In a New Era, On a New Journey

H.E. Ambassador GUO Shaochun

From October 16 to 22, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Beijing. It took place at a critical time as the entire Party and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups embark on a new journey to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects and advance toward the Second Centenary Goal. The theme of this Congress is holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implementing the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, carrying forward the great founding spirit of the Party, staying confident and building strength, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude, and striving in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. 

The Congress elected a new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and passed the Resolution on the Report of the 19th CPC Central Committee, the Resolution on the Work Report of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Resolution on the Revised Constitution of the Communist Party of China. The first plenary session of the CPC Central Committee thereupon elected the new central leadership of the CPC with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, which reflects the shared aspiration of all members of the Party and people of all ethnic groups .

The past decade marked three major events of great immediate importance and profound historical significance for the cause of the Party and the people: We embraced the centenary of the Communist Party of China; we ushered in a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics; and we eradicated absolute poverty and finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, thus completing the First Centenary Goal. These were historic feats—feats accomplished by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people striving in unity, feats that will be forever recorded in the Chinese nation’s history, and feats that will profoundly influence the world.

Over the past decade, China has achieved moderate prosperity, the millennia-old dream of the Chinese nation. China’s GDP has grown from 8.5 trillion US dollars to 17.7 trillion US dollars to account for 18.5% of the world economy, up 7.2 percentage points, ranking second in the world. Also, the scale of China’s manufacturing sector and foreign exchange reserves remain the largest in the world. China’s per capita disposable income has risen from 2500 US dollars to around 5500 US dollars. More than 13 million urban jobs have been created each year on average and 1.04 billion people now enjoy basic old-age insurance. China also has ensured food and energy security. China has won the tough battle against poverty under the leadership of the CPC. Close to 100 million poor rural residents have worked their way out of poverty, making significant contributions to the cause of global poverty reduction.

From this day forward, the central task of the Communist Party of China will be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. It is the modernization of a huge population, the modernization of common prosperity for all, the modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement, the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature and the modernization of peaceful development.

The essential requirements of Chinese modernization are as follows: upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing high-quality development, developing whole-process people’s democracy, enriching the people’s cultural lives, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future, and creating a new form of human advancement.

Today, our world, our times, and history are changing in ways like never before. The world has once again reached a crossroads in history, and its future course will be decided by all the world’s peoples. At the Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly points out that China has always been committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, and it is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future.

China remains firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace. It has always decided its position and policy on issues based on their own merits, and it has strived to uphold the basic norms governing international relations and safeguard international fairness and justice. 

China adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in pursuing friendship and cooperation with other countries. It is committed to promoting a new type of international relations, deepening and expanding global partnerships based on equality, openness, and cooperation, and broadening the convergence of interests with other countries. 

China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up. It strives to create new opportunities for the world with its own development and to contribute its share to building an open global economy that delivers greater benefits to all peoples. 

China plays an active part in the reform and development of the global governance system. It pursues a vision of global governance featuring shared growth through discussion and collaboration. China upholds true multilateralism, promotes greater democracy in international relations, and works to make global governance fairer and more equitable.

China and Zimbabwe are comprehensive strategic partners of cooperation. In recent years, the two countries have witnessed fruitful practical cooperation and share deep, unbreakable friendship. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will chart the course for long-term, steady and healthy growth of China-Zimbabwe relations. 

Standing at a new historical starting point, China will always hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results to deepen practical cooperation with Zimbabwe across the board under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI). China will firmly support Zimbabwe in pursuing an independent development path that suits its national conditions to realize its 2030 Vision at an early date, and stands ready to work with Zimbabwe to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.