This year (2020), the Chinese people have exerted strenuous efforts to score a major strategic achievement in controlling COVID-19. Working with other countries in these trying times, China has contributed its wisdom and resources to the global fight against the coronavirus. It has shared with various parties full experience on containment and treatment and done its best to assist other countries and international organizations. All these are among the concrete actions we have taken toward building a global community of health for all. 

At the same time, we have coordinated COVID-19 control with economic and social development at home, and scaled up macro policy response so that the Chinese economy could stabilize, pick up, and steadily upgrade. In the first three quarters of this year, China's GDP grew by 0.7 percent, on course to register positive growth for the whole year. It is also worth noting that by the end of this year, we will have lifted out of poverty all rural residents living below the current poverty line.

The recently concluded Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee adopted recommendations for formulating China's 14th Five-Year Plan. The plenum underscored that China will finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects within the set time frame, and will embark on a new journey next year toward fully building a modern socialist country. 

Based on a scientific analysis of the new stage of China's development, we will stay committed to the new development philosophy, and actively foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. China will build a new system of open economy of higher standards and create a more attractive investment and business environment.

(Source: Extract from Xi Jinping's speech at the 27th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, November 20, 2020.)

This episode is presented by Ning Yan.