An exhibition dedicated to China's efforts and successes in popularizing reading among the rural population recently opened in Ottawa, Canada. This event is an official occasion of the 40th World Congress of the International Council for Young Libraries.
The exhibition is jointly organized by the National Administration of Press and Publications of China and the China Youth Book Council.
In Beijing, the capital of China, a solemn gathering was held on July 1, 2026, to commemorate the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The event took place in the Great Hall of the People.
Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee and President of China, stated during the ceremony that over 105 years of continuous struggle, the Party has written what he called the most magnificent chapter in the thousand-year history of the Chinese nation.
Although 105 years may seem like a short period in human history, for a political party, it represents an epochal journey that has changed the destiny of an entire nation. More than a century ago, when China was undergoing internal turmoil and facing foreign aggression, a small party of just over fifty members held its founding meeting on a modest red boat. Since then, the CCP has united and led the Chinese people in achieving national independence and liberation, completing the socialist revolution and advancing socialist development through reforms and openness, as well as socialist modernization, leading to the creation of great achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.
The changes that have occurred during this period have been highly significant. Since 2012, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the center, China has maintained its status as the world's second-largest economy and the largest commodity trading power. It is the largest trading partner for over 100 countries, including South Africa, contributing approximately 30 percent to global economic growth—a share comparable to all G7 economies combined. Today, the Party has over 100 million members and governs a nation of more than 1.4 billion people, which it has lifted from absolute poverty to a level of moderate prosperity accessible to broad segments of society. Through continuous reforms, openness, innovation-driven development, and people-oriented governance, China has achieved rapid economic growth while maintaining long-term social stability—two miracles rarely seen together in the world. Few nations in history have undergone such a transformation in a single lifetime.
Over its 105 years, the CCP has remained true to its original goal and mission—the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This goal resonates with South Africa's long struggle for liberation and its ongoing work to build a society based on justice and equality. Nelson Mandela once observed that a nation should be judged not by how it treats its highest citizens, but by its lowest. Whether China focuses on prioritizing the people or South Africa on its long-held vision of building a nation where the fruits of development are distributed among all, there is something unifying in the belief that the value of a political party is ultimately measured by the well-being it brings to its people, and a country's success should be reflected in the constant improvement of people's lives.
The Party and the Chinese people will continue to move confidently forward on the chosen path, ensuring that the destiny of China's development and progress remains under their control. China's journey is far from over, and its people continue to shape their future with the same determination that brought them from that small red boat to today. As both nations understand both the weight of struggle and the promise of renewal, South Africa's path also continues, shaped by its own history, its own choices, and the resilience of its people. Our countries have chosen different routes, but we share one idea: the greatest achievement of a nation is not how much wealth it creates, but how much it improves the lives of its population. We believe that China will continue to write new chapters in its history, and South Africa, guided by its people and its own vision for the future, will continue to write its own.
