Xi's book can boost ties with Cambodia

Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. [File photo]

I am very pleased to meet all you friends in beautiful Phnom Penh. All our Cambodian media colleagues present here have for a long time kept a close watch on and covered China and thus made important contributions to the enhancement of China-Cambodia friendship. On behalf of the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China, I would like to extend to you my lofty tributes and sincere thanks.

We come to enthusiastic Phnom Penh from a Beijing bathed in spring and feel the friendship and goodwill of Cambodian people, just like "Guests feel at home", as an old Chinese proverb goes.

The Cambodian version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, a book authored by President Xi Jinping, will make its debut in Phnom Penh tomorrow and I will attend the launching ceremony together with some Cambodian friends from various circles to witness the important moment. It is believed that the publication of the Cambodian version of the book will open a new window for Cambodian people to watch and sense China, offer a new platform for us to exchange governance experiences, and serve as a new eyewitness to China-Cambodia friendship.

All Cambodian media colleagues have paid close attention to China's development and changes over the past years, yearned to know the intrinsic causes to these changes, and cared about what a changing China will bring to the world. It can be said that the problems over which you are concerned can find their solutions in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. Here, I would like to first make some brief introductions to this book.

From this book, one can gain a systematic knowledge of contemporary China's development path. The enormous achievements made by China today fundamentally lies in its choosing of the Chinese road. Xi Jinping: The Governance of China is a full-view display of and systematic elaboration on the Chinese road. The book's core ideas can be extracted from the numbers "one, two, three, four and five". "One" here means "one dream", namely the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. "Two" here means "two centennial goals", namely the successful building of an all-round moderately well-off society by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in 2021, and the successful building of a modern, socialist nation by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2049. "Three" here means "three greats", namely advancing the great socialist cause with Chinese characteristics, comprehensively strengthening and improving the great project of Party building, and carrying out a great struggle with numerous new and historical features. "Four" here means the "Four Comprehensives", namely comprehensively building a moderately well-off society, comprehensively deepening reforms, comprehensively promoting the nation's governance in accordance with laws, and comprehensively promoting stricter governance of the Party. "Five" here means "Five-in-One", that is, promoting the overall layout of economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction. The above numbers are all extracted from President Xi's book, and it is hoped these numbers will help people better understand President Xi's core thoughts on the governance of China and understand China's road choice.

From this book, we can more clearly see the CPC's people-centric governance philosophy. Serving the people wholeheartedly is the fundamental purpose of the CPC. A main line that runs through Xi Jinping: The Governance of China is the people-centered governance philosophy. Our governance philosophy is generalized as serving the people and undertaking the responsibilities it should undertake, just as President Xi has said many times. "People's yearning for a better life is the goal of our struggles" and "letting ordinary people live a good life is the starting point and the objective of all of our work".

Over the more than four years since he took office, President Xi has consistently carried people's livelihoods and well-being deep in his heart, making investigative tours of remote mountainous areas, outlying regions and impoverished rural areas, keeping an attentive ear to people's opinions, watching people's conditions and addressing people's concerns. The people-centric governance philosophy is also reflected in a series of systematic arrangements and institutional reforms since the 18th National Congress of the CPC as well as the continuous improvements in people's living standards.

In only a few years, more than 60 million impoverished people were lifted out of poverty in China, equivalent to the total population of a middle-sized country. It is believed that this book can help one sense President Xi's deep feelings toward the people, the purpose of the CPC's governance and its "governance for people" consciousness.