On Feburary 10th, 2021, Chinese Ambassador to India H. E. Sun Weidong published an article entitled "Take the Right Path, March towards a Better Future with the World--China and the World in the Year of the Ox" on The Policy Chronicle. The full text is as follows:

The Chinese lunar new year of the Ox is around the corner. The ox, a sacred creature in India, is also endowed with outstanding qualities of diligence, dedication and pioneering spirit in China's traditions. In the new year, based on the overall landscape of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the global changes unseen in a century, we'll follow the guidance of President Xi Jinping, carry forward the spirit of the ox in serving the people, driving innovative development and working tirelessly, to chart a new course towards building a modern socialist China. We are committed to working together with all countries to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, and a community with a shared future for mankind.

China will develop a full understanding of the new development stage. In 2021, we will celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and formulate and implement the 14th Five-Year Plan. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC declared that after achieving the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, we will embark on a new journey towards the second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country. This marks a new development stage which sees the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC taking a historic leap from "standing up" and "getting prosperous" to "achieving great rejuvenation". In over four decades following the reform and opening-up, China eradicated absolute poverty by lifting 800 million people out of poverty. This contributed to 70 percent of poverty relief around the world. China has successfully completed 13 Five-Year Plans and became the second largest economy of the world. In 2020, China's GDP exceeded 100 trillion yuan(15.42 trillion US dollars), and our per capita GDP rose above 10,000 US dollars. Following the founding of People's Republic of China, the CPC announced the goal of building a modern socialist country. The next 30 years will be a new stage for us to realize this historic aspiration.

China will firmly apply a new development philosophy. Keeping to the theme of high-quality development and the main thread of supply-side structural reform, China will implement an innovative, coordinated, green, open and inclusive development philosophy in all fields of development. We will endeavor for the happiness of the people and the renewal of the nation. China will continue to take innovation as the primary force driving development, and take scientific and technological self-reliance as the strategic underpinning for national development. China will keep its focus on solving the prominent problems of uneven, uncoordinated and unsustainable development, and strive to promote coordinated development among regions, between urban and rural areas, and between material civilization and spiritual civilization. With the belief in "green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as gold and silver mountains", China champions green, low-carbon ways of life and production, and promotes the harmonious coexistence of human and nature. China will continue to forge ahead in the world economy and build new high-level institutions of the open economy. China will continue to uphold a people-centered vision of development to enhance the people's sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security through shared development, and achieve common prosperity for all the Chinese people.

China will actively foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. First, we will further expand domestic demand as a strategic priority, enhance smooth flow of domestic economic activity and strengthen resilience of economic development. At the same time, the new development paradigm is by no means a closed domestic loop, it is aimed at engaging in international circulation to better connect the domestic and international markets, in order to carry out all-round opening-up in more fields, with broader range and greater depth. China's economy has deeply integrated into the world economy, we will not reverse course or run against historical trend by "decoupling". China signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), finalized the negotiation of China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, and is giving favorable consideration to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). China has moved up to the 31st place in the global rankings of the ease of doing business. China's negative list for foreign investment has been further cut, and we became the world's largest recipient of FDI in 2020. Looking ahead, the scale of China's foreign trade, its use of foreign capital and outbound investment will continue to rise, contributing a greater share to the world economic growth.

The COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession and governance predicament are the outstanding challenges facing humanity today. The international community has to make choices between multilateralism and unilateralism, openness and seclusion, cooperation and confrontation. Where is the way out in this uncertain world? In 2021, China will give its own answers through decisive action. We will continue to stand on the right side of history as a contributor to world peace, a facilitator of global development and a guardian of international order. We will make unrelenting efforts for lasting peace and development of the world.

China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, and promote peaceful coexistence in the world. Peace and development are the theme of our times and the unstoppable trend of history. History has proven that China achieved development through the Chinese people's hard work and their commitment to peace, not as a result of military expansion or colonial plunder. As President Xi Jinping emphasized on many occasions, no matter how strong China grows, it will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence. China firmly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace, and endeavors to narrow differences and resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiation. We seek to establish a new model of state-to-state relations featuring dialogue and partnership, not confrontation or alliance. All countries should abandon ideological prejudice, refrain from interfering with other countries' internal affairs, pursue peaceful coexistence based on mutual respect and seeking common ground while shelving differences, promote exchanges and mutual learning, add impetus to the progress of human civilization, and jointly safeguard the world peace and stability.

China will hold high the approach of win-win cooperation, and promote common development and prosperity for all countries. We reject the outdated Cold War and zero-sum mentality, and say no to narrow-minded, selfish and beggar-thy-neighbor policies. It is important that we stick to the cooperation concept based on mutual benefit. We advocate fair competition, guarantee equal rights to development for all countries and let their peoples to benefit from the opportunities and fruits of development. China will continue to take an active part in international cooperation to combat COVID-19, do its best to assist countries and regions that are less prepared for the pandemic, and work for greater accessibility and affordability of COVID vaccines in developing countries, so as to make its contribution to an early and complete victory over the pandemic throughout the world. China will step up macroeconomic policy coordination with the international community, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, help keep the global industrial and supply chains smooth and stable, and jointly promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth of the world economy. China will get more actively engaged in global economic governance and push for an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.

China will continue to uphold multilateralism, and advocate for building a community of a shared future for mankind. Multilateralism in essence is about having international affairs addressed through consultation and the future of the world decided by everyone working together. 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of China's legitimate seat in the United Nations. We stand by the core values and basic principles of multilateralism, and are steadfast in our resolve to safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international laws. We strive for implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, reform and improve the global governance system on the basis of extensive consultation and consensus-building. State-to-state relations should be coordinated and regulated through proper institutions and rules. The strong should not bully the weak. We oppose building exclusive small circles, abusing the name of multilateralism for bloc politics, ideologizing multilateralism to target certain countries or imposing rules devised by a small number of countries on the international community under the pretext of multilateralism. All countries need to stand united and work together, and let multilateralism light our way toward a community with a shared future for the mankind.

China and India are both ancient civilizations, large developing countries and major emerging economies. We are both at a critical stage of development and revitalization, and shoulder the historic mission of developing our economies and improving people's livelihood. Our cooperation far outweighs our differences, and our common interests are far greater than our inconsistencies. On the journey toward common rejuvenation, our two countries should run the marathon together and help each other achieve their respective dreams. In the new year, we must stick to the right direction of China-India relations and implement the important consensus reached between our leaders that China and India are partners and opportunities to each other, not adversaries or threats to each other. We should put the boundary issue in an appropriate place in bilateral relations, address differences in a rational and constructive manner and not allow our differences to become disputes. It's important for China and India to respect each other, enhance mutual trust, seek common ground while shelving differences and meet each other half way. We should boost cooperation in the fields of combating COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery, multilateralism and global governance, and bring bilateral relations back on the right track of sound and steady development, making our due contribution to maintaining world peace and promoting common development.