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18 Mar, 2013

Xinhua Commentary: “Chinese dream” carries global significance

by Xinhua writers Ding Yi, Sun Mei

BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) — The annual session of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) concluded Sunday with a promise of “Chinese dream” for the country’s 1.3 billion people.

The catchword has drawn global attention because it is of great significance to the whole world.

The “Chinese dream,” put forth by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is to build a moderately prosperous society and realize national rejuvenation by sustaining growth through deepening reforms and transforming growth pattern. It is a dream of national strength and prosperity, and happiness of the people.

Kwame Owino, chief executive officer of the Institute of Economic Affairs of Kenya, said the “Chinese dream” has given priority to improving people’s well-being and it is a new development pattern worth learning from.

Yao Huan, an expert on the Communist Party of China (CPC), said the “Chinese dream” was “exhilarating,” as it inspired the Chinese people to seek national rejuvenation.

The Diplomat, a Japan-based current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region, echoed such a view, describing the “Chinese dream” as a collective undertaking.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former prime minister of France, also said “the Chinese dream is the balance between individual and collective happiness.”

The new Chinese leadership has vowed to double per capita GDP and personal income by 2020, compared with 2010, while setting annual growth target at 7.5 percent over the next few years.

Such an economic growth target has won wide approval from the international economic community. The Wall Street Journal termed the growth target as “moderate,” while the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, said the Chinese government is seeking “high-quality” steady growth aimed at improving its people’s living conditions.

What’s more impressive to the world is China’s economic strategy shift because such a change would generate new opportunities for the rest of the world.

Chinese new leadership has vowed to continue to deepen reforms and transform from a investment-driven economic growth pattern to a consumption-driven one.

John Dearie, executive vice-president for policy at the Financial Services Forum in Washington, said China’s consumption-led growth will expand the market for U.S. goods and services.

Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, also predicted the transformed economic growth mode and improved social security systems would ease China’s trade imbalance with the United States and Europe.

In addition, China’s path and approach to achieve the “Chinese dream” are inspiring to a host of developing countries in advancing their development.

Selom Klassou, the first vice president of Togo’s National Assembly, has compared China to a “locomotive” that drags other countries out of the global financial crisis.

On the diplomatic front, China, the world’s largest developing country, is playing an increasingly important role in regional and international affairs.

Nevertheless, just as what Raffarin interpreted, “Chinese dream” is “a dream of harmony, peace and development.”

President Xi has reiterated China’s policy of peaceful development and underlined opportunities that the world might get from China’s rise. This is a dream keen on win-win results for China and the rest of the world.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said China has adopted very responsible foreign policies in order to maintain a stable environment for its development, which is also conducive to global stability.

The Russian Interfax News Agency said China’s foreign policies have promoted world peace and stability.