Marking 40 years of reform and opening-up

On Dec 18, a gathering was held in Beijing to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up policy, which changed China's destiny.

Since the policy was adopted, 740 million people have been lifted out of poverty, and the world's largest social security system has been built, providing basic pensions for more than 900 million seniors and medical insurance for about 1.3 billion people. China's share of global gross domestic product rose from 1.8 percent in 1978 to 15.2 percent last year.

China launched more than 100 major reforms and began construction of a pilot free trade zone in Hainan province. Speaking at the gathering in Beijing, President Xi Jinping said China remains committed to advancing reform and opening-up to realize the aspirations of the Chinese people for a better life and promote joint efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Trade dispute puts spotlight on US, China

China and the United States have been in the spotlight as a result of several months of trade tensions. In March, the US ignited a dispute, blaming China for the trade imbalance between the countries and threatening to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports.

On July 6, the US imposed tariffs of 25 percent on $34 billion of Chinese goods, and China responded in kind. It was the first tangible action China had taken in the escalation of bilateral trade tensions. Following on from that, both sides announced new tariffs on imported goods.

The countries held talks in Washington in August.

On Dec 1, President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. They agreed to continue negotiations, stop the imposition of new tariffs and exchange visits at appropriate times.