The recently concluded 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is of great significance to China’s development in the next five years and beyond, and has attracted wide and high attention from the international community. The congress elected a CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core; it declared that China would unswervingly follow the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics; it determined that the central task of the CPC would be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, which will eventually promote the overall progress of mankind.
The Chinese path to modernization will benefit more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, and its goal is common prosperity. The challenge and complexity of modernizing a society with such a large population, which is larger than the total population of all developed countries, is unprecedented. The excessive disparity between the rich and the poor is an important factor hindering the modernization of all countries, and how to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor in the course of development is a world problem. However, since its founding a century ago, the CPC has been committed to the well-being of its people and the rejuvenation of its nation, and has always put the people first, building China from a poor country into the second largest economy in the world today. Especially in the past decade, China has made a historic leap in development. Nearly 100 million rural poor people have been lifted out of poverty, the problem of absolute poverty has been historically solved, and the middle-income population has exceeded 400 million, making it the largest middle-income group in the world. Therefore, we have the confidence and ability to proceed from Chinese context, insist on seeking truth from facts, adopt comprehensive measures, and continue to focus on promoting the realization of common prosperity for all people. The disparity between the rich and the poor and polarization are not in line with the purpose of the CPC, nor is unsustainable “welfarism” the purpose of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The Chinese path to modernization will realize the coordination of material and cultural-ethical advancement, and the harmony between humanity and nature. We focus on both material abundance and cultural-ethical enrichment. While continuing to consolidate the material foundation for modernization and improve the material conditions for people’s wellbeing, we will strive to develop advanced socialist culture, foster strong ideals and convictions, carry forward China’s cultural heritage, and actively develop the whole-process people’s democracy. We will thus promote all-around material abundance as well as people’s well-rounded development. The 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization will provide rich nutrients for the Chinese modernization, and the Chinese modernization will give vitality of the times to the Chinese civilization. The unity of nature and mankind is the essence of traditional Chinese philosophy. The Earth is the common home of all human beings. In the past decade, China has practiced sustainable development with unprecedented intensity, protecting nature and the environment as we do our own lives. One quarter of the world’s new forest area comes from China, the population of more than 300 rare and endangered wildlife species have been restored and increased, and China’s carbon emission intensity had dropped by nearly 50% in 2020 compared to 2005, exceeding the target promised to the international community. The vast Chinese homeland will provide a sustainable and livable home for all Chinese people.
The Chinese path to modernization will be a process of peaceful development. Today’s China will not tread the old path to modernization through war, colonization, and plunder taken by some countries, but will choose to follow a new path of peaceful development. The world today is undergoing changes unseen in a century. At this crossroad of history, where should we go? The international community needs to give a clear answer and make a correct historical choice. From the perspective of the development of all mankind, the CPC will remain firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace, adhere to its fundamental national policy of opening up to the outside world, pursue a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up, promote the humanity’s shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, strive to safeguard world peace and development as we pursue our own national rejuvenation, and thus make greater contributions to world peace and development through our own development. This is the clear message sent to the international community by the 20th CPC National Congress, and I hope it will be accurately understood.
Modernization is not the preserve of the West, nor is there a fixed model. Each country should independently explore a path to modernization that is in line with its own national context. Among the 193 member states of the United Nations, there are only 30 developed countries. That means the modernization of the vast number of developing countries is still a major issue of the times. The Chinese path to modernization has common features of all countries’ paths to modernization, but also has its own characteristics based on its own national context. History will prove that the practice of the Chinese path to modernization can provide references and options for other developing countries to explore their own paths to modernization.
From a global perspective, the Chinese modernization itself is a great contribution to human progress and is destined to bring new opportunities and benefits to the world. From 2013 to 2021, China’s average contribution to world economic growth reached 38.6%, more than the combined contribution of the G7 countries, making China the biggest engine of world economic growth. After the 20th CPC National Congress, China will hedge against the instability of the international situation with the stability of its internal and external policies, and provide sustainable momentum for the global recovery with high-quality development and high-level openness. As a large developing country, China has always been a constructive force for improving peaceful development.
China and The Gambia are both developing countries, both shouldering the historical mission of promoting national development, and are mutually trusted partners. H.E. President Barrow sent a letter of congratulations to H.E. President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the 20th CPC National Congress and expressed The Gambia’s willingness to maintain good relations with China for the continuous benefit of the people of both countries. We sincerely appreciate and thank The Gambia for its kind expression. In the new era, guided by the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, as well as the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests, China is ready to work with The Gambia, to strengthen the exchange of experiences in governance, promote the Belt and Road Initiative and Global Development Initiative, deepen practical cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the FOCAC, pursue welfare and development for both sides, and join hands to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
