Abstract
“The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history” (Mao Zedong 1991). ‘The people’ refers to both Chinese people and the people of the world. These people are the real heroes; they have created both Chinese and world history. These are our elementary views and perspectives concerning China and the rest of the world, encompassing our dialectical and historical materialism.
I am deeply convinced that the future of China belongs to the
Chinese people and the future of the world belongs to the
people of the world.
Deng Xiaoping (1981)
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Notes
- 1.
This is the foreword written by Deng Xiaoping on February 14, 1981 for the book Speeches and writings: Deng Xiaoping published by Pergamon Press Ltd (Central Documentation Office 2004).
- 2.
What concerns us most is that the United States does not draw on the painful lessons of this financial crisis; it does not take the initiative to reform and reduce its growth. The GDP gap between China and the United State will continue to grow.
- 3.
Total human resources refers to the average years of education received by people aged 15 years and above plus the working age population (15–64 years of age).
- 4.
The total number of competent personnel refers to personnel working in the Party and government, specialized technical personnel, business managers, highly skilled people, practical rural personnel, and social workers combined. “Outlined Program for the Medium- and Long-term Development of Competent Personnel (2010–2020), Beijing, Xinhua (June 6, 2010) reports.”
- 5.
The mean life expectancy at birth in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hangzhou exceeded 80 years in 2010.
- 6.
Mao Zedong, poem “Coming to Shaoshan”, 1959.
- 7.
The report to the 16th Party congress points out that “The capability of sustainable development will be steadily enhanced. The ecological environment will be improved. The efficiency of using resources will be increased significantly. We will enhance harmony between man and nature to push the whole society onto a path to civilized development featuring the growth of production, an affluent life and a sound ecosystem” (Jiang Zemin 2005).
- 8.
An environmentally friendly society refers to a society of harmonious development between man and nature. Its purpose is to ensure favorable behavior toward the environment and to build a social system with the harmonious development of economy and society (see Ma Kai 2006).
- 9.
- 10.
The international absolute poverty line is less than 1.25 US dollars per person per day as defined by the World Bank. We estimate that the poverty occurrence rate in developing countries will drop from 27 % in 2005 to less than 5 % by 2030.
- 11.
In 1960, Mao Zedong said in his reply to Montgomery “China does not have a god, what it has is a Jade Emperor. Fifty years from now the Jade Emperor will still be reigning over 9.6 million square kilometers. We would be aggressors if we occupied an inch of land belonging to others” (Mao Zedong 1999a).
- 12.
In 1956, Mao Zedong said, “However, we should be modest – not only now, but 45 years hence and indeed always. In international relations the Chinese people should rid themselves of great-nation chauvinism resolutely, thoroughly, wholly and completely” (Mao Zedong 1999b).
- 13.
In 1987, Deng Xiaoping said “Should China become arrogant, however, act like an overlord and give orders to the world, it would no longer be considered a Third World country” (Deng Xiaoping 1984).
- 14.
In 1956, Mao Zedong in his “In Commemoration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen” said “It is only 45 years since the Revolution of 1911, but the face of China has entirely changed. In another 45 years, that is, by the year 2001, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, China will have undergone an even greater change. It will have become a powerful industrial socialist country. And that is as it should be. China is a land with an area of 9,600,000 km2 and a population of 600 million, and it ought to make a greater contribution to humanity” (Mao Zedong 1999b).
- 15.
In 1957, Deng Xiaoping said: “At present, we are still a relatively poor nation. It is impossible for us to undertake many international proletarian obligations, so our contributions remain small. However, once we have accomplished the four modernizations and the national economy has expanded, our contributions to mankind, and especially to the Third World, will be greater” (Deng Xiaoping 1984).
- 16.
- 17.
China’s average contribution was 14.6% in 2001–2009 to become the No. 1contributor to economic growth.
- 18.
According to statistics from UNTDC, China’s percentage in goods import trade in the world rose from 4.4% to 8% for 2002–2009 and its percentage in the world’s service import trade rose from 2.9 to 4.9%.
- 19.
In 2002–2009, the average annual contribution to global FDI inflow reached 3% and outflow, 5.5%.
- 20.
Deng Xiaoping said, “once we have accomplished the four modernizations and the national economy has expanded, our contributions to mankind, and especially to the Third World, will be greater” (Deng Xiaoping 1984).
- 21.
China’s foreign aid is made up of three categories: free aid, interest-free loans, and preferential loans. There are mainly eight forms of aid: complete plants, general materials, technical cooperation, cooperation in human resources development, medical teams, emergency humanitarian aid, volunteers, and debt reduction and exemption. According to the whitepaper on China’s foreign aid, China has provided aid of 256.29 billion yuan, including 106.2 billion yuan free aid, 76.54 billion yuan interest-free loans, and 73.55 billion yuan of preferential loans, accounting for 41.4, 29.9 and 28.3%, respectively, in total foreign aid. China’s foreign aid funds experienced rapid growth, with its average growth for 2004–2009 being 29.4%. By the end of 2009, China had helped developing countries build more than 2,000 complete plants associated closely with the livelihood and production of local peoples, covering industry, agriculture, culture and education, health, telecommunications, power, energy, and transportation. By the end of 2009, China had held more than 4,000 training classes for developing countries, training more than 120,000 people, including interns, management, and technical personnel and officials. By the end of 2009, China had sent more than 21,000 doctors, who treated more than 260 million people in recipient countries. By the end of 2009, China had signed debt-writing off protocols with 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania, writing off 380 debts, amounting to 25.58 billion yuan (equal to 17% of the total aid loans). State Council Information Office, “White Paper: China’s Foreign Aid”, April 21, 2011.
- 22.
The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program stated that the United States was to provide economic aid to Western European countries that suffered in World War II and help them with their reconstruction. The plan ran from July 1947, and lasted for four fiscal years. Western European countries accepted a total of US$13 billion in aid, covering finance, technology and equipment.
- 23.
This is a foreword written by Deng Xiaoping on February 14, 1981 for the book Speeches and writings: Deng Xiaoping, published by Pergamon Press Ltd (Central Documentation Office 2004).
- 24.
Jeffrey D. Sachs also holds that global cooperation will occur in the twenty-first century and that competitive mindset regarding markets, power, and resources will ultimately be cast into history (Sachs 2010).
- 25.
Mao Zedong once said “But as we have often said, while the road ahead is tortuous, the future is bright” (Mao Zedong 1999d).
- 26.
This is reiterated by Harvard history and economics professor David S. Landes, who said that for thousands of years, Europe (Western) has been the first to seek development and modernization (see Landes 2001).
- 27.
Here, we refer to Mao Zedong’s “East Wind Overwhelms the West Wind”. On November 18, 1957, Mao Zedong said at the Conference of Communist Parties and Worker’s parties “Now I feel that the international situation is at a new turning point. There are two gusts of winds, east wind and west wind. A Chinese idiom says: it is either east wind overwhelming the west wind or the west wind overwhelming the east wind. I think the characters of the current situation are east wind whelming the west wind. That is, the socialist forces have an overwhelming advantage over the imperialist forces.” Collected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. VII, p. 321, Beijing, People’s publishing House.
- 28.
Source: Maddison (2010).
- 29.
As the most powerful and developed capitalist country, the United States, has not yet resolved various welfare issues. 1. Medical insurance. In 2009, 59 million people (20% of the population) were not covered by medical insurance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). A study report released by Harvard University in 2009 claimed that 44,800 died because they had no medical insurance. 2. Public security. The United States has some of the world’s highest murder rates (greater than 5 deaths per 100,000 people) (UNODC, Homicide Statistics, Criminal Justice and Public Health Sources - Trends (2003–2008)); 3. Employment. The United States has the highest unemployment rate among developed countries, with a 2010 unemployment rate of 9.63% (www.bls.gov/bls/cpsaat2).
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Hu, A., Yan, Y., Wei, X. (2014). Concerted Efforts Toward Great Harmony. In: China 2030. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31328-8_9
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