Leading a New Journey and Creating New Achievements
引领新征程，再创新伟业
Ambassador Chen Xiaodong
驻南非大使陈晓东
2023年3月17日
17 March 2023
China’s Two Sessions 2023, which consists of the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress and the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, have recently successfully concluded in Beijing. The first session of the 14th National People’s Congress deliberated and approved the government work report and other important reports, clarifying the overall requirements, major goals, and work priorities for China’s economic and social development this year. A new generation of national leaders was elected, with General Secretary Xi Jinping being unanimously re-elected as the President of the People’s Republic of China and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC. This fully reflects the common aspirations of the entire party, army, and people of all ethnic groups in the country and fully embodies the high degree of unity of the will of the party, the will of the people, and the will of the country.
日前，2023年全国两会（中华人民共和国第十四届全国人民代表大会第一次会议和中国人民政治协商会议第十四届全国委员会第一次会议）在北京胜利闭幕。十四届全国人大一次会议审议并批准了政府工作报告和其他重要报告，明确了今年中国经济社会发展总体要求、主要目标和工作重点，选举产生了新一届国家领导人，中共中央总书记习近平全票当选为中华人民共和国主席、中华人民共和国中央军事委员会主席，充分反映了全党全军全国各族人民的共同心愿，充分体现了党的意志、人民意志、国家意志的高度统一。
From the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to the Two Sessions, General Secretary Xi Jinping has charted the course and outlined a grand blueprint for advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation. The party’s proposals have been transformed into the will of the country, becoming a common action plan for hundreds of millions of people. At the closing meeting of the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress, President Xi Jinping emphasised the “Five To Dos” – to unswervingly promote high-quality development, to always put the people first, to better coordinate development and security, to solidly advance the practice of “One Country, Two Systems” and the great cause of national reunification, and to strive to build a community with a shared future for mankind. He sounded a clarion call to the entire party, army, and people of all ethnic groups to build China into a strong country and achieve national rejuvenation.
从中共二十大到全国两会，习近平总书记引领航向，擘画了以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的宏伟蓝图，党的主张转化为国家意志，成为亿万人民共同行动的纲领。在十四届全国人大一次会议闭幕会上，习近平主席强调“五个要”——要坚定不移推动高质量发展、要始终坚持人民至上、要更好统筹发展和安全、要扎实推进“一国两制”实践和祖国统一大业、要努力推动构建人类命运共同体，向全党全军全国各族人民发出强国建设、民族复兴的有力号召。
Sharing development opportunities. President Xi Jinping pointed out that China’s development benefits the world, and China cannot develop itself in isolation from the world. We must solidly promote high-level opening up, not only making good use of the global market and resources to develop ourselves but also promoting common development of the world. We must hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and promote the development of an open world economy, so as to add more stability and positive energy to world peace and development. President Xi Jinping emphasised that high-quality development is the primary task for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects. We must fully, faithfully, and thoroughly implement the new development philosophy, solidly promote high-level opening-up, better coordinate the improvement of quality and the reasonable growth of quantity, deepen reform and opening up as well as the transformation of the development model, and accelerate the formation of a sustainable, high-quality development system. President Xi’s important speech conveyed a powerful message that China will, as always, promote world peace and development, deepen opening up and cooperation, and present to the world the opportunities that could be brought by China’s high-quality development.
共享发展机遇。习近平主席指出，中国的发展惠及世界，中国的发展离不开世界。我们要扎实推进高水平对外开放，既用好全球市场和资源发展自己，又推动世界共同发展。我们要高举和平、发展、合作、共赢旗帜，推动建设开放型世界经济，为世界和平发展增加更多稳定性和正能量。习近平主席强调，高质量发展是全面建设社会主义现代化国家的首要任务，必须完整、准确、全面贯彻新发展理念，扎实推进高水平对外开放，更好统筹质的有效提升和量的合理增长，深化改革开放、深入转变发展方式，加快形成可持续的高质量发展体制机制。习主席的重要讲话传递中国一如既往推动世界和平与发展、深化对外开放与合作的强劲信号，让世界清晰看到中国高质量发展的机遇。
Boosting market confidence. President Xi Jinping emphasised that the private sector is an important force for the Communist Party of China to maintain long-term governance and lead the Chinese people in achieving the “Two Centenary Goals” as well as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The private sector also shoulders the social responsibility of promoting common prosperity. It is important to optimise the development environment for private enterprises, remove institutional barriers that impede fair competition for private enterprises in the market, and protect the property rights of private enterprises and rights of entrepreneurs in accordance with law. The requirement of treating state-owned and private enterprises equally should be embodied in laws and regulations. More effective measures should be taken to support the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and self-employed individuals and to support platform enterprises in creating employment, expanding consumption, and engaging in international competition. Private enterprises with the ability and conditions should strengthen independent innovation and play a greater role in promoting technological self-reliance and the industrial application of scientific and technological advances. It is also important to stimulate the vitality of private capital investment, encourage more private capital to participate in national major projects, key industrial and supply chain projects, and make greater contributions to fostering a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development.
提振市场信心。习近平主席强调，民营经济是中国共产党长期执政、团结带领全国人民实现“两个一百年”奋斗目标和中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的重要力量，担负着促进共同富裕的社会责任。要优化民营企业发展环境，破除制约民营企业公平参与市场竞争的制度障碍，依法维护民营企业产权和企业家权益，从制度和法律上把对国企民企平等对待的要求落下来。要采取更有效的措施支持中小微企业和个体工商户发展，支持平台企业在创造就业、拓展消费、国际竞争中大显身手。有能力、有条件的民营企业要加强自主创新，在推进科技自立自强和科技成果转化中发挥更大作用。要激发民间资本投资活力，鼓励和吸引更多民间资本参与国家重大工程、重点产业链供应链项目建设，为构建新发展格局、推动高质量发展作出更大贡献。
Promoting people’s well-being. “Putting the people at the centre” has always been the guiding principle and value yardstick for China’s decision-makers in governance. President Xi Jinping pointed out that the people are the decisive force for building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. We must pro-actively develop a whole-process people’s democracy, protect people’s rights and interests and fully inspire their enthusiasm, initiative and creativity. President Xi outlined a “people’s livelihood checklist”, pointing out the urgent concerns of the Chinese people, with an aim to ensure that the gains of modernisation benefit all our people fairly, and that we make more notable and substantive progress in promoting common prosperity for all. The Two Sessions, as an important institutional carrier for implementing the whole-process people’s democracy, is a process of building consensus and gathering people’s wisdom, and it reflects the relationship between “national affairs” and “people’s livelihood.” During the Two Sessions, President Xi sat with grassroots representatives to discuss the country’s affairs, listen to people’s voices, solicit people’s wisdom, and respond to people’s expectations, writing the most vivid annotations for the whole-process people’s democracy.
增进人民福祉。“以人民为中心”始终是中国决策者治国理政的着力导向和价值标尺。习近平主席指出，全面建成社会主义现代化强国，人民是决定性力量。要积极发展全过程人民民主，保障人民权益，充分激发全体人民的积极性主动性创造性。习主席列出“民生清单”，直指中国民众的急难愁盼问题，“让现代化建设成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，在推进全体人民共同富裕上不断取得更为明显的实质性进展”。两会作为落实全过程人民民主的重要制度载体，是凝聚广泛共识、汇聚民心民智的过程，是“国之大者”与“民生小事”互动的体现。两会期间习主席与基层代表坐在一起共商国是，倾听人民呼声、汇聚人民智慧、回应人民期待，为全过程人民民主写下最生动的注解。
Staying committed to peace. A country can only guarantee its national security and maintain peace with a strong military. Building the People’s Army into a world-class military in all respects will undoubtedly add a more important weight to the creation of an international security environment of peace, stability, equality, mutual trust, and win-win cooperation. President Xi Jinping emphasised that the Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation, and the Chinese people are peace-loving people. As long as we adhere to the path of peaceful development, as long as we develop our country by upholding world peace and maintain world peace through our own development and as long as we work hand in hand with all the progressive forces in the world, relying on no one, plundering no one, and never seeking hegemony, we will be able to continuously contribute wisdom and strength to the progress of human civilisation.
赓续和平基因。强国必须强军，军强才能国安，和平必须以强大实力为后盾。把人民军队全面建成世界一流军队，必将为营造和平稳定、平等互信、合作共赢的国际安全环境增添更为重要的砝码。习近平主席强调，中华民族是爱好和平的民族，中国人民是爱好和平的人民。前进道路上，只要我们坚持和平发展道路，既通过维护世界和平发展自己，又通过自身发展维护世界和平，同世界上一切进步力量携手前进，不依附别人，不掠夺别人，永远不称霸，就一定能够不断为人类文明进步贡献智慧和力量。
The trumpet of the times urges us forward; the magnificent journey requires a core leader. A down-to-earth and courageous China will bring more stability and positive energy to a world rife with uncertainties. A confident, open, and proactive China will provide new opportunities and new impetus for the world with its own new development. A China with a global vision and a sense of responsibility will bring new enlightenment and new hope to the cause of promoting peace, development, prosperity and progress for humanity.
时代号角，催人奋进；壮阔征程，核心领航。一个脚踏实地、勇毅前行的中国，将为充满不确定性的世界带来更多稳定性与正能量；一个自信开放、奋发有为的中国，将以自身新发展为世界提供新机遇、新动力；一个胸怀天下、笃行担当的中国，将为促进人类和平与发展、繁荣与进步带来新启迪、新希望。
This year, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of China-South Africa diplomatic relations, and South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit. This presents a new development opportunity for China-South Africa and China-Africa relations. China will fully support South Africa in its effort to make the BRICS Summit a great success. Under the theme of “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism”, we will deepen strategic partnership among BRICS countries, and help BRICS and Africa to achieve interlinked development, so that the “BRICS strength” will benefit more developing countries in Africa, and promote the building of a closer China-South Africa-Africa community with a shared future.
今年是中南建交25周年，南非将主办金砖国家领导人第十五次会晤，中南中非关系迎来新的发展机遇。中国将全力支持南非成功办好金砖峰会，在“金砖与非洲：深化伙伴关系，促进彼此增长，实现可持续发展，加强包容性多边主义”主题下，深化金砖战略伙伴关系，助力金砖与非洲联动发展，让“金砖力量”惠及更多非洲发展中国家，推动构建更加紧密的中南中非命运共同体。