The Asian miracle is in it's 70th anniversary -1: China's strategic goal is to eliminate poverty

During the preparations for the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, we were in Beijing, the center of the celebrations, together with a group of Turkish journalists on October 17th.

Fighting With Poverty Is The Strategic Goal
We can see in China how a country has advanced through ages rapidly, when a society is fully integrated and focused towards the common goals. The secret of this tremendous progress is mentioned with pride in China. A system that places people of its center and invests in the people has brought this success. The government which is based on the facts, history and conscious on China's conditions and the conditions of time has been able to produce the most effective solutions to China's problems for decades. As a result of the of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) centralized and strong leadership and long-term strategic planning, a new world is now being established.
Before the Chinese Revolution succeeded under the leadership of Mao Zedong and the CPC in 1949, China used to be a semi-colonial and a semi-feudal country. It was one of the poorest nations on earth. The mass mobilization that began on October 1, 1949 with the motto of “confidence” and “hard work”, has continued until today and made China into a completely different and a new country. With extraordinary efforts and exceptional exertions, the goal of transforming China into a ‘Middle-Income Society’ is now close. It is amazing that the People's Republic of China, the world's most populous country with a population of 1.4 billion, is now the most successful country on earth with the fight against poverty.
The fight against poverty was the strategic goal in the Chinese development. Just in 70 years, 800 million people have got out of poverty in China. The percentage of poverty in rural areas fell from 97.5 percent in 1978, to 1.7 percent in 2018. Almost all the rural population, around 770 million people were at the hands of poverty, today, this figure has fallen to just 16.6 million. This number continues to decrease exponentially. As a matter of fact, between the years 2013 and 2018, 82 million people living in rural areas were saved from poverty. The People's Republic of China now aims to eliminate poverty completely, throughout the country until 2020.

Megacity With Any Traffic Noise
You would assume that you will inevitably encounter a new Istanbul when you go to a city where approximately 22 million people live. However, from we first set foot in Beijing until three days have passed, the most important thing we can recall about the city was, how organized it was.
From the east to the west and from the north to the south, the subway system reaching every corner of the city, the government-encouraged and reserved special cycle paths on each street, the public bicycles or electric bicycles for the use of the citizens at a very small price (one yuan per day, 20 yuen per month = 0.9 lira per day 16 lira per month), might not solve the traffic problem completely, but they definitely have brought order. We heard almost no traffic noise even during the rush hours, which was normal for us in Istanbul traffic.

One of the most important things that caught our attention in Beijing was, people's hands being always on their smartphones. After we watched a little bit, we realized that in China, your smartphone is not just an ordinary smartphone. This means if you get on the subway, the bus or taxi, you pay with your phone. If you want to use a public bike or a portable public charger, you scan the QR code on your phone to borrow it, and to return it again.
Payments at all grocery stores, supermarkets and all other shops you can think of are done by mobile applications on their smartphones. There are two methods for this. The first and the most common is WeChat. Initially coming out just like the WhatsApp as a messaging app, after a while the application added new features like social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, then it became a payment system. The second and the most well established is Alipay. Being the pioneer of the online payment in China, the application in some places have a face scanning system as the payment method.
China being so adapted to technology, has forbade all Western mobile applications, or rather the US-based ones. Those living in China attribute this Chinese government's desire, to establish a national internet industry and national security policies. Then they say: We do not need them anyways. The equivalent of all the Western apps already exists in China, even ones that are more developed.

On The Way To Be The Largest Economic Power
Especially after the 18th National Congress being held in 2012, some historical developments took place in the country. China, which has been the fastest developing country in the world for years with its great development moves, is now the second largest economy on earth. At the same time, the world's largest producer of goods, the world's largest commodity trader, the country with the largest foreign exchange reserves and the world's largest commodity exporter.
They say this miracle of development took place without imitating the West. These are the results obtained by the original methods without being under the influence or control of any nation. “We've learned lessons from other countries' experiences, but we are based on our own historical and cultural experiences and using our creativity.” they say. The new goal of the People's Republic of China today is to become the world's number one nation until 2049 with a 30-year strategic planning.

Safety First
Of course we follow the Western news about China, and one of them was the legend of a “Big Brother”. The topic of CCTV cameras being all over the country. We ask the Chinese People: “Aren't you disturbed by this?”. They give an answer in a somewhat surprised attitude: “Why bother? People who consider committing a crime should bother.”. People who live in Beijing say they feel safe. Despite the late hours of the night you can see young people walking around the alleys freely.
You can see the principle of “security first” with all of China's social life policies and decisions. For example, the punishment for drinking alcohol and driving is imprisonment. Because it puts people's safety at stake. It is possible to see the same punishments with crimes such as injuring, fighting and extorting by any sharp tools. Strict penalties for crimes that endanger human life and usurp the freedom of citizens, have made a significant progress with the prevention of public crimes.

Two Countries Have Common Interests
Our first visit in Beijing was to China Institute of International Studies. CIIS, one of the most important think tanks in the country, works directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We had the chance to discuss with Dong Manyuan, Vice President of the Institute, Wang Zesheng, Researcher at the Department of Developing Countries, and Liu Chang, Research Assistant. Chinese political analysts are wondering the most whether Turkey, will leave the Western camp. They pay great attention to President Erdogan's struggle against the unipolar world.
Vice President Dong Manyuan, explained their expectations regarding the Turkey-China relations: "There is a potential for further development of relations between the two countries. Mr. Tayyip Erdogan and Xi Jinping have proved their determination. ”
"Both Turkey and China are very important countries to contribute to world civilization, two important countries for world peace and stability. Because of its geopolitical position, its membership of NATO and its influence in the Islamic world, Turkey plays an important geopolitical role. The two countries have common interests in the Middle East and both countries have the same stance on the fight against terrorism. ”

‘Struggle Against The Unipolar World’
“We pay attention to the struggle of the AK Party government, headed by Mr. Erdogan, against the unipolar and irrational world order and we pay attention to their attitude that supports multi-polarity. I believe that under the leadership of Erdogan and Xi, China and Turkey will go further with their cooperation. China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” could make significant achievements with Turkey in the Central Corridor Line.”
“(on China's stance in Syria) Although Trump said he would withdraw his troops, he could not do so after the senate’s oppositions. Saudi Arabia supports some terrorist groups in Syria. Israel has violated Syria's sovereignty many times. There are too many external players in Syria, and therefore I am very negative about a political solution.”
“(on the question of the conflict between China and the US and whether this conflict will turn into war or not) China wants to develop a balanced relationship with all countries. But Trump administration does not do so. According to them, the Chinese economy is suffocating with trade wars they started. In fact, this war of the Trump administration harmed the interests of the American people. China has a huge production power. That is why China was able to frustrate US sanctions.”

Their Questions On Turkish Politics
The questions that the research analysts are curious about Turkish politics and questions that are directed to us:
- What will be the future of NATO-Turkey and Turkey-US relations?
- What's happening in the Eastern Mediterranean Region?
- How will the ruling party’s losses at the major provinces, after the transition to the new government system, affect the next general elections?

Three Goals In Front Of China
On the second day of our visit to Beijing, we met with Cai Weiming, Undersecretary of the General Directorate of West Asia and North Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Cai also answered some questions about China:
Reminding that it was the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Cai said that 70 years ago China was an underdeveloped agricultural country, and today it is the world's largest industrial producer and the 2nd largest economy with an average annual growth rate of 9 percent, and the welfare of the people has risen rapidly. Referring to the decisions taken at the 19th CPC Congress in 2017, Cai said that China has set three goals ahead: Eliminating poverty, combating air pollution and preventing high risks. He said that the Chinese people would be happy if they could achieve these goals.

There Has Not Been Any Terrorist Attacks In Xinjiang Since Three Years
The Undersecretary said “The Turkish friends I meet with, always ask about the Xinjiang issue. So, I want to give information about this issue.” saying the following about Xinjiang:
There are 56 ethnic groups in China, 55 of which are minority ethnic groups, and that is 9 percent of the population. Regional autonomy is applied in China. 10 out of these 56 ethnic groups believe in Islam. Right now, there are 25 million Muslims in the country. In Xinjiang, where 23 million people live, all ethnic groups are present, and the Uighurs have a total population of 11 million and 270 thousand.
The Chinese government believes that it is necessary to combat terrorism. It is also taking social and economic measures to prevent terrorism. People who have committed minor crimes are reintegrated into the community in vocational training centers. Thanks to these measures taken by China to eradicate terrorism, there has been no terrorist activity in the country for three years.
The US and the West apply double standards on terrorism. They launched a campaign, which is that the vocational training centers in Xinjiang are secret concentration camps, because they want to undermine relations between China and its friendly countries. Some Uighurs in Turkey were just the instruments of this campaign.

China-US Trade War
“China's attitude is consistent about this issue from the beginning. We do not want to go into a trade war. We want a solution based on an equal and mutual benefit. Reasonable voices from within the United States also want an agreement between the US and China as soon as possible.”

The Hong Kong Protests
“We see the similarities of color-revolutions at the protests. If they threaten the central government, they also break the principle of “one state, two systems”. The Hong Kongers today, have the rights they did not have when they were a British colony. The USA provokes the actions there, and those who instigate the violence are connected to the USA. But their plans will not come to a success. Our government has the power to tackle any problem in Hong Kong. ”