China’s Development in the New Era to Make Greater Contributions to the World

Since entering into the new era， China has made extraordinary achievements， most noteworthy being that the 5th Plenary Session of the 19th Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee decided to accelerate efforts to foster a new development paradigm that is focused on the domestic economy but features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows. This is a very attractive concept. The CPC leading the people to foster a new development paradigm will be the strategic move  for advancing China’s high-quality development.

China in the New Era Sets Greater Store by Solving Practical Problems

At the convocation of the 18th CPC National Congress， though China’s reform， open-up and construction of socialist modernization had already made great achievements， the country still faced a series of outstanding contradictions and problems crying for resolution， the contradictions and problems accumulated over the years or newly cropping up， protruding economic structural and institutional contradictions， unbalanced， uncoordinated and unsustainable development， and traditional development model difficult to go on. In 2017， the 19th CPC National Congress made it clear that the principal contradiction in the Chinese society is that between the ever-growing needs of the people for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development.

In face of such protruding contradictions， the CPC came up with the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy， organically synthesizing practices in various domains and an overall strategy with multiple goals. Against this background， Chinese socialism in the new era has achieved inspiring results： nearly 100 million rural people shaking off poverty， resolving the problem of absolute poverty in China once and for all， making great contributions to global poverty alleviation; China’s GDP more than doubled over the past decade， accounting for 18.5% of the global total， an increase of 7.2 percentage points over that of 2012; China becoming the world’s largest food grain producer， the world’s largest manufacturing power， having built the world’s largest high speed rail network; and nationwide R&D spending increasing by nearly two folds （from 1 trillion yuan to 2.8 trillion yuan）， with the country joining the ranks of the world’s innovators， its ranking in Global Innovation Index rising from 34th place to 11th.

At the same time， the CPC has kept strategic sober-mindedness and the courage to reform itself， sparing no effort in solving problems encountered by the country in rapid development， such as uneven and inadequate regional development， development and income gaps remaining large between town and country， and bottlenecks standing in the way of high-quality development; hard nuts existing for reform of key areas; people facing many difficulties relating to employment， education， medical services， childcare， eldercare and housing; ecological environment protection remaining an arduous task; some Party members and officials lacking fighting ability or spirit for solid work， and affected by pointless formalities and bureaucratism. As it is clear that the above problems and challenges may grow in seriousness in proportion to China’s huge population， the 20th CPC National Congress made plans and arrangements to deal with them.

Applying Systematic Thinking to Tackling Difficulties Arising in the Course of Development

The CPC has enhanced systematic thinking for solving problems， adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to China’s specific realities， and applying scientific worldview and methodology to solving Chinese problems. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized time after time， “All things are interconnected and interdependent. We must view them with the understanding that they are universally connected， part of a complete system， and constantly evolving if we are to grasp the laws governing their development.” Such a systematic thinking involves two dimensions of time and space. To be concrete， it calls for improving a strategic perspective and applying a historical approach to thinking while giving coordinated consideration to relationship between Chinese affairs and issues concerning people of all countries， issues facing mankind， that is， to “expand our global vision” as emphasized by General Secretary Xi Jinping. It means that as the Chinese people contribute to human progress and world harmony， they should keep an open mind and draw inspiration from all of human civilization’s outstanding achievements.

Going by this systematic thinking， the development model to be fostered cannot and should not be an imperialist， self-centered and exclusive model， but rather an inclusive one， not to impose one’s own model upon others but to focus on learning from others， regardless of their development status. The purpose of learning from others is to improve one’s own model so as to improve its efficacy， agility and resilience. The CPC will stick to the path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics， neither retracing its steps to the rigidity and isolation of the past， nor taking a wrong turn by changing its nature and abandoning its system. At the same time， the CPC respects and supports people of all countries in independently choosing their own development paths， drawing together with them a new picture of humanity’s modernization in which “one hundred flowers are in full blossom”.

Important Practical and World Significance of Fostering a New Development Paradigm

While promoting high-level opening up， China accelerates efforts to foster a new pattern of development that is focused on the domestic economy but features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows， which is of great significance to China and the world as a whole. The CPC has combined the strategy of expanding domestic demand with the focus on increasing total factor productivity， promoting high-quality development， and improving competitiveness of Chinese economy.