Chinese President Xi Jinping once said, “Our modernization is both the most difficult and the greatest.” One of the reasons for that is China’s national reality of a huge population.
A huge population: Chinese modernization is difficult
With over 1.4 billion people on course toward modernization, a number larger than the combined population of all developed countries, China will transform the international landscape of modernization. It is the largest-scale modernization in human history, and also the most difficult one.
First of all, a huge population means diverse demands for development. The effectiveness of collective action is closely related to the number of people working together. The conditions and demands for development of different members in society vary greatly. With a huge population, it is challenging to solve problems such as employment, distribution, education, medical care, housing, elderly care and child care since a great number of people are involved in each of these causes. Only by vigorously forging consensus among different members in society and realizing inclusive development can China make sound and steady progress toward modernization.
Second, China’s development remains unbalanced and inadequate. Although China has become the second largest economy in the world, its per capita GDP ranks lower than 80th in the world. Among China’s 34 provincial-level administrative regions, the province with the biggest GDP is Guangdong, which is among the top 10 in the world and dozens of times that of the provinces with lower economic volumes. And there’s a great gap between urban and rural areas in China in terms of infrastructure, education, medical care and job opportunities. The rural areas are relatively underdeveloped.
In addition, there is no precedent in human history for a country with a population over a billion to successfully realize modernization. For countries with different population sizes, the increase in the difficulty of realizing modernization doesn’t simply go proportionally with the increase of population. Because with the increase of population, the difficulty in coordinating and investing resources and in governing will see exponential, nonlinear growth. Think about the difficulty for China, a country with a vast territory and huge regional differences. With no precedent to follow or ready experience to copy, China’s modernization is a pioneering endeavor, one of going “from zero to one”.
A huge population: Chinese modernization is inspiring
Advancing Chinese modernization for a huge population is difficult but right, and holds great significance for the world.
First of all, Chinese modernization will rewrite the international landscape of modernization. Since the industrial revolution began, only 1.2 billion people are living in high-income countries, which have modernized through the Western model. That’s about 15.8 percent of the world’s population. China, on the other hand, has more than 1.4 billion people, accounting for 18 percent of the world’s population, the modernization of which will double the world’s modernized population. This is unprecedented work and a great feat in human history with far-reaching significance.
Second, Chinese modernization is exploring a pathway for developing countries, home to more than 80 percent of world population. China independently blazed a Chinese path to modernization that suits its national conditions, breaking the one-sided but once commonly accepted myth that modernization equals westernization. However, China has never exported its path as a “universal model”, but offered it as a reference for other countries to draw on in light of their own reality.
Facing unbalanced and inadequate development and diverse resource endowments and demands in different regions, China, taking into account its own national realities, has promoted the development of the whole society through two successful practices: allowing some to get rich first and then help others get rich; and making a bigger pie and sharing the pie better. In the process of modernization, China has realized that promoting development is like walking, only by putting one foot in front of the other in turn can one walk far and steady. If people only rely on the foot in front, they will not travel far and may even trip over.
Third, Chinese modernization has brought great opportunities to the world. Over the past 40-plus years since the launch of reform and opening-up, the Chinese government has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty, and enlarged the middle-income group to over 400 million people. Today, China is the main trading partner of over 140 countries and regions, making USD 320 million direct investment around the world each day and attracting over 3,000 foreign businesses every month. Over the past decade, China has contributed more to global growth than all the G7 countries combined. With the continuous improvement of living standards and the growing size of the middle-income group, China’s huge population will continue to provide a huge market and enormous development opportunities for the rest of the world.
The realization of Chinese modernization will bring about a fundamental change of the world modernization landscape, a new form of human advancement and opportunities for global development. It is a formidable mission that requires arduous efforts. A formidable mission is a magnificent and glorious mission. China will continue to steadfastly advance Chinese modernization with unyielding tenacity and a global vision, and contribute to the well-being of people in China and other countries in the world.
