China’s government single-minded push towards modernisation

Chinese modernisation, a key term defining China's journey to rejuvenation, was recently written into a report to the national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). In his report to the 20th CPC National Congress in October, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, underscored the "central task" of the Party, calling for efforts to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts "through a Chinese path to modernisation."

The Chinese people are pursing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation. Modernisation as pursued under the leadership of the CPC suits China’s national conditions

After the 1840 Opium War, visionary people in China pressed ahead against the odds in pursuit of a path to modernisation for the country. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period, there had been the Westernisation Movement aimed at learning from Western military technology and the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Revolution of 1911 intended to establish constitutional monarchy or other Western systems. But all these plans to blindly copy Western models ended in failure for their unsuitability for China’s national conditions.

Indeed, Western path to modernisation is not an option for China. Since its inception, the CPC, by seeking truth from facts and painstaking searches, has led the Chinese people in finding the right path toward national independence, people’s liberation, and prosperity of the country. This path to modernisation enjoys strong vitality because it is in line with the spirit of the Chinese civilization and based on China’s national reality.

Modernisation pursued under the leadership of the CPC serves the people. The CPC Constitution stipulates that the CPC is the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and it represents the fundamental interests of the greatest possible majority of the Chinese people. Chinese modernisation is people-centered and its immutable goal is to meet the people’s aspirations for a better life.

Under the leadership of the CPC, China won the largest battle against poverty in human history, which lifted 800 million people out of poverty and met ten years ahead of schedule the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China has also built the world’s largest social security network with 1.34 billion Chinese having access to basic medical insurance in 2022.

China has also made tremendous efforts to address environmental problems that has a direct bearing on the people. As a result, sand and dust storms and smog have been significantly reduced. There are more lush mountains and lucid waters. Every improvement in people’s daily life forms a strong momentum for Chinese modernisation.

Modernization pursued under the leadership of the CPC benefits the world. The CPC has been maintaining a global vision. In leading the efforts to pursue modernisation, it is dedicated to not only seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, but also promoting human progress and world harmony.

As a Marxist party, the CPC, with an internationalist vision, has made the emancipation of humanity its abiding goal. Taking root in the traditional Chinese culture, the CPC carries forward fine traditional Chinese culture such as “a just cause should be pursued for the common good”.

On the path toward CPC-led modernisation and in response to questions of our time - “What is going on with the world?” “What shall we do about it?” - China proposed the idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind. It has signed documents on Belt and Road cooperation with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organisations.

According to a report by the World Bank, the 10-year old Belt and Road Initiative has produced 42,000 jobs for partner countries, lifted nearly 40 million people out of poverty, and raised the share of emerging and developing economies in the global economy by 3.6 percent. It is expected to generate USD1.6 trillion in global revenue each year by 2030, accounting for 1.3 percent of global Gross Domestic Product.

The CPC-led modernisation embodies the idea that, “all people under heaven are of one family”. China will continue to provide more opportunities for the world with its own development, contributing to common development and shared prosperity.

Stephen Ndegwa is the Executive Director of South-South Dialogues, a Nairobi-based communications development think tank, and a PhD student at the United States International University-Africa