Editor’s note: In this column we introduce phrases frequently used in the Chinese media and by the Chinese government, thereby providing a succinct overview of China’s political thinking, its policies and ongoing reforms and transitions.
打好扶贫攻坚战
改革开放30多年来，中国经济社会发展取得很大成就，人民生活水平总体上发生很大变化，几亿贫困人口脱贫，完成这期间全世界超过70%的减贫任务。但由于中国还处在社会主义初级阶段，由于国家大，各地发展条件不同，中国还有为数不少的困难群众，扶贫开发依然任重道远。按照农民年人均纯收入2300元的扶贫标准，到2015年底，中国农村贫困人口还有5575万人。可见，中国扶贫的工作已经进入“啃硬骨头”阶段。这种背景下，从2014年开始，中国将每年10月17日设立为“扶贫日”。中国将加大投入力度，动员社会各方面力量共同向贫困宣战，深入推进扶贫开发，继续打好扶贫攻坚战，帮助困难群众早日脱贫致富，稳定实现扶贫对象不愁吃、不愁穿，保障其义务教育、基本医疗、住房，努力推动贫困地区经济社会加快发展。
Alleviating poverty
Since China introduced the policy of reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, great economic and social progress has been made, leading to significant improvements in the overall standards of living. As a result, several hundred million people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for more than 70 percent of poverty reduction worldwide during the same period. Much remains to be done, however, to eliminate the still substantial pockets of poverty, given the fact that China, a country with a large population, is still in the primary stage of socialism, and its diverse regions show varying levels of development.
At the end of 2015 China’s 55.75 million rural residents still lived below the national poverty line, that is, had an annual net income of less than RMB 2,300 per capita. China’s poverty alleviation initiatives are now facing some of their most daunting challenges.
Against such a backdrop, China launched in 2014 its first National Poverty Alleviation Day, to be held on October 17 each year. China will allocate more resources to poverty relief and mobilize all sectors of society to join the fight against poverty. Development efforts aimed specifically at reducing poverty will be stepped up, so as to put an early end to poverty. Effective measures will be implemented to steadily improve access to adequate food and daily necessities, compulsory education, basic medical services and housing.
“两个一百年”奋斗目标
中共十八大描绘了全面建成小康社会、加快推进社会主义现代化的宏伟蓝图，发出了向“两个一百年”奋斗目标前进的时代号召。该奋斗目标是，到2021年中国共产党成立一百年时全面建成小康社会，国内生产总值和城乡居民人均收入比2010年翻一番；到2049年中华人民共和国成立一百年时建成富强民主文明和谐的社会主义现代化国家，达到中等发达国家水平。“两个一百年”奋斗目标，将中国梦的宏伟蓝图和光明前景具体化。实现“两个一百年”奋斗目标是实现中国梦的基础。
The Two Centennial Goals
At its 18th National Congress the Communist Party of China presented a roadmap and issued the call to achieve the Two Centennial Goals: successful completion of the process of building a moderately well-off society; and accelerated socialist modernization. Specifically, this means doubling China’s 2010 GDP and per capita income of both urban and rural residents by 2021, when the CPC celebrates its centenary; and building China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious, and which has reached the level of moderately developed countries by 2049, when the People’s Republic of China celebrates its centenary. The Two Centennial Goals embody the grand vision and ambitious ideals which the Chinese Dream represents, and achieving these goals will provide the basis on which to make the Chinese Dream a reality.
协调发展
作为在“五大发展理念”之一，协调发展注重的是解决中国发展中的不平衡问题。中国以往高速发展过程中出现和积累的不平衡、不协调、不可持续问题，已经成为继续发展的“短板”。｡“十三五”期间，中国将会增强发展协调性，其重点有三：促进城乡区域协调发展，旨在破解城乡二元结构难题；促进经济社会协调发展，旨在改变“一条腿长、一条腿短”失衡问题；促进新型工业化、信息化、城镇化、农业现代化同步发展，致力于在增强国家硬实力的同时注重提升国家软实力，增强发展整体性。
Coordinated development
Coordinated development is one of China’s five development concepts. China’s high-speed growth has given rise to the problems of imbalance and unsustainable development, which are points of weakness that hinder its further development. The 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) envisions strengthened policy coordination aimed at (a) promoting coordinated urban and rural development, so as to overcome the usual urban-rural dichotomy; (b) facilitating coordinated economic and social development, so as to bridge the broad gap currently existent between the two processes; and (c) synchronizing its new model of industrialization through efforts to expand access to information technology, urbanization, and agricultural modernization. Seamless integration of development efforts in different areas is essential to upgrading China’s hard and soft power.
Selected from Keywords to Understanding China published by China Academy of Translation and China International Publishing Group.
