Quotable

No one should fall behind on the road to a well-off society. ... We adhere to peaceful development, and resolutely safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. ... Chinese people will never allow anyone to get away with making a great fuss about it."

President Xi Jinping in his New Year's address on Dec 31. He said that "only hard work will make dreams come true".

"China's efforts are widely recognized, and we hope all sides will avoid remarks and actions to escalate the situation."

Geng Shuang, foreign Ministry spokesman, speaking at a regular news conference on Jan 3 after US President-elect Donald Trump said China was not helping with the issue of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"China has reduced its reliance on exports for growth to a great extent, thanks to its prompt shift to domestic demand when global market demand was no longer in high growth mode in the last few years."

Zhang Yansheng, chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a think tank close to the government.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 01/06/2017 page2)