The 14th issue of Qiushi Journal, published on July 16, features an important article by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, titled "We Must Adhere to Self-Confidence and Self-Reliance." This is an excerpt from important discourses by General Secretary Xi Jinping between January 2013 and March 2024. The article emphasizes that the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, transitioning from the profound suffering of modern times to the bright prospect of great rejuvenation, have never had a textbook or ready-made answers. The successful path of the Party's century-long struggle was independently explored and opened up by the Party leading the people, and the Chinese chapter of Marxism was put into practice by the Chinese Communists relying on their own strength. A fundamental point running through this is that China's problems must be solved by the Chinese people themselves, starting from China's basic national conditions. We must adhere to our firm belief in Marxism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, strengthen our confidence in our path, theories, system, and culture, and make new contributions to the development of Marxism with a more proactive historical responsibility and creative spirit. We must neither stick to old ways and be rigid nor mechanically copy foreign models and fail to assimilate them. The article points out that self-confidence leads to self-improvement. The Chinese civilization has endured for thousands of years without interruption and has survived numerous adversities, which is a miracle of human civilization and the source of our confidence. The Party's century-long struggle and great achievements are the most solid foundation for us to enhance our "four confidences." In today's world, if any political party, country, or nation can be confident, then the Communist Party of China, the People's Republic of China, and the Chinese nation have the most reasons to be confident. We are walking our own path, which has an immensely broad stage, a profound historical heritage, and incredibly strong forward momentum. To advance Chinese modernization, we must adhere to independence and self-reliance, insist on basing national and ethnic development on our own strength, and firmly hold the destiny of our country's development and progress in our own hands. The article states that without firm institutional confidence, there can be no courage for comprehensive deepening of reform. Similarly, without continuous reform, institutional confidence cannot be thorough or long-lasting. Our comprehensive deepening of reform is to make the socialist system with Chinese characteristics better; our insistence on institutional confidence is not about being complacent but about constantly eliminating institutional and mechanism shortcomings to make our system mature and enduring. With the continuous development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, our system will certainly become more mature, the superiority of our socialist system will further manifest, our path will become wider and wider, and the impact of China's development path on the world will certainly become greater and greater. China's development prospects are bright, and we have this confidence and assurance.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has coordinated the strategic overall picture of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the profound global changes unseen in a century. It has strategized overall and made key moves, making more long-term and systematic strategic arrangements and overall plans for coordinated urban-rural and regional development. Across the country, the new development philosophy has been fully and accurately implemented, the regional structure has gradually optimized, and the coordination of urban and rural development has continuously strengthened, constantly opening up vast new spaces for China's high-quality development. Today, across the Chinese land, a magnificent scroll of coordinated regional development covering the east, central, and west, and coordinating the north and south, is slowly unfolding. Major regional strategies are advancing in depth. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the three major engines of high-quality regional economic development, now account for over 40% of China's economy, becoming powerful drivers of development. Regional development disparities are continuously narrowing. In 2023, the GDP of the central and western regions was 53.9 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 7% over the past decade, increasing their share of the national total by 2.2 percentage points compared to 2013. Urban-rural integration is continuously deepening. Today, over 150 million rural residents have moved to cities. In 2023, China's urbanization rate reached 66.2%, an increase of 12.5 percentage points from 2013. Entering the new era, the Chinese economy has shifted to a stage of high-quality development. However, issues of imbalanced and inadequate development remain prominent, with significant disparities in urban-rural and regional development and income distribution. How can development be better coordinated? General Secretary Xi Jinping, observing the overall trend, planning for the long term, and deploying comprehensively, proposed the new development philosophy, placing coordinated development in an important position in China's overall development. He emphasized that coordination is both a means and a goal of development, as well as a standard and measure for evaluating development. Only by achieving coordinated urban-rural and regional development can the domestic circulation have wider space and be more robust. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has continuously pondered and planned, using the concept of coordination to solve the problem of imbalanced development. In Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, he emphasized the need to adjust the economic structure and spatial structure, forge a new path of intensive development, explore a model for optimized development in densely populated economic regions, and form new growth poles. In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he emphasized the need to integrate Hong Kong and Macao into the national development strategy, making the Greater Bay Area a strategic pivot point for the new development pattern, a demonstration zone for high-quality development, and a leading area for Chinese modernization. In the Yangtze River Delta, he emphasized the need to focus on the two keywords of "integration" and "high quality" to form a regional cluster of high-quality development. From the Three Rivers Source to Chongming Island, the General Secretary's survey footprints covered the Yangtze River basin, offering a "prescription" for the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt: "jointly pursue great protection, not large-scale development." Traveling through the nine provinces and regions along the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yellow River, he pointed out the need to jointly promote great protection and collaborative governance, making the Yellow River a "river of happiness" that benefits the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping has convened 17 regional development symposiums, from poverty alleviation cooperation between the eastern and western regions to deep promotion of Northeast revitalization and driving the rise of the central region, pointing the direction for different regions to leverage their comparative advantages and pursue differentiated high-quality development paths based on local conditions. Coordination is a development issue, and in essence, also a reform issue. Comprehensive deepening of reform enhances the overall coordination of development, building a complementary regional economic layout through reform, and breaking down regional divisions through reform to achieve free and full flow of elements and goods. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, reform has consistently run through the entire process of promoting coordinated development: implementing major regional strategies, regional coordinated development strategies, and functional zoning strategies; establishing a central leading group for regional coordinated development to strategically and overall plan major regional strategies; accelerating the "hard connectivity" of transportation facilities like highways and railways, breaking administrative "barriers," and promoting "soft connectivity" of rules and regulations, continuously expanding the scope of "inter-provincial unified processing" for government services. Strategizing overall, making key moves. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the three regions of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei have firmly grasped the "ox nose" of relocating Beijing's non-capital functions, supporting the high-quality development of Beijing's sub-center, and promoting the construction of Xiong'an New Area with high standards and high quality, introducing 18 reform measures in areas such as transportation, ecology, industry, and public services. From nothing to something, from blueprint to reality, Xiong'an, a city of a thousand years and a city of the future, is rising. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is advancing the construction of an international science and technology innovation center, deploying 26 key innovation platforms to promote high-level coordinated development of science and technology innovation in the Greater Bay Area, and an excellent living circle suitable for living, working, and traveling is accelerating its formation. Over the past decade, China has built the "four pillars and eight beams" of a new mechanism for coordinated regional development. Today, the regional coordinated development strategy is deeply advancing, the four major plates are developing more balanced, and the regional economic layout is continuously optimizing. Facing the greatest imbalance in China's development, which is the imbalance between urban and rural development, since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has continuously established and improved the institutional mechanisms and policy systems for integrated urban-rural development, implemented new urbanization with county towns as important carriers, and promoted the extension of urban infrastructure and public services to rural areas. Today, the process of integrated urban-rural development is continuously accelerating. Household registration transfer policies have been fully liberalized and relaxed, household registration restrictions in cities with a permanent urban population of less than 3 million have been basically abolished, and over 140 million residence permits have been issued, achieving a historic breakthrough in China's household registration system reform. 19 urban agglomerations are accelerating their construction and already accommodate over 75% of the national population, becoming the main form of China's new urbanization. The per capita disposable income of rural residents has exceeded 20,000 yuan, and the urban-rural income ratio has dropped from 2.81 ten years ago to 2.39 now, continuously narrowing the gap in urban-rural development and residents' living standards. It is the right time to strive. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, solidly promoting urban-rural integration and regional coordinated development will certainly achieve higher quality, more efficient, fairer, and more sustainable development, injecting surging动力 into Chinese modernization.
In China's economic performance report for the first half of the year, recently released, 39 out of 41 major industrial sectors saw their value added increase year-on-year, with new industries and new growth drivers developing rapidly. In the first half of this year, the value added of high-tech manufacturing above designated size increased by 8.7% year-on-year, 2.7 percentage points higher than that of all industries above designated size. The country's first "ground space station" has passed acceptance, Chang'e-6 successfully achieved sample return from the far side of the moon, and the world's first communication and intelligent integration 6G experimental network has been built by China. In the first half of the year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China both increased by over 30% year-on-year, driving the relatively rapid growth of the new energy vehicle industry chain. The value added of aerospace and equipment manufacturing increased by 10% year-on-year. The output of major digital products such as integrated circuits, service robots, liquid crystal displays, and smart mobile phones and watches all maintained double-digit growth rates. The enabling effect of technology continues to emerge, accumulating new strength for the future. In the first half of the year, the export value of China's automobiles, ships, integrated circuits, and other products increased by 22.2%, 91.1%, and 25.6% year-on-year, respectively. High-value-added mechanical and electrical products accounted for nearly 60% of the export share. The latest data shows that China currently has 463,000 high-tech enterprises, and the installed capacity of industrial robots accounts for over 50% of the world's total, with industrial internet covering all major industrial categories. More than 140,000 specialized and sophisticated SMEs have been cultivated, including 12,000 "little giant" enterprises. The value added of the digital economy's core industries accounts for about 10% of GDP, and new business forms and models are flourishing. New industries and new growth drivers are fostering more new growth points, and the Chinese economy is accelerating towards new development.
Today (July 16), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released data showing that China's shipbuilding industry continued to grow steadily across its three major indicators in the first half of this year, maintaining its global leading position in international market share. The latest data indicates that in the first half of 2024, China's shipbuilding completion volume reached 25.02 million deadweight tons, a year-on-year increase of 18.4%; new orders totaled 54.22 million deadweight tons, up 43.9% year-on-year; and held orders amounted to 171.55 million deadweight tons, an increase of 38.6% year-on-year. These three indicators accounted for 55%, 74.7%, and 58.9% of the world market share, respectively. While increasing in volume, China has also delivered an increasing number of high-value-added vessel types. In the first half of the year, the world's largest liquefied gas carriers and ultra-large ethane carriers were successively delivered, and new orders for container ships accounted for 97.5% of the global market share. At China State Shipbuilding Corporation's Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a 7,000 TEU container ship is under construction in the dock. In the first half of the year, they delivered one vessel approximately every two weeks. High-value-added vessel types have led to a significant increase in corporate profits. In the first five months of this year, shipbuilding industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide achieved total profits of 16 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 187.5%.
Today (July 16) marks three years since the launch of China's national carbon emission allowance trading market. As of July 15, the cumulative transaction volume of carbon allowances in the national carbon market reached 465 million tons, with a cumulative transaction value of nearly 27 billion yuan. The carbon emission allowance trading market is one of the core policy tools for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. The national carbon emission allowance trading market covers approximately 5.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, accounting for over 40% of the country's total emissions. In the three years since the market's launch, as more emission reduction technologies and measures have been fully applied, the overall emission reduction cost of the national power industry has been reduced by approximately 35 billion yuan. This year, the country will further expand the industry coverage of the national carbon market, with industries such as steel and building materials expected to be included in the national carbon market.
In the vibrant summer, various regions are taking multiple measures to empower cultural tourism consumption, and the summer cultural tourism market continues to thrive. This summer, relying on China's excellent traditional cultural resources, cultural tourism routes such as sightseeing and appreciating cultural relics and museums are attracting tourists from various places, allowing them to deeply experience the profound and extensive Chinese civilization during their travels. Hubei, Sichuan, and other places have "connected points into lines" using literary creations and historical sites of historical figures such as Su Shi and Li Bai, launching multiple cultural theme tourism routes that allow tourists to experience the ancient wisdom of "reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles." Shaanxi has launched Silk Road themed tours, where people can appreciate the prosperity of the Han and Tang dynasties while seemingly touching the history of cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and foreign countries on the ancient Silk Road. Shandong, Guizhou, and other places, with red culture as the theme, have launched distinctive red exhibitions, red study tours, and other themed activities, promoting the deep integration of red culture and tourism. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently announced 368 summer seasonal tourism delicacies and 84 routes, promoting the deep integration of culture, tourism, and related fields such as sports and film and television. This summer, "cultural tourism + study tours" covering various fields such as history, culture, and natural science are highly popular. Museums in many places have not only extended their opening hours, but "cultural tourism + technology" digital presentations have also injected new vitality into immersive experiences. Tourism routes to the filming locations of "My Altay" and other productions lead people to explore the poetic charm of snow mountains and grasslands, and the "cultural tourism + film and television" dual-direction journey is bursting with new vitality. Jilin has launched 277 rich activities, including over 50 "art feasts" such as camping music festivals, themed concerts, and performances of excellent foreign plays, inviting domestic and international tourists to escape the summer heat. Preliminary statistics show that this summer, various regions will hold over 4,000 cultural tourism consumption activities totaling about 37,000 sessions. Preferential measures such as issuing consumption vouchers and ticket discounts are being introduced, and distinctive "cultural tourism +" will boost tourists' consumption enthusiasm.
From the 15th, as the rain belt shifted, heavy rainfall occurred in many areas of Henan and central and southern Shandong. This morning, Henan launched a Level-I flood control emergency response for Nanyang City. The rainfall caused the Diao River to overflow its banks, submerging nearby villages. As of now, local authorities have organized the evacuation of over 1,200 people. Large machinery has also entered the site to reinforce the levees. Rainfall continues in many parts of Shandong. Currently, seven provincial rescue teams with large-flow drainage vehicles, drainage pumps, and other equipment have been pre-positioned in Zaozhuang, Tai'an, Linyi, and other areas. The National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has activated a Level-IV flood control emergency response for Shandong and Henan. Starting today, China is entering a critical period for flood control. Currently, the Three Gorges Reservoir has opened nine floodgates to accelerate reservoir drawdown, sharing the flood control pressure of the upper Yangtze River.
In the first half of the year, national railway fixed asset investment reached 337.3 billion yuan. Reporters learned today (July 16) from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. that in the first half of this year, national railway fixed asset investment reached 337.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.6%, setting a new record for the same period in history. A number of key control projects under construction have been solidly advanced, and a cumulative total of 979.6 kilometers of new railway lines have been opened nationwide, further improving the regional railway network layout. 2024 Tourism Development Fund subsidy funds for local projects disbursed. The Ministry of Finance today (July 16) issued a notice, allocating 967 million yuan in 2024 Tourism Development Fund subsidy funds for local projects, to support localities in improving tourism public services, promoting the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry, boosting cultural and tourism consumption, and driving high-quality development of the tourism industry. China to build a number of new chemical material industrial clusters. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other departments jointly issued a notice, stating that China will accelerate breakthroughs in key products in new energy, new materials, biotechnology, and other fields. By 2027, the goal is to cultivate more than 5 world-class chemical enterprises with strong innovation leadership and collaborative integration capabilities, more than 500 specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative "little giant" chemical enterprises, and establish more than 20 chemical industrial parks with strong competitive advantages. National railways' summer transport passenger volume exceeds 200 million. Latest data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. shows that since the national railways' summer transport began on July 1, passenger flow has continued to grow. As of July 15, a cumulative total of 211 million passengers have been transported, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, with an average daily passenger volume of 14.034 million. The main tunnel excavation of the Yinjiang Buhuan Project exceeds 2,000 meters. The main tunnel excavation of the Yinjiang Buhuan Project, a major national water conservancy project and part of the South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route, has now completed 2,120 meters. At the same time, 17 branch tunnels have cumulatively excavated over 9,000 meters. The total length of the project's water delivery line is 194.7 kilometers, with water conveyed entirely through tunnels. Upon completion, the project will connect the Three Gorges Reservoir and the Danjiangkou Reservoir, making the water source for the South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route more abundant. Hundred-day, Ten Million Recruitment Special Action launches 4 online special sessions. Reporters learned from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security that from July 15 to July 21, the Hundred-day, Ten Million Recruitment Special Action launched 4 online recruitment special sessions for the insurance, light industry, automotive, and medical and health industries, with over 15,000 employers participating. "China Red" fleet shines in Paris: CMG's 8K broadcast vehicle fleet arrives at Stade de France. On the 16th, the "China Red" Olympic broadcast reporting fleet, led by China Media Group's 8K ultra-high-definition broadcast vehicle, departed from northern Paris, passing through Parisian landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. Subsequently, CMG's 8K broadcast vehicle fleet arrived at Stade de France, where it will produce the 8K international signal for the Paris Olympics athletics competitions and closing ceremony. This will be the first time in the history of the Summer Olympics that 8K ultra-high-definition public signal production will be provided.
International figures have highly praised China's significant achievements in comprehensively deepening reforms. They stated that China is a key force in maintaining global economic stability and growth, and they look forward to China's further comprehensive deepening of reforms and the advancement of Chinese modernization bringing new opportunities for win-win cooperation among all countries. International figures expressed that China's further comprehensive deepening of reforms is of far-reaching significance, and they expect China to continuously promote high-quality development and high-level opening up, allowing the world to share China's opportunities and achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
The Israeli military stated on the 15th that it had carried out airstrikes on dozens of Palestinian armed group targets, killing several Palestinian militants. According to Palestinian media reports on the 15th, areas including Shuja'iyya in Gaza City, the Maghazi and Nuseirat refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip, and Khan Younis in the south were attacked by the Israeli military that day, resulting in casualties. Several Palestinian armed groups stated on the 15th that they had attacked Israeli soldiers and tanks in Gaza City, the "Netzarim Corridor" in the central Gaza Strip, and other locations. The Israeli military stated on the evening of the 15th that it had launched airstrikes against several military buildings of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, including in Bint Jbeil. Hezbollah stated on the 16th that in response to the Israeli attacks, it had launched rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.
Russia claims to have destroyed Ukrainian U.S.-made weapons; Ukraine claims to have repelled Russian attacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on the 15th that Russian forces had destroyed Ukrainian tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, U.S.-made howitzers, as well as ammunition depots, electronic stations, and other Ukrainian equipment and facilities on various fronts. Russian air defense forces also shot down U.S.-made HIMARS rockets and other Ukrainian targets. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that it had repelled multiple Russian attacks in Pokrovsk. Furthermore, in the Kharkiv direction, Russian forces launched multiple attacks in Vovchansk, but the situation remains under Ukrainian control. Report states global child immunization coverage stagnated due to conflict last year. A joint report released by the World Health Organization and UNICEF on the 15th shows that global child immunization coverage stagnated in 2023 due to escalating regional conflicts. Compared to 2019, the number of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children increased by 2.7 million. Over half of unvaccinated children are located in 31 countries affected by instability and conflict. UN agencies warned that this dangerous situation could lead to outbreaks of diseases such as measles. Two Delta Airlines Boeing planes report mechanical failures. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration stated on the 15th that on the 13th, two Delta Airlines planes reported mechanical failures. One plane was forced to divert mid-flight due to cabin pressure issues, and the other returned to its origin after reporting mechanical problems after takeoff. Delta Airlines stated that both planes were Boeing 757-200s. The specific causes of the failures are currently under investigation.
Throughout our vast land, greenery abounds; across the entire country, prosperity flourishes. At the end of the program, let us enter "Beautiful China" and continue to appreciate the vibrant and magnificent China.
分享到Twitter: