China's Economic Growth Driven by Reforms and Modernization

Sun Jiwen, a former Chinese ambassador, emphasized that reforms and modernization have been crucial to China's rapid economic development over the past decades. Speaking at a seminar in Beijing, he traced the country's evolution from ancient civilization through periods of conflict to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 by Mao Zedong.

He noted that the first five-year economic development plan from 1953 to 1957 laid the groundwork for agricultural and industrial growth. Following Mao's era, Deng Xiaoping's reforms in 1978 opened China to foreign investment and initiated significant economic policies, including the establishment of free trade zones.

Under Xi Jinping, China has continued to consolidate these reforms, lifting 100 million people out of absolute poverty by 2020. Sun projected that by 2035, China aims to achieve its socialist modernization goals, aspiring to be a moderately developed country by 2050, despite challenges posed by uneven regional development.