China's youth prepare for future with confidence

BEIJING -- Living in the best period in Chinese history, the young generation in China enjoys an enabling environment for development. They are confident, aspirant and responsible.

Over the past decades, China has risen to become the world's second-largest economy, largest trading nation and largest industrial nation.

This is a new historical starting point, as China has embarked on a new journey in building a modern socialist country and realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. This is also an era of prosperity and hope. Opportunities abound for young people to realize their ambitions, display their talent, and fulfill their potential.

Quality education is more accessible than ever. The gross enrollment rate in higher education reached 57.8 percent in 2021, with 44.3 million students on campus, ranking first in the world. More than 820,000 students from rural and poor areas entered key universities through special enrollment plans between 2012 and 2021, among the country's efforts to stem the inter-generation transmission of poverty.

Career options are diverse. The tertiary industry has become an important gathering place for the young workforce. New industries and forms of business spawn more opportunities and choices, such as e-sports players, livestreaming hosts, and web writers.

Having been brought up in a stronger China, the young generation takes great pride in their nation, has stronger cultural confidence, and identifies more and more with the splendors of Chinese civilization.

Young people participate in social activities with more confidence, and they are active in politics. By June 2021, the Communist Party of China (CPC) had nearly 24 million members under the age of 35, accounting for 25 percent of its total membership. More than 80 percent of the CPC members admitted each year since the Party's 18th National Congress in 2012 were under 35.

Despite great historical changes, China's youth have never wavered in their determination to love the Party, the country and the people. They support the leadership of the Party and align their personal ambitions with the goals of the Party and the state.

Despite being born into a well-off society, they show no fear of difficulties or hardships. During the COVID-19 epidemic, more than 5.5 million of them in 320,000 task groups have worked on the front lines, providing medical care, transporting supplies, and building facilities. Of the 28,600 nurses from the medical teams sent to Hubei Province in early 2020, 90 percent were born between 1980 and 1999.

Young people also help in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. By 2021, 470,000 college graduates had worked in rural areas in posts related to teaching, agriculture, medical service and poverty alleviation. More than 1,800 people have died in the battle against poverty, many of them young.

Well educated and highly skilled, China's youth today also possess rich imaginations and creativity, open-mindedness, and a pioneering spirit. The average age of the core members of the research groups for the Beidou Navigation Satellite System is 36; the corresponding figures are 35 for the quantum science satellite Mozi and 30 for the five-hundred-meter aperture spherical telescope Tianyan.

Not only do China's young people care about their motherland, they also share a concern for the whole of humanity.

Under the framework of the Chinese Youth Global Partnership, China has established exchange and cooperation relationships with more than 100 international organizations, government youth agencies, political parties, and non-governmental youth organizations.

Chinese youth display greater openness and confidence on a variety of global occasions, and readily learn from other countries and civilizations to build a global community with a shared future.

While humanity has found itself at a crossroads, China's youth are calling on young people around the world to contribute wisdom and strength to the pursuit of world peace and development.

The young generation is the most sensitive barometer of the era, and the responsibility of the era is handed to the youth. The Chinese youth will always be the vanguard force in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and a contributor to world peace and prosperity.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.