China has presented a satisfactory answer sheet in its efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were set by the United Nations in 2000 with a deadline of this year.
As the UN is to convene a development summit on Sept. 25 at its headquarters in New York to make a final review of the implementation of the MDGs, a set of eight anti-poverty targets approved by world leaders at the UN in September 2000, China has done significantly to reach the goals.
Since 2004, China has achieved a growth in grain output for 11 consecutive years, continuously realizing the goal of feeding nearly 20 percent of world's population with less than 10 percent of world's arable land, plus notable improvement in its healthcare, education and drinking water safety, especially in rural areas.
From 2000 to 2014, China rose to the world's second largest economy from the sixth one, with its per capita GDP increasing from 955 U.S. dollars to 7,595 dollars. China's impoverished population dropped from 689 million in 1990 to 250 million in 2011. The country has become the first developing country to realize the MDGs -- reducing the ranks of its poor by 50 percent -- ahead of schedule.
China's progress over the past 15 years also included reducing the under-five mortality rate by at least two-thirds, cutting the maternal mortality rate by three quarters, halving the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, and actively engaging in south-south cooperation and assisting more than 120 developing countries in their efforts to reach the MDGs.
This was not an easy job for China, a developing country with a huge population and a wide urban-rural gap.
China's answer sheet has been lauded by the international community. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeatedly spoke highly of China's contribution to the global efforts to attain the MDGs, saying that China has set a good example in the global fight against poverty.
He encouraged the sharing of the Chinese experience in this regard among developing countries.
Meanwhile, Helen Clark, administrator of the UN Development Program, also commended China for "achieving many of the MDG targets ahead of schedule which has greatly contributed to the overall global performance on the MDGs."
These favorable comments mirror the international community's affirmation of China's path of peaceful development.
Moreover, China is committed to fostering a peaceful international environment for its own development while contributing to world peace through its own development. The Chinese concept of building a community of common destiny is widely recognized by the international community.
At present, peace, development and cooperation are the major trends of the world, although there are plenty of conflicts and disagreements among states. Economic globalization and regional integration are the predominant trends as well.
Against this backdrop, the concept of "Community of Common Destiny," put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is China's proposal for the future welfare of Asia and even the world highlighting the mighty cause of human development in the era of globalization.
The Chinese political and social system is also embraced by the international community, as, after decades of practices, the Chinese people have fostered a development path and system that suit China's national conditions and its features.
The Chinese-style path and system can, among others, help focus the country's attention and resources on major programs, effectively enhance its productivity, push forward its modernization drive and improve its people's livelihood.
China's great contribution also originated from the country's reform and opening-up campaign over the past decades. China's economy gradually shifted from a centrally planned economy to a market-based economy since1978. China simultaneously encouraged farmers to modernize and urbanize, while prioritizing export-led growth, to reduce the bankruptcy risk of many state-owned enterprises.
With the MDGs concluding at the end of 2015, world leaders have called for an ambitious, long-term agenda at the upcoming summit to improve people's lives and protect the planet for future generations.
This post-2015 development agenda is expected to tackle many issues, including ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests.
In fact, China is still a developing country working toward the goal of eradicating extreme poverty and achieving sustainable development. Looking ahead, there is still a long journey beset with many difficulties.
