China at 61: Poised for a remarkable future

By Pramod DE SILVA

The fastest economic growth rate in the world. The most populous country on Earth. The Great Wall. The Giant Panda. The Three Gorges Dam. Tiananmen Square. The Terracotta Warriors. The sprawling cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The Mandarin language. A number of inventions and discoveries pivotal to our lives. These are just some of the images and facts that come to mind when we hear of China.

The Great Wall, a Chinese landmark

China has come a long way since October 1, 1949, when the People's Republic was founded by Mao Zedong and other leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. On Friday, October 1, China celebrated the 61st anniversary of this momentous event as one of the fastest developing nations on Earth.

The National Day is a joyous occasion for the Chinese people, who get a well-earned one week holiday. Last year, when the People’s Republic turned 60, a massive parade was conducted at the famous Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The military parade involved 10,000 troops and the display of many high tech weapons developed by China. This parade was immediately followed by a civilian parade involving 100,000 participants.

Although the People’s Republic per se is only 61 years old, China's history goes back thousands of years. So do Sri Lanka's ties with China. This is amply demonstrated by Chinese scholar monk Fa Hien's visit to Sri Lanka centuries ago. His vivid accounts of our country are studied by historians to this day.

Diplomatic ties

In modern times, Sri Lanka established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic in 1957, just eight years after the People’s Republic was founded and nine years after Sri Lanka gained independence. Since then, this relationship has strengthened over the years.

Apart from cultural, religious, political and educational ties, there are several iconic buildings built by China to vouch for this everlasting friendship, including the BMICH and the Supreme Court Complex in Colombo. China is also funding the Hambantota Port and several other mega projects in the country. Sri Lankan leaders have frequently visited China on State visits to cement this friendship.

People-to-people contact is getting stronger, with more and more Chinese tourists coming to Sri Lanka. More Sri Lankans are also visiting China to see its wonders.

The city of Shanghai

The commencement of direct flights between Colombo and Beijing has helped in no small measure to bring the two peoples together. Sri Lanka has always stood by China in international fora and China by Sri Lanka. This was evident during recent moves by certain countries to censure Sri Lanka over its successful battle against terrorism.

China is a vast country by any standards. It covers 9,572,900 sq km, which is nearly 146 times the geographical size of Sri Lanka. It is a varied landscape that has everything from deserts to virgin forests. The Great Wall of China is a monument like no other on Earth. The Giant Panda is found nowhere else on Earth. China has many more unique claims to fame.

China's rate of progress has astounded other countries which are striving to follow its lead. From 1989 until 2010, China's annual growth rate was an unprecedented 9.3 percent. It has rapidly industrialisd. For example, just a couple of decades ago, Chinese cars were unheard of, but now they are household names. All top manufacturers have factories in China. Electronics manufacturers based in China supply OEM products to companies all over the world.

China has set its sights beyond the Earth too. It is now an established space power. It sent its first astronaut to space in 2003 on board its own spacecraft named Shenzhou 5. Yang Lewei orbited the Earth 14 times. China thus became only the third nation (after US and Russia) to send an astronaut to space on board its own spacecraft as opposed to a third party ride.

China was scheduled to send an unmanned probe to the Moon on Friday to coincide with the National Day. A launch rocket carrying the Chang'e-2, which will go into orbit within 15 kilometres (nine miles) of the moon, has been set up in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The lunar probe will conduct various tests in preparation for the expected launch in 2013 of the Chang'e-3, which aims at being China's first unmanned landing on the moon, state media have reported.

Space exploration

The Chang'e program, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, is seen as an effort to put China's space exploration program on par with those of the United States and Russia.

The BMICH, a symbol of Sino-Lanka ties

China launched Chang'e-1, which orbited the moon and took high-resolution pictures of the lunar surface, in October 2007. The country hopes to bring a moon rock sample back to earth in 2017, with a manned mission foreseen in around 2020.

China has also become a key player on the global diplomatic front. A UN veto power holder, China used it judiciously to prevent certain actions which it perceived as unjust. It is also involved in the six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear issue as the host and negotiator. It is also a key provider of grants to other developing nations such as Sri Lanka.

One of its most significant achievements in recent times is the successful holding of the Olympic Games in 2008. There were many pessimists especially in the West who doubted China's ability to conduct the biggest sporting event in the world. In the end, it turned out to be a flawless performance that astonished the world.

Today, China marches forward proudly under the able guidance of President Hu Jintao, Vice President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China, who are all valued friends of Sri Lanka.

China's forward march is unstoppable, thanks to the drive and determination of its peoples who have already inherited a bright future.