Through the efforts made in the past decade of years China has realized the first two strategic goals of the "three steps forward". At present, we are now entering into a stage for the full construction of a better-off society, stepping up efforts for a new development in socialist modernization and accelerating the realization of the strategic goals in the third step forward.

Statistics from the state authority indicate the past decade of years witnessed the enhancement of China's actual economic strength, the comprehensive national strength and international competitiveness onto a new stage and a big rise in the living standard of the people. The dream of the Chinese people for warm clothing and enough to eat for thousand years has now come true, realizing on the whole a big stride forward from enough-to-wear-and-eat to a better-off life.

The year of 2001 saw China's GDP reach 9593.3 billion-yuan in the people's currency, which, if counted in terms of invariant price, accounted for almost two times that of 1990. The gross economic volume of China saw a rise from the 10th place to the 6th in the world with its productivity realized a double stride forward and the people's livelihood at large up to the better-off standard. Thus, China has realized triumphantly the first two strategic goals of the "three steps forward" in the socialist construction for modernization. In 2001, China's per-capita GDP went up to a new level, averaging 900 in the US dollars.

These years saw continuous efforts made to eradicate the systematic barriers affecting the development of the productivity with the socialist market system coming into an initial being. The market has played outstandingly a basic rule in the regulation and allotment of resources. Today we see only five industrial products turned out according to the mandatory plan while 90 percent of the prices of commodities and services are subject to the rule of the market.

An economic pattern of multifarious economies with the public ownership as the mainstay for a common development has by and large come into being. Especially, we've witnessed a brisk development of the non-public ownership economy, which has turned out to be a supporting force of importance in China's national economy. The macro-control system of economy has basically been put up with the means and measures for regulation being improved day by day. And in addition, we've also made a big progress in the construction of a social insurance system.

The sound establishment of marketization has laid a solid and effective foundation for speeding up the realization of the strategic goals for three steps forward. It has become a forceful guarantee and propeller in ensuring a healthy and speedy development of the Chinese economy and society. In the meanwhile the improvement for investment, the sustainable development of economy, the amelioration of the systematic and judicial systems and the social and political stability as well as the superiority of a vast native market are turning the land of China into a hotbed for attracting foreign investors.

The entry into the WTO has rendered China a pattern fully opened to the outside world, in which China will take a part, on a larger scale, in a broader way and at a higher level, in the international technological and economic cooperation. China is going to undergo baptize in the globalization of economy and to fight for a brighter future.

By People's Daily Online  November 10, 2002