Yolaidy Martinez*
The country, known worldwide as an Asian giant, opened this period of the calendar in sports mode with the celebration of the 24 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, making its capital the only one on the planet to host both variants of the event within the framework of the year five Tires.
Despite being surrounded by diplomatic boycott threats and held without an audience, Beijing 2022 showed impeccable organization within the bubble format, health management and also the emphasis given to sustainability and environmental protection.
In the last 12 months, China has been besieged by such strong outbreaks of Covid-19 that they have led to the semi-paralysis of this capital and the containment of important manufacturing centers such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jilin and Shenzhen for a long time, with the resulting repercussions on the economy and social life.
But it will bid farewell to 2022 with a radical reversal of the epidemiological strategy as the government takes steps to simplify it to ensure socio-economic development and root out controversial practices that caused popular unrest and uncovered unprecedented protests in November .
In this context, the lifting of mass confinement, the end of PCR tests and other controls on access to all public places except schools, health centers and grandparents’ homes, as well as the possibility of recovery in homes, stand out. .
The eastern nation fell into mourning in March when a passenger plane carrying 132 people on board crashed into the mountains of southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and completely disintegrated.
It was one of the worst aviation accidents in the country’s history and an investigation is still ongoing to determine the causes of the sudden crash of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU 5735 en route from Kunming to Guangzhou.
Similarly, several reported fires in homes, workplaces and shops, and several strong earthquakes in Sichuan and Qinghai during the year saw large numbers of fatalities and material losses.
The long summer of extreme heat and the worst drought since 1951 in central and southern provinces affected 900 million people, threatened fall harvests, livestock yields, electricity supplies and tourism, and caused widespread forest fires.
The persistence of Covid-19, natural disasters and accidents were some of the factors impacting the slow expansion of China’s gross domestic product, hitting key sectors such as consumption and clouding the prospects of ending 2022 with the expected growth target of 5.5 Points.
However, authorities are attempting to reverse these negative impacts by implementing specific measures to protect food security, expand foreign investment and support the recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises.
On the political level, the most significant event in 2022 was the celebration of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party (CCP), because it marked the beginning of the phase in which China will strive with greater zeal to become a modern socialist state, aware of the Challenges associated with bridging gaps with current powers.
In general, this five-year meeting, which took place from October 16 to 22, did not result in major changes in the country’s political, economic and social order, but rather was an opportunity to present previously defined guidelines and to look towards the future refine future forecasts.
Evidence of this stability was the re-election of President Xi Jinping for a third term as PCCh Secretary-General, member of the Standing Committee of its Politburo and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
However, the dignitary will be joined at the Politburo by a renewed team including leaders Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, whose arrival at that body will mean potential appointment to senior government positions when they meet the National People’s Assembly in March 2023.
With the 20th Party Congress, China set the course for the long-awaited modernization and desire for prosperity in all strata of society, strength, cultural advancement and the level of the first world powers when it celebrates its 100th anniversary of founding as a People’s Republic in 2049 .
For this reason, the meeting amended the CCP’s constitution to adapt it to the current situation and tasks that will help promote socialism with its own characteristics.
The modifications represent the recent Sinicization of Marxism, the new concepts of governance and the experiences of belonging and strengthening the communist group.
He also outlined a comprehensive roadmap to address the growing risks and challenges facing China over the next five years and beyond due to factors such as low birth rates, an aging population, youth unemployment, the Covid-19 pandemic and a volatile global scenario faces.
From now on, the Asian giant will focus on achieving high-quality development that guarantees a solid material base while maintaining the socialist economy, strengthened by the reform and opening-up formula that has been successfully in force since 1979.
rmh/ymr
*Chief correspondent of Prensa Latina in China