Xi steering China to greater prosperity

CONTRIBUTION TO HUMANITY

People are curious about what changes Xi will bring to China and the world.

The three years to 2020 are crucial. China aims to complete building a moderately prosperous society by then. Extreme poverty will be history.

Looking further ahead, China aims to basically achieve modernization by 2035 and build a great modern socialist country by the middle of the century.

Realizing this "Chinese Dream" of national rejuvenation requires policy continuity and hard work.

On top of that, China needs an authoritative, centralized, unified leadership.

With more than 89 million members, the CPC is driving China toward new economic and social advancement, blazing a brand new trail of socialism.

The year 2018 marks the 200th birthday of Karl Marx and the 170th anniversary of the issuance of "The Communist Manifesto."

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is considered the latest adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context.

A miracle is unfolding -- for the first time in human history, a billion plus people are crossing the threshold of modernization together. Challenges like material shortage and wealth gap will be overcome. People will feel much more fulfilled, happier and safer.

Shen Jilan, 89, is a witness to the profound changes over time.

Born a farmer in rural Shanxi province, Shen was first elected to the NPC in 1954 and was re-elected for 12 times in a row.

The octogenarian likes to compare her annual commute to the Great Hall of the People over time. In 1954, she spent four days on the back of a donkey, a truck bed and then a train to reach Beijing. Today, the capital is just three hours away by high-speed train.

China is indeed on a high-speed train, one that moves toward the full development of human potential, as envisioned by Karl Marx. This explains China's growing relevance to the world. After all, it is exploring a path to advance humanity.

This year's "two sessions," like the 19th Party congress, attracted worldwide attention.

Analysts credit China's growing influence to the country's system and Xi's charisma.

China is an economic powerhouse for the world. At more than 30 percent, China's annual contribution to world economic growth is bigger than that of the United States, Japan and the eurozone combined.

China accounts for more than 70 percent of poverty reduction worldwide. It sends the largest group of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and makes the second largest contribution to the UN peacekeeping budget.

China raised the Belt and Road Initiative and other major proposals to champion global governance, free trade and an open global economy.

On March 9, Xi had a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump. They discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula and bilateral relations. Trump said President Xi was right to insist on a dialogue between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The US side highly appreciates and values China's significant role in resolving the Korean Peninsula issue, and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China over the issue, according to Trump.

Xi-style diplomacy is highly praised for building a new type of major country relations and a "community with a shared future for humanity."

Vladimir Petrovsky, a senior researcher at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said a feature of the major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics is that China raised non-confrontational proposals, which did not lead to clashes but contributed to improving the existing international order.

In the past few months, Xi held talks with Trump on bilateral ties, the China-US cooperation on regional and international levels. Key progress has been achieved, consensus reached.

Xi maintained close high-level exchange with Russia, pushing for all-round cooperation in all fields and closer communication and coordination on international affairs.

After the 19th Party congress, Xi received French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and presidents of the Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Gambia and Panama.

He visited Vietnam and Laos. At the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang, Xi called for an economic globalization that is more open and inclusive, more balanced, more equitable and beneficial to all.

In December, Beijing held the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, attracting over 600 representatives of nearly 300 political parties and organizations from more than 120 countries. Xi told them that people around the world should be one family, open arms, understand each other and build a community with a shared future.

He has told Chinese diplomats that the CPC considered it a key mission to both work for Chinese people's happiness and make a greater contribution to humanity.

Afghan political analyst Ghulam Dastgir said a community with a shared future was the common pursuit of people around the world and that in pushing for that goal China could create more opportunities for the world and make it thrive.

At the Great Hall of the People, with Xi elected as president, history has opened a new chapter.