SCIO press conference on white paper 'Youth of China in the New Era'
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 27, 2022
Youth Daily:
The white paper points out that Chinese youth live during great times with ample opportunities in the new era. They are of the highest caliber and have the opportunity to achieve all-round development. Can you introduce important achievements regarding youth development since the Party's 18th National Congress in 2012? Thank you.
He Junke:
The white paper titled "Youth of China in the New Era" mainly depicts the conditions of the contemporary youth and achievements in youth development since the Party's 18th National Congress in 2012, when socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era. With the cordial care of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the support of the Party and the government, China's youth development scored historical achievements since the Party's 18th National Congress in 2012, mainly in the following aspects.
First, material conditions underpinning youth development have improved markedly. China's GDP exceeded 110 trillion yuan in 2021. With rapid development as a foundation, China can provide more material support for youth development. Each year, the country's expenditures in R&D and education total more than 2 trillion yuan and 4 trillion yuan, respectively. In addition, China spends more than 200 billion yuan annually on financial aid for students of all educational stages from poor families. These conditions are the most important material foundation for youth development, which is a huge achievement.
Second, contemporary youths enjoy colorful intellectual and cultural life. Traditional public cultural facilities such as museums and cultural centers have rapidly developed. According to a document I saw, a museum is built every two days on average, and this speed and intensity of investment are great. Cultural industries such as movies, television and artistic performance, and emerging cultural sectors such as the digital creative industry, online audio and visual, digital publishing, and online performance and broadcasting have developed fast. Young people can watch whatever they want to watch. Furthermore, the transportation and information industries are advanced, especially transportation. As the saying goes, "read thousands of books; travel thousands of miles." The youth now have the opportunities to travel everywhere conveniently and go wherever they want. The internet has been an integrated part of the youth's lives. Compared with historical records, the internet accessibility of the youth aged between 20 to 29 is almost 100%, while the number was 68% a decade ago, according to the statistics I saw. Ten years ago, the gap in internet accessibility between cities and rural areas were still obvious, but now the gap has almost been eliminated, with nearly 100% internet accessibility. These provide favorable conditions to enrich young people's intellectual and cultural life.
Third, youth health conditions have been improved, especially the changes in their bodies, as we have basically solved the problem of malnutrition in the youth. In terms of body shapes, the youth are taller and stronger. For young people aged between 20 and 24, men are 1.6 centimeters higher and four to five kilograms heavier on average than those of 10 years ago. Young women are 1.5 centimeters higher and two to three kilograms heavier on average. Generally, young people have grown taller and stronger within standard heights and weights. Besides, we have noted problems such as a high incidence of near sight in youth, and the authorities have been taking responsive measures. We have also noticed that some young people face pressures from work, study and life, and their psychological health has caught great public attention. But generally, according to our surveys, most young people are psychologically healthy. Some of them have grown more resilient after experiencing setbacks. All these show that the youth are better physically and mentally fit.
Fourth, young people have received a higher and better education. The new additions to the workforce of 2020, which were mainly young people, had an average education of 13.8 years, equivalent to the first or second year of college. The gross enrollment rate in higher education was 57.8% in 2021, more than double the 26.9% rate in 2011. That means higher education has started to become universal in China. Compared with previous records, young people have received the highest and best education in history.
Fifth, employment opportunities for youth have become more sufficient and diversified. Notably, a great number of rural youth have to the opportunity to give full play to their talents and competencies at a higher industrial level through horizontal and vertical mobility. The number of migrant workers reaches nearly 170 million, most of who are young people. They will have opportunities to leap forward to a higher industrial level. It has been uneasy to solve this kind of employment problem on such a large scale. We have also noticed that as China's economy keeps developing – especially in the tertiary industry – the employment structures and career options have greatly upgraded and expanded for youth. The job category has become more diversified compared with the past. "Slash youth" we have spoken about are defined as young people with multiple titles, jobs, and ways of working and living. All these have led to the greater range of opportunities and choices available to young people.
Regarding the employment of college graduates, our country has always attached great significance to this issue over recent years. This year, the number of graduates of China could surpass 10 million, which is good news for our country as we continue to have many well-educated students joining the workforce every year. It's most welcome news. Of course, there are many difficulties when they seek jobs. However, that's an issue for another field. Thanks to the concerted efforts from various parties, the first-time employment rate of China's graduates has stayed above 77%in past years and then reached over 90 percent by year end, underpinning a fairly good employment in China.
Therefore, generally speaking, since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, youth development in China has achieved great progress. All of these achievements are ultimately attributed to the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and demonstrate the advantages of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
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