China.org.cn | April 30, 2021
Speakers:
Yuan Jiajun, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhejiang Provincial Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Zhejiang Province
Zheng Shanjie, deputy secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and governor of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province
Zhu Guoxian, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee
Chairperson:
Chen Wenjun, spokesperson of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
Date:
April 26, 2021
Chen Wenjun:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to the press conference held by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). One hundred years ago, the CPC embarked on its century-long journey on a red boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing city, east China's Zhejiang province. A century later, Zhejiang is carrying forward the "red boat spirit" while integrating the characteristics of the new era. With practical action and the courage to stand at the forefront, Zhejiang is becoming an important window for demonstrating the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. As the CPC embraces its centenary, we have invited Mr. Yuan Jiajun, secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Zhejiang Province, to this press conference. He will brief you on preserving the Party's "red roots" and making Zhejiang "an important window of China," and answer your questions. With us, we also have Mr. Zheng Shanjie, deputy secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and governor of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province; and Mr. Zhu Guoxian, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee.
Next, I will give the floor to Mr. Yuan.
Yuan Jiajun:
Good morning, everyone. It is a great pleasure to meet you all at this crucial juncture of the centenary of the CPC. Various media outlets have produced numerous reports on Zhejiang, and friends from the media have paid much attention to the work in the province. So, on behalf of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to you all.
I would like to introduce Zhejiang using four key phrases.
The first key phrase is "red roots." As Mr. Chen said, 100 years ago, the CPC embarked on its century-long journey on the red boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing. Zhejiang is also the place from which the red boat of the Chinese revolution set sail. Aboard the red boat in Jiaxing, the 1st CPC National Congress concluded, and delegates announced the founding of the CPC. As such, the "red roots" are located here. Meanwhile, Zhejiang is also a province in which General Secretary Xi Jinping served, and an important birthplace of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. During his time in Zhejiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the "Double-Eight Strategy." The strategy identifies eight strengths Zhejiang possesses in terms of economic structure, geological position, industries, coordinated development of urban and rural areas, ecology, mountain and ocean resources, environment, and culture, as well as eight measures the province is taking to take further advantage of these strengths. Under the guidance of the strategy, Zhejiang has been taking practical action with a pioneering spirit and bravely standing at the forefront. As the location of the "red roots," Zhejiang is a typical place that embodies the CPC's century-long struggle.
The second key phrase is "an important window." Last spring, at the most critical moment for the epidemic control and the resumption of work, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Zhejiang and gave the province a new goal and new positioning of striving to become "an important window for comprehensively demonstrating the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era," which we call "an important window" for short. The new goal and positioning require Zhejiang to become a window showcasing and an example of practicing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. They are of great political, fundamental and international significance.
The third key phrase is "common prosperity." This year's "two sessions" marked the start of a new journey toward socialist modernization. According to the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) unveiled during the meetings, China will support Zhejiang province in building a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development. This is a new mission given to Zhejiang in the new stage of development. To that end, we will focus on reducing regional disparities and narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas, rich and poor. In particular, we will promote a series of social reforms centered on reforming the income distribution system. We will launch pilot trials in improving access to quality public services, innovating policies to encourage those who have become prosperous to inspire others to follow their example, and building basic units of modernization featuring common prosperity.
The fourth key phrase is "a pioneering province of socialist modernization." During the 14th Five-Year Plan period and in the longer term through 2035, Zhejiang's goal is to strive to build a pioneering province of socialist modernization. More specifically, Zhejiang aims to become a pioneer of modernization in 10 aspects: people-centered modernization, digital empowerment, industrial system, scientific and technological innovation, agriculture and rural areas, opening-up, provincial governance, cultural development, eco-environmental development, and public services. For each aspect, we have set specific targets and introduced concrete measures. Through these four key phrases, I think you can understand Zhejiang's new position in the new development stage.
Zhejiang is the place from which the red boat of the Chinese revolution set sail. Over the past 100 years, under the CPC's strong leadership, the people of Zhejiang have worked hard with practical action and great fortitude. In particular, since the implementation of the "Double-Eight Strategy" in 2003, Zhejiang has achieved profound changes and significant improvements. The province has gone from having a relatively advanced economy to strong economic growth, from opening up both internally and externally to deeply integrating into global development, and from basic prosperity to a high-level of moderate prosperity in all respects.
