It is to be hoped that, during the period of 12th Five-Year Plan, China can eliminate the obstacles that are impeding the nation's social progress and address a variety of issues that have emerged. There are a number of extremely urgent tasks that need to be addressed, such as adjusting the economic structure and narrowing the income gap, and protecting the natural environment and improving the social environment.

Whether these can be achieved will determine whether people are able to live comfortably and whether they can enjoy social stability and harmony. Only if the people are free from anxiety can a society give the public enough respect and dignity.

Of course, to finally achieve the policy expectations and strategic goals of the 12th Five-Year Plan, reforms in economic and political structure need to be continued, because only consistent reform can provide a strong driving force for the acceleration of the transition of the nation's economic development model.

Only by storing wealth in the ordinary people can a nation become really formidable, and only when the Chinese public live with more dignity, can the people enjoy better material and spiritual lives. In fact, this truth is the ideological basis of the 12th Five-Year Plan and is the reason why the Chinese people pin great hopes on the next five years.

China's progress toward a higher-level xiaokang society will not only benefit the Chinese people, it will also benefit the whole world. In the context of economic globalization, expanding the Chinese domestic market is a great opportunity for the world and will act as a powerful engine to pull the world out of the global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, in terms of curbing inflation, increasing employment, fighting corruption and narrowing the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished, the Chinese government puts equal emphasis on development and good governance, which will not only stabilize the nation, but also be conducive to the stability of international relations and world trade exchanges. Thus it can be seen that China's willingness to develop smooth economic and trade relations with nations of the world is sincere, as well as pragmatic and mutually beneficial.

Spring is a season full of vitality and the spring of 2011 witnesses the start of China's final sprint toward a xiaokang society with vitality and passion.

The author is a research scholar with the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies.