Towards a Better Road of Development Based on Chin...
Zhang Daogen
Zhang Daogen，Research Professor，President，SASS
E-mail:zhangdaogen@sass.org.cn
This paper in Chinese was originally an honorary speech delivered at the Opening Ceremony of the 8th World Forum on China Studies on September 10th，2019.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People ’s Republic of China.Dramatic historic changes have taken place in China over the past seven decades.An Oriental nation with a history of five thousand years and a population of one fifth of the world total has now accomplished its leap from serious poverty and sufferings to relative plenty and power.
The past 70 years have witnessed consistent growth in China ’s economy and overall national strength.In 1949，the total agricultural and industrial value of the country was 44.6 billion yuan，while the per capital national income was only 66.1 yuan.In 2018，China ’s total GDP exceeded 90 trillion yuan，raising the per capita GDP to 64,644 yuan，and making China undoubtedly the second largest economy in the world.In 1952，China ’s entire imports and exports were valued at 6.46 billion yuan，whereas those in 2018 reached over 30 trillion yuan，thus making China the largest trading nation of the world，in addition to its status as the second largest country of both inbound and outbound investment.
Obviously，China has turned itself from a backward farming country into the largest manufacturing power supported by a complete industrial system，taking up fully one quarter of the global manufacturing capacity.Meanwhile，the living standards of the Chinese people improved consistently over the past seven decades，which has led to a remarkable improvement in people ’s sense of gain，happiness as well as security.The life expectancy of the Chinese people grew from around 41 years old in 1950 to 66 in 1978，and over 76 in 2018.The illiteracy rate dropped from more than 40% in 1950 to less than 2% in 2018，with the college graduates surpassing 7.5 million each year.At present，about 400 million Chinese have joined the middle-income group，while over 760 million rural people have been lifted out of abject poverty.It is expected that China will soon achieve its goal of eliminating poverty altogether in the country by especially working on the rural population.
Seventy years seem only a passing moment in history，but they have created wonders.To account for all this，one should highlight the fact that we have taken a road of modernization with Chinese characteristics that reflect the changing features of the times.Regarding the way forward，let me make the following several points.