten the people, leaving the majority of the Chinese people into extreme poverty and untold suffering, forcing the Chinese people led by the Communist Party of China into another popular revolution against the Chiang Kai Shek regime. And finally in 1949, a new China, the People's Republic of China (PRC), was founded to replace the defunct "Republic of China (ROC)".
From the "Republic of China" to the People's Republic of China, there is a great more to this name change than meets the eye, as it fully encapsulates the fundamental purpose of the CPC to serve the people wholeheartedly, and it speaks out the fundamental character of the new Republic as being of the people, by the people, and for the people. This new name of the Republic is a constant reminder to all members of the CPC and officials at all levels: Don't forget the people, or you will be forgotten by the people.
In 1971, the United Nations declared solemnly to the world through its General Assembly Resolution 2758 that there is only but one China in the world, and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government that represents the whole of China. The same resolution also restored the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations. Since then, the One China principle has become a norm of international relations universally recognized by the UN and its member states. Today, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the People's Republic of China is making increasingly significant roles and contributions to upholding world peace and promoting progress of mankind.
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A magnificent night view of city lights and the hi-rise buildings in Shanghai, China. Visitors marvel at the modern infrastructure all around the country. |
China had been a victim of seclusion and isolation, and has been a beneficiary of reform and opening up.
Due to ideological differences and the Cold War mentality, from the outset, the developed countries of the West regarded the socialist China as "an outcast", instituting a complete political, economic and military blockade against the new China, cutting off all of our channels of interaction with the rest of the world. In the early days of the new China, national development was caught in extreme dire situations as we had to close our doors and practiced the socialist planned economy learned from the Soviet Union. In the nearly three decades since the founding of the new Republic until 1978 when we started reform and opening up, China's per capita GDP has only seen a very slow increase from less than 100 US dollars to 227 dollars.
Faced with the development challenges, Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China's reform and opening up, did not mince words with the CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people. He cautioned, poverty is not socialism; development is the absolute principle. We must commit ourselves to reform and opening up, make economic development as our central task, and make unremitting efforts to emancipating and growing the productive forces. Only by so doing can we uphold and develop socialism. Deng Xiaoping also emphasized that, we must dare to learn, to try and to practice as long as it is conducive to growing productive forces, conducive to strengthening national strength, and conducive to improving people's livelihood.
In 1978, the CPC led the Chinese people onto a great journey of reform and opening up. After so many years of isolation from the rest of the world, China was left in deep disadvantage. We have no strength, no capability, and no talent to compete with the developed countries, and we have little knowledge of a completely new set of international rules written in English by the West. Indeed, the Chinese government and the people used to have serious concerns and worries on whether we should reform and open up, especially on whether we should join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2000 and how such a weak country like China would compete with the developed countries.
We had our worries that the western developed countries could bring a heavy blow on our national industries at home, leading to widespread unemployment and social instability. But the leaders of the CPC realized this: one should not just retreat to the harbor when encountering a storm, for this will never get us to the other shore of the ocean; locking oneself in a dark room would seem to escape the wind and rain, but also block out the sunshine and air. Only by bracing the storm in the vast ocean of the global market can we learn how to swim and grow stronger.
Making advancement through pilot practices has been an important element of the reform and opening up policy. We carried out trial practices, reviewed and digested best practices, and in a phased manner implemented them on a larger scale. In 1978, four coastal cities, namely Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen were identified as Special Economic Zones. Through those four small windows to the world outside, we began to test our steps of opening up, attracting foreign capital, skills, new approaches to economic development, as well as advanced management expertise. Based on the success of the four Special Economic Zones, we gradually opened up 14 coastal cities. In 2000, we made a resolute decision to join the WTO, fully embracing opening up and making a great success by engaging ourselves in economic globalization.
In the process of reform and opening up, China has formulated a sound system of laws and regulations and conducted governance in strict accordance to laws, ensuring that foreign investors rest assured to carry out long term investment and development cooperation in a socialist China. We have come up with numerous preferential policies and one-stop government service facilities to attract investment from the developed economies. We built Economic and Technological Development Zones, Industrial Parks and other platforms to allow the developed economies to transfer their industries and production capacity. We opened up the market of China, ensuring foreign investors of return on their investment, and in return, we received the capital, technological transfer, and advanced management expertise. In retrospect, this has been a best real world practice of our idea of win-win cooperation for common development. We let foreign investors in to make big fortunes, but help China develop in return. That is the experience of reform and opening up summarized in one sentence by the Chinese people.
What has happened in China speaks volumes to that revelation. While making huge profits from the Chinese market, foreign companies have also brought us advanced perspectives on economic development and business management. They have helped us cultivate millions of professional and management talents as well as millions of skilled workers. They have transferred technologies, created jobs, and brought in government revenue and foreign exchange on a massive scale. As a result, China has leapfrogged from a country of extreme poverty to the world's largest manufacturer, the largest trading power, and the country with the biggest foreign exchange reserve. Foreign investors have made tremendous contribution to China's rise, and have helped China move from a recipient of foreign investment only to a provider of capital. Today, China boasts the world's biggest outbound tourism market and ranks the world number two for foreign investment. The Chinese people are sincerely grateful and appreciative of what foreign investors have done for our country.
Over the years, China's economic aggregate has increased from 18.9 billion US dollars in 1949 and 216.8 billion dollars in 1978 to 11.2 trillion dollars in 2016, more than doubling the GDP of Japan, accounting for 14.9% of the world economy. China's per capita GDP has soared to 8,000 dollars. Urbanization rate reached 57.35%. Over 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty, contributing over 70% to global poverty reduction effort.
The reform and opening up has brought sea change to China's economic and social landscape. Anyone who has been to China over the past years will marvel at the country's modern infrastructure. China ranks number one in high-speed rail track mileage, at 22,000 kilometers nationwide, greater than the combined track mileage of the rest of top ten countries. China has built the world's largest network of highways, with a total mileage of 131,000 kilometers. We have achieved all-weather guarantee of energy supply, and we rank top of the world in terms of power generation capacity, both installed and under-construction, in hydro, wind, photovoltaic, nuclear, and other green and renewable energies.
We have achieved full implementation of a nine-year compulsory education policy, and the gross enrollment rate of higher education institutions was up to 42.7% in 2016. A social security system that cover both urban and rural residents is nearing completion, and basic medical care has in general reached the whole population. Democracy, freedom and human rights are fully guaranteed. With 1.36 billion mobile phone users and 751 million internet users, the Chinese people can get information and express their opinions freely on the internet.
As the life of the Chinese people continues to improve, more and more Chinese people choose to spend their holidays abroad. In 2015, China registered over 120 million person times of outbound tourists, spending 292.2 billion US dollars overseas, doubling the amount American tourists spent abroad.
In recent years, faced with weak global economic recovery, lackluster demand, and increasing uncertainties and complexities in economic development, the CPC with comrade Xi Jinping at its core put forward the Five Development Concepts, namely innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing. We have committed ourselves to ensuring coordinated progress in economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological development. Robust efforts have been made to comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively implement the rule of law, and comprehensively strengthen the Party discipline. All of these efforts have ushered in a new stage for China's modernization drive.
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On 28 September 2010, the Chinese-developed high-speed EMU train made a test run and achieved a maximum speed of 416.6km/h. |
Over the past five years, China has remained committed to deepening reform and further opening up. Over 1,200 new reform measures have been implemented. Our economy has averaged a 7.2% annual growth rate, far exceeding the world's average of 2.5%. China has contributed 31.6% yearly to world economic growth, exceeding the contribution of all developed countries combined. We have moved ahead with strategies such as "mass entrepreneurship and innovation by all" and "internet+". In the first half of this year, the Chinese economy beat the expectation and grew by 6.9%, demonstrating new vigor of growth. Since 2013, we have launched a fresh round of intensive efforts against poverty and began to implement targeted measures in poverty alleviation. We have to date accumulatively reduced poverty population by 55.64 million since 2013, averaging a reduction of over 10 million poor population every year. By 2020, poverty will be completely eliminated in China, and the whole of 1.4 billion Chinese people will embrace "xiaokang". The realization of this solemn commitment by the Communist Party of China to the Chinese people will definitely make new contributions to the common development of mankind.
Looking back to China's nearly 40 years of reform and opening up, I would attribute our development experience to three revelations. First, we have always remained committed steadfast to the leadership of the CPC. Second, we have always remained committed steadfast to a socialist path of development of distinct Chinese features that suits China's national conditions. Third, we have always remained committed steadfast to economic development as our central task, remained committed to reform and opening up, and have properly managed the dialectical relations among reform, development, and stability.
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The ninth Brics Summit was held in Xiamen, China, in September 2017. |
China is not only a beneficiary of but also an exceptional contributor to world peace and development.
In the face of rising conservatism and isolationism across the world, Chinese President Xi Jinping took the lead in the world to propose to build a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation for common development, and put forward a vision of community of shared future of mankind.
China is committed to multilateralism and firmly supports the core role of the United Nations in world peace and global governance. China actively participates in the G20 and BRICS cooperation, and is committed to promoting a more fair, just, and reasonable global governance regime. Together with our partners, we have walked a new path of inter-state relations featuring dialogue instead of confrontation and partnership instead of alliance.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) established under the Chinese proposal has now expanded its membership to 80 countries. In recent years, China has hosted a series of international events, including the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, BRICS Xiamen Summit, G20 Hangzhou Summit, APEC Beijing Summit, and Boao Forum for Asia, contributing the Chinese wisdom and solutions to the world economic development and global governance.
With the view to meet the new demand for common development of China and the world, President Xi Jinping has proposed a new initiative for win-win cooperation, known as the Belt and Road initiative. This initiative follows the principle of planning together, building together and sharing together, and aims to achieve Five-Connectivities of policy communication, infrastructure connectivity, trade links, capital flows, and understanding among peoples. Today, over 140 countries and international organizations around the world have taken part in the Belt and Road initiative.
According to statistics, total trade volume between China and other Belt and Road countries exceeds over 3 trillion US dollars. At over 50 billion dollars, China's investment in Belt and Road countries has played a leading role in creating local jobs and boosting economic development. According to the IMF, by 2020, trade in goods among Belt and Road countries and regions will reach 19.6 trillion dollars, accounting for 38.9% of the global total.
The Belt and Road initiative was originated from China, but it benefits every participating country and region. Today, the Belt and Road initiative stands as the world's most important platform and most popular international public product. Jointly we are building a road of win-win cooperation for common progress.
As a member of the BRICS, China has been actively promoting deeper BRICS cooperation. Over the past ten years of BRICS mechanism, guided by the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win, China and other BRICS member states have established equal partnership. In pursuit of mutual benefit and common development, we have found a new path of win-win cooperation that is different from the zero-sum game. The launch of the New Development Bank founded by the BRICS, the recent opening of the Bank's Africa Regional Center, the establishment of the BRICS Contingency Reserve Fund, all of these achievements are just testament to show our ability to act and to deliver. It is particularly worth mentioning that although headquartered in Shanghai, China did not seek a controlling power over the New Development Bank. Instead, the shares of the Bank are equally divided into 20% among the five BRICS members, making the Bank a true departure from traditional financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF, and become an international financial institution of truly equal partnership. The New Development Bank, as its name rightly suggests, has established a new model for global economic governance.
Earlier this month, the Ninth BRICS Summit was held in Xiamen, China. During the Summit, BRICS members agreed on a new "BRICS Plus" pattern and the "three-wheel drive" cooperation featuring economy, politics and people-to-people and cultural engagement. Together, the BRICS have mapped out a new blueprint and opened up a second "Golden Decade" of BRICS cooperation. As South Africa takes the rotating presidency of the BRICS next year, China will continue to fully support the efforts of South Africa to successfully host the Tenth BRICS Summit. We will work together to further promote unity and cooperation and inject new drive into the lasting and steady growth of BRICS cooperation.
As a major contributor to world peace, China contributes more troops to UN peacekeeping missions than any other permanent member of the UN Security Council.
To date, we have dispatched a total of 35,000 person-times of peacekeeping and military personnel to take part in 24 UN missions. In 2016, China contributed 844 million US dollars to UN peacekeeping costs, just second to the United States, accounting for 10.2 per cent of the total. Currently, over 2,500 Chinese troops are carrying out peacekeeping operations in 7 UN missions across Africa, where they have made tremendous contribution of stopping violence and bringing in peace for Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Sudan Darfur region. 19 Chinese peacekeepers have sacrificed their precious lives to the cause of world peace. To realize durable peace, China firmly supports the African people to independently resolve African issues in an African way.
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In December 2015, China and South Africa co-chaired the Focac Johannesburg Summit, opening up a new era of win-win co-operation and common development between China and Africa. |
China is Africa's sincere friend and reliable development partner.
China and Africa always share a common future. We have always understood and supported each other on issues concerning our core interests and major concerns, and we have always stood together to protect our common interest. In view of new developments in China-Africa relations, President Xi Jinping instructed us that in conducting our relations with Africa, we should always follow the principles of sincerity, practical results, affinity and good faith, and uphold the values of friendship, justice and shared interests. The essence of the instruction is to closely combine China's development with the independent sustainable development of African countries, so as to achieve win-win cooperation for common development.
In December 2015, President Xi Jinping and President Jacob Zuma co-chaired the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Johannesburg Summit. Our two Presidents, together with leaders of other African countries across the continent, jointly opened a new era of China-Africa win-win cooperation for common development. During the Summit, President Xi Jinping announced the China-Africa Ten Major Cooperative Plans, which is spearheaded by efforts to accelerate Africa's industrialization and agricultural modernization. With a commitment of 60 billion US dollars of funding support, China aims to support Africa to breakthrough three development bottlenecks, namely inadequate infrastructure, lack of professional and skilled personnel, and short of financial resources. With a view to support Africa's capacity building and pursuit of independent sustainable development, China has committed to helping African countries train 200,000 technicians, and provide 30,000 government scholarships in the course of three years following the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit.
China always honors its promise and works very hard to ensure efficient delivery of the outcomes. Thanks to our joint efforts, the outcomes of the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit have been blossoming across all corners of the African continent. According to incomplete statistics, since the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, 606 projects have been completed, or under construction, or have been signed to be implemented in Africa. These projects amount to over 108 billion dollars of Chinese investment. Numerous Chinese companies have moved to Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa to seek opportunities to grow their business.
Over the years, as an important platform to strengthen unity and promote common development for China and Africa, FOCAC has become a great banner of leadership and inspiration to lead the international partners to cooperate with Africa. Between the founding of FOCAC in 2000 and 2014, China-Africa trade has increased 20 fold, from 10 billion US dollars to 200 billion dollars. For 9 consecutive years, China maintained Africa's largest trading partner. Chinese investment in Africa has recorded even more dramatic growth of over 100 times, from less than 1 billion dollars to over 100 billion.
China-Africa mutually beneficial cooperation has entered a new stage of robust transformation and upgrade, which is shifting from government-led assistance to market-driven trade and enterprise investment, from general merchandise trade to production capacity cooperation and processing trade, from project contracting to investment, construction and operation, and financing cooperation. Today, what African countries look for from China is no longer the traditional government assistance, but the Chinese investment and Chinese tourists.
Moving forward, China will continue to uphold the five major cooperation concepts of common, intensive, green, safe and open development, and join efforts with African countries to step up the implementation of the Ten Major Cooperative Plans, so as make China-Africa cooperation more beneficial to our peoples.
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In September 2016, President Jacob Zuma attended the 11th G20 Hangzhou Summit, and held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. |
China-South Africa mutually beneficial cooperation enjoy strong complementarity and huge potential.
South Africa is a young Republic. Its diplomatic relations with China is not long. Nevertheless, the strong bond and friendship between the Chinese and South African people dates back to long time ago. Whether it was during the struggles against the apartheid in the past, or in the undertaking for economic and social transformation today, China and South Africa have always stood together and fought together through thick and thin. Since the establishment of our diplomatic ties in 1998, China-South Africa relations have achieved triple jumps from partnership to strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership.
Thanks to the direct care from our two Presidents and the joint efforts of both China and South Africa, our comprehensive strategic partnership has maintained strong momentum over the recent years, and we are now in the best historical moment of our bilateral relations, which have brought tangible benefits to both of our peoples. China has for 8 years maintained South Africa's largest trading partner. South Africa has become China's biggest trading partner and the most important destination of investment in Africa. In the first half of this year, China-South Africa bilateral trade increased by 28.7% to 19.5 billion dollars. China's top five financial institutions have all set up branches and offices in South Africa, and the China-Africa Development Fund has established its regional center in South Africa.
The Chinese currency RMB has become reserve currency of the South African government. The offshore RMB-denominated bonds have also been issued in the South African bond market. Chinese financial investment in South Africa has exceeded 15 billion dollars. Chinese companies have established in South Africa household appliance industrial parks, automobile and locomotive factories, and cement plants, creating numerous jobs for the local people.
South Africa ranks the top of Africa in terms of the number of its Confucius Institutes and Classrooms, its Chinese international students, and its friendly Chinese provinces and cities.
Situated in a prime location, and boasting rich resources, sophisticated infrastructure, well-regulated market, and sound legal system, South Africa is not only the strongest African power in overall strength, but also the African country that is most ready for deeper China-Africa mutually beneficial cooperation.
For China, our comparative strengths are plentiful. We have the capital, technology, market, enterprises, talents, and development experience. Most importantly, we have the strongest political commitment to the common development of China, South Africa and the whole of Africa. I strongly believe that combining our strengths together will surely create another development miracle for the whole world.
Next year, China and South Africa will celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties. We will fully leverage our strengths of political mutual trust, economic complementarity, and the friendship between our two peoples, and work together with South Africa to promote cooperation in ten priority areas including infrastructure, human resources, manufacturing and processing, agriculture, tourism, marine economy, finance, security, people-to-people exchange and international cooperation. China is committed to supporting South Africa to remain a leading goose in Africa, and to become a locomotive to lead Africa's industrialization.
It is our shared goal to make China-South Africa relations more productive and more beneficial to our two peoples.