China has set 2020 as the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Zhang Shuxin | China Daily
It’s not rare to hear the phrase “xiaokang society” or “moderately prosperous society” in the speeches of Chinese officials and read it in media reports. It is a major buzzword in China nowadays, as China has set 2020 as the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
在政府官员讲话和媒体报道中，我们常常能听到“小康社会”一词。它是如今中国社会的一大热词。我国已经提出于2020年实现全面建成小康社会的目标。
The concept of “xiaokang society” first appeared in Classic of Poetry, the earliest collection of poems in China. It was used to refer to a well-off society in which people led a fairly comfortable life.
“小康社会”一词首次出现于中国最早的诗集《诗经》，指的是百姓安居乐业的富足社会。
When China started the reform and opening-up policy in the 1970s, late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was the first to propose the concept of a moderately prosperous society.
中国于上世纪70年代开始实施改革开放政策，已故中国领导人邓小平首次提出了“小康社会”这一概念。
The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012 proposed the idea of completing “the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects” in 2020, with doubling China’s 2010 levels of GDP and per capita income for both urban and rural residents as one of the main criteria.
2012年，中共十八大提出了2020年实现全面建成小康社会的目标，要实现国内生产总值和城乡居民人均收入比2010年翻一番。
Chinese President and General Secretary of CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping has mentioned the concept of “two centenary goals” many times in speeches and articles since the 18th CPC National Congress. In his address to the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress in October, 2017, he stressed again the importance of sticking to and achieving both goals.
自从党的十八大以来，国家主席、中共中央总书记习近平多次在讲话和文章中提到“两个一百年”奋斗目标。2017年10月，在党的十九大开幕式讲话中，习近平重申了坚持并实现这两个奋斗目标的重要性。
The first goal is to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2021, the year that marks the 100th anniversary of the CPC’s founding. The second is to fully build a “modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful” by 2049, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
第一个一百年，是在中国共产党成立100年时（2021年）全面建成小康社会，第二个一百年，是在新中国成立100年时（2049年）建成“富强、民主、文明、和谐、美丽的社会主义现代化强国”。
Raising standards of living
提高生活水平
To achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the baseline task is to lift all people out of poverty. China has reduced the number of poor people in rural areas from about 99 million in 2012 to 16.6 million by the end of 2018, reported China Daily. The central government has already pledged to lift at least another 10 million people out of poverty this year.
为实现全面建成小康社会这一目标，基本任务在于令全体人民脱贫。据《中国日报》报道，截至2018年末，全国农村贫困人口从2012年的9900万人减少至1660万人。中央政府已承诺今年贫困人口将再减少1000万人以上。
These figures lead The Economist to describe China as the “hero of the world’s poverty-reduction efforts.”
这些数据让《经济学人》称中国为“世界减贫事业的英雄”。
Apart from lifting all people out of poverty, people would receive guarantees about their livelihoods. More students would get a university education. Healthcare and living conditions would also be improved to benefit more people. At the same time, more measures would be taken to deal with environmental problems.
除了令全体人民脱贫之外，人民的生活也获得了保障。更多的学生将接受高等教育。医疗卫生和生活条件将获得改善，惠及更多人民。与此同时，政府还将出台更多措施，以应对环境问题。
Just as Xi said in October 2017, “This is a society to be enjoyed by each and every one of us; on the march toward common prosperity, no one must be left behind.”
正如习近平于2017年10月所言，“全面建成小康社会，一个不能少。共同富裕路上，一个不能掉队。”
