China's Economy Develops a Miracle

By Zuo Ting and Hu Biliang, and Qian Yi, Guangming Daily

Unswervingly implementing the new development concept, resolutely adjusting the development concept, changing the development mode, and constantly improving the quality so efficiency continuously upgrades, President Xi Jinping stresses.

In the 70 years since the founding of the people's Republic of China, we have drawn magnificent pictures on the blank paper.We have strived to become the second largest economy in the world from the predicament of economic difficulties and closeness, and worked hard to climb the height and cross the barriers to create a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.China's comprehensive national strength, social productivity and people's living standards are greatly improved and China's miracle has attracted the world's attention.

In the year 1953: China began implementing the first Five-Year Plan for developing the national economy

In the year 1978: the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)was held and opened a new historical period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization construction.

In the year 1990: Shanghai Stock Exchange,the first Stock Exchange in mainland China since the founding of new China, was officially established.

In the year 2010: China's GDP reached 40 trillion yuan, becoming the second largest economy in the world.

In the year 2013: the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee adopted the Decision on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform.

In the year 2017: the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued a notice and decided to establish Xiong'an New Area in Hebei Province.

In the same year, the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing.

In the year 2018: the first China International Import Expo was held in Shanghai.

From poverty and blankness to a manufacturing power

It is in the 70 years since the founding that the People's Republic of China is engage in active exploration, bold practice and achieves rapid rise of China's manufacturing industry.Today, China has become the only country in the world with all the industrial categories listed in the United Nations industrial classification.According to the data of the world bank, the added value of China's manufacturing industry surpassed that of the United States to become the first manufacturing power in 2010.Since the middle of the 19th century, China has regained the status of the world's first manufacturing power.Looking back over the past 70 years, China's manufacturing industry has undergone tremendous changes, which can be roughly divided into the following stages:

The first stage (1949-1977): the stage of self-development.At the beginning of the founding of new China, China learned from the Soviet Union and established a complete industrial system.During the First Five-Year Plan period, China imported 156 important projects from the Soviet Union, all of which were manufacturing projects.

The second stage (1978-2000): OEM stage.After the reform and opening up, in Dongguan,Guangdong province and other cities close to Hong Kong and Macao, "three imports and one compensation" cooperation model began to emerge, which refers to "processing the imported materials, assembling the imported parts,processing the imported sample, and compensation trade".The essence is to make use of the advantages of low cost in China and earn the basic processing fees by the OEM of international enterprises through the business model of raw materials and market overseas.

The third stage (2001-2010): globalization.After accession to the WTO, China quickly gets integrated into the global market.Through active participation in global value chain division of labor and deep integration into economic globalization, China's manufacturing enterprises rapidly become the "world factory", and many advantages such as manufacturing cost and cost performance have been fully revealed.At the same time, China has not only accelerated its own economic growth and industrialization, but also made a great contribution to the construction of the global industrial chain.

The fourth stage (since 2011): towards high-quality development.In 2010, the added value of China's manufacturing industry surpassed that of the United States for the first time and became the largest manufacturing country in the world.Since then, China maintains the largest manufacturing country in the world for many consecutive years, and is building a prosperous country.Excellent manufacturing enterprises such as Huawei, Geely, BOE, Dajiang,and BYD have accelerated their rise.A large number of innovative products with independent intellectual property rights have emerged.Made in China begins competing with made in Germany, made in Japan and made in the United States.

Over the past 70 years, China's achievements in manufacturing are not something we wait for or ask for, but are achieved through self-reliance and hard work by the people of all ethnic groups under the firm leadership of the Communist Party of China.In the face of the current complex situations at home and abroad, China's manufacturing industry, with opening up to the outside world at a high level, and getting deeply integrated into globalization, will accelerate steps to the middle and high end of the global value chain, so the dream of becoming a strong country through manufacturing will be realized.

From lack of adequate food and clothing to moderate prosperity in all respects

As our research majors in rural development,poverty reduction and people's livelihood security after the reform and opening up, we personally experienced the process of exploration and development of people's livelihood in New China,and witness the tangible efforts made by the CPC to establish the party for the public, govern the country for the people, and constantly improve and develop people's livelihood.In 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China,the socialist cause of people's livelihood has continuously developed, especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, poverty reduction achievements are attractive, people's livelihood gets developed comprehensively, and Chinese people’s aspirations for moderate prosperity is becoming a reality .

"The people are the foundation of a country,and the foundation is solid if people are happy."Since the founding of new China 70 years ago,China has created a miracle of poverty reduction in human history.Since the 18th Party's National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has personally planned, personally supervised,personally concerned and personally supervised,and made a series of new decisions and plans on deepening the work of tackling poverty alleviation to ensure that the poverty-stricken areas and poor people complete their poverty relief tasks on schedule, and strive to implement the solemn promise of "no one should fall behind on the road to moderately prosperity".According to the rural poverty standard set in 2010, at the end of 1978, the number of rural poor in China was 770 million.At the end of 2018, the number of rural poor in China decreased to 16.6 million, about 750 million less than that of 1978.The incidence of rural poverty decreased from 97.5% to 1.7%, and the victory in solving absolute poverty is expected.Thirty years ago, one of us started poverty research in Shuangjiang County, Yunnan Province, and many poverty scenes were shocking.Last year, Shuangjiang County passed the national standard and successfully announced its poverty alleviation success, and its social undertakings are developing rapidly.

People born in the 1960s experienced a shortage of materials necessary.In the past 70 years, people's material life has shifted from shortage in the planned period to prosperity.The annual total grain output reached 1315.78 billion jin (2 jin is 1 kg), an increase of more than 1000 billion jin compared with that at the beginning of the founding of new China.In 1949, the per capita disposable income of Chinese residents was only 49.7 yuan, and the figure rose to 28,228 yuan in 2018, a nominal increase of 566.6 times,a real increase of 59.2 times after deducting price factors, and an annual real increase of 6.1%.In the early 1950s, watches, bicycles and sewing machines were the most enviable "properties" for an urban family.In 2018, the number of mobile phones, color TV sets and refrigerators owned by rural residents in China reached 244.5, 175.7 and 105.6 per 100 households, and cars are owned by homes of ordinary people.

We can be proud to say that under the CPC leadership, the sense of gain, happiness and security of the Chinese people will certainly be more substantial, more secure and more sustainable.

From closed backwardness to open progress

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has been integrating into the world and profoundly changing the world.After 1978, China has achieved a great historical transition from closed and semi- closed door to all-round opening-up, from large-scale "bringing in" to large-scale "going global", and significantly expanded the breadth and depth of opening-up.

Since the 18th Party's National Congress,China has actively promoted the Belt and Road Initiative, and actively responded by more than 160 countries (regions)and international organizations, has proposed building a community with a shard future for human kind,actively participated in the formulation of international economic and trade rules represented by the WTO reform, and holding the China International Import Expo, and contributed China's wisdom in the global governance system transformation.

Currently, 136 countries and 30 international organizations have signed more than 190 cooperation documents with China to build the Belt and Road.A large number of construction projects are implemented, and some projects are successfully completed, and many countries and their people enjoy tangible benefits.

From the construction of "special economic zones", the opening up of 14 coastal cities to the accession to the World Trade Organization, 18 pilot free trade zones are established...In the process of reform and opening up, China and the world develop together.Today, China is the world's largest trade country in goods; the world's second largest country of inflow foreign capital,has become the developing economy with the largest inflow of foreign capital for 27 consecutive years; the flow of foreign direct investment has jumped to the second place in the world, with foreign economic cooperation business covering more than 190 countries and regions.Since 2006, China is the first engine for world economic growth.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has accelerated the cultivation of new competitive advantages in foreign trade.In 2018, the scale of import and export of goods exceeded US$4.6 trillion,breaking the 30 trillion RMB yuan mark for the first time.Looking forward to the future, China is integrating into the world with a more open mind and more confident steps.

Collectively Pursue Green Life and Jointly Build a Beautiful Home

Currently, the construction of ecological civilization is incorporated into the overall layout of China's national development, and building a beautiful China has become the goal of the Chinese people.China's ecological civilization construction has entered the fast lane.The bluer sky, the greener mountains, and the cleaner water will continuously show in front of the world,President Xi Jinping states.

Since the founding of new China, especially since the 18th Party’s National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core follows the law of development,keeps abreast with the expectations of the people,demonstrates the responsible role of governance,and regards the construction of ecological civilization and the promotion of green development as a long-term plan for the well-being of the people and the future of the nation, and integrates into the grand blueprint for governing the country.In the past 70 years, we have strived forward and explored bravely to make the achievements of ecological civilization construction shine in the process of building"green water and green mountains" and "golden mountains and silver mountains".Ecological governance, a rather long road, but will be achieved if we get started.Let's continue to build a beautiful China with the spirit of seize the day and perseverance.

1974: the Leading Group of Environmental Protection of the State Council was formally established.

1989: Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China is promulgated and implemented..

2012: the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China incorporates the construction of ecological civilization in the overall layout of the "five-in-one", and sets"beautiful China" as the grand goal of ecological civilization construction for the first time.

2015: Measures for accountability of leading cadres of the Party and government for ecological environment damage (for Trial Implementation)was printed and distributed.

2016: the central environmental protection supervision was launched in an all-round way,and then changed to the central ecological environmental protection supervision.

2017: the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made a strategic plan to accelerate the reform of ecological civilization system and build a beautiful China.

2018: ecological civilization is written into the constitution; the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Natural Resources,the State Forestry and Grassland Bureau are established, and the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection held, Xi Jinping Thought of ecological civilization established.

Under the special background of ten years'turmoil, the cause of environmental protection in our country began difficultly.From sending a delegation to the 1972 Conference on Human Environment to deciding to hold the first conference on environmental protection in 1973,it needed keen vision, courage and will.

Since the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of China's economy and the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization,environmental problems become more and more prominent.From the basic national policy of 1980s to the strategy of sustainable development in 1990s, and to the Scientific Outlook on Development and Xi Jinping Thought of ecological civilization in 21st Century, China’s concept of environmental protection has upgraded and leaped.

President Xi Jinping puts forth the theory of ecological civilization construction, and points out the way for China's environmental protection work.He has made a series of important statements to form an important theory of ecological civilization, so that environmental protection work can reach a new level.

In the field of production, we should take a new road of industrialization.On the one hand,we should promote industrialization with informatization, and promote informatization with industrialization; on the other hand, we should develop industries that give full play to high scientific and technological content, good economic benefits, low resource consumption,less environmental pollution and human resource advantages.Developing circular economy,changing from high exploitation, low utilization and high emission to low exploitation, high utilization and low emission, and achieve recycling and resource utilization.In addition, we need to develop green industries, vigorously promote energy conservation and emission reduction, and develop renewable energy.

In the field of consumption, we should advocate the civilized economy, green and low-carbon concept, and promote the formation of a green lifestyle and consumption mode that is compatible with the national conditions.

In the aspect of urbanization, we should oppose the pursuit of large, foreign and extravagant style, implement the concept of ecological civilization in urban planning and design and infrastructure construction, vigorously promote green transportation, prevent and control environmental pollution, and realize the reduction,harmless and recycling of urban waste.

In the field of natural ecosystem protection,we should vigorously protect mountains, rivers,forests, land, lakes and grass, so that people can live in a beautiful and healthy environment and enjoy the greatest welfare.

The report of the 19th National Congress of the CPC points out: “What we are doing today to build an ecological civilization will benefit generations to come.We should have a strong commitment to the socialist ecological civilization, and work to develop a new model of modernization with humans in harmonious development with nature.We must do our generation’s share to protect the ecological environment! " Let's not forget our original intention, keep our mission in mind, hold high the banner, forge ahead bravely, and make new and greater contributions to building a beautiful China.

( Edited excerpt of the article in Guangming Daily,October 1, 2019 )