Nigeria Times

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The international community has paid high attention to the ongoing “two sessions” in China, looking forward to more positive messages of promoting high-quality economic development and injecting more vitality and confidence into the global economy that is facing downward pressure.

The annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) bring together thousands of national legislators and political advisors.

International personages have voiced support for China’s firm endeavor to pursue high-quality development unveiled in the meetings, believing that it will create more opportunities for the world and contribute to world economic recovery.

High-quality development is the first and foremost task in building a modern socialist country in all respects, said Chinese President Xi Jinping while attending a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of east China’s Jiangsu province at the first session of the 14th NPC on March 5.

During the deliberation, Xi stressed that efforts should be made to fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, and better coordinate the effective upgrade in quality with the appropriate expansion in quantity in economic development.

China must unswervingly deepen reform and opening-up and transform the development model, and the happiness and well-being of the people are the ultimate goals of promoting high-quality development, Xi said.

The remarks have charted the course and provided fundamental guidance for advancing high-quality development under new conditions and further enhanced the international community’s confidence in China’s economic development.

China aims to expand its economy by around 5 percent in 2023, according to a government work report submitted to the national legislature for deliberation.

The international community generally believes that the growth target is scientifically reasonable and has demonstrated to the world its firm resolve to promote high-quality economic development.

During the past five years, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown to over 121 trillion yuan ($17.95 trillion) at an average annual rate of 5.2 percent in spite of multiple challenges, including the rapidly evolving international landscape, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and domestic economic downward pressure.

Over the past decade, the country achieved a medium-high rate of economic growth given its large economic aggregate and transitioned to high-quality development. During the period, the country’s GDP has increased by nearly 70 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 6.2 percent.

Such remarkable achievements have fully proven that the fundamentals remain unchanged, and the Chinese economy still enjoys strong resilience, enormous potential, great vitality and long-term sustainability.

International organizations and investment institutions have lifted their growth forecasts on China’s economic growth this year as a result of their growing confidence in its economy.

“If you are looking for growth, the answer is very simple. The next China is China,” said Joe Ngai, managing partner of McKinsey Greater China. The positive judgment on China’s economic outlook has sparked widespread resonance in the international community.

China accounts for more than 18 percent of the world economy and contributes around 30 percent to global economic growth. It ranks first globally in terms of trade in goods and services, and has become a major trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions.

The country has the world’s most complete and largest industrial system with strong industrial supporting capacity. It also enjoys great technological innovation capacity and industrial production capacity.

China is in the process of industrialization and urbanization. Its middle-income group is expected to exceed 800 million in the next 15 years, further driving the development of an enormous market.

During the past five years, China’s research and development (R&D) spending intensity has increased from 2.1 percent to more than 2.5 percent, and the contribution of scientific and technological progress to its economic growth has exceeded 60 percent, demonstrating the increasing capability to support development with innovations.

As of the end of 2022, China has registered over 52 million enterprises and 110 million self-employed individuals, indicating significant improvement in its endogenous driving force for development.

Such achievements have given China confidence on the path of its high-quality economic development, and made the international community optimistic about China’s economic growth prospects.

China accelerates the establishment of a new development pattern and remains committed to improving the quality of development while expanding high-level opening-up, injecting important momentum into global economic development.

Over the past five years, China’s total volume of trade in goods has surpassed 40 trillion yuan at an average annual growth rate of 8.6 percent, ranking first in the world for many consecutive years. Meanwhile, the country has been a major destination for foreign investment and a leading global outbound investor.

This year, China will prioritize the recovery and expansion of consumption, intensify efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, steadily expand institutional opening-up, and continue the transition to green development. Such endeavors are expected to bring more opportunities to enterprises from all countries. 

In January this year, China got off to a good start in attracting foreign investment, as the foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 14.5 percent year on year to 127.69 billion yuan.

Many foreign-funded companies regard China as one of the most important destinations for investment and plan to increase investment in the country.

China is advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. Pursuing high-quality development is one of the essential requirements for the Chinese path to modernization.

Adhering to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, China will fully and faithfully apply its new development philosophy on all fronts, and accelerate creating a new development pattern.

It is ready to boost global economic recovery by promoting its high-quality development and create new opportunities for the world by striving for new achievements in development.

In a gesture of goodwill and support for various groups in the community, the candidate of the peoples Democratic Party PDP in the march 18 governorship election Dr. Emmanuel Ombugadu has donated Galaxi Buses to three different groups in Nasarawa.

The recipients of the donation include two religious groups, the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and the Women’s Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN), as well as one ethnic group, the Igbo Cultural Community Association.

According to Ombugadu, the donation of the Galaxi Buses that was distributed yesterday is aimed at improving transportation for the various groups, as well as promoting unity and harmony among different religious and ethnic communities in the area.

Ombugadu expressed his hope that the donation would help the groups to better serve their members and enhance their contributions to the community.

Representatives of the groups expressed their gratitude for the PDP Candidate generosity and pledged to use the Galaxi Buses to further their respective missions and serve their communities to the best of their abilities.

According to reports, the donation was received with enthusiasm and appreciation by members of the various groups and is seen as a positive step towards promoting unity and cooperation among different groups in Nasarawa

By Zhou Shanshan, People’s Daily

Women’s status mirrors a country’s social etiquette and civility.

In China, female pediatric intensive care specialist Qian Suyun, who has nearly 40 years of pediatric experience, has brought a ray of hope to numerous children in emergency and critical conditions with her superb medical skills and ethics.

Bi Lixia, a woman that heads a rice farming cooperative in Jianli, central China’s Hubei province, has actively applied technologies in rice growing, contributing her strength to maintaining food security.

They are representatives of today’s females and have proven that women are creators of material and spiritual wealth and represent an important force driving social development and progress with concrete actions. Such progress is inseparable from the high-quality development of the cause of gender equality in China in the new era.

China attaches high importance to the cause of gender equality. In the country, women are able to exercise their democratic rights, participate in economic and social development, and benefit from the outcomes of reforms and development on an equal and legal basis.

So far, it has built a legal system for the protection of women’s rights and interests, which covers over 100 separate laws and regulations. The average life expectancy of women has exceeded 80 years. The gender gap in the nine-year compulsory education has been basically eliminated. Women accounted for over 50 percent of students in institutions of higher education.

As of the end of 2020, the number of women participating in maternity insurance had reached 103 million, and 650 million women participated in basic medical insurance. Women accounted for 40 percent of the labor force and 45.8 percent of the total science and technology personnel across China.

These sets of data reflect the efforts made by China to promote the cause of gender equality, the solid guarantee for women’s rights and interests, the broad rights and interests enjoyed by women, and the increasingly prominent role of women in economic and social development.

Women are gaining increasing senses of achievement, happiness and safety, and their confidence is growing in pursuing their own dreams.

In the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country vowed to remain committed to the fundamental national policy of gender equality and protect the lawful rights and interests of women and children, eliminate unjustified restrictions and discrimination that undermine equal employment, and establish a policy system to boost birth rates. It has charted the course for achieving greater gender equality.

The cause of gender equality in China is entering a golden period featuring more benefits for women, a better development environment, and leapfrogging progress.

From finding a balance between work and family to breaking through the glass ceiling in the workplace, Chinese women’s development is supported by the entire society. As relevant parties work together to keep advancing the healthy development of gender equality, the cause will see broader and brighter prospects.

By Wang Hao, Qi Zhiming, Ge Mengchao, People’s Daily

Over the recent years, China has thoroughly implemented an innovation-driven development strategy to promote the optimization and upgrading of its industrial structure. Accelerating the modernization of the industrial system remained one of the key focuses of the government work report this year.

China boasts the most complete industrial system in the world, and the demand in its domestic market has the greatest potential globally. Accelerating the industrial structure upgrading and building a modern industrial system that’s independent, controllable, safe, reliable and highly competitive is key to future development.

Traditional industries are the foundation of the modern industrial system. At present, China is vigorously promoting the upgrading of traditional industries.

Traditional industries are moving towards higher-end, exploring new development paths.

Wang Lanyu, general manager of HBIS Group, a Chinese steelmaker, told People’s Daily that the company has been making ceaseless efforts to deepen supply-side structural reform, develop high-end products, and strive for a higher stage of well-adjusted balance where demand drives supply and supply, in turn, creates demand.

“We are exploring the new arena of intelligent connected new energy vehicles (NEVs) and have launched high-end smart electric vehicles to better meet the demand of the market,” said Zhang Xinghai, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and chairman of Seres, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer.

China has fastened its steps on a new path to industrialization as the industrial structure is optimizing and the quality of products keeps improving. High-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing accounted for 15.5 percent and 31.8 percent of the total value added of industrial enterprises above designated size, respectively. China has maintained the world’s largest producer and seller of NEVs for eight consecutive years.

Traditional industries are becoming intelligent and more competitive.

Only by grasping the opportunities of digital upgrading can enterprises stand out in fierce market competition, said Zhang Zhuang, mayor of Liuzhou, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He noted that Liuzhou supports enterprises in digital transformation and is actively building national-level pioneering zones for connected vehicles and intelligent manufacturing.

“Digital technologies enable precision workshops to respond to every abnormal situation and reduce the processing period of core parts by 20 percent, which further lowers cost and improves efficiency,” said Ma Bing, an employee of Gentertec Qiqihar No.2 Machine Tool, a manufacturing enterprise for heavy-duty machine tools.

So far, China has built over 2,100 high-level digital workshops and smart factories, and industrial internet has been applied to 45 major categories of the national economy.

Ma suggested that enterprises should keep enhancing their capabilities in the application of digital technologies and software, as well as data management, saying efforts shall be made to guide enterprises to accelerate digital transformation in key links.

Traditional industries are also turning “green” and brimming with new vitality.

Aiming to build a waste-free county, Guangze county in east China’s Fujian province has managed to mix organic matters such as chicken manure and rice husks and turn them into fuel.

“We should promote clean production and circular economy, so as to achieve green and low-carbon development,” said Zhang Yuzhen, president of the Fujian Provincial Academy of Environmental Sciences.

Thanks to synergistic efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, expand green development, and pursue economic growth, the country is seeing accelerated development of green and low-carbon production and lifestyles. The share of clean energy in total energy consumption increased from 20.8 percent to over 25 percent over the past five years.

While consolidating the dominant place of traditional advantageous industries, China is also fostering new growth drivers and new strengths.

According to the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country will promote the integrated and clustered development of strategic emerging industries and cultivate new growth engines such as next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, and green industry.

The innovation-driven development strategy cultivates emerging industries. Liao Zengtai, head of Wanhua Chemical Group, told People’s Daily that leading enterprises should cooperate with universities and research institutes to contribute to the development of emerging industries with strategic importance.

“We have made breakthroughs in the optimization of storage technology, which makes the operation of mobile phones smoother,” said Feng Dan, dean of the School of Computer Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province. Industries, universities and research institutes should work together and turn frontier technologies into productivity, she added. “Future industries are an opportunity that we should seize in the next round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. Efforts should be made to develop core technologies in key sectors such as artificial intelligence and big data,” said Dong Jin, head of the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing.

By Liu Zhiqiang, People’s Daily

The State Council Information Office held a press conference in Beijing on March 6 about promoting high-quality development to set the stage for building a modern socialist country in all respects.

Zhao Chenxin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), outlined China’s remarkable economic performance in 2022.

According to Zhao, the country’s GDP exceeded the 120-trillion-yuan ($17.22 trillion) mark for the first time, and the consumer price index only rose by 2 percent while global inflation has surged to its highest level in over 40 years.

Besides, a total of 12.06 million new urban jobs were created last year, exceeding the annual target of 11 million. China maintained a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, and the scale of the country’s foreign exchange reserves remained over $3.1 trillion as of the end of last year.

China’s development quality saw steady improvement.

Innovation-driven development has played a more important role. China’s total expenditure on research and development (R&D) amounted to 3 trillion yuan for the first time, with the country’s ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP increasing to 2.55 percent. The country has climbed to 11th place in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 Report.

Structural adjustment accelerated in the sectors of industry, investment, consumption and trade. Green and low-carbon development achieved steady progress, and poverty alleviation achievements have been continuously consolidated. The social security system and public services were also improved firmly.

China has constantly consolidated the foundation for safe development.

Fiscal and financial operations were generally stable and sound, and international payments were in basic balance. The country has achieved a bumper grain harvest for 19 consecutive years, and its annual grain output has exceeded 650 billion kilograms for eight years in a row.

It also enhanced the systems of energy production, supply, storage and sales, and the energy supply is maintained at a stable level. The capability to maintain the security of key industrial and supply chains has been continuously improved.

According to the government work report this year, China’s annual growth target is set at around 5 percent.

Zhao explained that as a developing country, China still takes development as its top priority. To achieve the targets set at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country needs to maintain reasonable economic growth to boost employment, improve people’s livelihoods, and prevent and defuse risks, Zhao added.

The 5-percent growth target, which is conducive to accelerating the creation of a new development paradigm and promoting high-quality development, is in line with current economic momentum, and will guide all sectors to focus on improving the quality and efficiency of development, Zhao said.

Besides, regions across China all have strong confidence in their development prospects, which lays a solid foundation for the country to achieve the annual growth target.

Zhao said the country will strengthen macro policy regulation, maintain the continuity and consistency of macro policies, make them more effective and targeted, enhance the integration and coordination of policies and ensure that all policies are consistent with the direction of macro policies.

The country will ensure that the implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand is integrated with efforts to deepen supply-side structural reform, further unleash the potential of household consumption, boost investment, and implement the innovation-driven development strategy in an in-depth manner, and accelerate the building of a modern industrial system.

It will also build a high-standard socialist market economy and promote high-level opening up to constantly energize development. It will coordinate development and security, properly handle and defuse risks in areas such as property sector, finance, and local government debt, and practically enhance security capacity building in food security, energy resources and key industrial and supply chains.

Besides, China will thoroughly and effectively implement the employment-first policy, strengthen basic public services and constantly guarantee and improve people’s livelihood.

Final consumption is a lasting driver of economic growth. Li Chunlin, vice chairman of the NDRC, said that China’s consumer market has shown signs of rapid recovery. Consumption of catering, culture and other industries has rebounded since the Spring Festival holiday, getting the economy off to a strong start, he said.

Li believes that uncertain factors constraining the release of consumption potential are gradually eliminated, and the first half of this year is expected to see a steady increase in the growth of major indicators of consumption.

Consumption will serve as a main driving force boosting China’s economic growth in 2023, Li said.

In 2022, China’s fixed-asset investment increased by 5.1 percent over the previous year. In particular, investments in infrastructure and manufacturing rose 9.4 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively, playing an important role in stabilizing the macro economy.

Yang Yinkai, vice chairman of the NDRC, said China will keep working to expand effective investment this year, advance the construction of major projects, effectively drive investment from the society through government investment and policy incentives, consolidate the sound momentum for stable growth in infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment, and further enhance the key role of investment in optimizing the supply structure.

By Ding Yiting, People’s Daily

A wind farm consisting of 125 smart wind turbines is currently under construction in the Kazak autonomous county of Mori, Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Each of the wind turbines has a diameter of 186 meters and they are expected to generate 2.2 billion kWh of clean electricity on an annual basis.

According to Gao Xiang, vice general manager of the company that developed the wind farm, which is also a subsidiary of Huadian Xinjiang Power Co., Ltd., with sensors installed in the parts of the wind turbines and advanced control technology and algorithm, the wind turbines can detect potential variations of the wind to maximize their performance.

Besides, smart equipment in the wind turbines can also monitor the status of the towers and the vibration of the rotors, which helps reduce the loss of possible malfunctions and shutdowns, Gao noted, adding that the operation and maintenance cost of the smart wind turbines is 20 percent lower than that of traditional types.

The new energy sector, represented by wind power, is developing rapidly and gaining increasingly higher competitiveness in China.

As more and more new energy projects are built across the country, which fuels market competition, lowering costs and improving efficiency through digitalization and the application of intelligent technologies have become vital for many enterprises.

Qin Haiyan, head of the Chinese Wind Energy Association under the China Renewable Energy Society, told People’s Daily that the engineering quality and reliability of wind power equipment have been continuously improved over the years, and these pieces of equipment are becoming more digital, intelligent, and customized.

Today, the efficiency of China’s wind power generation is up 30 percent from a decade ago. According to statistics, the levelized costs of energy for wind and photovoltaic power generation in 2021 were down by 48 percent and 70 percent from 2012, respectively. This has laid a solid foundation for the large-scale and market-oriented development of the new energy sector.

In Jiaxing, east China’s Zhejiang province, “super roofs” that are able to generate electricity are employed by a building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) project launched by Beijing Energy International Holding Co., Ltd., a leading provider of global eco-development solutions.

Different from the traditional model under which PV panels are installed on mounting systems, the BIPV project adopts multi-layer roofs with built-in solar panels.

“BIPV makes photovoltaic power generation an integral part of buildings,” said Zhong Baoshen, chairman of LONGi, the world’s leading supplier of solar PV solutions based in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province. No space for mounting systems is needed, so it is able to fit larger PV panels and thus increase generating capacity by about 15 percent, Zhong noted.

He told People’s Daily that the technology, apart from being promoted among new buildings, also enjoys large development potential in the market of roofing renovation.

Green electricity resources are being employed by a number of areas across China to build zero-carbon industrial parks. In an industrial park in Erdos, north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, 80 percent of electricity consumed comes from local wind and PV power generation systems, while the remaining 20 percent is green electricity purchased from the National Grid.

Apart from the industrial and construction sectors, the vast countryside in China also provides a huge developmen spacet for new energy.

“I had to spend more than 300 yuan ($43.46) per month on the lighting of my cowshed. It is the PV panels on my roof that have reduced my electricity cost,” said Party head of Huatugula village, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, referring to a comprehensive intelligent new energy project in the village, one of the many PV and wind power projects built by the State Power Investment Corporation in the village last year.

Sun Wen from the corporation told People’s Daily that the company has rented local saline and alkaline land and managed to improve the soil quality of it. The land was later contracted to the villagers for free, and PV panels were installed on it.

“The village can also make 100,000 yuan per year from land lease,” Sun said.

Promoting rural wind power and PV development is an important approach to reaching the “dual carbon” goals as well as an effective measure to expand the collective economy of villages and increase farmers’ income.

A plan on renewable energy for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) proposed to vigorously build county-level wind power projects in rural areas, and encouraged the construction of distributed PV panels on the roofs of rural houses meeting the specific standards and designated sites in villages.

“According to estimation, a village can gain an extra 200,000 yuan each year if it spares 200 square meters of land and installs two to three wind turbines on it,” said Qin.

An official with the National Energy Administration told People’s Daily that China will focus on the diversified development of the energy sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, promote the integrated development of PV-assisted desert control, PV corridor, offshore wind power, and offshore oil and gas, launch demonstration projects such as massive hydrogen production through renewable energy, and explore new development models under which multiple energy sources complement each other and are comprehensively utilized in multiple scenarios.

By Yan Huan, Xu Hailin, People’s Daily

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 hosted by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) kicked off on Feb. 27 in Barcelona, Spain.

The four-day event, focusing on the new impetus of 5G development, digitalization and financial technology, called for enhanced international cooperation to narrow the technological gap and strive for a sustainable future.

As one of the grand events in mobile communication industry, the MWC was joined by over 2,000 exhibitors from more than 200 countries and regions.

At the event, Chinese communication and tech firms displayed their latest results in frontier communication and electronics technology, attracting high attention.

GSMA CEO John Hoffman told People’s Daily that China has built the world’s largest and technologically leading 5G infrastructure and has the largest number of 5G users in the world. He believes that Chinese enterprises would share more stories and experiences of technological development with the world via this year’s MWC.

Thanks to the in-depth application of 5G technology, virtual reality, augmented reality, metaverse and other futuristic application scenarios based on the technology are bringing profound changes to people’s life and work.

The upgrading of 5G technology and infrastructure is constantly accelerating Africa’s development, said John Omo, Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union.

He said China’s Huawei has provided technologies and equipment for the digitalization of South Africa’s mining industry, helping the latter improve its management, productivity and safety.

In a plant producing cardboard boxes in east China’s Zhejiang province, an intelligent industrial cloud base station has been built by China Mobile, one of the largest mobile communication carriers in China and Chinese communication giant ZTE. The base station covers the entire plant with 5G network and connects every production device. The plant employs 5G-guided robots with machine vision to accurately achieve pick-up, delivery and coordination. Images and videos in the plant are sent back to the control end in real time for analysis and management.

China mobile and ZTE have won the 2023 GSMA 5G Smart Production Challenge Award for their exploration and innovation in the application of 5G in manufacturing.

“Today, the role of people working in the communication industry is changing rapidly,” said Wang Xiyu, executive vice president and chief technology officer of ZTE, adding that the evolution of the industry is making the impossible possible and becoming an important driving force for social transformation.

The MWC 2023 was joined by about 150 Chinese communication and tech firms, such as China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi. Their digital technologies exhibited at the event are empowering the global development, especially the sustainable development of developing countries.

Huawei had a 9,000-square meter exhibition booth at the MWC 2023, which, according to CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona Francesc Fajula, is the largest in history of the MWC.

“Chinese companies keep close cooperation with international organizations and communication carriers in many countries, which has not only improved their capability in 5G application, but also created opportunities for these countries in training young talents in digital technology,” Fajula said.

As the world pays more and more attention to carbon emission reduction, Chinese enterprises are joining hands with domestic and foreign partners to contribute to carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality in the communication field.

In Chile, China’s Lenovo is cooperating with local organization Island Conservation and has launched Work for Humankind initiative in the Robinson Crusoe Island. Volunteers with different backgrounds and knowledge came to the island to work with local communities to promote technology upgrades, update education and digital approaches and help with ecological protection as well as cultural preservation.

Lenovo has set up a cutting-edge technology center for the initiative, equipped volunteers and staff members on the island with laptops, augmented reality goggles and smart home appliances. The center also offers online education software for local schools. So far, the center has benefited around 30 percent of residents on the island.

During the 2023 MWC, Huawei announced it has joined the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) and will work with relevant parties to raise literacy with technology.

Only by enhancing education on digital technology and ensuring no country or individual is left behind can true sustainable development be achieved, said David Atchoarena, director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, adding that Chinese enterprises are offering richer educational resources for young people through cooperation and investment.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

Following a path of peaceful development is a distinctive feature and essential choice of Chinese modernization.

Breaking away from the traditional pattern in which rising powers have always sought to dominate, China is benefiting both itself and the whole world through its development.

China will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. Dedicated to peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, it will strive to safeguard world peace and development as it pursues its own development, and it will make greater contributions to world peace and development through its own development.

Chinese civilization, with a history of over 5,000 years, has always cherished peace. The pursuit of peace, amity, and harmony is an integral part of the Chinese character, which runs deep in the blood of Chinese people.

From the middle of the 19th century, China had long been troubled by foreign aggression and frequent warfare, which brought deep sufferings to Chinese people. Having experienced bitter sufferings in the past, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese people know the value of peace and development, and see it as their sacred duty to promote the peaceful development of the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that China remains firmly committed to peaceful development. No matter how the international landscape may evolve and how strong it may become, China will never pursue hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence.

Besides, China is the only country in the world that has pledged to “keep to a path of peaceful development” in its Constitution., which also indicates the country’s firm determination to follow a path of peaceful development.

China does not subscribe to the outdated logic that “a strong country is bound to seek hegemony.” Some countries, while pursuing modernization, invaded, colonized and plundered others, bringing miseries to the people in developing countries. There are still a few Western countries seeking hegemony and power politics even today, severely threatening world peace and stability.

Chinese modernization never involves military expansion or colonial plunder, but champions the shared human values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom, advocates win-win cooperation with the world and builds a community with a shared future for mankind.

For 70-plus years since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has never provoked a conflict, occupied one inch of foreign soil, started a proxy war, or joined any military bloc.

Keith Bennett, vice chair of the 48 Group Club, noted that China is not developing by exploiting any other country. It is developing itself and modernizing itself, and at the same time helping other countries to develop and modernize, he added.

Development always remains the top priority of China, the world’s largest developing country. Chinese modernization is independent and self-propelled, and at the same time absorbs Western experiences in modernization in China’s opening up drive. It strives for national development by integrating internal impetus and peaceful exploitation of external resources.

China adheres to the path of peaceful, open, cooperative and common development, and will offer as much assistance as it can for other developing countries. Meanwhile, the country will unswervingly safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests. China has never bullied, oppressed, or subjugated the people of any other country, and will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate Chinese people.

Currently, changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and the world has entered a new phase of turbulence and transformation. Peace and development are faced with severe challenges. China will remain firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace, and commit to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has become a global public good welcomed by many countries and an open international cooperation platform. The country’s Global Development Initiative has received support from more than 100 countries and many international organizations, including the UN. China also works to implement the Global Security Initiative and has released “The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper.”

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said a strong and friendly China will bring positive impact on the region and the world, and can help small and medium-sized countries achieve common development.

Eduardo Regalado, senior researcher at Cuba’s International Policy Research Center., noted that China’s commitment to peaceful development not only creates a sound international environment for its own modernization, but also makes important contributions to human progress.

China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order no matter how the international environment may change. It will work with people from all countries in the world to build a community with a shared future for mankind and make greater contributions to world peace and development.