Ma Xuejing/China Daily

Editor's note: On Nov 29, 2012, after being elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Xi Jinping first talked about the "Chinese Dream" while delivering a speech at an exhibition at the National Museum of China, saying the greatest dream of the Chinese people today should be national rejuvenation. Four experts share their views with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang on the significance of the Chinese Dream. Excerpts follow:

The dream of the Chinese people

Hu Angang, director of the Center for China Studies at Tsinghua University [Photo/China Daily]

Xi has said the Chinese Dream, in essence, is the dream of the Chinese people, because it comprises the Two Centenary Goals plus the goal of national rejuvenation of China, which are closely related to the people's welfare.

Over the past five years, China has taken giant steps toward realizing the dream of the Chinese people. From 2013 to 2017, on average 14 million people were lifted out of poverty each year－and China has vowed to lift the rest of the impoverished population out of poverty by 2020. Which means China will achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 10 years ahead of schedule.

The past five years have also witnessed constant improvements in the social welfare system－for example, the minimum living standard security program now covers the entire country.

By 2020, more than 90 percent of Chinese citizens will have registered their social security cards, and overall, people will get a safety net that guarantees minimum living standards.

On the education front, the gross pre-school enrollment rate will rise from 77 percent to 85 percent in the next three years, which would be higher than the average of all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development economies put together. And the gross enrollment rate for high school will rise from 87 percent to 90 percent, while that of higher education increase from 42.7 percent to 50 percent. It is thus fair to say that a lot more Chinese youths will have access to higher education.

While unemployment has always been a problem for many Western countries, in China, thanks to the positive employment policies, 50 million new jobs will be created to accommodate the growing labor force.

These data reflect that the Chinese Dream is indeed the dream of the people, and the Chinese leadership is on way to realizing that dream by improving people's welfare.

Sustainable economy is the key to success

Xu Hongcai, an economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges [Photo/China Daily]

To realize the Two Centenary Goals and the national rejuvenation of China, which are part of the Chinese Dream, sustainable economic growth is necessary, which in turn requires improved productivity and higher living standards.

For the past five years, the Chinese leadership has been endeavoring to make economic development sustainable and develop a truly modern economic system. China has deepened supply-side structural reforms, accelerated economic restructuring, and promoted financial innovation to achieve the three goals. With the process gaining in strength, China will soon occupy a higher position in the global industrial chain and be in a better position to compete with developed economies.

China's economy has entered the new normal of a medium-high growth rate and stronger economic structure. Which means China's economic growth is now focused more on quality.

Besides, the service sector now accounts for a higher percentage of the national economy, while the contribution of consumption to the economy has been constantly rising. Also, employment remains high, while the consumer price index has been kept in check, which shows that China's economic system has become more efficient.

In other words, a solid foundation for sustainable development has been laid, and China will further deepen the reforms, expedite the building of socialist market economy, and boost innovation so as to realize the Chinese Dream.