The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will envision the two stages toward building a great modern socialist country in all respects and set out strategic tasks and major measures for the next five years, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

“We have the confidence, resolve and capability to meet new goals and create greater miracles on the way forward,” Sun Yeli, spokesperson for the congress, told a press conference.

China had lifted all of its 98.99 million impoverished rural residents out of poverty by the end of 2020. “This had never been achieved in the Chinese history, and it is a miracle in the human history as well,” he said.

Constitution amendment 

The amendment to the CPC Constitution at the upcoming 20th CPC National Congress will incorporate the major theoretical views and strategic thinking to be established in a report of the 19th CPC Central Committee to the 20th CPC National Congress, said Sun.

The amendment will fully embody the latest achievements in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and to the needs of the times, he added.

It will also enshrine the new ideas, thoughts and strategies on national governance that the CPC Central Committee has set forth since the 19th CPC National Congress, while reflecting the latest experience in the Party’s development and work, he said.

The amendment will meet new requirements for advancing the Party’s development and work in the face of new circumstances and new tasks, Sun said.

Positive impact of reform

The past decade has witnessed more than 2,000 reform programs introduced in multiple areas that cover people’s basic living standards, education, health and eldercare, according to the spokesperson.

Breakthroughs have also been made in key areas such as the reform of Party and State institutions, judicial reform and reform of the system for developing an ecological civilization, he said.

Through all the reform efforts in the new era, basic institutional frameworks have been set up in all areas, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is more mature and further developed, and the country’s governance system and capabilities have been further modernized, Sun said.

“We will keep to the course of deepening reform, stay resolute and advance reform with greater political courage and wisdom,” Sun said.

COVID response measures most cost-effective

China’s measures to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic are the most cost-effective and have worked the best for the country, a spokesperson said Saturday.

“Since the onset of the epidemic, China has put people and people’s lives front and center,” said Sun Yeli, spokesperson for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. “We give top priority to people’s health and safety. This is part and parcel of our epidemic response efforts.”

Dynamic zero-COVID policy has been adopted in light of China’s national realities and it is a science-based policy, Sun added.

CPC’s friendly interaction with rest of the world

The Communist Party of China does not draw ideological lines in its external relations with the rest of the world and political parties, regardless of their nationality and ideological background, are welcome to conduct friendly relations with it, said Sun Yeli, spokesman for the 20th CPC National Congress, at a press conference on Saturday.

Over the years, in the spirit of equality, mutual respect and non-interference, the CPC has engaged in extensive interactions with friendly political parties and organizations of all countries, gaining more friends all over the world, Sun said.

So far, the CPC has maintained contact with over 600 political parties and organizations from more than 170 countries, he said.

“These party-to-party relations have contributed to our relations with the relevant countries and brought all of us closer to each other,” Sun said.

Sun noted that the CPC has all along attached importance to interactions with Marxist parties in other countries.

“Through exchanges on theory and policy dialogue, we have explored together the socialist development path in light of our respective national conditions and the way to adapt Marxism to the national context and the needs of our times,” he added.

China-US relations: more common interests than differences

China never believes the so-called Thucydides Trap or the narrative that a strong country is bound to seek hegemony, and the United States should work with China to jointly tackle challenges faced by today’s world, a spokesman for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China said.

Sun Yeli, the spokesman, told a news conference in Beijing on Saturday that the most important event in international relations in the coming five decades will be for China and the US to coexist peacefully.

“We believe that the Chinese and American people have the wisdom, the opportunity and capability to find a way for peaceful coexistence,” Sun said, adding that a sound and stable China-US relationship serves the common interests of the two peoples.

The international community also looks to the two countries to shoulder their responsibilities as major countries, to keep bilateral relations stable and push forward global cooperation, he said.

The spokesman said that China’s pursuit of development is to make life better for its people instead of challenging others. But China will not allow others to bully it and the historic process of China’s national rejuvenation cannot be held back by anyone or any force, Sun said.