Strategic tasks, major steps of the CPC hold key to modernization drive, Xi says

Amid the increasingly complex risks and challenges China is facing, the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will have the central task of presenting the Party's road map for the next five years and beyond, a key period in realizing national rejuvenation.

The 20th CPC National Congress, which is expected to open in Beijing on Sunday, is regarded as especially important as the Party is leading the Chinese people in embarking on a new journey to comprehensively build China into a modern socialist country, after the task of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects was completed last year.

The seventh plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, which started on Sunday in Beijing, will make preparations for the opening of the 20th CPC National Congress.

A total of 2,296 delegates have been elected to attend the Congress. In addition to setting national policy goals, it will elect a new CPC Central Committee, the Party's top leadership, and a new CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Amendments to the Party Constitution are also expected at the Congress.

The CPC could use its 20th National Congress to reiterate the people-centered governance philosophy and the need to firmly adhere to socialism with Chinese characteristics, observers said. It could also highlight the need to coordinate development and security given the new circumstances of China's development, reform and opening-up, as well as mounting external risks and challenges.

Speaking at a workshop attended by senior Party and government officials in July, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said the 20th CPC National Congress would emphasize the strategic tasks the Party will have and the major steps it will take over the next five years, which hold the key to the country's modernization drive.

An effort must be made to work out new plans and measures to tackle the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development nationwide, Xi said.

Qi Weiping, a professor of politics at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said that on the journey toward national rejuvenation, the Party will unite and lead the people in making substantial progress in tackling the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development and seeking common prosperity among more than 1.4 billion people in order to constantly meet their growing demand for a better life.

Namibian Ambassador to China Elia Kaiyamo said he expected the CPC would continue to lead the Chinese people in further developing socialism with Chinese characteristics after the 20th CPC National Congress and provide a good model for other countries in choosing an independent development path.

Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to China, expressed his wish that the 20th CPC National Congress would be a complete success.

"Under the guidance of the CPC, China's peaceful rise is truly historic, with positive repercussions throughout the world. This is especially impactful in the Middle East, as we witness burgeoning trade and investment from China.

"The CPC has played an integral role in transforming China from a largely agricultural, underdeveloped country to an engine of global growth. Both the UAE and China have been beneficiaries of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, and we look forward to even greater achievements and prosperity in the years to come."

While pursuing high-quality development, the CPC takes national security seriously as another pillar of its governance of the country.

Speaking of the rapid evolution of profound changes in the international landscape at July's workshop, Xi said China faces fresh strategic opportunities and tasks in its new stage of development, and the risks, challenges and problems it faces are increasingly complex and complicated.

He underlined the need for the whole Party to strengthen risk awareness, prepare for the worst-case scenario, and strive to cope with the changing domestic and international situation with proper strategies.

Analysts said that over the next five years, it is essential for China to stick to the right direction under the strong leadership of the CPC amid the increasingly complicated and challenging international environment in order to maintain national security while continuing to promote development.

Amid uncertainties brought by challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the widening divide arising from geopolitical rivalry, the CPC is expected to renew its call at the Congress for countries to implement the China-proposed Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative to promote global peace and development as part of an effort to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, they said.

Gao Zugui, a professor at the Institute for International Strategic Studies at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said in an article in Study Times that the Party emphasizes the importance of coordinating development and security in its governance, an important philosophy that has been extended from national governance to China's active participation in global governance.

The two initiatives have been widely regarded as China's solutions to addressing the problems the world faces in the cause of peace and development. Since its inception, the Global Development Initiative has been positioned as an all-inclusive accelerant to the United Nations' agenda on sustainable development.

The initiative's relevance to a world in distress is difficult to understate at the moment as protracted conflicts, climatic spillovers, rampant poverty and wide resource shortages threaten to compound existing inequalities and adversely affect the development potential of many states, Hannan Hussain, a foreign affairs commentator and a former assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, said in an article published on the China Global Television Network website.

Adriel Kasonta, a foreign affairs analyst and commentator in London, said in an article published on the CGTN website that being the fruit of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the Global Security Initiative provides a united response to the increasingly complex challenges faced by the international community.