I assumed my post one month and a half ago. During this period, most frequent questions I’ve been asked by my Afghan friends are: Why has China made remarkable achievements in the past four decades? What is the experience and implications of Chinese Path? Is it worthy learning for Afghanistan?
Authoritative answers to all these questions could be found in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) which was held four months ago. The report announced that China has entered a new era. Those days when the imperialist and western powers could force China into surrender by simply setting up a few cannons on Chinese coastlines has gone forever. Those days, when I was a child and have to take cloth coupons and food coupons to buy my mom and daddy necessities in a long queue, has gone forever. Those days when western powers despised China as “sick man of East Asia” has gone forever. Today, China is approaching the center of the world stage, and the Chinese people have never been so close to their dream of national rejuvenation.
Last year, China’s GDP grew at a rate of 6.9%. Now, its total economy has exceeded 12 trillion U.S. dollars, ranking the second in the world, raised by five places in the past 17 years. Amount of China’s yearly economic growth is equivalent to the total economic output of the 14th largest economy in the world, that is Spain or Mexico. China’s Manufacturing output, foreign trade volume and foreign exchange reserves all rank first in the world. Over the past 40 years, 700 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, and the middle-income group expanded to around 400 million people. At present, China’s per capital GDP is nearly $9,500, 9 times more than that of the year 2000, reaching the level of middle-income countries, and its rank is raised by over 30 places globally in latest 18 years. The principal contradiction of Chinese society has transformed into the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life, that is, from “have or not” to “good or not”, and from high-speed growth to high-quality growth.
When visiting China, our Afghan friends will find that there are few elders on the streets or subways. Most of them are in a hurry, expectations on their faces and hope in their eyes. You will find citizens entertaining themselves by songs and dances on the street, more and more museums and gyms, and also youths enjoying their colorful amateur life.
Therefore, the first characteristic of the Chinese Path is that China has made leaps from independent to rich, and from rich to strong. Our citizen’s life has been increasingly rich and diversified. They acquired a sense of gaining, security and happiness. The Chinese people have full confidence in our path, theories, political system, and culture of the Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.
The 19th National Congress of CPC raised and summarized the Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which made CPC, a party with nearly 90 million members, more united, disciplined and enterprising. We keep the economic development as the central task, adhere to the people-centered development, uphold the principle of running the country by the people, continue to deepen reform in all areas, remain committed to the new development philosophy, advance law-based governance, promote full and strict governance over the CPC, and ensure harmony between human and nature.
My Afghan friends are very appreciative to words indicating the  wisdom of China’s economic development. For example, “building roads is the first step to make people rich”, “no agriculture, no stability. no industry, no prosperity. no commerce, no validity”, “launching pilot projects, establishing special economic zone”. Some friends know the “three magic weapons” of the Chinese Communist Party during the revolutionary war: the united front, armed struggle and party building. I also told them that China has accumulated some very important political experiences all these years. For example, cherishing the stability and national unity as cherishing your own eyes, removing corrupt elements like scraping poisons off bones, implementing decision as nailing a nail, striking terrorist activities as wind sweeping away the withered leaves in autumn.
Therefore, the second characteristic of the Chinese Path is that we always have a party leader, which is strong and uphold by the people, and supported by a strong core of leadership. We have constant basic political principles, we have ideological emancipation and policy keeping pace with the time as well.
The 19th National Congress of the CPC has set the development goal to the middle of this century: the immediate goal is to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. In terms of specific numerical indicators, the per capita GDP exceeds 10,000$, approaching the threshold of a high-income country of 12,000$; all rural residents living below the current poverty line will be lifted out of poverty.
The long-term goal is divided into two steps. The first step is from 2020 to 2035, with a further 15 years of hard work, we will basically realize socialist modernization. By then China’s per capita GDP is expected to exceed 20,000$. The second step is from 2035 to 2050, we will develop China into a great modern socialist country. Modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance will be achieved. China will become a leading country in terms of comprehensive national strength and international influence. Some scholars estimated that, calculated on the basis of per capita GDP, China should reach 40,000$ to 50,000$ at that time.
Thus, it can be seen that the third characteristic of the Chinese Path is that every major post on the way has a clear guiding card and mileage meter in the front, and there is a navigator in each car. The Chinese people are good at making plans and better at implementing plans. We have plans of one year, five years and ten years to balance the reality and long-term goals, which will make the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation united the whole nation. Only by concentrating strength and resources can we achieve large undertakings.