A decade of pursuing the Chinese Dream and building a community of shared future for mankind: Brazilian expert

Aerial photo taken on July 29, 2022 shows Train No. X9015, a China-Europe freight train, leaving for Kazakhstan from Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo/Xinhua)

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing on Oct. 16, 2022. This will mark the first national congress of the CPC after its centenary, and its importance cannot be overstated. It is necessary now to review China’s development and remarkable achievements in the past decade.

In 2012, General Secretary Xi put forward the important concept of the Chinese Dream. In order to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the CPC has set the ambitious “two centenary goals”, namely, to build a moderately prosperous society by 2021, the centennial year of the founding of the CPC; and to build China into a modern socialist country that is rich, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful by 2049, the centennial year of the founding of the PRC. For the first goal, China has formulated a series of people-oriented policies, fought poverty and addressed unbalanced development. The plain slogan of “leave no one behind” demonstrates the Party’s original intention of putting the people first and its determination to work for their well-being.

Ten years ago, there might have been people who questioned whether the Chinese dream was merely a dream. Now it has become apparent to all that under the leadership of the CPC, the first centenary goal has been achieved. At the event celebrating the centenary of the CPC on July 1, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared that China had built a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Over the past decade, the Chinese Dream has been increasingly concretized, astonishing the world with the speed and successful practice of Chinese-style modernization. The Chinese Communist Party upholds the principle of “seeking truth from fact” and has formulated national plans according to their own realities. I believe the next goal of the Chinese Dream will also be achieved on schedule, if not ahead of it.

Since the reform and opening up, China has achieved world-renowned achievements. But the Communist Party of China has never slackened its efforts in policy adjustment despite rapid economic growth. Over the past decade, China has proposed an innovation-driven strategy to create a new engine for sustained economic growth. The strategy represented a continuation and evolution of Deng Xiaoping’s theory that “science and technology are the first productive force”. In recent years, centering on sci-tech and business model innovation, China has built a new economic model. At the same time, through the Five-sphere Integrated Plan of economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization construction, the Chinese society has seen steady development. The 14th Five-Year Plan reflects the importance that the Chinese government attaches to the environment, society and governance. At the United Nations General Assembly, General Secretary Xi made a solemn commitment that China would strive to peak its carbon emission by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Since then, China has further refined its carbon reduction targets. In the past decade, China’s economy has entered a new stage of high-quality development, and China’s image as a major country committed to global sustainable development and with international responsibility has become more concrete and tangible.

The world today is characterized by multiple crises and a surge in uncertainty. It is therefore urgent to reshape and reform global governance so that it can effectively respond to new and evolving demands. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and escalating regional conflicts, there are growing voices that question multilateralism. In view of this, China’s importance as a rising global power is further accentuated. China plays a pivotal role in the BRICS cooperation mechanism. Created in 2009 between emerging markets and developing countries, BRICS now covers 42% of the world’s population, 25% of global GDP, and contributes more than 15% to world trade. BRICS advocates cooperation and solidarity by maintaining world peace and stability, promoting sustainable development, incentivizing innovation, promoting win-win cooperation, and strengthening partnerships among developing countries. Through this international mechanism, China seeks to promote greater solidarity and deeper cooperation among member countries and safeguard the common and long-term interests of humanity. In a changing world where people yearn for better global governance and shared progress, China has enabled BRICS countries to play a greater role in international affairs.

China has actively created a series of regional or global mechanisms of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and called for all countries to work closely together for a brighter future. The “Belt and Road Initiative” proposed by China in 2013 not only involves economic and trade cooperation, but people-to-people exchanges as well. The CPC has created a new model of win-win cooperation following the spirit of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, joint construction, and mutual consultation, which has not only promoted the infrastructure and economic growth of the Belt and Road countries, but also deepened cultural exchanges and mutual understanding. Over the past ten years, the “Belt and Road Initiative” has become an important action guide for China to better interact with the world, it interpreted China’s diplomatic philosophy in the new era as one that upholds multilateralism, maintains world peace, advocates win-win cooperation and seeks shared development. Chinese diplomacy aims at establishing a new global partnership that facilitates equal and balanced growth; and building a community of shared future for mankind.

Guided by these great ideals, China had actively engaged in global governance and contributed significantly to world peace and development. The United States, however, has spared no effort to suppress and contain China’s development. The Communist Party of China is consciously aware of the global challenges it faces; and is calmly and rationally responding to external risks. The complex international environment has not undermined CPC’s ability to make the right decisions. While advocating innovation-driven development and deepening domestic reforms, China has consistently explored new initiatives for win-win cooperation with the outside world, actively shared new ideas of common development, and emphasized the bright vision that transcends ideologies, respects different social systems, explores common values for all mankind, and builds a community of shared future for humanity.

The past decade has seen dramatic and profound global changes. Emergencies such as the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have confronted the world with exceptionally severe and complex challenges. It is in this context that China’s role has become even more prominent. In the new era, China has always adhered to coexistence among countries in peace and development, it strives for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and a brighter common future of humanity. The “community of shared future” proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping has gone from an ideal to a practice that is widely praised and participated by the world.

(Contributed by José Ricardo dos Santos, the Co-Chair and CEO of the Brazilian Business Leaders Organization in China and member of the Brazilian-Chinese Relations Coordination Committee of the Brazilian Bar Association)