China story: 70 years of success

In 1949 the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established and within few decades became the world’s second-largest economy. The remarkable success achieved economically, technologically and scientifically is worthy of consideration by other countries, especially developing nations.

After the founding of PRC, the new state faced considerable problems, which needed immediate attention. The Asian nation, ravaged by war with Japan during the WWII, was poor and its huge population compared with the gross output was weak. The country’s policies centered then on self-sufficiency relying on agriculture, but that was not enough to build a robust economy.

In 1978, China ushered in a new era of modernization and industrialization adopting a policy based on comprehensive reforms and opening-up to the world. The chief architect of modern China, Deng Xiaoping, who held office as head of state and general secretary of the Communist Party, drew up a strategy dealing with four sectors, namely agriculture, industry, science and technology, and the military. Being aware of importance of education in his long-term plans, he also sent thousands of Chinese abroad to study and contribute to building and modernizing the country.

Deng is seen as inspiring leader by those who succeeded him and took his approach to put China at forefront of the world’s major industrial economies.

Now President Xi Jinping is carrying out the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to serve the whole world.

BRI, which revives the old Silk Route, provides a lot of opportunities in areas of trade, investment, and employment. With principles of mutual cooperation and benefits, 68 countries have already signed the BRI agreement and this number is expected to increase in the future.

While staying in China for 10 months to take part in a program, hosted by International Press Communication Centre, affiliated to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, I witnessed a lot of striking signs of enormous progress in this country. I saw how Chinese people use high-quality technology in all spheres of life. I could buy anything and everything using mobile apps. The Beijing subway with more than 20 lines links almost all parts of the city. Through my visits to factories and industrial zones, I realized how China was reaping the benefits of reform and opening-up which have uplifted the state to prosperity.

The country’s huge GDP is a major factor that has helped the world’s most populous country make major strides in economic growth and in different fields.

According to official figures, China's GDP stood at 90 trillion yuan ($13 trillion) in 2018, nearly 20 percent of the world economy.

With China pressing ahead with development projects across the country, the nation has maintained a steady annual growth rate of more than 6 percent over the last two decades.

Although the US launched a trade war against China in the middle of last year, China’s economic growth amounted to 6.3 percent, in the first half of 2019, the highest rate in the world, according to the National Bureau of statistics of China.

China did not achieve so much progress through luck. The goals were determined and the successive governments worked to achieve those goals.

And people rose to the challenge and through sheer ingenuity, hard work and perseverance made sure that China achieved its rightful place in the world.

It’s time other nations followed China’s example.

The author is the head of the foreign affairs department at Al-Gomhuria newspaper in Egypt.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.