As a move that decided the fate of China, reform and opening-up was a critical and historic choice made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) that followed the current of the times and the will of the Chinese people.

The experience the CPC has accumulated in implementing reform and opening-up will serve as an important guide for the policy to be carried on in the future.

The remarkable achievements China has made since reform and opening-up was launched in 1978 have led to a new road for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and profoundly influenced the adjustment of the world power configuration and the development process of mankind.

Related readings:  China's CPC members exceed 80 million  June 22, 1929: The Seventh Congress of the CPC Fourth Red Army is held  CPC: Present challenges and future course  CPC values opinions from non-Communist parties

The reform and opening-up adopted following the milestone Third Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee started China's historic transition from a highly centralized planned economy to a vibrant socialist market economy. It has helped establish a full market economic infrastructure in the world's most populous nation. In the process, the CPC has adeptly struck a delicate balance between adhering to the socialist system and developing a market economy. Having experienced several from-lower-to-higher stages of the market economy, the CPC-led China has established a vibrant socialist market economic system based on China's national conditions as well as an economic management mechanism in which the market plays a primary role in the distribution of resources. The establishment of these institutions has brought the country's economic activities in line with market economic laws, improved the efficiency of resources distribution, emancipated and boosted its productivity, and maintained strong motivation and vitality for its social and economic development.

While realizing China's transformation from a semi-feudal and semi-isolated economy to an open economy, the reform and opening-up also helped develop China into an important part of the world economy. With this policy, China first set up several special economic zones in its coastal areas and then gradually opened other parts of the country to the outside world until its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), a historic event that symbolized China's door was fully open.

As an important part of the global economy, China's development is inseparable from the world's development. The exploitation of international and domestic markets and resources has continuously raised China's international competitiveness. Currently, China is the world's largest exporter and second largest importer. It is also the world's largest foreign reserves holder. The country has established 163 bilateral economic and trade cooperative mechanisms with other countries and signed 129 bilateral investment accords and 10 free trade agreements. After the 2008 global financial crisis in particular, China worked out a series of stimulus packages to deal with the contraction in external demand, which swiftly curbed its economic slowdown and pulled the country out of economic recession.

Due to its unwavering adherence to the reform and opening-up initiative, China's economic force and comprehensive national strength have continued to increase. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 39.8 trillion yuan in 2010, more than a hundred-fold that of 1978, which was only 364.5 billion yuan, or a 10 percent growth rate every year. China is now the world's second largest economy and its per capita national revenues exceed $4,000, which means it is in the range of middle-income nations. With its fiscal revenues amounting to 8 trillion yuan in 2010, China's national strength and its economic and social regulation capability have become much stronger.