The global balance of power, by and large, shall not be determined not by the number of nuclear bombs in the arsenal of a given country, nor the extreme audacity of its army. It will rather certainly tilt towards and be maintained by that nation whose innovations work by ending poverty, warding off pestilences, preaching peace and harmony and exploring the vast universe for the happiness of mankind. While nations are at war, maiming and killing, China under the leadership of president Xi Jinping is on the odyssey of prosperity, not only to be maintained in China but to also be exported to the world in need. The Analyst’s Deanna Seakor in Beijing reports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday, October 16, 2022 has laid out the agenda for the next five years which according to him will build a solid socialist country powered by the resolve of the people in a long speech which he delivered at the ongoing 20th Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China, covering major areas such as education, health, foreign policy, economic prosperity, climate change, relations with Taiwan, among others.
The Congress holding under the theme, HOLDING HIGH THE GREAT BANNER OF SOCIALISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS is geared to “fully implementing the Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, carrying forward the great founding spirit of the party , staying confident and building strength, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude, and striving in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts”
President Jinping who gave a brief of the past five years after the 19th Congress said the Central Committee of the party convened seven plenary sessions, at which it time adopted decisions and resolutions on major issues such as revising China’s constitution, deepening reform of party and state institutions, upholding and improving the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernizing china’s system and capacity for governance, formulating the 14th year Five year plan for economic and social development and long range objectives through the year 2035 and conducting a thorough review of the party’s major achievements and historical experience over the past century.
“We celebrated the centenary of the Communist Party of China and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. We adopted the third resolution concerning the party‘s history, organized party-wide activities to study party history and inaugurated the museum of the Communist Party of China.
“Ten years have passed since the party’s 18th national congress. The past decade marked three major events of great immediate importance and profound historical significance for the cause of the party and the people. We embrace 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”, President said in a jammed packed congress with 2, 296 delegates attending.
He mentioned about the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic which started in the Wuhan Province of the country which he said was one of the unfortunate occurrences in the past 5 years and stated the swift action taken by the government to combat the deadly disease.
“In responding to the sudden outbreak of covid 19, we put the people and their lives above all else, worked to prevent both imported cases and domestic resurgences, and tenaciously pursued a dynamic zero-covid policy. In launching an all out people’s war to stop the spread of the virus, we have protected the people’s health and safety to the greatest extent possible and made tremendously encouraging achievements in both epidemic response and economic and social development”, he said.
Jinping highlighted the party’s goal of making China more self-sufficient in areas including food production. He said the country should consolidate its “leading position in industries where we excel” and shore up weaknesses in areas vital to China’s national security.
“At present, momentous changes of a like not seen in a century are accelerating across the world. A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is well under way, and a significant shift is taking place in the international balance of power, presenting China with strategic opportunities in pursuing development”, he said.
He emphasized that the party should foster a sense of “purpose, fortitude and self-belief … so that we cannot be swayed by fallacies, deterred by intimidation or cowed by pressure.”
The Chinese leader reiterated China’s foreign policy principles — respecting other countries, staying independent and peaceful, and opposing “hegemonism and power politics, the Cold War mentality” and double standards”
While giving an impressive scorecard of what was achieved during the last 5 years including meeting the goal of the “first century” to lift the bulk of the citizens from abject poverty, he was also frank to tell party faithful attending the highest decision forum of the ruling party that much is yet to be achieved.
“Imbalances and inadequacies in development remain a prominent problem. There are many bottlenecks hindering high quality development and China’s capacity for scientific and technological innovation is not yet strong enough. Many major issues need to be resolved in order to guard against financial risks and ensure that food, energy and industrial and supply chains are secure and reliable.
“There are still many tough issues to be addressed in the reform of key areas. Quite a few challenges exist in the ideological domain. There are still wide gaps in development and income distribution between urban and rural areas and between regions. Our people face many difficulties in areas such as employment, education, medical services, childcare, elderly care, and housing. Ecological conservation and environmental protection remain a formidable task”, he said.
He however stated that the government will pursue new innovative ways and directions to push for what he called “common prosperity”
“We will steadfastly push for common prosperity. We will improve the system of income distribution. We will ensure more pay for more work and encourage people to achieve prosperity through hard work. We will promote equality of opportunity, increase the income of low income earners and expand the size of the middle income group. We will keep income distribution and the means of accumulating wealth well regulated.
“High-quality development is the top priority of building a socialist modern country in all aspects. Development is the party’s top priority in governing. It’s impossible to build a socialist modern strong country in all aspects without a solid material and technology foundation”, he said.
On foreign policy with reference to Taiwan he said “China’s international influence, appeal and power to shape the world has significantly increased.
“Confronted with drastic changes in the international landscape, we have maintained firm strategic resolve and shown a fighting spirit. Throughout these endeavors, we have safeguarded China’s dignity and core interests and kept ourselves well-positioned for pursuing development and ensuring security.
“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. The wheels of history are rolling on towards China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The complete reunification of our country must be realized and it can without a doubt be realized”.
He told the audience that education is of critical importance to the future of the country and the party, stressing that the basic aim of education is to foster virtue.
“We will fully implement the party’s educational policy, carry out the basic task of fostering virtue through education, and nurture a new generation of capable young people with sound moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigor, aesthetic sensibility and work skills who will fully develop socialism and carry forward socialist cause”, he said.
Among other things, President Jinping also touched on the environment, an area he has tried over the years to make part of his lasting legacy.
“We will work actively and prudently toward the goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. Based on China’s energy and resource endowments, we will advance initiatives to reach peak carbon emissions in a well-planned and phased way, in line with the principle of getting the new before discarding the old.
“High-quality development is the top priority of building a socialist modern country in all aspects. Development is the party’s top priority in governing. It’s impossible to build a socialist modern strong country in all aspects without a solid material and technology foundation”, he said..
The 20th Congress is taking place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing being attended by 2,296 delegates with major decisions expected to be taken among which is an amendment to the constitution “to fully embody the latest achievements in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and to the needs of the times.”
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