Int'l Community Lauds Hu's Report at CPC Congress

The international community has spoken highly of the keynote report by General Secretary Hu Jintao at the opening of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Thursday, noting that the report defines the direction of China's future development and will exert profound influence on China's growth as well as world peace and development.

Danish parliament speaker Mogens Lykketoft spoke highly of Hu's report in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday. He believed that after the 18th National Congress, China's society will be more open and China will play a more important role on the world arena.

Calos Tavares, a Brazilian expert on China, said the report has set a goal to double China's GDP and average per capita income for both urban and rural residents by 2020 and called for adherence to the development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and for political reform, among others, which are very important for China to realize sustainable development and raise living standards.

Following the direction defined by the CPC's 18th National Congress, China will grow better and better, said Tavares.

Stefano Manzocchi, an international economics professor at Italy's LUISS Guido Carli University, told Xinhua that the proposal and fulfillment of the new goal in Hu's report to double China's GDP and average per capita income by 2020 on 2010 levels would make enormous contribution to world economic growth.

China's steady economic growth in the future would drive growth in surrounding countries, and thus make important contributions to the world economy, he said.

The UK-based Financial Times said in a report on Thursday that Hu, in a speech at the 18th National Congress of the CPC, set a new economic goal of doubling China's 2010 GDP and average income by 2020. Economists said Hu's target for economic output was attainable as it implied an average growth rate of 7 percent.

The Associated Press reported that Hu said in a speech at the congress that the fight against corruption remains a serious challenge for the CPC.

"To many Chinese, China is at an inflection point. Its old model of heavily state-directed growth that lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and made China an economic powerhouse is sputtering in the face of rising domestic debt and a weak global economy," it said.

In a report that focused on Hu's call to fight corruption, the Washington Post said Hu used strong language in addressing the problem in his speech at the congress, and stressed the importance of strictly enforcing the party's internal discipline mechanism.

Malaysia's Sinchew Daily said in an editorial on Friday that Hu's speech at the opening of the congress has outlined a blueprint for China in the next five to 10 years.

The 18th National Congress of the CPC marks an extremely important milestone in China's development, as China's new leadership will in the next 10 years inject new momentum and vitality in the country's economy, and continue to lead China in playing an important role in the international community to address global challenges as an active and responsible big country, it said.

The New Strait Times, a widely circulated English-language newspaper in Malaysia, said on Friday that Hu has dedicated a good portion of his speech to the importance of combating corruption, expressing determination of China's central leadership to face the corruption issue head-on.

The report commended the CPC's "swift and severe manner" in handling its corrupt officials.

Folha de Sao Paulo, one of the leading newspapers in Brazil, said the keynote speech at the CPC congress had mapped out a blueprint for China on building a well-off society in the next seven years.

During this course, China has plenty of room for improvement and should overcome many difficulties and problems, such as imbalanced and unsustainable development and systematic obstacles in scientific development, the paper said.

Les Echos, a major newspaper in France, said Western observers noticed two points in Hu's keynote speech: determination to fight corruption, and improvement in primary-level democracy to entitle the people to more democratic rights.

An article, posted on the website of the Colombia newspaper La Epoca, said Hu's speech pointed out the Chinese market economy's advantages and challenges it faced, adding that China will accelerate its economic transformation after the CPC congress.

Quoting Hu's speech at the opening ceremony of the congress, the Norwegian news agency NTB reported that China will continue its economic and political reform. The speech also issued a stern warning on corruption, the report said.

The Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao said that in his speech, Hu charted a panoramic blueprint for the path of China's development in the next five years.