Delegates leave after the closing session of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 14, 2012. [Xinhua Photo]

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) convened on November 8. As the highest leading body of China's ruling party, the week-long meeting would outline the country's development roadmap for the next five years.

When delivering a report at the opening of the congress on November 8, Hu Jintao, Chinese President and General Secretary of the 17th CPC Central Committee, pledged that China will stick to the governance philosophy of pursuing comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development and putting people's interests first. He also underlined the urgent need to promote social harmony and improve people's livelihood and well-being.

Reform and opening up have given and will continue to give powerful momentum to China's development, Hu said, pledging to deepen them.

More than 30 years ago, China's development lagged behind the world by almost every metric. But through reform and opening up beginning in 1978, and the introduction of a market economy, the CPC has managed to lead the country on a course of rapid growth.

China is now the world's second largest economy. The Chinese people's living standards and their social security guarantees have improved dramatically, and the country's contribution to global economic growth continues to wax.

In recent years, China has accelerated changes to the growth model, which Hu said in his report is a strategic choice the Party has made for promoting China's overall development. Such efforts have shown effectiveness in increasing the resilience of the Chinese economy against the global economic slowdown.

In the process, the CPC has also consistently improved its governance capabilities, as evidenced by the creation and further development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In a speech marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC on July 1, 2011, Hu said that success in China hinges on the Party.

In the first half of this century, China has two ambitious goals to accomplish, namely, to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society to the benefit of its more than 1.3 billion people by 2020 and to basically achieve socialist modernization in another 30 years.

Despite the many possible internal and external challenges ahead, it is reasonable to interpret achievements in economic and social development as a vote of confidence in China and the reliable progress of the ruling party.

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