The year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. To commemorate the anniversary, on October 1, which is the National Day; China will award deserving recipients Medals of the Republic and national honorary titles, the highest state honours – for their outstanding contributions to China’s development. The event marks a significant milestone in the development of the People’s Republic of China. Since Chairman Mao Zedong on 1 October 1949 solemnly proclaimed on the Tian'anmen Gate Tower the founding of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, over the past seven and half decades, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has embarked on an arduous journey of national development and modernization.

Under the leadership of the CPC, China has transformed from a poor developing country to the world’s second-largest economy. As the Chinese proverb goes "Only when everyone contributes wood will the fire burn brightly." Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the CPC, adhering to a people-centered perspective on development has united China’s 56 ethnic groups and led the Chinese people in working assiduously to transform the fortunes of the country. However, for China, once denigrated as the ‘‘sick man of East Asia’’ by Western imperialist powers to realize this remarkable feat particularly in a relatively short period of time has been anything but a walk in the park.

As widely known, at its founding, the People’s Republic of China inherited a weak economic foundation, with a complete lack of heavy machinery manufacturing or modern technology and equipment. As Chairman Mao Zedong pointed out, “What can we make at present? We can make tables and chairs, teacups and teapots, we can grow grain and grind it into flour, and we can make paper. But we can’t make a single motor car, plane, tank, or tractor.” To help build a prosperous country and improve the livelihood of the Chinese people, Mao Zedong in December 1953 proposed that China should develop ‘‘modernized industry,’’ ‘‘modernized agriculture and transportation,’’ and ‘‘modernized national defense’’ – this was when the proposition of the ‘‘four modenizations’’ started to take shape. The following year, at the First Session of the Third National People’s Congress which took place from the end of 1964 to the beginning of 1965, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai officially announced to the nation the strategic goal of achieving modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology. Thanks to dedicated efforts of the Chinese people guided by the leadership of the CPC, over the past six decades, China has witnessed remarkable progress in the four areas: agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology. Find out more in the Ghana Centre for China Studies (GCCS) publication titled ‘‘China's 75th anniversary: A milestone worth celebrating’’ published in a joint collaboration with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) and republished by China’s Diplomacy in the new Era website, the official website of the Chinese Presidesnt Xi Jinping.

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1. China's 75th anniversary: A milestone worth celebrating.