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Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming looks back at 40 successful years of reform and opening up in China—an ongoing process that still has further to go.中国驻英大使刘晓明回顾中国改革开放40年——这一进程仍在进一步深化。

Francis Bacon said: “Histories make men wise.” In the case of China,history has always been a source of wisdom and strength for this oriental civilisation with a time-honoured history of 5,000 years.

弗朗西斯·培根说：“历史使人明智。”作为一个拥有5000多年悠久历史的东方文明古国，中国向来注重从历史积淀中汲取智慧和力量。

[2]The year 2018 is a memorable year and a good time to draw on historical achievements.Forty years ago,the third plenary session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China started the courageous endeavour and still on-going process of reform and opening up in China.

[2]2018年是值得纪念的一年，是回顾历史、向历史学习的好时机。40年前，中国共产党十一届三中全会开始了中国改革开放的大胆尝试，40年后的今天，这一进程仍在持续。

A line-up of grandiose accomplishments

成就斐然

[3]I was doing my MA in the United States in the early 1980s shortly after my first overseas posting in Africa.China was only a couple of years into reform and opening up,and I could never forget the shock at seeing the huge gap between China and the US then.

[3]上世纪80年代初，中国改革开放刚刚起步，我结束在非洲常驻工作后不久就到美国留学，攻读文学硕士。当时中美两国发展水平差距非常大，那种反差给我的震撼，令我永久难忘。

[4]The ensuing four decades painted a completely different picture.China maintained an average annual growth rate of more than 9 per cent and became the world’s second-largest economy;China’s share in the world economy increased from 2.7 to 16 per cent;its per capita GDP rocketed from around $100(£72)to over $8,000;800 million Chinese were lifted out of poverty.

[4]随后的40年发生了翻天覆地的变化。中国的年均增长率保持在9%以上，成为世界第二大经济体;占世界经济的份额从2.7%增加到16%;人均国内生产总值从100美元左右（72英镑）飙升至8000美元以上;8亿中国人摆脱了贫困。

[5]The fact that China has accomplished in 40 years what had taken the Western industrialised countries several hundreds of years to achieve is truly a miracle in human history.

[5]中国在40年内取得了西方工业化国家要花几百年才能取得的成就，这在人类历史上确实是一个奇迹。

A symphony of glorious courage

勇气非凡

[6]The 40 years of reform and opening up is a great new revolution.The CPC has led the Chinese people to take on difficult issues and navigate treacherous rapids,“cutting a path through the mountain rocks and building a bridge across the rapid currents”.

[6]改革开放40年是一场伟大的新革命。中国共产党领导中国人民迎接困难，越过险境，“逢山开路，遇水架桥”。

[7]With these courageous efforts,China has continuously released and developed the productive forces,and succeeded in blazing a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

[7]通过这些勇敢的努力，中国不断解放和发展生产力，成功开辟了中国特色社会主义道路。

[8]From the rural household contract responsibility system to the urban economic system reform;from the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to the accession to the World Trade Organisation;from opening the coastal and border areas to developing the western inland region;and from pilot free trade zones to the Belt and Road Initiative,China has continued to remove institutional barriers to development.

[8]从农村家庭联产承包责任制到城市经济体制改革，从成立深圳经济特区到加入世界贸易组织，从开放沿海沿边地区到发展西部内陆地区，从自由贸易试验区到“一带一路”建设，中国一直在持续消除妨碍发展的制度障碍。

[9]These vigorous measures of reform and opening up have helped release and boost social vitality and invigorate the Chinese nation.China is now more confident and capable than at any time in history to realise national rejuvenation.

[9]改革开放的这些有力措施，有助于释放和增强社会活力，振兴中华民族。中国现在比历史上任何时候都更有信心、更有能力实现民族复兴。

Novel integration in the world

融入世界

[10]Reform and opening up marked a great and successful historical turning point in China—from a closed and semi-closed society to all-round opening up.China is on the way towards greater integration in the world and has put its foot firmly on the accelerator.

[10]改革开放标志着中国历史一个伟大而成功的转折点——从封闭半封闭的社会到全面开放。中国正进一步融入世界，且不断加速。

[11]Take China-UK relations as an example.Over 40 years ago,bilateral trade between China and the United Kingdom was $300 million,only 200 Chinese visited Britain and only 100 Chinese students studied there.In 2017,two-way trade was in the region of $80 billion,mutual visits topped 4,000 per day,and the number of Chinese students in the UK soared to 170,000.

[11]以中英关系为例，40多年前，中英双边贸易额只有3亿美元，中国赴英人数仅200人，留学生100人；2017年两国贸易额近800亿美元，每天往返两国间的人数4000多人，在英中国留学生已猛增至17万人。

[12]Early in February 2018,British Prime Minister Theresa May paid a successful visit to China.During the visit,the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to building the China-UK “Golden Era” and agreed to strengthen a “strategic,practical,global and inclusive” relationship,promising historic opportunities and broad prospects for China-UK co-operation.

[12]2018年2月初，英国首相特蕾莎·梅成功访华。访问期间，两国领导人再次重申打造中英关系“黄金时代”的承诺，并就提升两国关系的“战略性、务实性、全球性和包容性”达成广泛共识，两国合作面临前所未有的历史性机遇和广阔前景。

[13]The leaps and bounds in China-UK relations is clear proof of the interdependence and mutually beneficial relationship between China and the world.

[13]中英关系的跨越式发展历程表明，今天的中国与世界早已形成“你中有我，我中有你”的互利共赢格局。

Responsible contributor to the global cause

担当全球

[14]China has gained from and at the same time contributed to economic globalisation.In the past 40 years,China remained committed to opening up,regarding it as a basic national policy and making it a win-win strategy in China’s co-operation with other countries.

[14]中国是经济全球化的受益者，更是贡献者。40年来，中国始终坚持对外开放的基本国策，奉行互利共赢的开放战略。

[15]Our conviction is that an open China is in a better position to share the fruits of its reform and development with other countries and people so that the countries of the world can work together to achieve common development.

[15]我们的信念是，一个开放的中国能够更好地与其他国家和人民分享其改革和发展的成果，在开放中谋求共同发展。

[16]Since adopting the reform and opening-up policy,China has opened up a market of over $1.7 trillion to foreign investment,and invested over $1.2 trillion overseas.In the past decade,with its strength in capital,market,technology and labour force,China on average contributed 30 per cent of the world economic growth annually,sharing the benefits of China’s development with more countries.

[16]改革开放以来，中国累计吸引外资超过1.7万亿美元，累计对外直接投资超过1.2万亿美元。过去10年，借助资金、市场、技术和劳动力等优势，中国对世界经济增长的年均贡献率高达30%，将中国的发展红利与更多国家分享。

[17]As we pride ourselves on this great endeavour and the splendid achievements of the past 40 years,we have a great deal to expect from China’s continued development and bright prospects.With China’s economy moving from high-speed growth to high-quality growth,reforms have entered the deep-water zone and require more strenuous efforts.

[17]抚今追昔，40年改革开放的伟大历程和光辉业绩令人自豪，中国未来发展的光明前景更值得期待。今天的中国经济正从高速增长阶段转向高质量发展阶段，改革进入“深水区”，需要付出更为艰苦的努力。

[18]The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China set out a clear and strategic plan on deepening reform on all fronts and opening up wider to the world in the new era.Going forwards,China will introduce more reform measures in more areas with greater intensity.

[18]中国共产党十九大就新时代全面深化改革和进一步扩大对外开放做出了明确的战略部署。展望未来，中国将在更多领域推出更多强化改革措施。

[19]The central task will be supplyside structural reform,reflecting our determination to give the market the decisive role in resources allocation.The priority areas of this reform will include stateowned enterprises,state assets,monopoly industries,rural vitalisation,social security,opening up and eco-conservation.

[19]我们将以推进供给结构性改革为主线，坚持发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，重点推进国企国资、垄断行业、乡村振兴、社会保障、对外开放、生态文明等关键领域改革。

[20]The business community will be given a major role in this round of reforms,as the government encourages grassroots innovation,creative spirits and pioneering efforts in order to provide a more vigorous and enabling en-vironment for iovaiv.

[20]政府将鼓励基层创新，发扬敢闯敢试、敢为人先的精神，在这一轮改革中发挥企业家的重要作用，推动全社会形成更加浓厚、更具活力的改革创新氛围。

[21]At the same time,China will open its door wider to the world and increase alignment of domestic practices with international economic and trade rules.Market access will be greatly improved and there will be greater openness in the service sector,especially the financial sector.

[21]同时，中国对外开放的大门将越开越大。我们将加强与国际经贸规则对接，大幅度放宽市场准入，扩大服务业特别是金融业对外开放。

[22]The goal is to engineer a more open,inclusive,institutionalised system that facilitates the free and orderly flow of economic factors.

[22]目标是建立一个更加开放包容的制度化体系，促进经济因素的自由有序流动。

[23]A key effort of China’s continued opening up is the Belt and Road Initiative.This initiative encourages two-way trade and mutual investment between all countries,and aims to build an open world economy.

[23]中国继续开放的重点是“一带一路”建设。该倡议鼓励所有国家之间的双向贸易和相互投资，旨在建立一个开放的世界经济。

[24]President Xi Jinping once said:“History looks kindly on those with resolve,with drive and ambition,and with plenty of guts;it won’t wait for the hesitant,the apathetic,or those who shy away from challenges.” There is every reason to believe that the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation will be realised as China presses ahead on the journey of reform and opening up anew.

[24]习近平主席曾说：“历史只会眷顾坚定者、奋进者、搏击者，而不会等待犹豫者、懈怠者、畏难者。”我们完全有理由相信，中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦必将在改革开放的新征程中得以实现。

[25]A China that is approaching the centre of the world stage will create more development opportunities for countries around the world,including the UK,and will make new and greater contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind.■

[25]一个日益走近世界舞台中央的中国，必将为包括英国在内的世界各国提供更多发展机遇；必将为构建人类命运共同体做出新的更大贡献。□

（译者曾获第三届“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛优秀奖）