Editors Note: The following article was written by His Excellency Zhang Lizhong, the Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives. The article is recorded here as originally written. No changes have been made in phraseology, structure or punctuation.
The recently concluded Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee adopted The Proposals for Formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-range Objectives through the Year 2035, and proposed to actively foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. This is a strategic choice made by China based on its own development stage and conditions, and taking full account of economic globalization and changes of the external environment.
Under the new development paradigm, China decides to focus the development efforts on the domestic so as to form and rely more on the domestic market.
China will adhere to the strategy of expanding domestic demand and foster a complete system of it. Domestic demand, which has already contributed over 80% to China’s economic growth, will play an even bigger role in the future. China will continue to deepen the supply-side structural reform, improve the adaptability of the supply system to the domestic demand, and create a higher level of dynamic balance between demand pulling supply and supply creating demand.
China will persist in scientific and technological innovation and strengthen the capacity for independent innovation. China will accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into productive forces and constantly upgrade the industrial chain.
China will continue to deepen the reform and fully stimulate the market vitality. China will promote the transformations of quality, efficiency and driving force, and speed up the development of a modern economic system.
China will adhere to the people-centered development, improve people’s life, promote common prosperity, and raise the income of low-income group. China will further expand the middle-income group of the current 400 million people.
China’s new development paradigm is by no means a closed domestic circulation, but the open domestic and international circulations. China won’t close the gate of opening-up, but will open it wider and wider. China will build a new system of open economy of higher standards and create a more attractive investment and business environment. With a strong domestic market, China will import more foreign products and make China a market for the world and all.
Maldives is an important partner of the Belt and Road cooperation. Major projects between the China and Maldives have been completed or are about to be completed. The two countries have forged a relationship of common interests and win-win cooperation. China will also provide a broad market for Maldivian products. At the mean time, more Chinese tourists will come to visit Maldives.
