Paraders in a grand celebration marking the 60th founding anniversary of New China on Thursday saluted late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping for the ongoing reform and opening-up drive he launched in 1978.

Thousands of paraders in a formation under the theme of "Story in Spring" carried a huge portrait of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of the reform and opening-up drive, while the "Story in Spring" song dedicated to Deng's contributions was played.

"(We must) combine the Marxist universal truth with the country's real situation, take our own road and build a socialism with Chinese characteristics," part of a recorded speech by Deng in 1982, resounded at Tian'anmen Square.

The reform and opening up drive saved China from an economic breakdown after the chaotic 10-year Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

Gross domestic product (GDP) soared from a mere 360 billion yuan (about 52 billion U.S. dollars) in 1978 to 24.95 trillion yuan in 2007. China is now the world's third-largest economy.

The country's poor population was reduced from 250 million in 1978 to 14.79 million in 2007.

"The shortage economy, which had troubled China for a long time before the reform and opening-up drive, has been changed fundamentally," Chinese President Hu Jintao said at an event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the launch of the reform and opening-up drive late last year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2009)