All Set for a New Journey

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in2012， socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. In thisnew era， China has solved many problems that had long persisted and securedmany accomplishments with major future significance. Today， in China，many dreams have come true. The country is brimming with vitality and closelyconnected to the world. After 75 years of arduous struggles， Chinese modernizationhas unfolded a magnificent panorama with bright prospects.

Completing the Building ofa Moderately ProsperousSociety in All Respects

Since the 18th CPC National Congress， China has consideredlifting all impoverished people out of poverty a fundamentaltask in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.By the end of 2020， 98.99 million rural residents livingbelow the current poverty line had been lifted out of poverty，fulfilling the arduous task of eradicating absolute poverty.

Pilot Free Trade Zones

Since the opening of the China （Shanghai） Pilot FreeTrade Zone on September 29， 2013， China’s layout of pilotfree trade zones （FTZs） has gradually improved， with 22FTZs established in seven rounds across the country. Duringthis period， the pilot FTZs have introduced a large numberof fundamental and groundbreaking reform and openingupmeasures， achieved many institutional innovations， andbrought the role of comprehensive experimental platformsfor reform and opening up into full play.

BRI Cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed jointly building a Silk Road Economic Belt and a21st Century Maritime Silk Road， known as the Belt and Road Initiative （BRI）， in Septemberand October 2013. Over the past decade， the BRI has been welcomed by the internationalcommunity both as a public good and as a platform for collaboration， and it has achievedsolid results. So far， China has signed more than 230 BRI cooperation agreements with morethan 150 countries and 30 international organizations， carrying out a number of signatureprojects on practical cooperation.

Artificial Intelligence

China’s State Council issued the New GenerationArtificial Intelligence Development Plan on July 8，2017 to promote development opportunities forartificial intelligence in the country. In 2024， “artificialintelligence +” was first included in the governmentwork report of China. Various indicators show thatChina is committed to using artificial intelligence todrive a comprehensive leap in productivity and acceleratedevelopment of new quality productive forces.

Internet of Everything

As of the end of 2023， internet users in Chinanumbered nearly 1.1 billion， with an internetpenetration rate of 77.5 percent. The internet，especially the development of the mobile internet， haschanged lives by connecting everything and facilitatingthe flow of information， which has profoundly affectedsocial development.

China’s Sky Eye

Construction of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope （FAST），known as “China’s Sky Eye，” was completed on September 25， 2016. As thelargest and most sensitive single-aperture radio telescope in the world today，F(xiàn)AST has continuously produced heavyweight discoveries and contributed greatlyto the exploration of the universe.

Fuxing High-speed Trains

Fuxing high-speed trains that China has full independentintellectual property rights were developed under the leadershipof China Railway Corporation. Today， China’s high-speed railhas constituted the world’s largest operational network， withdomestic service mileage exceeding 45，000 kilometers. By theend of 2023， Fuxing high-speed trains had safely traveled acumulative distance of 2.34 billion kilometers and transported 2.2billion passengers.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge， with a total length of about 55 kilometers，connects Hong Kong in the east with Macao and Guangdong Province’s Zhuhai Cityin the west. It was the first mega cross-sea transportation project jointly built byGuangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao and is now the longest cross-sea bridge in theworld. From its opening in 2018 to mid-April 2024， more than 10 million vehicles passedthrough the Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

China InternationalImport Expo

The 7th China International Import Expo（CIIE） will be held in Shanghai from November5 to 10， 2024. Since its inaugural event in 2018，the CIIE has successfully held six editions. As theworld’s first import-themed national-level expo，the CIIE has become an important platformfor international procurement， investmentpromotion， cultural exchange， and businesscooperation.

Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations

From May 15 to 22， 2019， participants， including government officials from47 countries in Asia as well as from outside the region， plus representatives fromthe fields of culture， education， and think tanks， attended the Conference onDialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing. The conference was the first time everthat all Asian countries came together to discuss exchanges and mutual learning.Moreover， the event was open to all civilizations of the world， embodying the conceptof inclusiveness and shared progress.

Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics

The Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics were successfully held inearly 2022. The Chinese delegation participated in all events for the first time，achieving China’s best results yet in the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Thesuccessful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics propelledleapfrog development of China’s ice and snow sports and has also ushered in anew era for winter sports in China and even the world.

China’s Space Station

The three Chinese astronauts aboard the Shenzhou-12spaceship entered the country’s space station coremodule Tianhe for the first time on June 17， 2021. Withcompletion of China’s space station， the country’s “threestep”development strategy towards a manned spaceprogram was fully realized.

National Parks

In 2021， China announced the establishment of its first wave of nationalparks. Establishing national parks is a major institutional innovation inChina’s ecological civilization construction. The country is acceleratingestablishment of a nature reserve system centered on national parks topromote the steady improvement of ecosystem diversity， stability， andsustainability.

First Samples from Moon’s Far Side

The return capsule from China’s Chang’e-6 robotic probe arrivedat its preset landing site in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regionon June 25， 2024， with 1，935.3 grams of samples from the far side ofthe moon. It was the world’s first probe to complete a sample returnfrom the far side of the moon， expanding humanity’s understandingof the moon and even the entire solar system.

The Third PlenarySession of the 20thCPC CentralCommittee

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPCCentral Committee was held in Beijing from July15 to 18， 2024.

The resolution adopted at the sessionanalyzed the new situations and issuesfaced in advancing Chinese modernization，and presented a systematic plan for furtherdeepening reform comprehensively. The sessionis not only a continuation of the country’scomprehensive reform since the Third PlenarySession of the 18th CPC Central Committee， butit also marks the beginning of a new chapter inadvancing Chinese modernization.