Hu: Modernization needs long uphill battle
(chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-04-24 11:02

Chinese President Hu Jintao delivers a keynote speech to the opening session of the annual conference 2004 of the Boao Forum for Asia in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 24, 2004. [Xinhua]

Hu made the remark at the opening session of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2004 , which is going on in the southern China province of Hainan.

The president said that in the past 25 years, while pressing ahead with reform and opening up, China has put in place a socialist market economy, an economy that is open to the outside world.

China's national strength have been constantly enhanced. With various social undertakings developing in full swing, the Chinese people as a whole have made the historical leap from subsistence to modest prosperity.

In the course of 25 years between 1978 and 2003, he said, China's economy grew by an average annual rate of 9.4 percent, with its GDP, foreign trade and foreign exchange reserves jumping from US$147.3 billion, US$20.6 billion and US$167 million to over US$1.4 trillion, US$851.2 billion and US$403.3 billion respectively. China now is the world's 6th largest economy and the 4th largest trader.

"The reason why China has produced such tremendous changes is because we have adhered to the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and persevered in reform and opening-up, thus galvanizing the Chinese people's initiative, enthusiasm and creativity," Hu said.

Though China has achieved impressive results in its development, there are still many acute problems, such as over-population, weak economic foundation, under-developed productivity, highly uneven development, and a fairly sharp contradiction between the country's ecological environment and natural resources on the one hand and its economic and social development on the other. China's per capita GDP, though reaching the record high of US$1,000 last year, still ranks behind the 100th place in the world.

"To make China's modernization program a success and deliver a prosperous life for all the Chinese people still requires a long and uphill battle," he said.

*** Per-capita GDP of US$3,000 by 2020

Hu said that building a well-off society of a higher standard in an all-round way for the benefit of well over 1 billion people is his government's long-term goal. China will try to quadruple its 2000 GDP to US$4 trillion, with a per capita GDP of US$3,000 by the year 2020.

"We will take economic development as our top priority, and follow a development path characterized by high productivity, affluent life and sound eco-system by properly balancing urban and rural development, development among regions, economic and social development, development of man and nature, and domestic development and opening to the outside world," the president said.

China will mainly rely on institutional and technological innovation, expanding domestic demand and increasing the professional aptitude of Chinese.

*** Asian Economic Integration

Hu Jintao said that China will enhance friendship and political trust and good-neighborliness as it sincerely wishes to cultivate with other Asian countries an overall and close partnership geared to Asian rejuvenation.

"This is a partnership that features equality and mutual trust politically, mutual benefit and win-win economically, exchange and emulation culturally, and dialogue and cooperation on the security front", Hu said.

As part of its efforts to this end, China will develop partnerships with other Asian countries on the basis of the United Nations Charter and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, treating all countries as equals irrespective of size and committing to settling whatever disputes there might be through dialogue.

China hopes to see stronger high-level ties and interactions at other levels with other fellow Asian countries, and more timely consultations and coordination on major international and regional issues, the president said.

Hu said that China hopes to study with fellow Asian countries on possible free trade arrangements of various forms consistent with prospective cooperation network of free trade areas in Asia. China is ready to step up coordination with other Asian partners on macro-economic and financial policies and probe into the establishment of regional cooperation regime of investors, securities market, and financial institutions.

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