Page 31 - REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2022 PLAN FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EVELOPMENT AND ON THE 2023 DRAFT PLAN FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EVELOPMENT

promoted green and low-carbon development. The idea that lucid waters and lush
mountains are invaluable assets has been embraced by the public, and historic,

transformative, and comprehensive changes have taken place in ecological
conservation. Average PM2.5 concentration has dropped by 27.5%, energy
consumption per unit of GDP has declined by 8.1%, carbon dioxide emission
intensity has been reduced by 14.1%, and the percentage of surface water
nationwide meeting good or excellent water quality standards has risen from 67.9%

to 87.9%. This has made China’s ecosystems healthier and more stable.
People’s living standards have markedly improved. An average of 12.75
million new urban jobs have been created each year, and the surveyed urban
unemployment rate has been kept low nationwide. Social programs have seen

further development. We have established the world’s largest education, social
security, and health care systems. We have continued to step up housing support,
bringing about marked improvements in housing conditions for people in need. As
a result, our people’s sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security has been
significantly enhanced.

Against the backdrop of a complex and grave international environment and
unexpected impacts to domestic development, these achievements were not easily
attained, and as such we should value them even more. We owe each and every
achievement to the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade

Xi Jinping at its core, the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with
Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the notable strengths of socialism with
Chinese characteristics. The whole Party and the Chinese people of all ethnic
groups have strived in unity and forged ahead with fortitude, and all regions and
departments have worked proactively and tackled difficulties head-on, thus

effectively preventing and defusing risks and addressing challenges, greatly
stimulating the country’s development potential and dynamism, and ensuring
overall economic and social stability.
At the same time, however, we must realize that our world, our times, and our

history are changing in ways like never before, and the world is in a new period of
turbulence and change. China has entered a period of development in which
strategic opportunities, risks, and challenges exist together and uncertainties and
unforeseeable factors are rising.
Internationally, momentous changes of a kind not seen in a century are

accelerating, and competition among major countries and geopolitical conflicts

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