Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era in a historic redefinition of China’s current situation. This new era means more than China’s great leap from standing up to becoming rich and strong in the global and domestic scene. It implies that China has already taken world centre stage, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese approaches to the world’s development based on its success in socialism with Chinese characteristics in terms of theory, system, culture and of course her enormous power in each and every field.
- China has become the world’s largest manufacturer, the largest exporter, a major source of global economic growth and a stabilizer of the world economy.
- China’s foreign reserves are a mammoth 3.11 trillion or US4 3,110 billion in October in comparison to Sri Lanka’s US$ 6.2 billion.
- Anyone visiting China could witness the widespread multifaceted development taking place in all parts of the country. Construction of skyscrapers, high ways and expressways are common sights in any part of China. What most is significant is the extra efforts taken to preserve and protect the environment.
- Sustainable and continual economic growth in China makes the country play an increasingly important role as a stabilizer of the world economy, since the 80s.
The recently concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China aptly symbolizes this new chapter of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).
Recent years have witnessed China playing an increasingly important role in global economic governance, as proved by the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative, the convening of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou in 2016, the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank, the operation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the raising of the concept of a community of shared future for mankind, which has been written into United Nations documents.
China’s rapid development and its stature as a responsible power win it worldwide recognition, as it takes a place in the centre of the world stage.
Today, China’s economic aggregate is the world’s second-largest, contributing more than 30 percent of global economic growth. China is now a strong engine for world economic development and one of the world’s manufacturing centres, It has realized global allocation of resources and energies, which amplifies China’s influence in the World
The Chinese economy is getting increasingly integrated with the global economy by forging partnerships with many economies, in terms of trade and investment, which are gradually becoming part of each other. It’s not a stretch to say that every economic policy initiated by China exerts a certain impact on the global economy.
As it becomes stronger and more powerful, China is actively getting involved in global governance, producing a series of initiatives and approaches in global politics, economy, and security.
China is now an indispensable driving force for the evolution of international relationships and also a steadfast advocate for world peace and economic globalization. China has always stuck to justice and peaceful solutions to regional conflicts and bilateral disputes. This adds to China’s international influence, magnetism and shaping power.
In this era of dramatic changes and rapid development, peace and development remain the theme of the times. China will continue to uphold the banner of peace, development and win-win cooperation, try to make more contributions to human society and press ahead with construction of the community of shared future for mankind.
With its progress in industrialization, China has been providing finished products to people around the world and “made-in-China” covers markets worldwide, remarkably improving the wellbeing of the world.
No matter how uneven the road ahead is, it is firmly believed that as a key power on the world stage, China will make greater contributions to the world’s peace, security, and development.
China’s status in the world economic system is based on the progress of industrialization. After World War II, almost all the emerging countries freed from colonial and semi-colonial status set the goal of industrialization, but only a few of them succeeded, while China is among the most successful.
Nearly a decade ago, China became the world’s largest manufacturer, with remarkable advantages in traditional labour-intensive manufacturing industries.
With its progress in industrialization, China has been providing finished products to people around the world and “made-in-China” covers markets worldwide, remarkably improving the wellbeing of the world.
Made-in-China has played an even more significant role in improving people’s livelihoods in developing countries.
In the tide of mobile telecom development, people across almost the entire African continent rely on Chinese-made telecom equipment and affordable cell phones to enter the era of mobile payment, despite a lack of access to fixed phones and poor bank facilities.
Similarly, a great leap forward to mobile payment also occurred in India and some other countries. Besides, relying on cheap Chinese-made goods, wholesale and logistics businesses have also prospered in Africa and Latin America.
Sustainable and continuoal economic growth in China makes the country play an increasingly important role as a stabiliser of the world economy. Since the 1 980s, China has been serving as a stabilizer in the regional economy of East Asia, and after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, its role of stabiliser in the East Asian economy became increasingly prominent.
Entering the 21st century, China has upgraded from East Asian economic stabiliser to world economic stabilizer and engine.
A few statistics will show what China has achieved in the last decade – from 2006 to 2016 in comparison to Sri Lanka’s extremely poor performance.
In 2016, Sri Lanka’s GDP was US$ 32.35 billion and the Per Capita Income was US$ 1,448. By 2016, Sri Lanka’s GDP has risen to US$ 81.32 billion and the Per Capita Income to US$ 3,835 while China has recorded a Per Capita Income of US$ 8,123 in 2016 from US$ 5,870 in 2006. China’s GDP in 2016 was unbelievable US$ 21.37 trillion, an increase from US$ 7.699 trillion 2006.
China’s foreign reserves are a mammoth US$ 3.11 trillion or US$ 3,110 billion in October 2017 in comparison to Sri Lanka’s US$ 6.2 billion.
According to official estimation, by 2020 when China fully becomes a moderately prosperous society, its GDP will approximate 100 trillion Yuan ($15 trillion), and its annual per-capita GDP will reach $11,000. Meanwhile, all people will have risen out of poverty.
Permanent urban residents will account for more than 60 percent of China’s population. Annual per-capita disposable income will range between 30,000 Yuan ($4,523) and 35,000 Yuan ($5,277).
China’s GDP will still rank second in the world, yet the gap between China and the United States, the largest economy in the world, will further narrow. China will remain among the upper-middle-income countries, but it will come to be one of the top countries in this rank.
This will be the foundation for China to build on in order to overtake the United States to become the world’s largest economy and a high-income country after 2020.
To address major challenges and problems facing global governance, Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed a series of new concepts-including ideas on global governance, security, development, and globalization-with the aim of building a more rational, balanced and fairer global governance system that benefits all.
China upholds the concepts of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and promotes the long-term goal of creating a community of shared future for mankind through practical actions.
Over the four years since it was launched, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has evolved from a proposal into concrete action, from an idea into fruitful results. It has become an open and inclusive platform for international cooperation and a widely welcomed global public good for the global community. More than 100 countries and international organizations show support for and actively participate in the construction of the Belt and Road.
The initiative has been incorporated into important resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council. Construction of the Belt and Road has already been given credit for preliminary achievements, with a handful of landmark projects already paying off.
China has aligned its development strategy with those of many other countries, and infrastructure connectivity has been remarkably improved. In May, China successfully hosted the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which produced fruitful results and greater momentum for joint endeavours under the initiative.
China upholds the concepts of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and promotes the long-term goal of creating a community of shared future for mankind through practical actions.
China’s rapid and unbelievable progress in the last few decades is more significant as she has not plundered, invaded or exploited any foreign country to achieve her phenomenal success in the economy.
Anyone visiting China could witness the widespread multifaceted development taking place in all parts of the country. Construction of skyscrapers, high ways and expressways are common sights in any part of China. What is most significant is the extra efforts taken to preserve and protect the environment.
The only setback I witnessed was the low knowledge of a foreign language among Chinese people. Though English is taught from the kindergarten level since late, even the young Chinese are poor in English though they have been fully westernized beyond recognition from their older generation.
