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Further deepening reform comprehensively serves as the strongest foundation for China's high-quality development
2024.07.18
China’s economy has consistently contributed over 30% to global economic growth annually. China has become a stabilizing force in the world economy, thanks to its commitment to reform and opening up. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the comprehensive deepening of reforms has marked the beginning of a new era of high-quality development. These reforms continue to provide China with fresh momentum for sustainable high-quality growth, and the world increasingly recognizes China’s dedication to inclusive development and win-win outcomes. The key achievements of these reforms can be summarized as follows:
First, China has eradicated absolute poverty and is driving all citizens toward common prosperity. For instance, China made a historic effort to solve the issue of absolute poverty, achieving the poverty reduction target of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, contributing over 70% to global poverty reduction. Additionally, the urban-rural income gap has gradually narrowed, with the ratio of urban to rural residents’ income decreasing from 3.03 in 2013 to 2.39 in 2023.
Second, China has made significant breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation. According to the Global Innovation Index 2023, China ranked 12th in overall innovation capability and, for the first time, ranked 1st in the number of science and technology clusters among the world’s top 100.
Third, green development has reached new heights. Over the past decade, China has achieved historic, transformative, and comprehensive changes in ecological and environmental protection, attaining significant strategic outcomes in the battle to protect “blue skies, clear waters, and clean land.” China has maintained an average economic growth rate of 6.6% with an average annual energy consumption growth rate of only 3%, and energy consumption per unit of GDP has decreased by 26.8%.
Fourth, China’s status in global division of labor continues to rise. For example, the proportion of labor-intensive products in exports has significantly dropped to below 10%, while intermediate goods now account for about half of exports. The share of high-tech products in exports has surged to 90% in 2022. The lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles and photovoltaic products are driving the shift of China’s foreign trade structure towards a landscape driven by high value-added products.
Fifth, the inclusiveness, fairness, and accessibility of development achievements have been significantly enhanced. The Chinese government has consistently prioritized protecting and improving people’s livelihoods as the cornerstone of its reforms. By continuously removing unreasonable restrictions on equal employment and adjusting distribution policies, residents’ per capita disposable income has increased at a faster rate. Additionally, China has built the world’s largest education system, social security system, and healthcare system, continuously improving people’s sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security.
Development is a continuous and gradual process, and comprehensively deepening reform is an inexhaustible source of power driving China’s progress. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC focused on further deepening reform, with the overarching goal of improving and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and promoting the modernization of the national governance system and capacity. It identified the key obstacles, challenges, difficulties and priorities that need to be addressed in the reform process. This not only underpins China’s confidence in successfully achieving Chinese-style modernization amidst complex and changing circumstances but also forms the foundation for China’s ongoing contributions to global economic stability.
The author is Hu Xiaopeng, Deputy Director and Research Fellow, Institute of World Economy, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
Source: Touch Shanghai