On 1 October, 2022, the Nation and the Today, two largest-selling newspapers in Seychelles, published an article entitled Strive Together for a Better Future - The signed article of Chinese Ambassador H.E. Mrs. GUO Wei on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the full text is as follows:
The 1st October of 2022 marks the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the past 73 years, The Communist Party of China (CPC) has united and led the Chinese people in establishing socialism as our basic system and carrying out socialist construction. We have achieved great success in reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, which enabled China to achieve the historic leap from a country with relatively backward productive forces to the world’s second largest economy. We have realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, bringing about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty in China. China’s national rejuvenation has become a historical inevitability.
I. Over the past decade China has achieved remarkable success in economic and social development.
Following the CPC’s 18th National Congress in 2012, socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era. Over the past 10 years, we have promoted coordinated progress in the economic, political, cultural, social and eco-environmental fields, achieving historical progress.
1. China has deepened reform across the board, and achieved high-quality development by fostering a new pattern of development. Over the past 10 years, China’s economic, scientific and technological development, and overall national strength have all jumped to a new level. China’s GDP has topped 114 trillion yuan (about $16.94 trillion) in 2021, accounting for over 18 percent of the global total, rising from 11.4 percent in 2012, with per capita GDP reached $12,500. China’s urbanization rate has raised to around 65 percent and its middle-income population has exceeded 400 million. In 2021, total R&D investment in China increased to 2.79 trillion yuan (about $442 billion), from 1.03 trillion yuan in 2012. China ranked 12th in Global Innovation Index 2021, up 22 places from ten years earlier. China has now become the largest trading partner to more than 120 countries with its trade volume topped $6 trillion for the first time in 2021. As the world’s largest industrial country, largest trader in goods, biggest destination for FDI and biggest holder of foreign exchange reserves, China has contributed an average of 30% annually to world economic growth for many years in a row as the powerhouse for global growth.
2. China has advanced law-based governance in all respects and actively developed whole-process people’s democracy. Committed to a people-centered approach, China has been improving democracy and diversifying its forms. All the Chinese people, in accordance with law, engage in democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight and participate in various ways and forms in the management of state, economic and social affairs. Upholding law-based governance in all respects, we have improved the Chinese socialist system of laws, safeguarded social fairness and justice and made historic achievements in promoting human rights in China.
3. China has been striving for common prosperity for all by committing to improving people’s living standards. We have brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty, with nearly 100 million rural residents lifted out of poverty, making tremendous contributions to the global poverty reduction. We have built the world’s largest education system, social security system, and health care system. People’s average life expectancy has risen from 75.4 to 77.9 years old. The average annual wage in China has increased from $1392.3 in 2000 to $12805.9 in 2021. People’s standard of living and quality of life have seen continuous improvement.
4. China has fully promoted the development of ecological civilization by adhering to the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets and pursuing green and low-carbon development. China has taken comprehensive measures to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including enhancing pollution prevention and control and ecological conservation, consolidating the gains in our endeavors to keep our skies blue, waters clear, and lands pollution-free, and promoting transition to eco-friendly production and ways of life. Attaching a great importance to addressing climate change, China has made a major push to develop new energy sources and cultivated energy-saving and environmental protection industries to ensure the conservation and efficient use of resources. In 2021, global electric vehicles (EV) sales reached 6.6 million, with China accounting for 53 percent of global sales. We will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
5. China has championed the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and strived to foster a new type of international relations. China has always been working to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development, and preserve internationa