Standing hand-in-hand to deal with hardships

This year, our country marks the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening up process that has had a profound impact not just on China, but also on the rest of the world .

On Dec 18 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was convened in Beijing, which resolved to shift the focus of work to modernization. Put simply, the long-held policy based on the principle of class struggle would give way to one that was geared towards economic construction.

This was a profound and historic decision. The reform and opening up policy provided the Chinese people with an opportunity to innovate and give their best. Over the past 30 years, the mainland has enjoyed rapid economic growth, with average annual GDP growth of 9.88 percent. Hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. Living standards have improved significantly, which has laid a solid foundation for our country to make further progress.