China, a country that boasts one of the world's most ancient and splendid cultures, has witnessed the most drastic changes ever experienced by a single nation in the last two centuries.

In the 19th century, the "central imperial" fell from the world 's most powerful country to the colonies of Western countries.

In the 20th century, China emerged from civil wars and foreign invasion and regained its sovereignty and dignity.

The birth of the People's Republic of China in 1949 marks the end of the nation's humiliation in modern history and the beginning of a new march towards a strong modern country.

The period of the country's first five-year plan from 1953 to 1957 saw China rapidly recovering from the war and the construction of major projects that laid the foundation for China' s industrialization.

The country's development was hampered for nearly two decades from the late 1950s to late 1970s due to the Great Leap Forward and the Great Cultural Revolution movements.

But even during then, China managed moderate economic and social development and attained great achievements in almost all fields, among them, the explosion of the atomic and hydrogen bombs that gave China the status of a nuclear power.

The reform and opening policies introduced by late leader Deng Xiaoping in 1978 led to the two decades of rapid economic growth and improvement in people's living conditions, which is rarely seen in both the history of China and that of the world.

As a leader of vision, Deng designed a three-step strategy for China. In the first step, China is to double its gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of the 1980s. In the second step, the GDP will be doubled again by the end of the century.

Now that the first two goals have been met, China is marching confidently towards the third goal, according to which, China will be a moderately developed country by the middle of the 21st century.

More than two decades of robust growth has laid a solid foundation for the nation's future.

It is estimated that China's GDP will exceed US$1 trillion this year, making it the seventh largest economy in the world.

Last year, China reported a total foreign reserve of US$150 billion, the second largest in the world.

China is now the largest producer of steel, coal, chemical fibers, fertilizer, TV sets and digital switch boards in the world.

Its grain and crude oil production, electricity generating capacity and expressway and telephone networks are among the largest in the world.

It has established economic and trade ties with 227 countries and regions worldwide, with its total import and export expected to exceed US$400 billion this year.

In 1999, the average income for China's urban and rural dwellers was 5,854 and 2,210 yuan, respectively. The per-capita GDP for this year is expected to hit US$800.

Though the nation is facing severe challenges both at home and abroad, the Chinese government has decided that only development will provide the final solution.

It has made clear that it intends to push forward the reform and open-up drive so that China will merge into the world economy, which is the best and most reliable assurance of the nation's great revitalization in the new century.

(Xinhua 12/13/2000)