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China is turning a new page.

On October 16, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. During the report to the congress, Xi Jinping said that the past decade marked three major events of great immediate importance and profound historical significance for the cause of the Party and the people: The centenary of the CPC; ushering in a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics; and eradicating of absolute poverty and finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects that completed the First Centenary Goal.

Now, as the CPC turns towards basically realizing China's socialist modernization through 2035, Xi said that the next five years will be crucial for getting the efforts to build a modern socialist country in all respects off to a good start.

The past decades have prepared China for the task ahead. By the end of 2021, 98.99 million impoverished Chinese rural residents were lifted above the poverty line. The country has become the world's second largest R&D spender in 2021 with nearly $980 billion worth of high-tech product exports. The Chinese government is the world's most trusted government by its people. The 2022 Trust Barometer released by Edelman shows that 91 percent of Chinese respondents trust the government, hitting a ten-year high. The pursuit of high-quality development has laid the foundation for China's further advancement.

But the challenges remain. COVID-19 is still posing difficulties and barriers to the normal operation of the public lives and impeding cross-border exchanges. The growing geopolitical divide on the international stage is dragging many countries' development rate down while sowing suspicions between the people. Forces that are separating the people and rolling back globalization are still the powerful foes of development.

"We must put the people first, maintain self-confidence and stand on our own feet, uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, adopt a problem-oriented approach, apply systems thinking, and maintain a global vision," Xi said during the report. This is not only the lessons of the past and secret to China's success, but also what success in the future must be built upon.

As the world enters an era of power-rebalancing and reshuffling of interests, being able to stay strong oneself, tend to the interests of its own people while having the heart to offer global public goods are the benchmarks for a responsible major power in tomorrow's international system. As Xi said in the remark, China remains firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and it has always decided its position and policy on issues based on their own merits. Bloc-politics, Cold-War mentalities and ideologically driven diplomatic actions won't help the world to recover from the challenges and difficulties of the past few years. And in this day and age of undeniably globalized world, a world in disarray means everyone's in trouble.

As a country with great power, China's advancement towards its Second Centenary Goal is set to bring about more development for the Chinese people and more international influence that guide the world in a more positive direction. As Xi said, the world has once again reached a crossroads, and its future course will be decided by all the world's peoples. The Chinese people are ready to work hand in hand with people across the world to create an even brighter future for humanity.

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