China looking to achieve the goal of great renewal

The celebrations for China's 70th anniversary on National Day have clearly shown the strengths of the country's past and present, which have paved a way for the peaceful development of Chinese society in the last seven decades.

Witnessing the grand military parade with the slogans of “Long Live China” at Tiananmen square and listening to President Xi Jinping’s speech was an opportunity to note how this nation has developed remarkably with confidence in the system adopted under the visionary leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

On the one hand, National Day said that China at 70 has a strong economy, upgraded military weapons, has achieved scientific and technological developments, and is defined by bright and colorful ethnic cultures. On the other, it also reminded us of the suffering the country experienced after the Opium War of 1840.

"This great event completely reversed China's miserable fate born from poverty and weakness and being bullied and humiliated over more than 100 years since the advent of modern times," Xi said, adding that the Chinese nation has since then embarked on the path of realizing national rejuvenation.

This part of the speech means that it is impossible to discuss China's development without looking at its history. The history of China is one sense a history of misery mixed with glory.

It is the collective memory of the Chinese nation, a memory of brilliant prosperity to repeated humiliation and then back to independence and liberation.

Today, China is blessed with an enlivened people, breathtaking development, an animated society and elevated international prestige, making it the focus, the wonder and envy of the world. The Chinese people are more confident about and more capable of reaching the goal of national renewal than ever before.

Like a wakeup call to the remote memories of history, the Chinese dream invoked by President Xi has made a big impact on the hearts of hundreds of millions of Chinese people.

To realize the great renewal of the Chinese nation is neither a simple reclaiming of past glory nor a return to the golden age of Han and Tang Dynasties. Coercion and hegemony have no place in the Chinese philosophy.

The mission of China is to turn itself from an erstwhile much-humiliated country, which is still a developing country today, into a rich and powerful, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and modernized socialist country by the middle of the century.

The achievements displayed during the military parade were not just about China but the rest of the world.

The display of Chinese development communicates to the international community that China will promote common development with the rest of the world in the course of its own development for the shared future of humankind.

China is committed to playing a more active role in international affairs, making joint efforts to meet global challenges and solving the hard problems confronting the human race.

The gathering of thousands of Chinese nationals from various provinces, regions and ethnicities shows that the vibrant Chinese spirit has become an eternal lighthouse that shines on the Chinese nation as it marches courageously forward.

As China marches to the world, to modernization and to the future, reform and innovation have become the cornerstones of Chinese development.

It’s a journey marked by a pioneering spirit and quest for truth, competitiveness, and a refusal to accept anything but the best, with reform and innovation at the core. This has once again become an important part of an ideological concept and value system among contemporary Chinese nationals.

The parade also told the stories of "Made in China" and "Created in China", poverty reduction, ethnic solidarity, ecological progress, and manufacturing.

There were many people at Tian’anmen Square who were wondering how China achieved such miraculous development in just 70 years.

Of course, these achievements did not fall from the sky and nor were they stolen as some countries claim. Instead they were the result of the hard work, wisdom and courage of the Chinese people.

Many lessons were learnt through the 70th anniversary celebrations including that the code of China's development lies in its adherence to the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC, to the development path suited to China's national conditions, to the State policy of reform and opening-up, and to a people-centered development philosophy.

Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people have created a miracle in 70 years. The truth of socialism with Chinese characteristics has been proven by history and practice to be a correct path that fully conforms to China's national conditions and enjoys the support of the people.

By keeping in mind China's development path, it has become evident that China will surely achieve the goal of the great renewal of the Chinese nation.

The author is Muhammad Zamir Assadi, a journalist with Independent News Pakistan, a leading news agency in Pakistan.

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