China has made great advances in development, but it still has a long way to go

A poll has shown that Chinese people recognise the country’s growing power, but say it should be cautious of the influence of developed nations. They also think the central government’s priority should be dealing with the country’s problems first.

I agree China now has a more prominent international profile, given that it is the world’s second largest economy. In foreign affairs, it has acted more aggressively.

However, there are some areas where China is still relatively weak. For example, although it has developed space technology, much of that has been borrowed from the West. There is still a lack of creativity. Also, the PLA has a lot of soldiers and weapons, but these weapons are not the most advanced.

Educational levels are still quite low, which adversely affects economic development. It still has several social problems, such as the urban-rural disparity. The issue of migrant workers is not yet settled and many of them still suffer discrimination in the workplace.

The problem of environmental pollution is still severe. The burning of coal in factories and power plants releases many pollutants. Widespread development of renewable energy has not yet happened.

In order to be a genuinely strong nation, China must improve what is known as its soft power.