I will brief you on the strategic arrangements for pursuing high-quality development that are mentioned in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress.
The report points out that, to build a modern socialist country in all respects, we must, first and foremost, pursue high-quality development. Development is our Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating China. We will make sure that our implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand is integrated with our efforts to deepen supply-side structural reform; we will boost the dynamism and reliability of the domestic economy while engaging at a higher level in the global economy; and we will move faster to build a modernized economy. We will raise total factor productivity, make China's industrial and supply chains more resilient and secure, and promote integrated urban-rural development and coordinated regional development, so as to effectively upgrade and appropriately expand China's economic output.
When learning and understanding the guiding principles of the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, one may ask a question: why does the report say that pursuing high-quality development is our overarching task in building a modern socialist country in all respects and stress that it is an essential requirement of Chinese modernization? Since the reform and opening up policy was adopted, we have always taken development as the foundation of and the key to addressing all problems. From the strategic thinking of development being of paramount importance to taking development as the Party’s top priority in governance, and from the Scientific Outlook on Development to the new development philosophy, the Party’s philosophy on development has been constantly updated, enriched and innovated in light of changes in the development stages and tasks. In the new era, the principal contradiction facing Chinese society is that between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. The contradictions and problems in development are more closely related to the quality of development. In building a modern socialist country in all respects, we must uphold a people-centered philosophy of development, work faster to transform the growth model, make economic growth more innovation-driven, and work hard for better quality, higher efficiency and more robust growth drivers through reform, so as to raising the quality and level of development. The CPC Central Committee has underlined that implementing the new development philosophy and pursuing high-quality development are a profound transformation concerning the success of China’s modernization drive, and the GDP growth should no longer be taken as the sole criterion for evaluating performance. Instead, we will strive for high-quality development, with innovation being the primary driving force, coordination being an endogenous feature, green development being a prevailing mode, openness being an essential path, and sharing being the fundamental goal. That is why the report places the quality of development at a more prominent position, with requirements illustrated for high-quality development in various fields including the economy, society, culture and ecology.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made a series of important judgments and strategic deployments on development in the new era. At its fifth plenary session, the 18th CPC Central Committee put forward a new development philosophy emphasizing innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all. The 19th CPC National Congress pointed out that China’s economy had been transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development. At its fifth plenary session, the 19th CPC Central Committee clearly put forward that we should prioritize promoting high-quality development, and work faster to foster a new development pattern that is focused on the domestic economy and features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows. Over the past decade, China’s economic and technological strength, and composite national strength have increased significantly, with its position as the world’s second largest economy consolidated. The per capita GDP has increased to 81,000 yuan. In the meanwhile, the ratio of the country’s input into research and development to its GDP rose to 2.44% in 2021 from 1.91% in 2012, and its ranking on the Global Innovation Index rose from the 34th to the 11th. The urbanization rate went up from 53.1% to 64.7%. The ratio between the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents dropped from 2.88:1 to 2.5:1. The average life expectancy rose to 78.2 years. The size of middle-income group has been steadily expanded. Nearly 100 million poor rural residents have been lifted out of poverty. We have built the largest education, social security and healthcare systems in the world, witnessed historic, transformative and comprehensive changes in ecological environment, and proactively prevented and defused various risks. All these facts show that China has gradually improved the quality of development.
The report to the 20th CPC National Congress has made it clear that pursuing high-quality development is our overarching task in building a modern socialist country in all respects. This further highlights that development quality is of overall and long-term significance. The report also makes strategic arrangements on how to boost high-quality development in the following major aspects:
First, we will accelerate the creation of a new development pattern. We will expand domestic demand as a strategic move, deepen supply-side structural reform, accelerate the development of a unified domestic market, promote the full flow of various kinds of production factors, modernize the industrial system, make China's industrial and supply chains more resilient and secure, and deeply involve ourselves in the global industrial division of labor and cooperation. In such a way, we will foster a new pattern of development that is focused on the domestic economy and features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows.
Second, we will resolutely implement the innovation-driven development strategy and seek impetus through innovation. We will improve the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide to make key technological breakthroughs, boost China's strength in strategic science and technology, and achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. We will promote social and economic development through greater sci-tech self-reliance and enhance the quality and efficiency of real economy through innovation. In the meantime, we will also optimize the ecosystem for sci-tech innovation and build a multi-layered innovation system involving multiple actors.
Third, we will build a high-standard socialist market economy and seek vitality through reform. We will make better use of our “game-changing move” which is reform and opening up and continue reforms to develop the socialist market economy. We will unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector and unswervingly encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector. We will work to see that the market plays the decisive role in resource allocation and that the government better plays its role, and fully motivate and protect all sectors to use their enthusiasm and creativity to promote socialist modernization.
Fourth, we will advance rural revitalization across the board. We will focus on pursuing integrated development of urban and rural areas and facilitate the flows of production factors between them. We will promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural industries, talents, culture, ecology, and organizations, and foster agricultural and rural modernization.
Fifth, we will focus on promoting coordinated regional development. We will implement major regional strategies and enable developed and under-developed regions, as well as the eastern, middle and western regions and the northeastern region, to complement each other with their respective strength and pursue common development, in a bid to make solid efforts to foster common prosperity among all the people.
Sixth, we will promote high-standard opening up. We will leverage the strengths of China's enormous market to attract global resources and production factors, in a bid to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative and engage at a higher level in the global economy. We will steadily expand institutional opening up and establish an open economy featuring shared benefits and win-win outcomes, diversification and balanced development, as well as safety and efficiency.
In conclusion, the 20th CPC National Congress has made important arrangements focusing on the high-quality development. We need to fully grasp and resolutely put into practice these arrangements and earnestly fulfill the requirements of high-quality development in all aspects of our work.
Against the backdrop of a challenging and complex international landscape nowadays, some friends both at home and abroad are concerned about China’s development. I believe that the strategic measures proposed in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, which focus on both current and future issues, are certainly conducive to removing misgivings and boosting confidence.
Thank you.
