Vital contribution of youth to development

The white paper, titled "Youth of China in the New Era", the State Council Information Office issued on Thursday, the first of its kind, introduces the Chinese youth's development and contribution to national development since 2012.

The population aged 40 and below is more than 760 million, more than half of the national population, and the population aged 20 and below numbers 300 million in the country.

As the white paper said, with improved physical and moral qualities and all-around ability, the young people are growing into a new generation that is capable of shouldering the responsibility of national rejuvenation.

With about 9 million people graduating from college each year, the most in the world, the modern young people of China enjoy better education than their predecessors, thanks to the country's tremendous inputs into education.

That has not only provided the country with sufficient supplies of talents in various fields, it has also helped more people change their fate and strive for a better life with their knowledge and technique.

The remarkable socioeconomic development of the country directly benefits its youth, helping them realize their personal dreams, and vice versa, and the contributions of the country's youth are indispensable to the realization of the Chinese Dream.

The average age of the scientists and engineers of the BeiDou satellite project, quantum science project and Chinese "sky-eye" single-aperture spherical telescope project is 36, 35 and 30 respectively.

And over the past 40 years, more than 4.2 million Chinese students studying overseas have returned home, and many of them have made great contributions to the country's breakthroughs in science, technology and the economy.

It is fair to say that the young people have demonstrated their potential to be a driving force for the country's modernization.

More importantly, Chinese youth demonstrate strong patriotism. As of July 2021, the number of Communist Party of China members aged 35 and below was 23.68 million, accounting for 24.9 percent of the total Party membership, and more than 80 percent of the people joining the CPC since 2012 are below 35 years old. For them, joining the Party represents the best way to serve the people and the country's development.

The Chinese youth are also an indispensable force on the front line of eliminating poverty and promoting rural construction and education, and many of them have sacrificed their lives for their duties.

Generations of Chinese youth have played a unique role in the country's liberation and construction, and they will continue to do so in the process of building it into a modern socialist country.