José Ricardo dos Santos / Lou Yu (Trans.): A Decade of Pursuing the Chinese Dream and Building a Shared Future for Mankind

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will convene in Beijing on October 16, 2022. This is the first National Congress held by the CPC since its centenary, and its importance is self-evident. At this juncture, it is necessary to review China's developmental course and the remarkable achievements it has attained over the past decade. In 2012, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the significant concept of the Chinese Dream. To realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the CPC formulated the Two Centenary Goals: namely, to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects ^[1] by 2021, the centenary of the founding of the CPC; and to build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful by 2049, the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. To achieve the first goal, China formulated a series of people-centered public policies focused on addressing issues such as poverty and unbalanced development. The easily understood slogan "no one shall be left behind" ^[2] manifests the CPC's original aspiration and founding mission of putting the people first and its determination to seek well-being for the people.

Ten years ago, some might have questioned whether the Chinese Dream was ultimately just a dream. Now we see that under the leadership of the CPC, the First Centenary Goal has been achieved. At the ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC on July 1, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared that China had finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Over this decade, the Chinese Dream has become increasingly vivid and concrete, allowing the world to further witness the speed and successful practice of Chinese-path modernization. The CPC upholds the principle of proceeding from reality in all things and formulates national development plans by seeking truth from facts. I believe the next goal of the Chinese Dream will also be achieved as scheduled, or even ahead of schedule.

Since the launch of Reform and Opening-up, China's development has achieved world-renowned successes. However, the CPC has not neglected policy adjustments in favor of rapid economic growth. During this decade, China proposed an innovation-driven development strategy to seek new engines for the sustained development of the Chinese economy. This policy is an inheritance and development of Deng Xiaoping’s proposition that "science and technology are the primary productive forces." In recent years, a new model of the Chinese economy, centered on technological and structural innovation, has begun to yield results. Simultaneously, through comprehensive planning and holistic deployment across the five spheres of economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization construction—the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan—the Chinese government has effectively promoted the steady development of Chinese society. The 14th Five-Year Plan fully reflects the importance the Chinese government attaches to environmental, social, and governance issues. At the United Nations General Assembly, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a solemn pledge that China aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Since then, China has further refined its carbon reduction targets. In this decade, China's economic development has entered a new stage of high-quality development, and China's image as a responsible major power committed to global sustainable development has become more multidimensional and concrete.

On the international level, the world today is characterized by interwoven crises and a surge in uncertainty. Given this, there is an urgent need to reshape and reform global governance so that governance mechanisms can effectively respond to evolving concerns and demands. Currently, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating regional conflicts, voices questioning multilateral international mechanisms have increased. Against this backdrop, China's importance as a rising global power has been further highlighted. For example, China plays a pivotal role in the BRICS cooperation mechanism. Established in 2009 as a cooperation mechanism between emerging markets and developing countries, BRICS currently covers 42% of the world's population, 25% of global GDP, and contributes more than 15% to world trade. BRICS advocates for cooperation and solidarity, safeguarding world peace and stability, focusing on development to promote global sustainable development, establishing innovation-focused incentive mechanisms, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation, and strengthening partnerships among developing countries. China seeks to use this international mechanism to encourage member states to strengthen solidarity, deepen cooperation, and safeguard the common and long-term interests of humanity. Whether in the evolution of the international order or in the improvement of global governance and the common progress of all humanity, China has opened broad prospects for BRICS to play a greater role in international affairs.

China actively promotes the construction of a series of regional or global cooperation mechanisms adhering to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, advocating that all countries join hands to build the future together. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), proposed by China in 2013, covers not only cooperation in traditional economic and trade fields but also incorporates people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The CPC has created a brand-new model of win-win cooperation, upholding the spirit of peace, cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness, while emphasizing joint construction and mutual learning. This has not only vigorously promoted infrastructure construction and economic development in BRI partner countries but also facilitated cultural exchange and mutual recognition among nations. Over the past decade, the BRI has become an important guide for China to better coordinate the interactive development relationship between "China and the world." It interprets China's diplomatic philosophy in the New Era: defending multilateralism, maintaining world peace, advocating for common development through win-win cooperation and mutual benefit, establishing a more equal and balanced new type of global development partnership, and building a community with a shared future for humanity.

In the New Era, guided by the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, China has actively participated in global governance and contributed significant strength to maintaining world peace and development. However, the United States has begun to contain and suppress a China that is constantly achieving new successes, frequently provoking incidents in an attempt to hinder China's development. The CPC is clearly aware of the international challenges China currently faces and responds to external risks calmly and rationally. The complex international environment has not interfered with the CPC's ability to make correct decisions. While advocating for innovation-driven development and deepening domestic reforms, China has consistently explored new measures for international win-win cooperation, actively shared new concepts conducive to common global development, and emphasized a beautiful vision that transcends ideology, respects different social systems, explores the common values of humanity, and builds a common future for humanity.

This decade has been a period of violent and profound global change. Sudden events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have confronted the world with exceptionally severe and complex challenges. It is precisely against this background that China's importance has become more prominent. In the New Era, China has always adhered to the way of coexistence among nations based on peace and development. It not only struggles relentlessly to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also works continuously for the common future of all humanity, playing an active and vital role. The construction of a community with a shared future for humanity advocated by General Secretary Xi Jinping has evolved from a concept into a practice that has received widespread acclaim and an active response from the world.