我可以用一組中英對比數(shù)字來說明一下中國的獨特的國情。
Let I compare some statistics about China and UK to illustrate the two dimensions of China.
在GDP總量上，中國2008年躍居為世界第三，并且將很快上升到第二位，而英國則降到了世界第6位。但在人均GDP上，中國只有3000多美元，排第104位，英國大約46，000美元，是中國的15倍，排名第20位。這意味著英國民眾的生活水平比中國高得多。
-- China’s GDP has ascended to the 3rd place in the world in 2008, and is expected to rise to No 2 in the near future. UK’s ranking came down to No 6. However, in per capita terms, China has only 3,000US$, its world ranking is No 104 while UK has about 46,000US$, 15 times higher, ranking 20th. This means, UK citizens have a much higher living standard.
中國在商品貿(mào)易上是世界第三大貿(mào)易國，英國排第8位。但在服務(wù)貿(mào)易上，英國排名世界第二，而中國的服務(wù)業(yè)剛剛起步。
-- In terms of trade, China is the third largest in the world, UK is No. 8. However, UK services trade is No 2 in the world and China is just developing the services sector.
到今年3月底，中國的外匯儲備是英國的30倍。全球市值的10家銀行中，中國占4家，英國1家，中國工商銀行的市值可以買兩個匯豐還要多一些。但是，倫敦是世界金融中心，擁有550家跨國銀行和170家國際證券公司，歐洲排名前500位的大公司中，100家總部落戶倫敦。
-- By the end of March, China’s foreign currency reserves are 30 times that of UK. Among the 10 biggest banks in the world, 4 are from China and 1 is from UK. The market value of ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) can buy two HSBCs and still with a bit of surplus. However, London is a global financial center with about 550 foreign banks and 170 international securities firms. Among the top 500 companies in Europe, 100 set their headquarters in London.
英國早就進入后工業(yè)化社會，城鎮(zhèn)人口占總?cè)藬?shù)的90%，而中國還處在工業(yè)化、城鎮(zhèn)化的早期，60%的人口是農(nóng)民。在中國還有1.35億人每天生活費不足1美元。
UK is in a post industrial society and urban residents take up 90% of the population. China is in the early phase of industrialization and urbanization. 60% of the population is rural residents. And 135 million people still live under a dollar a day.
這樣的數(shù)據(jù)還可以列舉很多。根據(jù)一項調(diào)查，80%的中國人不認(rèn)為中國已經(jīng)是世界強國。這是毫不奇怪的。中國人常說，家家有本難念的經(jīng)，其中的復(fù)雜性只有家人自己最知曉。在中國這樣的人口大國，任何小的困難只要乘以13億就會成為大難題，任何成就除以13億就變得微不足道。
The list can go on and on. That is why, as survey shows, 80% of Chinese disagree that we have achieved the status of a global power. As an old Chinese saying goes, only the family members can appreciate the complexities and difficulties within the family. The Chinese Premier once remarked: any small problem in China can grow into a huge one if multiplied by 1.3 billion. A big achievement can become too tiny to notice once divided by that number.
那么，中國的目標(biāo)是什么？中國人心中的追求又是什么呢？
Then, what is China’s target? What are we trying to achieve?
這個問題不太好一概而論。簡而言之，我們希望把中國建設(shè)成為一個繁榮昌盛、民主法治的國家，一個在世界上推進和平合作的國家。
It is hard to generalize. To put in a simple term, we are hoping to develop China into a country with prosperity, democracy and rule of law and a country that works for peace and cooperation in the world.
中國人所追求的繁榮就是人人居有其所、幼有所教、病有所醫(yī)、老有所養(yǎng)的社會。現(xiàn)在，這個目標(biāo)的實現(xiàn)已經(jīng)不那么遙遠(yuǎn)了。
The Chinese pursuit of prosperity is to enable everyone to have a roof over the head, every child in school, the sick having access to medical care and the elderly taken care of. That is now within grasp.
中國歷第一次擺脫了饑餓。記得在我上大學(xué)的時候，人們彼此的問候不是“你好嗎”，而是“吃了嗎？”溫飽曾經(jīng)是中國家庭和中國政府最關(guān)心的大問題。
For the first time in history, people are not dying of hunger in China. Even when I was in college, the greeting words for people meeting each other on the street was not: how are you? But: have you had your meal? Food was the biggest concern of the families and of the government.
但是現(xiàn)在，如果你問我女兒這代人“吃了嗎？”，他們會懷疑你是不是有毛病。我遇到一對剛剛從上?；貋淼拿绹驄D，他們說上海的天際線美得如夢如幻。
Now you ask the young people like my daughter: have you had your meal? They would wonder if you have a problem. I met an American couple from the States who just came back from Shanghai and they think the Shanghai skyline is like surreal.
但是中國的變化不僅僅發(fā)生在上海這樣的大城市，而且發(fā)生在廣大的農(nóng)村地區(qū)。不知道大家有沒有注意到，從2006年第一天起，中國政府取消了農(nóng)業(yè)稅。在過去長達2600年漫長的歲月里，中國歷代封建王朝和后來的許多屆政府的主要財政收入都來自于農(nóng)民的稅賦。農(nóng)業(yè)稅的取消，標(biāo)志著中國從農(nóng)業(yè)社會邁入了工業(yè)社會。
But the most significant changes in China in not only in big cities like Shanghai, but in the vast rural China. I wonder how many people noticed that in the first day of 2006 China abolished agricultural tax. For 2600 years the central kingdoms and successive governments mainly depended on taxing the farmers. This move marks the transition of China from an agrarian to industrial society.
2007年，隨著“村村通”項目的實施，中國絕大多數(shù)的村莊實現(xiàn)了通電，很多人第一次用上了電燈。中國有一半的農(nóng)民看不起病，現(xiàn)在農(nóng)村合作醫(yī)療保障制度覆蓋了90%的農(nóng)村人口。雖然每人只有區(qū)區(qū)的50元錢，后來長到100元錢，但這卻足以讓不少農(nóng)民病有所醫(yī)。
In 2007, the program of extending power supply to every village, many people saw electric light for the first time in their lives. About half of the rural population in China never went into the hospital for economic reasons. A cooperative medical care scheme now covered 90% of rural China. Albeit small, 50 yuan per person to start with and it has grown to 100 yuan now, but it has enabled many farmers to be cared of in sickness.
盡管中國的發(fā)展還不很平衡，一些農(nóng)村地區(qū)仍然存在貧困的現(xiàn)象，但我們相信，中國走向繁榮的步伐不會停止，老百姓的日子會一年比一年好。
Although the prosperity is not evenly shared and there is still poverty in the countryside, we are confident that the trend of prosperity is going to continue and the people will be better off with each passing year.
講到中國，就不能不提到中國的民主政治建設(shè)。世界往往高估中國的經(jīng)濟成就，而低估中國在政治改革和發(fā)展社會主義民主上取得的顯著進步。
I can’t talk about China without mentioning the political and democratic development. The world tends to over-estimate the economic progress in China and overlook China’s progress in political reform and socialist democratic development.