Image Credit, BC Y
In Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China
LUO Weidong, Consul General of People’s Republic of China in Toronto
Over the past 75 years since the founding of People’s Republic of China, the Chinese people, under the united leadership of the Communist Party of China(CPC), have pioneered a Chinese path to modernization and created two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. Especially in the past decade, under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and China’s development has made historic achievements featuring historic changes.
China’s economy is becoming increasingly powerful.
In 2023, China’s GDP exceeded 126 trillion yuan. China has become the world’s largest country in manufacturing, foreign trade of goods and foreign exchange reserves, and the second largest country in commodity consumption. China has contributed more than 30% to world economic growth for many consecutive years, making it an important engine for the stable growth of the world economy.
Under external shocks such as frequent geopolitical conflicts and weak global economic recovery, China’s economy has maintained its development momentum, bringing certainty and positiveness to the uncertain global economy. In the first half of this year, China’s GDP reached 61.7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 5.0%, maintaining its lead among major economies in the world.
China’s development is getting higher quality.
In recent years, China’s economic structure has been optimizing, and the transformation of traditional industries has been accelerating. Booming emerging industries such as high-end equipment, photovoltaics, and new energy vehicles have deepened the green and low-carbon transformation , and the scale of the service industry has continued to grow.
China has become the first country with more than 4 million valid domestic invention patents. The total investment in research and development and high-tech industries has maintained double-digit growth for many years. The number of high-tech enterprises has reached 463,000. The domestically produced large aircraft C919, large cruise ships, and the “three new things” of the foreign trade, namely electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells, have become the new business card for China’s manufacturing.
China’s openness is getting still wider.
China has successively set up 22 pilot free trade zones, built Hainan Free Trade Port, pushed for the signing and entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and built a global network of high-standard free trade zones. The number of restrictions on the negative list of foreign investment access has been reduced many times to only 29 in 2024, the restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector were reduced to zero, and the opening up of the service industry has been accelerating.
China has promoted the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, actively built international economic and trade cooperation platforms such as the China International Import Expo(CIIE), the China International Fair for Trade in Services(CIFTS), the China International Consumer Products Expo(CICPE), and the China International Chain Expo(CISCE), and has continuously introduced measures to optimize visas to China, and actively solved problems such as the difficulty of mobile payment for foreigners in China.
Chinese people’s life is getting more prosperous.
China has completed the arduous task of eliminating absolute poverty and built the largest social security system in the world. In 2023, the per capita disposable income of Chinese residents after deducting the price factor, increased by 76 times compared with 1949, and people’s consumption level continues to improve. The education level of the whole society has improved significantly, and it has now entered a critical period where the demographic dividend is accelerated into talent dividend.
The medical and health system has been gradually improved, the people’s health has been improved significantly, and the average life expectancy has reached nearly 79 years. Competitive sports and mass sports have achieved fruitful results as well. Chinese athletes made impressive achievements in the recent Paris Olympic Games and Paralympics, which amazed both Paris and the world.
China’s voice is getting heard more in the international community.
China has always adhered to a independent foreign policy of peace. Especially in the new era, China’s diplomacy has made new contributions to promoting world peace and development by centering the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Over the past year, China has mediated the “handshake of peace” between Saudi Arabia and Iran, facilitated the historic reconciliation of various factions within Palestine, and actively promoted a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis. The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation were successfully held.
The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by President Xi Jinping has become increasingly popular, and China’s propositions and solutions such as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative have been widely recognized and echoed by the international community.
At present, China is unswervingly advancing the great cause of building a great country and national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. In July this year, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was successfully held, drawing up a grand blueprint for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. This will change profoundly not only China, but also the whole world.
China will continue to connect with the world with a higher level of openness. I hope that friends from all walks of life in our consular district (Ontario and Manitoba) will seize the market opportunities from China’s comprehensive deepening , the growth opportunities from China’s promotion of high-quality development and the cooperation opportunities from China’s expansion of high-level opening up.
Despite some difficulties and challenges in China-Canada relations, there is no fundamental conflict of interest between the two countries. Our peoples boast of a long history of friendly exchanges. It is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples to take a long-term and future-oriented perspective to jointly maintain, consolidate and develop the bilateral relations. In July this year, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly visited China. The two sides agreed to treat and promote bilateral relations in a positive, pragmatic and constructive manner. I believe that with concerted efforts, China-Canada relations will return to a healthy and stable track, and exchanges and cooperation between the consular district and China will also open up a new chapter.
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