Editor's note: Xin Ge is an associate professor at the School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which convened in Beijing on October 16, is the first national congress held after the CPC's centennial anniversary last year; so its significance to the Party, the people and the whole world is self-evident.

In his report to the congress, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the 19th CPC Central Committee, summarized the extraordinary feats the country has achieved in the past decade and unveiled the Party's blueprint for the next five years and beyond. Xi stressed that the CPC will lead the Chinese people to realize the Second Centenary Goal and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through "a Chinese path to modernization."

The past decade has seen the world with drastic and profound changes: many developing countries struggled in the pursuit of economic development, their societies experienced various turmoil or conflicts and the political instability haunted them like a black hole that they could not escape.

In the developed world, the U.S. and European countries have made missteps in both domestic and international affairs. Against the worldwide challenges including the ongoing pandemic, geopolitical conflicts and energy and food crises, global economic recovery is fragile, and countries that could maintain steady economic growth are rare.

Nevertheless, amid global turbulence and uncertainty, China, due to the strong leadership of the CPC, offers certainty and stability to the world. China's GDP expanded at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent from 2013 to 2021. Its total amount in 2021 has topped 114 trillion Chinese yuan ($15.84 trillion), accounting for 18 percent of the world economy, with a much more balanced, coordinated and sustainable economic development than ever.

Accompanying the economic stability is the historic improvements to the lives of 1.4 billion Chinese people. According to Xi's report, the country has built the largest health care and education systems worldwide. In 2021, the number of people covered by basic medical insurance boosted to 1.36 billion, covering 95 percent of the population. Population with higher education has reached 240 million by 2021, the most in the world.

In terms of income, per capita disposable income surged from 16,500 Chinese yuan ($3,257) a decade ago to 35,100 Chinese yuan ($4,875). Concerning the environment, China has curtailed its carbon emissions intensity by 34.4 percent over the past decade.

Several distinctive achievements that center around people's lives need to be underlined. For the first time in history, China eliminated extreme poverty across the whole country by the end of 2020. In the past three years, China has followed a people-first and lives-first approach in the fight against COVID-19 and made maximum efforts to protect people's lives and health.

Moreover, China has fully implemented whole-process people's democracy, which enables citizens to be broadly involved in day-to-day political activities, including democratic elections, political consultation, decision-making and oversight.

Furthermore, the Party is carrying out continuous self-reform. The Central Committee has deemed corruption as "the greatest threat to the Party's long-term governance," and thus investigated and punished corrupt officials on a scale unseen in decades, resulting in surging public support.

What is the Party's key task in the future? One of the key takeaways from Xi's report to the opening session of the Party Congress is to lead China towards a path of modernization. As Xi said, "Chinese modernization is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature and of peaceful development."

Undoubtedly, the five aspects of Chinese-style modernization are all people-centered and about common prosperity for all, which is different from the Western-style modernization that was based on uneven development between classes and social groups domestically and invasion and plunder at the international stage.

Back to November 15, 2012, when Xi was elected the general secretary of CPC Central Committee, he solemnly declared: "The people's longing for a better life is our goal." He listed in detail what the Chinese people wished for in life, including higher income, better public service, greater social security, better environment, etc.

The CPC comes from the people, relies on the people and is for the people. Boasting more than 96 million CPC members and 4.9 million grassroots Party organizations in all fields of society, the CPC is deeply rooted in the Chinese people. All of the measures and strategies it strives to implement are dedicated to the well-being of the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

In this sense, the Party cannot be simply explained by the concept of a "political party" in Western political science. While the former has no special interests of its own, but only wholeheartedly work on the mission of seeking happiness for the people, the latter are more like interest groups formed around Western-style elections.

Embarking on the new journey ahead, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core, and under the scientific guidance of Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Chinese communists will always bear in mind "people at the center," be close to the hearts of the people, share weal and woe with the people, and work in unity with the people. In doing so, we believe that the people of the whole country will be able to write a new chapter together in the comprehensive construction of a socialist modern country and create new historical brilliance in the new era.

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