Common Prosperity, a New Chapter of the Times

In February 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared at the National Poverty Alleviation Summary and Commendation Conference, that China’s fight against poverty had achieved a comprehensive victory, and the country had completed the arduous task of eradicating absolute poverty. United Nations Secretary-General Guterres praised that China’s experience could provide useful reference for other developing countries.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has taken people’s aspirations for a better life as its goal, achieved the decisive victory against poverty, eradicated extreme poverty for the nearly 100 million rural people affected. All the 832 designated poor counties, and 128,000 impoverished villages got rid of poverty, offering a historic solution to ending absolute poverty in the history of human civilization. China built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and began a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country in all respects.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Beijing has fully implemented the concept of shared development, steadfastly pushed forward the common prosperity for all, continued to expand the scale of the middle-income group, and increased the incomes of low-income earners. The distribution of income has become more reasonable, the olive-shaped structure of income distribution has taken shape, the balanced development between urban and rural areas and between regions has been more coordinated.

Over the ten years from 2012 to 2021, the income of rural residents in Beijing grew 9.0% annually, 0.9 percentage points faster than that of urban residents. With the rapid income growth of rural residents, the income gap between urban and rural residents is narrowing year by year. The urban-rural income ratio decreased from 2.62 in 2012 to 2.45 in 2021. Achieving common prosperity is the essential requirement of socialism and the shared aspiration of all Chinese people. It is also a long-term historical process.

Chinese modernization is a sure path to building a strong and prosperous country and national rejuvenation. Yet a sure path doesn't mean a easy task. We must transform the five features of Chinese modernization into successful practices, convert the distinctive features into unique advantages, and constantly advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.