SCIO press conference on 'China's Epic Journey from Poverty to Prosperity' white paper

White Paper
On Sept. 28, the State Council Information Office (SCIO) held a press conference in Beijing introducing a new white paper titled "China's Epic Journey from Poverty to Prosperity."

China.org.cnUpdated:  September 30, 2021

Phoenix TV:

China completed its mission of eradicating absolute poverty by the end of 2020 as scheduled and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects this year. Next, China will promote common prosperity while pursuing high-quality development. What is the relationship between these three stages? Thank you.

Xu Lin:

Thank you for your question. Ensuring that the people enjoy happy lives is the ultimate goal of the CPC. Over the past century, generations of Chinese Communists have fought for this goal. The CPC united and led the people in making enormous efforts to eradicate absolute poverty, and achieve moderate prosperity and common prosperity. It reflects the unity of continuity and stage of socialist modernization, as well as the CPC's deepened understanding and sustained efforts to reduce income inequality. 

On one hand, the three stages of eradicating absolute poverty, and achieving moderate prosperity and common prosperity are interrelated and internally consistent. They conform to the trends of the times for peaceful development, and reflect the common aspirations of the people. They are unified with the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the difficult exploration of socialist modernization and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, which shows the strong desire of the Chinese people to pursue a happy life.

More specifically, first, the three stages all reflect the Party's fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people, the Party's original aspiration of bringing happiness to the Chinese people and national rejuvenation to the Chinese nation, and the Party's continued commitment to a people-centered approach and putting the people first. Second, they all reflect an essential requirement of socialism, which is promoting well-rounded human development, as well as fulfilling people's aspirations for a better life, focusing on balanced, coordinated and sustainable development, and are to be enjoyed by each and every one of the people. Third, in promoting the three stages, we should uphold the leadership of the CPC, forge ahead on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and leverage the political advantages of the socialist system. In addition, in promoting the three stages, we should liberate and develop the productive forces on the basis of development and gather strength and work together. These are the shared aspects of the three stages.

On the other hand, the features of the three stages are emphasized differently. In terms of their contents, they are all different and constantly being enriched. The aim of eradicating absolute poverty is to solve the problem of poverty. Building a moderately prosperous society in the economic, political, cultural, social and eco-environmental fields promotes a happier life for the people. Common prosperity refers to wealth being shared by all, both in material and cultural terms, to realize well-rounded human and social development.

In terms of their goals, the three stages follow on from each other. Poverty alleviation is a key task and index in the realization of moderate prosperity. Only by eradicating absolute poverty can we ensure success in the goal of achieving a moderately prosperous society in all respects. A moderately prosperous society in all respects is an important foundation for realizing common prosperity. Only by building a moderately prosperous society in all respects can we lay a solid foundation for realizing common prosperity. Common prosperity is the goal of poverty alleviation and moderate prosperity. Only by promoting common prosperity can we truly consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation and moderate prosperity, and highlight the advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

As you mentioned in your question, China has achieved the First Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. However, the existing problems of imbalances and inadequacies in development mean there is still a long way to go. We will shore up points of weakness and consolidate the foundations to expand the achievements of poverty elimination with an emphasis on promoting rural vitalization. We will make substantive progress toward achieving well-rounded human development and common prosperity for all, while also pursuing high-quality development. Thank you.

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