1 week Ago By Yang Yundong
To build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization are the central task for the Communist Party of China(CPC) and the Chinese Government on the journey ahead in the new era. Chinese modernization contains elements that are common to the modernization processes of all countries, but it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context. It is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development.
In July 2024, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC made important decisions to further deepen reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, embarking on a new journey for China to join hands with the world in pursuing common development and progress. Advancing Chinese modernization is an unprecedented great cause. To ensure the success of this great cause, we are determined to adhere to the following principles: First, we must always uphold the core role of the CPC in exercising overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides, resolutely uphold the Party Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership, persevere in exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance, and steer great social transformation via Party’s own transformation.
Second, we must always follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, further deepen reform comprehensively and open wider to the outside world, promote high-quality development, and ensure the future of the country’s development and progress remains firmly in the hands of the Chinese people. Third, we must always adhere to a people-centered approach, act for the people and rely on the people in everything we do, and enable all the people to benefit from reform and development while working hard together. Forth, we must always follow a path of peaceful development, uphold the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and promote world peace and stability as well as the common progress of humanity.
Over the past 75 years, no matter how the world changes, China’s dedication has not changed. It is dedicated to pursuing happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is also dedicated to human progress and world harmony.
In the course of seeking its own development, China has kept in mind the common interests of the whole world, generating new opportunities for the world through its own development. President Xi Jinping put forward the major vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, as well as the high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, which have been appreciated and responded actively by countries in the Global South. Chinese modernization will contribute robustly to world peace and stability.
China is the only major country that has written peaceful development into its constitution, and the only country among the five nuclear-weapon states to pledge no-first-use of nuclear weapons. We are actively exploring and putting into practice the Chinese way of addressing hotspot issues, boosting the prospects for resolving the security dilemma and improving security governance, and paving the ground for conflict settlement and peacebuilding. China has actively mediated the historic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, pushed the UN Security Council to adopt the first resolution since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and made unremitting efforts to promote peace talks on the Ukraine crisis.
China’s efforts have been widely recognized and supported by the international community. Every step in China’s development is an increase in the force for peace. Chinese modernization will contribute robustly to the common development for all countries.
China has vigorously promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and signed cooperation documents on Belt and Road cooperation with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations. In 2023, the trade volume of goods between China and co-building countries reached 19.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.
8 percent, accounting for 46.6 percent of China’s total imports and exports, the highest level in both scale and proportion since the proposal was put forward. China proposed to carry out open and inclusive cooperation of the Global South, announced eight measures in support of Global South cooperation, provided development assistance for over 160 countries, advanced cooperation on the Global Development Initiative with more than 100 countries, the UN and many other international organizations, invested and mobilized nearly US$20 billion of development fund and carried out over 1,100 projects, injecting strong impetus for the development and prosperity of the Global South with concrete actions.
Chinese modernization will contribute robustly to improving global governance. Chinese modernization upholds the spirit of pursuing human progress and world harmony, and is inclusive and open to the greatest extent. To improve the reform and development of the global governance system, the core is to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and the key is to practice true multilateralism.
China will always uphold the principle of planning together, building together, and benefiting together, advocate to build an equal and orderly multipolar world, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and firmly defend the U.N.-centered international system, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the U.
N. Charter, striving to make global governance more just and equitable. Chinese modernization will contribute robustly to the advancement of human civilization.
Chinese modernization is rooted in China, but has also drawn on the achievements of other civilizations. It has created a new form of human advancement, and provided a new choice to other countries in exploring modernization paths. China believes that there is no such thing as a superior or inferior civilization, and civilizations are different only in identity and location.
We should respect the diversity of civilizations, and strive to replace estrangement and clash of civilizations with exchanges and mutual learning. We should advocate humanity’s common values, namely, peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, refrain from conducting values-oriented diplomacy, and oppose ideology-based confrontation. We should respect each other as equals, and help each other succeed with an inclusive mind, and work with other countries in the world to advance human civilization.
Over the past 73 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan, the two countries have always understood, trusted, respected, and supported each other, setting an exemplary model of inter-state relations. Under the joint guidance of the two countries’ leaders and with joint efforts, China-Pakistan cooperation has made comprehensive progress and yielded fruitful results. Standing at a new historical starting point, China is willing to bring new opportunities to the world with the new development of Chinese modernization and first benefit its good neighbor and all-weather strategic cooperative partner Pakistan, jointly writing new chapters of reform and development for both countries and contributing to the modernization of the world.
Yang Yundong The writer is the Consul General of China in Karachi..
