- .By Ren Zhongping (People’s Daily)
“The original aspiration and the mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. This original aspiration, this mission, is what inspires Chinese Communists to advance.”
What General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping remarked at the opening ceremony of the 19th National Congress of the CPC well explained the mission of the Party.
In the new era, Xi called all members of the CPC to remain true to their original aspiration and keep their mission firmly in mind.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, historic achievements have been created by hundreds of millions of Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi at the core. The Chinese nation has achieved a tremendous transformation: it has stood up, grown rich, and is becoming influential.
Today, as the Fuxing bullet trains are running as fast as 350 kilometers per hour and have become forerunners in the global high-speed rail industry, the Chinese people are closer, more confident, and more capable than ever before of truly attaining the goal of national rejuvenation.
History, which has witnessed the rise and fall of countries, proves that a nation faces the most immense pressure in two periods. These come both when it is weak and poor and also when it is embracing development and revitalization.
China is now transitioning from a big country into a strong one, so it is facing increasing pressure from both inside and outside. However, what it has achieved in the past 70 years makes it proud rather than self-contented, and the country will never sit idle and brag. What it still needs to do next is to create more significant miracles with its strong spirits.
The Chinese Dream proposed by Xi resonates in the minds of hundreds of millions of Chinese people, and has become the most influential notion to date in Chinese society.
Xi has repeatedly stressed that the Chinese Dream, after all, is the dream of the people. History shows that the personal future and destiny of each individual are closely connected with the future of the country.
Founded in 1949, the People’s Republic of China started the great course of reform and opening-up in 1978 and entered the period of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era in 2012. If these years mark important time nodes China has experienced on its voyage of revitalization, then the three greater goals to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, to basically realize modernization by 2035, and to make China a great modern socialist country in every dimension by the middle of this century, are the essential coordinates in the country’s future trip to chase its dreams.
By reaching the targets it has set and started off toward following targets, China is gradually approaching the final destination of its great national rejuvenation.
Standing at a new starting point of history, China must undergo a great struggle to realize its great dream.
The founding of the CPC and the People’s Republic of China, the implementation of reform and opening-up, and the promotion of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era all emerged, developed and gained strength in struggles.
The world is undergoing profound changes, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is in a decisive stage. As Xi always says, achieving national rejuvenation will be no walk in the park. In the future, China will only face more and more complex challenges. Risks cannot defeat the country, and what the country must keep is its struggling spirit.
If the CPC is to unite and lead the people to effectively respond to significant challenges, withstand major risks, overcome significant obstacles, and address major conflicts, it must have a strong determination to struggle.
Everyone in the Party must do more to uphold Party leadership and the Chinese socialist system, and resolutely oppose all statements and actions that undermine, distort, or negate them. They must do more to protect people’s interests, and firmly oppose all moves that damage their interests or put distance between the Party and the people. They must do more to channel their energies toward the contemporary current of reform and innovation, and address deep-rooted problems determined to resolve. They must do more to safeguard China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, and staunchly oppose all attempts to split China or undermine its ethnic unity and social harmony and stability. They must do more to guard against all kinds of risks and work determinedly to prevail over every political, economic, cultural, social, and natural difficulty and challenge.
Never in history has a political party in China gathered so many progressives nor had such a sound and broad organization like the CPC did. The CPC is good at summarizing its experiences and treats its mistakes seriously. It has established and adhered to correct theories and paths and made enormous sacrifices for the Chinese nation during the protracted and arduous struggle. The Party has made so many achievements and miracles.
The CPC’s long-term governance of China is in line with the fundamental interests of the people and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and a sure choice of China both in the past and at present.
The CPC has over 90 million members and 4.6 million primary-level Party organizations and is a party that governs China on a long-term basis. Therefore its self-construction plays a decisive role in the fate and future of the Party and the country.
The glorious achievements made by China during the past 70 years indicate that to conduct continuous self-revolution while promoting social revolution is what distinguishes the CPC from other political parties, and also the key to the Party’s remarkable governance for the people.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has delivered a satisfactory anti-corruption performance through hard work. In the past, there were rumors about China’s political system in the Western world, but after the 18th CPC National Congress, they have been gradually losing influence.
China’s anti-corruption achievements are comparable with the country’s colossal contribution to poverty reduction, foreign media commented. Facts speak louder than words. In today’s world, no country has cracked down on corruption as ruthlessly and effectively as China has, and no country has done a better job than China in maintaining the overall stability of the society while fighting corruption.
Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. The practice of the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening up, is indisputable proof that socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only path leading to development and progress in NChina. This is an unshakable conclusion drawn by the Party and the people from history and reality.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics does not drop from the sky, and it must be carried through. Some people and some forces in the world are unwilling to see China become strong. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, especially after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe, they never stopped singing the blue over China and constantly played up the “China collapse theory.”
However, China did not fall down. Instead, its overall national strength has increased, and the people’s living standards have continuously improved.
Some people blamed China’s development problems on the system, saying China will solve its problems by copying the Western political systems.
However, as some developing countries and regions carried out the “color revolution” according to the Western model, they saw not economic development, political stability, and social progress, but political turmoil, social division, and chaos.
These facts confirm the correctness of the Chinese road and profoundly indicate that people must neither retrace their steps to the rigidity and isolation of the past nor take the wrong turn by changing their nature and abandoning their system.
Brilliant thoughts illuminate the journey of a nation toward revival and generate the power to influence the world. In recent years, the book “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” became a bestseller in many countries and has been read by many foreign politicians.
Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said that the book expounds on China’s major choices and clearly shows China’s ambition and development direction. Countries with different social systems and different stages of development can get inspiration from this book about their own development and world progress. This is the charm of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
With decades of hard work, socialism with Chinese characteristics has crossed the threshold into a new era. This is a new historic juncture in China’s development, according to the report delivered at the 19th National Congress of the CPC.
After 70 years, China’s development has entered a new historical era, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has shown a bright future that has never been seen before.
We must recognize that the fundamental dimension of the Chinese context—that our country is still and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism has not changed. China’s international status as the world’s largest developing country has not changed.
China’s GDP per capita is still in the middle of the world, and there is still a distance from high-income countries. The problem of uneven development between urban and rural areas still exists. Though China has made significant progress in the realm of technology, it is still weak in many technologies.
We must be completely clear about this fundamental dimension of our national context and start from reality. We must fully implement the Party’s basic theory, line, and policy.
We must also recognize that the principal contradiction facing Chinese society is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development, and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. This has put forward many new demands on the work of the Party and the state. We must regard as our goal the people’s aspirations to live a better life.
We must see that the Chinese nation has ushered in the best period of development in history. The economy continues to grow and is transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development. The country’s economic strength has leaped to the first echelon of the world.
Besides, the policies adopted by the Party and the government have responded to people’s wishes. The development of the country has aroused the cultural confidence of the whole nation. Chinese culture has become more open and inclusive, making the nation more united.
Chinese society is full of vitality, and the industrious and intelligent Chinese people have generated tremendous creative energy. The people’s livelihood continues to improve, and moderately prosperous society in all respects will be built. China has won wide respect from the international community, and its international influence is increasing day by day. The confidence and morale of the Chinese people are at a historic high.
For a party which fights for the eternal wellbeing of the Chinese nation, the centenary only ushers in the prime of life. This is the oath of the 100-year-old Party to stay true to its original aspiration and dedicated to its mission.
The CPC members are always advancing on the road, and the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is going to come true.
