China may become developed, democratic by 2040

(TibetanReview.net, Feb02, 2010)  China will likely become a middle ranked developed country and establish a "democratic political civilization" by around 2040, 10 years earlier than anticipated in the three-step modernization plan drawn up by former leader Deng Xiaoping, reported Global times, the international publication of the Communist Party of China’s mouthpiece People’s Daily, Feb 1. The expectation is based on the strong momentum of China’s economic growth and has been suggested in a Jan 30 report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The report is said to note that China has already moved up from being a less-developed to a primarily developed country. The report, China's Modernization Report 2010, expects the country to complete its first phase of modernization around 2020.

"At that time, the per capita income of China will surpass $20,000, with key economic figures entering the rank of the world's top 40. Citizens will be 100 percent covered by endowment and medical insurance. Over 80 percent of cities may become urbanized, and a democratic, free, fair and effective political civilization will be established," the report is quoted as saying.

The report appears to be understandably silent on what kind of democracy China will be by 2040. In fact, China claims to be already a better democracy than others, while its leaders have said the country will never embrace multiparty liberal democracy of the kind prevalent in the Western countries today.

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