DEEP-SEA TAXI DRIVER

Ye Cong， one of the designers and a pilot of Jiaolong， Chinas fi rst manned submersible， was among the 100 Chinese citizens who were awarded the reform pioneer medal at an gathering celebrating the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up on December 18.

Born in 1979， Ye joined the China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. after graduating from Harbin Engineering University in 2002. He was appointed one of the designers to develop Chinas fi rst manned deep-sea submersible in 2003.

In addition to being a vessel designer， Ye also volunteered to become one of its pilots.

Currently， there are eight certifi cated pilots who can independently drive Jiaolong.

From 2009 to 2012， Jiaolong carried out 51 dives， 38 of which were piloted by Ye， who drove to depths ranging from 50 to 7，062 meters. It earned him the nickname “deep-sea taxi driver.”

Human Rights

Opinion.people.com.cn December 13

A white paper released by the State Council Information Offi ce on December 12 has summarized Chinas progress in human rights protection over the past 40 years of reform and opening up.

According to the white paper， Chinas per-capita GDP increased 22.8-fold from 1978 to 2017 and the impoverished population reduced over 850 million in the past four decades. Free compulsory education has been realized in both rural and urban areas and a social security network covering the largest population in the world has been formed.

Over the past 40 years， China has formed a new human rights development concept centered around the people and upholding the right to live and development as the basic human rights. It has built a legal system for human rights and promoted the balanced development of human rights.

A sound social system has helped the healthy development of human rights. The ultimate goal of socialism—to realize common prosperity—has enabled the results of reform and opening up to be shared by all.

However， there are still some challenges. China will remain in the preliminary stage of socialism for a long time to come as the principal contradiction facing Chinese society is between unbalanced and inadequate development and peoples growing needs for a better life.

Urban Transformation

Oriental Outlook December 20

China has made remarkable progress in urban development over the past 40 years of reform and opening up， with the urbanization rate increasing from 17.9 percent in 1978 to 58.52 percent in 2017. The structure of Chinese cities has undergone tremendous changes， which has had a profound infl uence on the countrys development.

Chinas four first-tier cities—Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen—were all listed as the worlds first-tier cities by GaWC， an international urban research institution， in November. The four cities have also achieved remarkable economic growth， with their GDP exceeding 2 trillion yuan （$290 billion） in 2017.

In addition to the four first-tier cities， 10 other cities realized GDP of over 1 trillion yuan （$145 billion） in 2017. They include Wuhan in central Hubei Province， Chongqing in the southwest， Chengdu in southwest Sichuan Province and Nanjing in east Jiangsu Province.

The Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta have taken the lead in urban development in China， with 11 cities from the two regions ranking among the top 20 cities in terms of GDP in China in 2017.

As China has a huge population， higherlevel urbanization cannot be realized simply by relying on a handful of metropolises. City clusters like the two river deltas have been recognized as a new model of urbanization.

However， areas like northeast and northwest China have lagged behind in urban growth over the past decades. In 2016， the State Council， Chinas cabinet， approved the plan to develop the Harbin-Changchun megalopolis in order to boost urban development in the northeast. The megalopolis， which includes five cities in Heilongjiang Province and fi ve cities and one prefecture in Jilin Province， is positioned as an important gateway for opening up in north China， a pilot zone for innovating old industrial bases， and a green and ecological area.

New Development Era

Beijing Youth Daily December 17

As the capital， Beijing has been at the forefront of Chinas reform and opening up， realizing substantial economic and social development over the past 40 years.

In 2017， Beijings GDP reached 2.8 trillion yuan （$405.9 billion）， 41.2 times that in 1978， realizing a 10-percent year-on-year increase on average. Beijings economic structure has evolved from one dominated by industries to a services-based one.

When President Xi Jinping inspected Beijing in February 2014， he projected the goal of making Beijing a world-class harmonious and livable capital.

However， Beijing still faces many challenges in realizing the goal. The problems Beijing is encountering in its development have resulted from its redundant functions. Functions nonessential to its role as the capital should be removed. In recent years， a number of manufacturing companies， wholesale markets and logistics centers have been moved out of Beijing， which has laid a foundation for building a livable city.

Beijing has also made progress in environmental protection， with its forest coverage rate increasing from 12.8 percent in 1980 to 43 percent in 2017， coming closer to becoming an environmentally friendly city suitable for living.

However， to realize its initiative to build a world-class harmonious livable city， Beijing will continue to improve urban management to enable local residents to reap more benefi ts.

REFORM FRIENDSHIP MEDAL AWARDEE

Robert Kuhn， creator and host of the show Closer to China with R. L. Kuhn on China Global Television Network， was among the 10 foreigners who were awarded the China reform friendship medal by President Xi Jinping on December 18 at the grand gathering marking the 40th anniversary of Chinas reform and opening up.

The medals were given in appreciation of the support and help China has received from the international community during its reform and opening up.

For decades， Kuhn has devoted himself to introducing a comprehensive and real China to the world， providing a vivid and indepth description of Chinas reform and opening up.

Born in New York in 1944， Kuhn was president and co-owner of the Geneva Companies starting in 1991， then the largest U.S. merger and acquisition firm. Currently， he is chairman of the Kuhn Foundation， which supports cultural endeavors and promotes good relations between the United States and China.

“The misunderstanding comes from a world that has long been unwilling to accept responsibility for its own problems， and has chosen instead to blame others.”

Stephen Roach， senior fellow at Yale Universitys Jackson Institute for Global Affairs， commenting on the U.S. misconceptions regarding Chinas economy in a recent interview

“The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation has seen rapid development and positive outcomes， adding momentum to China-ASEAN cooperation and making relations among regional countries even better.”

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi， at the fourth Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers Meeting on December 17 attended by China， Cambodia， Laos， Myanmar， Thailand and Viet Nam

“In the future， China and Africa have huge potential for cooperation in the construction of industrial parks. China can provide assistance and support to African countries in areas such as planning and surveying， infrastructure， capital technology and personnel training.”

Qu Weixi， Vice President of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation， on the sidelines of the fi rst Intra-African Trade Fair in Cairo， Egypt， on December 11-17

“Eyeing business opportunities from the China-proposed 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road， Italys port city of Trieste is adding more features in order to serve as the gateway to the trade route.”

Zeno DAgostino， Vice President of the European Sea Ports Organization