The next 15 years is an important period that links our
country’s past with our future in reform and opening-up and in the socialist
modernization drive. We have had a relatively solid material and technical
foundation through years of socialist construction since the founding of
People’s Republic of China and especially through the rapid development since
the implementation of the policy of reform and opening to the outside world. The
vast domestic market and the relatively large savings deposits are a tremendous
promise for development. 51. The deepening of reform and opening; up will
further invigorate economic development. Social stability and national unity
provide the basic guarantee for the modernization drive. Furthermore, the
theory, the line and the policy of building socialism with Chinese
characteristics, which evolved through practice, clearly indicate the direction
for continued progress. 52. Viewed from a global perspective, the
peaceful international environment and our country’s good peripheral relations
can be expected to continue and therefore we can persist in our efforts towards
sustainable development. The scientific and technical advancement in the world
and the industrial restructuring as well as the rapid economic growth in the
Asia-Pacific region provide favorable conditions for economic development in
China. However, there are quite a few factors that can impede progress in
our medium-and-long range development. The prominent ones of these factors
are: the deficiency in per-capita resources, the overall low quality of the
national economy, pressure in matching the economic, scientific and technical
superiority of the developed countries in the increasingly stiff international
competition, and pressures exerted by hegemonies and power politics in the
international relations. 53. A comprehensive assessment of the domestic and
international situation at the turn of the century shows that we are faced rare
historical opportunities as well as serious challenges. We must be vigilant in
peacetime, work with a pioneering spirit and make greater strides on the road to
modernization. The major objectives for our endeavor over
the next 15 years are as follows: Complete the second phase of the strategic
plan for the modernization drive during the period of the 9th Five- year Plan
and quadruple the per-capita gross national product of 1980 under the condition
that the population in 2000 will have increased by 300 million over the 1980;
raise the people’s living standards to that of a fairly comfortable life with
poverty basically eradicated; and expedite the formation of a modern enterprise
system and establish preliminarily a socialist market economy. The gross
national product in the year 2010 will be doubled that of the year 2000; the
people of China will enjoy an even more comfortable life, .and a fairly ideal
socialist market economy will have come into being. 54. While
carrying out the reform and stepping up development, we must achieve marked
results in promoting socialist culture and ideology and in strengthening
socialist democracy and the legal system, so as to attain all-round social
progress. The objectives of our endeavor present a beautiful prospect for
our modernization drive beyond the turn of the century and embody the lofty
aspiration of the Chinese nation to self-reliance and continuous improvement.
55. With the fulfillment of these objectives, China’s productive forces,
comprehensive national strength and the people’ s living standards will all
attain a new high, and the nation’ s social and economic perspective will have
undergone tremendous historic changes, which will lay a firm foundation for the
realization of modernization by the middle of the 21st century. These
objectives are truly grand and will definitely be fulfilled through our hard
work.