Jiang Jianguo: President Xi's book can boost ties with Cambodia

I am very pleased to meet all you friends in beautiful Phnom Penh. All our Cambodian media colleagues present here have for a long time kept a close watch on and covered China and thus made important contributions to the enhancement of China-Cambodia friendship. On behalf of the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China, I would like to extend to you my lofty tributes and sincere thanks.

We come to enthusiastic Phnom Penh from a Beijing bathed in spring and feel the friendship and goodwill of Cambodian people, just like "Guests feel at home", as an old Chinese proverb goes.

The Cambodian version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, a book authored by President Xi Jinping, will make its debut in Phnom Penh tomorrow and I will attend the launching ceremony together with some Cambodian friends from various circles to witness the important moment. It is believed that the publication of the Cambodian version of the book will open a new window for Cambodian people to watch and sense China, offer a new platform for us to exchange governance experiences, and serve as a new eyewitness to China-Cambodia friendship.

All Cambodian media colleagues have paid close attention to China's development and changes over the past years, yearned to know the intrinsic causes to these changes, and cared about what a changing China will bring to the world. It can be said that the problems over which you are concerned can find their solutions in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. Here, I would like to first make some brief introductions to this book.

From this book, one can gain a systematic knowledge of contemporary China's development path. The enormous achievements made by China today fundamentally lies in its choosing of the Chinese road. Xi Jinping: The Governance of China is a full-view display of and systematic elaboration on the Chinese road. The book's core ideas can be extracted from the numbers "one, two, three, four and five". "One" here means "one dream", namely the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. "Two" here means "two centennial goals", namely the successful building of an all-round moderately well-off society by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in 2021, and the successful building of a modern, socialist nation by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2049. "Three" here means "three greats", namely advancing the great socialist cause with Chinese characteristics, comprehensively strengthening and improving the great project of Party building, and carrying out a great struggle with numerous new and historical features. "Four" here means the "Four Comprehensives", namely comprehensively building a moderately well-off society, comprehensively deepening reforms, comprehensively promoting the nation's governance in accordance with laws, and comprehensively promoting stricter governance of the Party. "Five" here means "Five-in-One", that is, promoting the overall layout of economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction. The above numbers are all extracted from President Xi's book, and it is hoped these numbers will help people better understand President Xi's core thoughts on the governance of China and understand China's road choice.

From this book, we can more clearly see the CPC's people-centric governance philosophy. Serving the people wholeheartedly is the fundamental purpose of the CPC. A main line that runs through Xi Jinping: The Governance of China is the people-centered governance philosophy. Our governance philosophy is generalized as serving the people and undertaking the responsibilities it should undertake, just as President Xi has said many times. "People's yearning for a better life is the goal of our struggles" and "letting ordinary people live a good life is the starting point and the objective of all of our work".

Over the more than four years since he took office, President Xi has consistently carried people's livelihoods and well-being deep in his heart, making investigative tours of remote mountainous areas, outlying regions and impoverished rural areas, keeping an attentive ear to people's opinions, watching people's conditions and addressing people's concerns. The people-centric governance philosophy is also reflected in a series of systematic arrangements and institutional reforms since the 18th National Congress of the CPC as well as the continuous improvements in people's living standards.

In only a few years, more than 60 million impoverished people were lifted out of poverty in China, equivalent to the total population of a middle-sized country. It is believed that this book can help one sense President Xi's deep feelings toward the people, the purpose of the CPC's governance and its "governance for people" consciousness.

From this book, we can gain full knowledge of the ties between China and the world. Chinese people have long advocated the "one world, one family" concept, hoping not only Chinese people but also people in the rest of world to have a better life. To build a human community of shared destiny is an important concept enshrined in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.

"In this world, all countries enjoy an unprecedented degree of interrelation and interdependence. All people live in the same global village, and live in the same space and time with convergence of both history and reality, and they are increasingly in a community of shared destiny where 'you are part of me, and I am part of you'," as President Xi has said. On many occasions, he has made in-depth elucidation on the building of a human community of shared destiny and fulfilling the philosophy with China's practical diplomatic actions.

This year has seen the concept of building a human community of shared destiny being included in several United Nations resolutions. To build such a community is China's strategic choice of its own road based on its insights into the evolution of the world pattern. If one understands this philosophy of China, he or she will better understand that China's peaceful development offers an opportunity, instead of posing a threat, to the rest of the world.

Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, finished in September 2014, is a phased review and summarization of President Xi's thoughts on China's governance. Over the past more than two years, President Xi has delivered a series of other addresses, talks, speeches, written articles and given instructions, greatly enriching his thoughts on China's governance. In the latter half of this year, the 19th National Congress of the CPC is due to be held, and after that we will make some extractions and summarizations of his new thoughts on China's governance and would like to share those ideological fruits with our Cambodian friends.

China and Cambodia share geographical proximity and cultural affinity, and their friendly exchanges can be traced back to 1,000 years ago. The strategic partnership between the two countries has entered a new period of full acceleration. On the eve of his visit to Cambodia in October last year, President Xi published a signed article in the Cambodia media titled China and Cambodia: Good Neighbors and Trusted Friends. When meeting Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and his mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk in Beijing in March, President Xi stressed that, to deepen the development of China-Cambodia relations, the two countries should maintain their high-level contact momentum, pay frequent mutual visits as two relatives do, and maintain close communication and exchanges.

Media relations constitute an important part of state-to-state relations. The development momentum which China-Cambodia relations have managed to maintain is inseparable from the efforts made by the media in both countries. Through media reports, we can transmit the information of development and progress in both countries and their friendly exchanges to their people to lay a solid social and public opinion foundation for the development of bilateral ties.

The State Council Information Office of China will continuously and robustly support China-Cambodia media exchanges and cooperation and actively offer you conveniences and create conditions for you. We will continuously hold high-level media dialogues between the two countries and put up a communication platform for you. We will continuously expand the chances for press officials from Asian countries, including Cambodia, media management personnel and major journalism practitioners to conduct research and receive training in China and assist excellent media employees with their studies in China. We will support mutual visits between more Chinese and Cambodian journalists, editors and anchors.

We will also encourage the media from both countries to carry out pragmatic cooperation, such as exchanging news wire, conducting joint interviews, cultivating talent and developing new media, to push forward all-dimensional, multi-field and multi-level development of China-Cambodian media exchanges and cooperation.

(Jiang Jianguo is the minister of the State Council Information Office. The article is an excerpt from the speech he delivered at a luncheon for people of press circles from China and Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 10.)