Modernization, the Chinese Way

AS the People’s Republic of China （PRC）celebrated its 75th founding anniversaryon October 1， President Xi Jinpingsaid on the journey ahead， the centraltask is to build China into a strong countryand advance national rejuvenation on all frontsthrough Chinese modernization.

Chinese modernization， as Xi indicated in2021 at the centenary of the Communist Partyof China （CPC）， is the modernization of a hugepopulation， and entails ensuring common prosperityand material and cultural-ethical advancement.It also means harmony between humanityand nature， and peaceful development. While itshares common elements with the modernizationprocesses of other countries， Chinese modernizationhas its own distinct features that arebased on China’s own realities.

New Form of Progress

In his report to the 20th CPC National Congressthe following year， Xi gave more detailsabout the essential requirements of Chinesemodernization. They include upholding the leadershipof the CPC and socialism with Chinesecharacteristics， pursuing high-quality growth，and developing whole-process people’s democracy.The other yardsticks also include enrichingpeople’s cultural lives， building a human communitywith a shared future， and creating a new"form of human advancement.

The pursuit of Chinese modernization hastransformed a poor country into the secondlargesteconomy in the world with growingnational strength and international influence.

According to reports on China’s economicand social development over the past 75 yearsreleased by the National Bureau of Statistics ofChina， from 1952 to 2023， China’s GDP increasedfrom RMB 67.9 billion to RMB 126 trillion. Inconstant prices， the GDP grew 223 times， withan average annual growth rate of 7.9 percent.

In 2023， Chinese people’s per capita disposableincome reached RMB 39，218， representingan increase of 76 times compared to 1949 afteradjusting for price factors， with an average annualgrowth rate of six percent. By early thisyear， more than 95 percent of the Chinese populationwas covered by health insurance. All this"shows how Chinese modernization has deliveredtangible benefits. Xi said， “After 75 years ofstrenuous efforts， Chinese modernization hasunfolded a magnificent picture and presented abrilliantly promising future.”

At the heart of China’s modernization are thepeople. Xi has often stressed that to advanceChinese modernization， it is imperative to havea people-centered approach， act for the peopleand rely on the people in everything that is done，and work to ensure that the achievements of reformand development are shared by all throughcollective efforts.

Life Lessons from Gansu

The Taohe River is a tributary of the YellowRiver， originating in the Gansu-Qinghai border innorthwest China. Yet despite its volume， the regionsuffered from acute water scarcity. In 2006，"the Taohe River water diversion project waslaunched to provide 550 million cubic metersof water from the river to central Gansu everyyear. In February 2013， Xi visited the project siteand stressed the importance of water management.“We must respect science， make prudentdecisions， and carry out careful construction toensure that this dream project， which benefitsmillions of people in Gansu， is executed well， allowingthe public to drink clean and sweet waterfrom the Taohe River as soon as possible，” hesaid.

Then in September 2024， he toured Gansuonce again and was briefed on the progress ofthe project. He was told it is providing water tonearly six million people， almost a quarter of theprovince’s population. Lauding the project， Xisaid， “We should focus on more projects like thisthat benefit the people and effectively address"the production and living issues faced by thepeople.”

During the same inspection tour， Xi also visiteda Huaniu apple production base， a renownedspecialty apple. The base has about 10，000 hectaresof orchards that produced 220，000 tons offruit in 2023， valued at around RMB 600 million.Twenty-five villages run the orchards and theirper capita income is over RMB 8，000 annually. Alocal told Xi she gets a daily pay of RMB 110 andcan earn over RMB 30，000 a year.

After learning about the planting techniques，sales， and management methods， Xi emphasizedthe importance of optimizing the cultivation ofthis variety and innovating marketing models toexpand this specialty industry and with it， morepeople’s income.

Xi has said that the immutable goal of Chinesemodernization is to deliver a better lifeto more than 1.4 billion Chinese and the twoexamples in Gansu show how Chinese modernizationis ensuring and improving people’slivelihood.

A Peace-Oriented Modernization

A peaceful environment is a requisite for modernizationefforts. Five years ago， on the 70th anniversaryof the founding of the PRC， Xi had pledged，“We will hold high the banner of peace， development，cooperation， and mutual benefit， and keepfirmly to the path of peaceful development.”

This year he also stressed the role of peacewhen he said： “To promote Chinese modernization，we must always follow a path of peacefuldevelopment，” calling for peace， development，cooperation， and mutual benefit， to promote thecommon progress of humanity.

To promote world peace， development， andmutual understanding and learning， China hasproposed the Global Development Initiative， theGlobal Security Initiative， and the Global CivilizationInitiative， sharing the experience of Chinesemodernization.

Recently， Pakistani Prime Minister ShehbazSharif told reporters that China’s modernizationhas made tremendous achievements and China’sdevelopment model is a role model “for all of us.”

He said the global initiatives proposed by Chinafocus on enhancing peace and development andpromoting mutual understanding among people.Recently， under China’s mediation， 14 Palestinianfactions held reconciliation talks in Beijing， whichdemonstrated China’s role in promoting peace anddevelopment.

According to Xi， China is pursuing a form ofmodernization that doesn’t benefit only itself. It’sa worldwide modernization where China collaborateswith other countries to achieve peaceful development，mutually beneficial cooperation， andshared prosperity. As the PRC turns 75， a matureChinese modernization is expected to achievemore.C