Eyeing Chinese modernization, China doubles efforts to further deepen reform on all fronts

Built after China's reform and opening up, Rizhao Port in east China's Shandong Province is a vital global hub for the transshipment of energy and bulk raw materials.

Through recent technological innovation, the port has been upgraded into a modern port, serving as a key node for the New Eurasian Land Bridge and an important hub for the Belt and Road Initiative.

Rizhao Port, together with Qingdao Port, Yantai Port and Bohai Bay Port, formed Shandong Port Group Co., Ltd. five years ago. Last year, the total cargo throughput of the four ports exceeded 1.7 billion tonnes, ranking first in the world.

As part of his first leg of an inspection tour in Shandong Province from Wednesday to Friday, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited the port, recognizing its achievements and urging the province to build a high-level platform for major international exchanges and cooperation.

"Reform is the driving force for development," Xi emphasized on Thursday while chairing a symposium in Shandong's capital of Jinan, attended by representatives from businesses and academia.

To deepen reform further on all fronts, efforts should be focused on the overarching goals of improving and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernizing China's governance system and capacity, he stressed.

Deepening reform centered on Chinese modernization

Xi's trip to Shandong is the first local inspection he has made since the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau held a meeting on April 30, which decided that the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will be held in Beijing in July, and the session will primarily examine issues related to further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization.

Over the years, China's reform of the economic system has been continuously improved, and the reform of its political and cultural systems has been steadily advanced and innovated.

Meanwhile, the reform of the ecological civilization system has been accelerated, and the reform of national defense and the military has achieved historic breakthroughs.

Comprehensively deepening reform has placed the construction of the national governance system and governance capabilities in a more prominent position. China has convened about 40 meetings of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform and 30 meetings of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform to improve the top-level design of reform.

From implementing the Foreign Investment Law and building pilot free trade zones to hosting a slew of major expos and accelerating the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, China unswervingly deepens reforms and expands high-level opening up, injecting positive energy into global development and bringing tangible benefits to people worldwide.

At Thursday's symposium, Xi said China should take resolute steps to remove the ideological and institutional barriers hindering the advancement of Chinese modernization and double down on its efforts to resolve deep-seated institutional challenges and structural issues.

Economic system reform should start with meeting realistic needs and tackling the most urgent matters, and it should advance theoretical and institutional innovation in the process of solving practical problems, he added.

A better life for the people

Xi has been stressing that reform should focus on what the people care about and expect the most. The aim, he has said, is to give the people a stronger sense of fulfillment.

Focusing on resolving the most practical problems that are of the greatest and most direct concerns to the people, China has continued to advance major reforms and system construction in the field of people's livelihoods to allow the results of reform to benefit all people equally and promote their comprehensive development.

The Civil Code, anticipated for decades, finally came to life and was adopted in 2020, highlighting the respect and protection of individual freedom, dignity, interests and rights.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the country has built a total of more than 59 million units of various types of affordable and shantytown-renovated housing, helping settle over 140 million people into new homes.

"The Chinese people's aspiration for a better life is the goal we have been striving for, and the ultimate purpose of advancing reform and promoting development is to improve the livelihood of the people," Xi said.

Stressing the need to plan and advance reform based on the overall, fundamental and long-term interests of the people, Xi urged efforts to identify the key areas of reform and achieve breakthroughs based on the pressing concerns and aspirations of the general public, including employment, income growth, education, healthcare, housing, government services, childcare, elderly care, personal safety and property security.