China’s Development: an Opportunity for the World

October 1 this year marks the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

73 years ago, the Communist Party of China (CPC) led the people of all ethnic groups in China to overthrow the three mountains of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism. Gone were the days when the Chinese nation could be bullied and abused, and the People’s Republic of China, run by the people, was born.

Over the past 73 years, the Chinese people, united and led by the CPC, has worked hard with the aspiration of building a stronger China, and achieved a Chinese miracle of economic development. In the space of mere decades, China has completed a process of industrialization that took developed countries several centuries, and established an independent and complete industrial system. Opening up unswervingly, China actively promoted foreign investment, integrated itself into the world, and has formed a comprehensive, multilevel, and multifaceted framework of opening-up. Once poor and undeveloped, China has now become the world’s second largest economy, home to the largest number of scientific research personnel, and the country with the world’s largest cargo trade volume, largest foreign exchange reserve and second largest external investment.

Over the past 73 years, the CPC has remained committed to wholeheartedly serving the people for their interests, and rallied all ethnic groups in the country to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects. 98.99 million rural residents that fell below the current poverty line have been lifted out of poverty, which brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty in China, and created a miracle in the human history of poverty reduction. Life expectancy in China has risen from 35 to 78.2 years. The per capita disposable income has also increased from 49.7 yuan (840 vatu) in 1949 to 35,100 yuan (593,900 vatu) in 2021, a 60-time increase even when inflation is considered. For today’s Chinese people, shopping online, mobile payment, bike-sharing and high-speed trains have become very common in their lives.

China’s development by leaps and bounds fully proves that the Chinese people has made an entirely correct choice to choose the leadership of the CPC, and that the CPC has united and led the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to adhere to the correct path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in line with China’s national conditions.

As an ancient Chinese poem goes, “A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden.” While “doing our own thing well”, China is actively shouldering more and more international responsibilities commensurate with its capabilities. With the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China actively promotes improving global governance and building a fair and equitable international order. China also upholds extensive consultation and joint contribution to deliver shared benefits, and strengthens high-quality cooperation with the international community under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), so as to promote global connectivity and enable more countries and more people share the fruits of development. Facing COVID-19, China has stepped forward and provided massive humanitarian assistance, providing 153 countries and 15 international organizations with several hundred billion units of medical supplies, along with 2.2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, setting a good example of international cooperation in COVID-19 response. With concrete actions, China has proved to the world that its development is an opportunity for the world.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vanuatu. As people say, “it is better to help people learn how to fish than to just give them fish.” And guided by this principle over the past 40 years, China has provided assistance as much as it can with no political strings attached, helping Vanuatu to achieve sustainable development and enhance socio-economic resilience.

The Prime Minister’s Office, the Parliament Building, the National Convention Center, etc. have become landmarks in Vanuatu. The roads in Tanna and Malekula have promoted interconnection among communities and villages, agriculture and tourism, and are hailed as the “Roads of Hope” by Ni-Vanuatu. Deemed as “the beacon of hope”, the Malapoa College has helped more teenagers in Vanuatu to obtain education opportunities. Just recently, a design team from China has worked closely with the Vanuatu side on the on-site investigation and design for the Pentecost Island Road and Wharf Project. The new Chinese medical team has also begun to provide medical service to the people in Vanuatu. It is through the practical cooperation like above-mentioned that Vanuatu has boarded the express train of China’s development, and our two countries have become good friends, good partners and good brothers featuring mutual respect, solidarity and coordination.

As developing countries, China and Vanuatu share similarities in history and cultural traditions. We both highly value independence, self-reliance and self-improvement, and are both striving to meet our people’s aspirations for a better life. China and Vanuatu enjoy huge cooperation potential in tourism, inter-connectivity, infrastructure, maritime development, climate change response and so on. As China opens up even wider, the huge Chinese market with a population of 1.4 billion people and a middle-income group of 400 million people will surely offer more opportunities to Vanuatu in trade and development.

In early June this year, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a visit to Vanuatu, where both sides reached extensive consensus to enhance political mutual trust, stay committed to mutual benefit and win-win results, carry forward the friendship between the peoples, deepen strategic coordination, and strengthen regional cooperation. As the new Chinese Ambassador to Vanuatu, at this new starting point of our 40th anniversary, I wish to work together with friends from all walks of life in Vanuatu to take the important consensus reached by our leaders of the two countries as the guide, expand exchanges and cooperation across the board, and promote China-Vanuatu comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level for the benefit of our countries and peoples.