(Zhao Xing, Ambassador of China to Afghanistan)
The year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the past 75 years, under the great leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have worked hard and successfully explored a development path that suits China's national conditions. China's comprehensive national strength, economic strength and international influence have achieved a historic leap. Today, China has grown from poor and weak to the world's second largest economy. The Chinese nation has ushered in a great leap from standing up, getting rich to becoming strong.
Over the past 75 years, China's economy has continued to grow rapidly and has become an important engine and stabilizing power for the world economy. From 1952 to 2023, China's GDP jumped from 67.9 billion yuan to 12.6 trillion yuan, increased 223 times, with an average annual growth of 7.9%. Per capita GDP increased by 89 times from 119 yuan to 89,358 yuan, with an average annual growth of 6.5%. The total value of imports and exports of goods increased by 5253 times from 1.13 billion USD in 1950 to 5.9 trillion USD in 2023. Today, China's total economic output accounts for 17% of the world's total. China has become the world's largest country in manufacturing, goods trade and foreign exchange reserves.
Over the past 75 years, China has achieved fruitful results in basic industry and infrastructure construction. From 1949 to 2023, China's total grain output increased by 5.1 times from 113.2 billion kg to 695.4 billion kg. Total primary energy production increased by 242 times from 0.2 billion tons to 4.83 billion tons of standard coal. Highways increased by 66 times from 81,000 kilometers to 5.44 million kilometers. The operating mileage of high-speed railways reached 45000 kilometers, accounting for more than 2/3 of the world. China has completed only in a few decades what the developed countries have done for hundreds of years in their industrialization process, and has built a modern industrial system with complete categories and independence. The added value of manufacturing has ranked first in the world for 14 consecutive years, accounting for around 30% of the world's share. Moreover, China has ranked first in more than 40% of the 500 major industrial products of the world.
Over the past 75 years, the lives of the Chinese people have undergone tremendous changes and achieved a well-off society in all respects. China has won the battle against poverty and achieved the poverty reduction goals 10 years ahead of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, creating a Chinese model for poverty reduction governance and making significant contributions to global poverty reduction. From 1949 to 2023, China's urbanization rate increased from 10.64% to 66.16%, and the per capita disposable income of residents increased from 49.7 yuan to 39218 yuan, increasing 76 times on inflation-adjusted basis.
Over the past 75 years, while China's comprehensive national strength has leaped forward, it has also achieved a magnificent transformation from the edge to the center of the world stage, becoming an important participant, constructor and contributor to the international system. Especially since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Belt and Road Initiative has become a public product and cooperation platform that is highly welcomed by the international community. The construction of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind has developed from a Chinese initiative to an international consensus. The Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative have aroused widespread resonance. China's international influence, appeal and shaping power have been further enhanced.
In July this year, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made overall planning for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. It proposed more than 300 important reform measures and made a long-term plan to basically realize socialist modernization by 2035. The strength, breadth and depth of the Session are unprecedented, and can be regarded as a new milestone in China's reform and opening up. It will not only chart the course for China's future development, but also inject more energy and make greater contributions to the lasting peace and prosperity of humanity.
After 75 years of tremendous changes, the pace of the Chinese nation's rejuvenation is unstoppable. This great process is also a journey of deep integration and joint progress between China and the world including Afghanistan. China has always regarded Afghanistan as a friendly neighbor and is willing to further promote the extension of new opportunities of Chinese modernization to Afghanistan, jointly build a community of shared future for the two countries, and better benefit the Afghan people with its own prosperity and development.