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China and Britain Are on a Winning Course 中英踏上双赢之路 By H.E. Li Keqiang 中华人民共和国总理 李克强 Many countries have very high expectations of China, some even to the extent of seeing China as a global power. As the premier of China, I do have a good sense of where things stand. 许多国家对中国期望很高，有些国家甚至将中国视为世界强国。但作为中国的总理，我对中国的国情有清晰的认识。 Indeed, China has achieved a quantum leap in its development, which is regarded as a remarkable success by the international community. Thanks to the reform and opening-up process started more than 30 years ago, China has substantially improved the livelihoods of its people within a generation. Personally, I do recall vividly my experience of poverty and hunger in my youth, having been sent to work as a farm boy. By 2013, China's grain output had continuously increased over ten consecutive years and basically met the food needs of the 1.3 billion Chinese. Feeding its people has been considered as an issue "the size of Heaven" since ancient times in China. 的确，中国的发展实现了量的飞跃，国际社会都视其为卓越的成就。30多年前开启的改革开放进程，让中国人民的生活水平在一代人之内得到大幅提升。我个人年少时曾被派往农村劳动，彼时贫穷和饥饿的记忆至今仍历历在目。到2013年，中国的粮食产量已连续10年增长，基本满足了13亿人口的粮食需求。自古以来，人民温饱在中国一直被视为 “天大”的事。 At the same time, China's urbanisation process is steadily advancing, with more than half of its people now living in cities and towns. Nine-year free compulsory education is provided, covering 160 million students. A nationwide medical service network has been built, covering all its urban and rural residents. The list can go on and on. 同时，中国的城镇化进程在稳步前进，已有超过一半的人口居住在城镇。九年义务教育惠及一亿六千万学生，基本公共医疗服务覆盖全体城乡居民。这些例子不一而足。 On the other hand, we should keep in mind an old Chinese saying: "One should always be aware of the strength of others and the shortcoming of oneself." China is far from achieving its development goals. Measured by World Bank standards, more than 200 million Chinese still live below the poverty line. Development is quite uneven between urban and rural areas and among different regions, with the per capita GDP of some inland provinces being just one third of the coastal region. 另一方面，我们应牢记一句中国古话：“知己之短，学人之长。”中国距离她的发展目标还很遥远。根据世界银行的标准，超过2亿的中国人仍然生活在贫困线下。城乡、区域发展不均衡，内陆某些省份的人均GDP仅为沿海地区的三分之一。 In the process of urbanisation, China faces three pressing tasks, affecting 100 million people each: to help 100 million rural migrants enjoy resident status in cities and towns in eastern China; to accommodate 100 million rural people as local residents in cities and towns in central and western China, and to provide 100 million people living in rundown areas in cities with decent housing. These undertakings have an impact on 300 million people. It is indeed a most daunting challenge. A latecomer to modernisation and weighed down by weak economic foundations, China lags far behind the United Kingdom and other western countries in many areas. Its quest for modernisation remains a long and arduous one. As premier, my highest priority is to pursue modernisation through urbanisation and industrialisation. 城镇化进程中，中国亟需解决“三个1亿人”问题：促进1亿农业转移人口落户东部地区的城镇；引导约1亿人在中西部地区就近城镇化；改造约1亿人居住的城镇棚户区和城中村，使这些地区的居民有较好的居住条件。这些工作将影响3亿居民，是对我们巨大的挑战。作为现代化进程中的后来者，中国经济基础薄弱，在许多方面远远落后于英国和其他西方国家。中国追求现代化的道路注定艰辛而漫长。作为总理，我的首要任务是通过城镇化和工业化带动现代化。 |
