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Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, speaks during the annual Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing, capital of China. The conference was held from Wednesday to Friday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

Fifth Estate

China opens research centre to spread its economic development philosophy

That China’s economic rise in the last four decades is nothing short of a miracle is not debatable. From a nondescript struggling economy prior to 1978 comparable to many developing countries, the world’s second largest economic power (by GDP, in current dollar terms) in 2010, China must have done something right.

According to an International Monetary Fund publication released in June 1997 titled “Why Is China Growing So Fast?” by Zuliu Hu and Mohsin S. Khan, pre-1978 China had seen annual growth of six percent a year, while post-1978 China saw average real growth of more than nine percent a year. In several peak years, the economy grew more than 13 percent. Per capita income nearly quadrupled in the last 15 years up to 1997, with a few analysts even predicting that the Chinese economy would be larger than that of the U.S. in about 20 years.

In a world full of uncertainties, the Chinese economy has grown steadfastly since the 1978 reform and opening up drive. These experiences have been documented in a white paper, “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, which has been advancing with the times and constantly steering the Chinese economy ahead.

Xi’s economic thought, unveiled at the Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2017, is mainly based on the new development philosophy put forward by the President in 2015 and features innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.

The white paper is based on the new development philosophy put forward by Xi and features innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. Regarded as the “latest fruit” of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics, the thought reflects the leadership’s growing understanding of the laws of economic and social development and makes clear the key principles to be upheld in promoting economic development in modern times.

Remarkable achievements have been made over the years, testifying to the viability and effectiveness of the thought in guiding China’s economic development. Despite the challenges from deglobalization, protectionism, COVID-19 and others, the Chinese economy has grown close to 100 trillion yuan (about US$ 15.27 trillion) with a per capita GDP exceeding US$ 10,000, contributing about 30 percent to world economic growth.

The role of opening up continues to become critical. In 2020, Xi consistently stressed the need to foster a new development paradigm in which domestic and foreign markets can boost each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay. However, Xi noted that making the domestic market the mainstay does not mean China is developing its economy with the door closed. By giving full play to the potential of the domestic market, both domestic and foreign markets can be better connected and utilised to achieve both robust and sustainable development.

China has signed 201 cooperation deals on the Belt and Road Initiative with 138 countries and 31 international organisations. The country has also established 21 pilot free trade zones, and its global business environment ranking moved up to the 31st in 2020.

China was the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth in 2020. It also boasts the world’s largest middle-income population and contributes more than 70 percent of the global reduction in poverty by lifting hundreds of millions of people out of absolute poverty.

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In order to share his experiences, Xi officially launched a research center on his economic thought in Beijing on January 18. Approved by the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the centre was formed under the National Development and Reform Commission. It aims to study, disseminate, implement and expound on Xi Jinping’s economic thought.

The Chinese government said the centre would become a think tank for the production of economic policies based on Xi’s economic ideas, which were core to his 30-year political blueprint known as the “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”.

In 2022, China will work to ensure that its economy registers steady growth, and keep its macro policies consistent, stable and sustainable, with continued implementation of a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy.

[Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communication expert, lecturer-scholar at the United States International University-Africa, author and international affairs columnist]

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