Toast to 2022 reminiscing China's remarkable strides over past year

At the stroke of midnight, it was the advent of 2021, and in the blink of an eye, the year 2022 rang the doorbell.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered his 2022 New Year Address, sitting in his office with a picture of the symbolic Great Wall hanging on the wall -- it was a moment of perfect complement as the spirit of solidarity, resilience and optimism shined through in his words.

Outlining the landmark historical events of 2021 in his speech to ring in 2022, Xi said China has set out on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects and is making confident strides on the path toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

It was a brief speech of about 10 minutes, but evidently emanated enough positive energy and drive to rally everyone to strive for the entire year and beyond.

Xi lauded the concerted efforts of individuals from all walks of life, noting that the multiplicity of issues addressed all boil down to issues affecting each household -- demonstrating why he is regarded as a people's leader committed to the benefit of all.

The year 2021 was intelligibly an ordinary year out of the extraordinary and in Xi's words "a year of exceptional significance" -- after all, the world began anew following the unexpected onslaught of the COVID-19 virus in the previous year.

In China's fight against the virus, if the year 2020 was about heroic spirit, 2021 was about perseverance and doing what had been proved right to deal with the pandemic.

It was not just about life and production returning to normal, but also about China making determined steps to aid in the restoration of global stability.

Walking the talk on fair vaccine accessibility worldwide, under Xi's vision of "vaccines as global public goods," China provided the world with over 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to date, in addition to donations worth 100 million U.S. dollars to COVAX Facility.

In the home turf, more than 2.8 billion vaccine doses had been administered on the Chinese mainland as of Dec. 30 and a stringent anti-pandemic strategy remains in place, demonstrating the importance of protecting people's lives and guaranteeing the normal functioning of China's economic and social activities.

Pandemic-induced challenges, however, continue to loom in the form of sporadic flare-ups in domestic cases, but such occurrences simply serve to demonstrate why China's stringent COVID-19 control policy is a feasible option at the moment.

The majority of domestic resurgences were contained rather quickly -- the reasons are as simple as not lowering guards, maintaining strict vigilance, increasing precaution, and adhering to a science-based approach.

While the vast majority of the world had scrambled to stop the rapid spread of a highly mutated Omicron strain ahead of a festive week in December, life continues to ply normally in China.

The festive spirit has permeated the country, with commercial public spaces decked out in festive garb. At this time of year in China, the sparkle and glitter of seasonal decorations in malls and eateries is an unmissable sight.

China's success has traveled in leaps and bounds from Earth to space. In April 2021, the country successfully launched the core module of the Tiangong space station, which is slated to be completed by the end of 2022 -- a big step forward in the China space dream.

China launched the station's first crewed mission in June for a three-month duration. Following that, a second crewed mission was successfully launched in October. Among the crew members was China's first female spacewalker, and the astronauts will remain in space for six months, the country's longest mission to date.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, China accomplished a historic feat by eliminating extreme poverty, lifting nearly 100 million people from the clutches of destitution in the past eight years.

This watershed moment in the world's most populous country's journey toward national rejuvenation sparked global discussion -- with observers noting that the eradication of absolute poverty under the Communist Party of China's leadership is not only critical for China's own development, but also a powerful boost to inclusive development globally.

As a New Delhi-based Indian Sinologist said -- China's poverty alleviation is significant on a worldwide scale since the country has offered the globe practical and feasible poverty reduction ideas and solutions.

At a time when the world is witnessing unprecedented geopolitical complexity, China's foreign policy is centered on building bridges for a "community with a shared future for humanity."

China continues to strive for a better "Earth home" despite the U.S.-created morass of slanderous politics, Cold War rhetoric, sanctions, and bogus allegations.

Away from narrow-minded cliques such as the so-called "Summit for Democracy," which seeks to weaponize the democratic spirit, China is upholding a democracy that works for the common good and provides long-term development possibilities for both the country and the world.

This year is quite significant for China as the much-anticipated Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will open in just over a month. China is poised to organize a magnificent event and foster peace and brotherhood at a time when global solidarity is the need of the hour.

"We will spare no effort to present a great Games to the world," Xi said in his New Year Address. "The world is turning its eyes to China, and China is ready."

Indeed, the year 2021 was unlike any other, and with 2022 settling in one can hope that it heralds opportunities galore for a new beginning.