Full text: Youth of China in the New Era
III. Shouldering Heavy Tasks and Responsibilities
The new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a grand stage on which young people can enjoy bright prospects and accomplish great things. In the new era, China's youth are striving to support high-quality economic growth, participate in the development of socialist democratic politics, create a flourishing socialist culture, promote socialist moral and ethical progress, and build a beautiful China. They are working hard and forging ahead boldly on this new quest to realize the second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country.
(1) Dedicated in Grassroots Work Posts
In the new era, respecting the PRC's great tradition of "perpetual struggle", treating their grassroots work posts as a stage to realize the value of their life, and applying their diligence, young Chinese are working for social progress and striving for happiness, national rejuvenation, and a bright future for the country.
Young people work in various fields - conventional fields such as industry, agriculture, commerce and the military, as well as in science, education, culture, health, and sports, and now in internet-based new business models, areas and occupations. Through their hard work in their grassroots work posts, they have turned the ordinary into the extraordinary, and make the impossible achievable.
In factory workshops, young workers hone their skills and strive for excellence. They tighten every screw and weld every joint to perfection. They vie to be "young people who excel at their jobs" and they help "made-in-China" gain a competitive edge in the global market. In rural areas, young farmers cultivate the fields meticulously, increase grain yield and field fertility with technology, and work hard to ensure food security. On construction sites, young migrant workers painstakingly work all hours of the day and night to build skyscrapers, making the city more beautiful. At training venues, young athletes train hard and persevere in spite of all difficulties. With sporting prowess and indomitable spirit, they strive for Olympic games medals and see China's national flag being raised at the awards ceremony. In city streets, couriers and takeaway delivery riders brave wind and rain to pass on happiness and warmth. Their sweat and toil demonstrate that Chinese youth have not forgotten the hard times, even though they now live in better days and no longer need to worry about food and clothing. They work hard and shine in their grassroots posts.
(2) Leading the Charge in Difficult Situations and Emergencies
In the new era China's youth have shown no fear of difficulties and hardships in times of crisis, displaying their grit at critical moments. They rise to the occasion whenever the country and the people need them; they shoulder their responsibilities, make selfless contributions, and press ahead with the intrepidity typical of their generation.
Young people stand at the forefront in major projects emblematic of China's composite national strength and national pride, in catastrophic natural disasters, and in other emergencies.
Youth teams have played a prominent role in the strategic projects that transport natural gas and electricity from western to eastern regions, divert water from the south to the north, and channel computing resources from the east to the west, as well as the construction of many milestone facilities, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Beijing Daxing International Airport, and Hualong One nuclear generator.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, young people have been risking their lives to combat this deadly disease. More than 5.5 million of them in 320,000 task groups have worked on the front lines of this combat, providing medical care, transporting supplies, and building facilities. They have made a tremendous contribution to the all-out people's war on the virus. Of the 28,600 nurses from the medical teams sent to Hubei, 90 percent were born between 1980 and 1999. During the construction of the Huoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals in Wuhan, young workers, who accounted for 60 percent of the workforce, established 13 task groups to spearhead the project. With an iron will and boundless courage, they created an engineering miracle. This was a shining example of how young Chinese can hold their own in the face of difficulties, face down threats, and rise to the challenge at critical moments.
(3) Tempering Themselves Through Community Service
The local community is the best place to temper young people in the new era, where they can learn through practice. By aligning their personal ambitions with the grand goals of the state and the Party, young people turn their pursuit of the Chinese Dream into pragmatic work, and hone their skills and increase their abilities through trial and experimentation.
Helping villagers solve problems in rural areas, providing services to residents in cities, and patrolling and guarding the frontiers ... More and more young people are now working in communities and in the places where they are most needed, fighting hardship to drive China's modernization and realize their dreams.
Of the 1,981 individuals and 1,501 groups commended by the central authorities in 2021 who had stood out in China's poverty alleviation campaign, many were young people. More than 1,800 people have died in the battle against poverty, and many of them were young people.
As the country implements the rural revitalization strategy, young people have led the efforts to establish specialized cooperatives, apply modern agricultural technologies, and develop new industries and new forms of business in rural areas. They have taken the lead in abandoning outdated social mores, nurturing civil social norms of conduct, and improving rural living environments, and helped villagers increase their incomes. All of these have contributed to giving rural areas a bright new image.
By 2021, 470,000 college graduates had worked in rural areas on posts related to teaching, agriculture, medical service and poverty alleviation, and during their vacations, millions of college students had conducted surveys or taken part in cultural activities and other activities to spread understanding of science and technology and information on health in the countryside. Through these efforts, young people have offered their support to China's poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.
(4) Taking the Lead in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
In the new era, China's youth have shown rich imagination and creativity, open-mindedness, and a pioneering spirit. They have the spirit to engage in the field of international competition as it grows ever fiercer, and have become a strong force driving innovation and entrepreneurship.
Backed by policy incentives of the Party and the state, young people take the lead in innovation, starting businesses, and striving for excellence, serving the country and the people with their ingenuity and expertise in economic, social, technological and cultural fields. Under the innovation-driven development strategy and open competition mechanisms, a large number of world-class young scientists have come to the fore in major sci-tech programs, including China's space station Tiangong, deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong, the five-hundred-meter aperture spherical telescope (FAST) Tianyan, the dark matter probe satellite Wukong, the quantum science satellite Mozi, the Mars probe Tianwen-1, and the lunar mission Chang'e. The average age of the core members of the research groups on the Beidou Navigation Satellite System is 36; the corresponding figures are 35 for Mozi and 30 for Tianyan. Every year more than 3 million science and technology and engineering students graduate from Chinese universities, which continuously replenish the country's ranks of engineers. Well-educated and highly-skilled, they give China an "engineering bonus", adding impetus to the country's development and improving its standing in international competition.
China has introduced a raft of policies supporting business startups, and young people are responding warmly. They are active in entrepreneurship programs like the China College Students' Entrepreneurship Competition, China International "Internet+" College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, carving out careers with their knowledge and ingenuity. Among the founders of market entities registered since 2014, more than 5 million are college students and new graduates. In creative industries such as IT services, culture, sports, entertainment and sci-tech, young people account for half or more of the workforce, and are at the helm of many unicorn and gazelle companies. Aligning individual inclination with national development, young people are putting their talents to use in innovation and starting businesses, and serving society in the process.
(5) Spearheading Cultural and Ethical Progress
In the new era China's youth advance with the times, adapt to the need to modernize China's system and capacity for governance, and set the pace in making cultural and ethical progress. They advocate and follow new, positive trends.
In both urban and rural areas, in the workplace or on campus, young people embrace good moral values and ethical conduct. They champion pursuit of excellence and the greater good, and set healthy trends.
A growing number of young people are engaged in community governance and services in both urban and rural areas. By participating in programs like Youth Action in Communities launched by the CYLC Central Committee, they gain practical experience, and improve their ability to serve society. In all sectors of the economy, young people work in a spirit of dedication, collaboration, excellence and contribution, and have created many model worker teams. They represent the work ethic and professionalism of the new era. Young athletes, demonstrating good sportsmanship, score excellent results at games.
Since the China Young Volunteers initiative was launched in 1993, volunteering has become an important avenue for young Chinese to participate in social governance, fulfill social responsibilities, and temper themselves in the course of serving the people and society.
As of the end of 2021, more than 90 million people aged between 14 and 35 had registered at the volunteering platform Chinavolunteer.mac.gov.cn. They are active in community affairs, large sport events, environmental protection, development-driven poverty alleviation, healthcare, emergency response and cultural preservation. By spreading the spirit of volunteerism - contribution, friendship, mutual aid and progress - they promote unity, equality, amity, mutual aid, and common progress across the society.
Over the past 18 years, China's "Go West" Program has dispatched 410,000 postgraduates and college graduates to 2,100 counties in central and western regions to support poverty reduction endeavors there through teaching and healthcare service. Young people have always been the mainstay of volunteers providing services in large-scale events. They have made a deep impression on the world.
