Foreign news
With ‘Xiaokang’ goal achieved, CPC vows to lead Chinese people in quest for better life, rejuvenation
China on Thursday announced a landmark victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, known as a “Xiaokang” society in Chinese, as the Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrates its centenary.
“We have realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a grand gathering at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing.
Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, vowed that the CPC will lead the Chinese people to strive for better lives and national rejuvenation.
Founded in July 1921 with just over 50 members, the CPC has grown into the world’s largest political party with more than 95 million members.
The Party had set two centenary goals: The first was to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2021 when the CPC celebrates its centenary, and the second is to build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of the century to celebrate the centenary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
Xi reviewed the historical background of the CPC’s creation and explained the role it played in the nation’s efforts to realize rejuvenation.
After the Opium War in the 1840s, China gradually became a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society and endured intense humiliation and the people suffered great pain, Xi noted. “Since that time, national rejuvenation has been the greatest dream of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation.”
After a series of attempts to “save the nation” failed, the CPC was created when the country urgently needed new ideas and a new organization to lead the movement, he said.
“Since the very day of its founding, the Party has made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation its aspiration and mission,” he said.
Xi summarized the Party’s efforts and successes in leading a series of revolutions and the country’s modernization, particularly in pursuing reform and opening-up since 1978, which he called a “crucial move in making China what it is today.”
China, a relatively poor country decades ago, has become the world’s second largest economy with its gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding 100 trillion yuan (about $15 trillion) and per capita GDP over $10,000. It declared the victory in eradicating absolute poverty nationwide by the end of 2020.
Highlighting the fulfillment of building a “Xiaokang” society and other achievements, Xi said the Party and the people have shown the world that “China’s national rejuvenation has become a historical inevitability.
CPC’s close ties with the people
Xi underscored the close relations between the CPC and the people, stressing that the Party “has always represented the fundamental interests of all Chinese people.”
“Any attempt to divide the Party from the Chinese people or to set the people against the Party is bound to fail,” he warned.
As China embarks on a new journey toward socialist modernization, he vowed that the CPC will continue to practice a people-centered philosophy of development, address the people’s concerns and promote common prosperity for all.
“On the journey ahead, we must rely closely on the people to create history,” he said.
The people-centered philosophy of development was raised by Xi at the fifth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in October 2015. The philosophy stresses that China’s development must be for the people and by the people, and its fruits shared among the people.
The philosophy has been emphasized again in China’s latest development blueprint – the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035. The document vows to further improve people’s livelihoods by pursuing more balanced, higher-quality development.
China’s commitment to peaceful development
Xi also expounded on the main principles of China’s foreign policy and vision on international relations. He reiterated the call for building a community with a shared future for humanity and stressed the country’s commitment to peace.
“The Chinese nation does not carry aggressive or hegemonic traits in its genes,” Xi said. “China has always worked to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development and preserve international order.”
China will stay committed to the path of peaceful development, he said. It will “promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through joint efforts and use China’s new achievements in development to provide the world with new opportunities,” he added.
Proposed by Xi in 2013, the BRI which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.
A total of 140 countries and regions have signed cooperation agreements with China under the BRI over the past eight years. The aggregated trade volume between China and its BRI cooperative partners has exceeded $9.2 trillion, and Chinese companies have made direct investments totaling over $130 billion in countries along the Belt and Road
Meanwhile, Xi said China will continue to champion cooperation over confrontation and oppose hegemony and power politics.
The Chinese people have a strong sense of pride and confidence and will not be intimidated by threats of force, he stressed.
“We have never bullied, oppressed or subjugated the people of any other country, and we never will,” he said. “By the same token, we will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or subjugate us.”
Xi reiterated the Party’s stance on Hong Kong, Macao and the Taiwan region. “We will ensure that the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao, and implement legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for the two special administrative regions to safeguard national security,” he said.
He described resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification as a “historic mission and an unshakable commitment” of the CPC, calling for resolute action to defeat any attempt toward “Taiwan independence.”
Featured
Financing Health Futures: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda Turn to Tobacco and Telecom Taxes in Big Push Against Malaria
African leaders, parliamentarians, health experts, and development partners have renewed their commitment to ending malaria by 2030, with a bold call for domestic financing through innovative taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and telecom services to close critical funding gaps.
The discussions took center stage at the Big Push Against Malaria: Harnessing Africa’s Role high-level political engagement in Abuja, where Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda showcased new homegrown financing strategies aimed at reducing dependence on dwindling donor support.
Africa’s Heavy Burden
Malaria remains one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. In 2023, the world recorded 263 million cases and nearly 600,000 deaths, with 94% of cases and 95% of deaths occurring in Africa. Nigeria alone accounted for 26.6% of global cases and 31% of deaths, according to the World Malaria Report 2024. Children under five remain the most vulnerable, making up 76% of deaths.
Despite progress — with Nigeria cutting malaria deaths by more than half since 2000 through insecticide-treated nets, preventive treatments, and the rollout of the new R21 malaria vaccine — leaders warned that global targets are off-track. The World Health Organization’s technical strategy for malaria (2016–2030) has stalled since 2017, with Africa unlikely to meet its 2025 and 2030 milestones without urgent action.
Taxing for Health Futures
The Nigerian Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (ATM) announced plans to fund malaria elimination through “sin taxes” and telecom levies.
According to the House Chair on ATM, Hon. Linda Ogar, a bill is underway to restructure the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) into a multi-disease agency that will address HIV, TB, and malaria.
The new financing mechanism proposes:
Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other luxury items
Dedicated levies on telecom airtime and mobile money transactions
A percentage of the nation’s consolidated revenue
“These resources will provide sustainable funding to strengthen health systems and accelerate malaria elimination,” Ogar said, stressing that Africa must stop relying solely on foreign donors. “We cannot continue to take two steps forward and five steps backward. Africa must begin to show the world that we are ready to solve our problems ourselves.”
Similar models are already being piloted in Ghana and Uganda, where levies on mobile money and telecoms are being redirected to finance health interventions. The Abuja meeting urged other African countries to adopt this approach as part of a continental framework for sustainable financing.
Leaders Call for Urgent Action
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, emphasized that while malaria is preventable and treatable, it still kills hundreds of thousands yearly due to funding shortfalls, climate change, insecticide resistance, and humanitarian crises.
“To truly defeat this disease, we must rethink, join forces, and mount a concerted ‘Big Push’. Funding gaps remain a major obstacle, and innovative domestic financing is the way forward,” Salako declared.
From the civil society front, grassroots representatives pledged to act as “foot soldiers”, demanding that communities have a seat at the decision-making table. The World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Aliko Dangote Foundation, and other partners reaffirmed support but stressed the need for stronger political will and local ownership.
Private Sector and Global Support
Representing billionaire philanthropist Aliko Dangote, the Nigeria Malaria Council reiterated that private sector investment must complement government financing. Meanwhile, the Global Fund confirmed it has invested nearly $2 billion in Nigeria’s malaria response and committed an additional $500 million for 2024–2026, including support for local production of malaria drugs.
The Gates Foundation’s Uche Anaowu noted that while progress has slowed, malaria remains beatable:
“Smallpox is the only human disease ever eradicated. The question is — can malaria be next? I believe Africa has both the burden and the opportunity to lead the world in making that happen.”
Financing Health Futures: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda Turn to Tobacco and Telecom Taxes in Big Push Against Malaria
Abuja, Nigeria – African leaders, parliamentarians, health experts, and development partners have renewed their commitment to ending malaria by 2030, with a bold call for domestic financing through innovative taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and telecom services to close critical funding gaps.
The discussions took center stage at the Big Push Against Malaria: Harnessing Africa’s Role high-level political engagement in Abuja, where Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda showcased new homegrown financing strategies aimed at reducing dependence on dwindling donor support.
Africa’s Heavy Burden
Malaria remains one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. In 2023, the world recorded 263 million cases and nearly 600,000 deaths, with 94% of cases and 95% of deaths occurring in Africa. Nigeria alone accounted for 26.6% of global cases and 31% of deaths, according to the World Malaria Report 2024. Children under five remain the most vulnerable, making up 76% of deaths.
Despite progress — with Nigeria cutting malaria deaths by more than half since 2000 through insecticide-treated nets, preventive treatments, and the rollout of the new R21 malaria vaccine — leaders warned that global targets are off-track. The World Health Organization’s technical strategy for malaria (2016–2030) has stalled since 2017, with Africa unlikely to meet its 2025 and 2030 milestones without urgent action.
Taxing for Health Futures
The Nigerian Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (ATM) announced plans to fund malaria elimination through “sin taxes” and telecom levies.
According to the House Chair on ATM, Hon. Linda Ogar, a bill is underway to restructure the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) into a multi-disease agency that will address HIV, TB, and malaria.
The new financing mechanism proposes:
Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other luxury items
Dedicated levies on telecom airtime and mobile money transactions
A percentage of the nation’s consolidated revenue
“These resources will provide sustainable funding to strengthen health systems and accelerate malaria elimination,” Ogar said, stressing that Africa must stop relying solely on foreign donors. “We cannot continue to take two steps forward and five steps backward. Africa must begin to show the world that we are ready to solve our problems ourselves.”
Similar models are already being piloted in Ghana and Uganda, where levies on mobile money and telecoms are being redirected to finance health interventions. The Abuja meeting urged other African countries to adopt this approach as part of a continental framework for sustainable financing.
Leaders Call for Urgent Action
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, emphasized that while malaria is preventable and treatable, it still kills hundreds of thousands yearly due to funding shortfalls, climate change, insecticide resistance, and humanitarian crises.
“To truly defeat this disease, we must rethink, join forces, and mount a concerted ‘Big Push’. Funding gaps remain a major obstacle, and innovative domestic financing is the way forward,” Salako declared.
From the civil society front, grassroots representatives pledged to act as “foot soldiers”, demanding that communities have a seat at the decision-making table. The World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Aliko Dangote Foundation, and other partners reaffirmed support but stressed the need for stronger political will and local ownership.
Private Sector and Global Support
Representing billionaire philanthropist Aliko Dangote, the Nigeria Malaria Council reiterated that private sector investment must complement government financing. Meanwhile, the Global Fund confirmed it has invested nearly $2 billion in Nigeria’s malaria response and committed an additional $500 million for 2024–2026, including support for local production of malaria drugs.
The Gates Foundation’s Uche Anaowu noted that while progress has slowed, malaria remains beatable:
“Smallpox is the only human disease ever eradicated. The question is — can malaria be next? I believe Africa has both the burden and the opportunity to lead the world in making that happen.”
The Big Push: From Talk to Action
Speakers acknowledged that Africa has hosted too many malaria meetings without concrete outcomes. This time, however, leaders insisted the Abuja gathering must mark a turning point — from dependency to self-reliance.
With Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda setting the pace on tax-based health financing, the continent now faces the challenge of replicating and scaling up these models.
“Now that Africa is at a critical point, the need for a Big Push against malaria cannot be overemphasized. If we align political will, innovative financing, and community engagement, we can end malaria within our lifetime.”
Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda are pioneering a shift from donor dependence to domestic revenue mobilization via tobacco, alcohol, and telecom taxes — a model hailed as central to financing Africa’s health futures and ending malaria by 2030
Speakers acknowledged that Africa has hosted too many malaria meetings without concrete outcomes. This time, however, leaders insisted the Abuja gathering must mark a turning point — from dependency to self-reliance.
With Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda setting the pace on tax-based health financing, the continent now faces the challenge of replicating and scaling up these models.
“Now that Africa is at a critical point, the need for a Big Push against malaria cannot be overemphasized. If we align political will, innovative financing, and community engagement, we can end malaria within our lifetime.”
Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda are pioneering a shift from donor dependence to domestic revenue mobilization via tobacco, alcohol, and telecom taxes — a model hailed as central to financing Africa’s health futures and ending malaria by 2030
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