BEIJING: Festive mood was there as the Chinese people celebrate the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) this week.
Early this week, a huge crowd of people -- numbering over 145,000 -- turned up at Tian'anmen Square in the heart of Beijing to watch the raising of the national flag at daybreak. It was 69 years ago when the founding of the PRC sent the message that "the Chinese people have stood up." Today, the nation has grown rich -- thanks to the reform and opening up which began four decades ago -- and is on the track to becoming strong under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
The world is changing, with seemingly more uncertainties and challenges. But China is determined to keep striding ahead. And it is capable of doing so. The Chinese economy, the second largest in the world, is stable with good growth momentum. In 2017, China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.9 percent to 82.7 trillion yuan (12.8 trillion U.S. dollars), around 15 percent of the world total. In the first eight months this year, profits of major Chinese industrial firms grew 16.2 percent, manufacturing investment went up 3 percentage points and the consumer market kept expanding.
New growth drivers and business models have emerged. Farmers have good harvests and employees receive bigger paychecks. According to an income tax overhaul going into effect in October, people will see the minimum threshold for personal income tax exemption raised from 3,500 yuan (about 513 U.S. dollars) to 5,000 yuan per month.