Special report: 30 Years of Reform & Opening Up 

Highlights of President Hu's speech at reform eulogy meeting

Backgrounder: Major events in 30 years of China's reform, opening-up

Chinese President Hu Jintao delivers a speech during the conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the convening of the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 18, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao eulogized here Thursday the nationwide reform adopted by the Communist Party of China (CPC) for the past three decades when China saw nearly ten percent average annual growth rate.

    Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, highly valued Deng Xiaoping, Chinese paramount leader at that time, and his most senior associates for their bold decision on restructuring the national economy and opening up to the outside world.

    Hu also praised the landmark event of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, on which the central leadership took efforts to mobilize all ranking officials to conduct reformist steps.

    Hu said the CPC has successfully transformed inertia resulting from the planned economy to the dynamic socialist market economy, shaping the mechanism that the public ownership plays primary roles while various types of ownership are thriving.

    The Chinese economy management policies underscore the comfortable combination of macro control and market dynamics, Hu said.

    In tandem with the economic reform, Hu said, the central leadership continuously deepened political, cultural and social restructuring, which helped stimulate economic prosperity as well as social harmony.

    Hu said the all-around opening to the outside world has brought remarkable fruits to the Chinese nation, making the country the third biggest player in international trade and the top one in reserving foreign currencies. Under the market-friendly framework, China has attracted nearly one trillion U.S. dollars in foreign direct investment.

China holds a conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the convening of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 18, 2008.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The brave transformation also made China the world's fourth powerful economy in terms of gross domestic product, with 24.95 trillion yuan (3.6 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2007 from 364.5 billion yuan, Hu said.

    The Chinese president said the feat of feeding 20 percent of the world's population is quite a contribution to the world, with the personal disposable income rising from 343 yuan to 13,786 yuan. The existing population in poverty greatly shrank to 14 million, from 250 million in 1978.