Party key to great achievements
One hundred years ago, China was a hugely different country from the global leader that it is today. Under the guidance of the Communist Party of China, the country transformed from a poor and weak nation into a global economic power, a visionary leader in the development of new international partnerships, an innovator in science and technology, and a model for the eradication of poverty and sustained development.
According to the World Bank’s analysis, China achieved the fastest economic growth — measured in terms of real GDP — of any major economy in recorded history in the last 30 years, with an average growth rate of over 10 percent per year. In 1950, China’s was the 45th-largest economy in the world. Today, it is the world’s second-largest economy. In 2020, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as global social, economic and health upheavals, China was the first major country to largely contain the virus, and the only one to achieve positive economic growth.
The eradication of extreme poverty and corruption are two of the most important goals of the CPC. Remarkably, China had realized all of the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015. In short, China has emerged as a major force on the world stage, becoming the single-largest contributor to world growth since the 2008 financial crisis, according to World Bank data.
The achievements in such a period of unprecedented economic and social development is inevitably fraught with many challenges, many steps forward and a few back. Looking at the short span of 30 years during which the Kingdom of Bahrain and China have enjoyed formal diplomatic relations, China graduated from a centrally planned economic model adopted in the first decades after the revolution, with a limited role in international commerce, to a leading, market-based world economic powerhouse with a major role in global trade, politics, investment and technology.
China’s vision of a new and better world is captured in its Belt and Road Initiative, which has been embraced widely around the world. Peace, development and humanity are the core principles of the Belt and Road Initiative, and in the community of common destiny. The initiative is aimed at preserving the international order based on interdependent global collaborative networks of people as well as partnerships.
Regional development and rejuvenation are common themes in China and run parallel to the goals of the Belt and Road Initiative. This fact is not always understood by many media, which are constantly in search of dramatic headlines. For example, the rapid and continuous development of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has often been overshadowed by ill-informed reports of terrorism, and separatist and sectarian strife in the region.
I visited Xinjiang in August 2019, and again in 2020, and I can testify that in just one year, I saw further progress in the economic and social development of the region. I suppose that this should be hardly surprising. Since 1952, the real GDP growth of this amazing region has averaged 8.2 percent per year, and the overall income of the region has increased by 200 times over this period, with the aid of special economic zones and public investment. These are truly remarkable results.
In a broader global context, the sad fact is that extremism, terrorism and divisive sectarian violence by a few resisting change against the innocent majority is a modern reality in many places of the world. The international community has to understand these disruptive forces and collaborate with China to combat them so that we can continue on the long march to fulfill our dreams. This approach reflects the reality that we live in an increasingly interdependent and interconnected world where comprehensive development must be achieved in a sustainable, safe and secure environment.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic is but the latest in the long human history of major environmental and health challenges that have changed the course of socioeconomic development. No playbook for confronting and overcoming these deadly outbreaks has ever been written, with every society facing challenges finding solutions that inevitably require collaborative and cooperative frameworks.
The Chinese government and people have proved that they are more than capable of meeting these daunting challenges through a massive and heroic response to recognize, isolate, contain and control the invisible and ruthless killer. The Chinese leaders and health community reacted quickly and decisively to the largely unknown and unpredictable predatory virus, demonstrating their strong public health capacity, and ability to innovate and mobilize all resources to contain the novel coronavirus. China’s early and firm response to the pandemic could serve as a standard for the future.
Economic history suggests that the success of developing countries transforming into economic powerhouses depends on their ability to apply scientific research results to innovation and technology. China has proven this point with its achievements and leadership in aerospace, informatics, material, medical, industrial and many other technologies. Benefiting from this model, forward-looking developing countries now promote technological advancement by investing in quality research and development, and education for the youth, and skill training for the current generation.
The Arab and Chinese peoples have a longstanding and close relationship that extends back more than 2,000 years. We share trust and many common goals for peace, security and sustainable development, and we appreciate the singular and continuous efforts of President Xi Jinping and China to bring lasting peace to the Middle East.
Modern science and technology are providing the means to enable us to network, communicate, trade, invest, and develop deep friendships that will promote progress, enrich our lives and improve our welfare. We commend the achievements of the Chinese leaders and people in building a better world.