The CPC's leadership has been key to China's development over the past decades. It has enabled China to achieve its goal of eliminating absolute poverty, and it will play a crucial rule in the decades to come as China takes concrete steps toward common prosperity. President Xi has identified common prosperity as a defining feature of Chinese modernization. The CPC also considers it a pillar of its people-centered development philosophy, a key aspect of its overall aim of serving the people, and the ultimate goal of development. 

Over the last ten years, China has made a lot of headway in promoting common prosperity. My wife's cake shop has given me an insight into this progress. When she opened her store five years ago, the foundations for higher-quality consumption were just taking shape. My wife uses high-quality ingredients for her products, which means charging higher prices. Back then, there was a certain demand for her products, but it was limited to young people with disposable incomes and high-income white-collar workers. At first, growth was slower than expected. But in recent years, her business has expanded, and her customer base covers a broad section of society. 

One reason for this growth is the improvement in living standards. As people's incomes have grown, they have gained a greater ability to add extra sweetness to their lives, not just in the form of cakes and desserts but through the consumption of all kinds of products and services of a higher quality. This is reflected in the growth of per capita disposable annual income, which has risen from 16,500 yuan to 35,100 yuan over the past decade. 

Growth in personal incomes and an enabling environment have allowed businesses to flourish. Technological innovations and modern logistics have also played an important role, helping companies to reach more customers and lower costs. As these businesses have grown, so have their workforces. My wife started with a team of just three or four and now has a staff of 20. Each of these employees is covered by the state's social security programs, and their earnings are increasing each year. 

This is just one part of the story. The changes in rural areas over the past ten years have been more impressive. Thanks to targeted poverty alleviation, China has lifted 99 million rural residents, 832 counties, and 128,000 villages from poverty. By making poverty alleviation a top priority, the CPC has fulfilled its pledge not to leave any poverty-stricken area or individual behind in the cause of building a moderately prosperous society. 

By improving people's wellbeing, promoting balanced development between regions, eliminating absolute poverty, and realizing moderate prosperity, the CPC has set the stage for China to take concrete steps toward common prosperity in the decades to come. 

The CPC has signaled that going forward, it will do more to address regional divides, urban-rural disparities, and the gap in income distribution. These steps are part of a strategy to make the cake bigger and share it out more fairly. This is ultimately about striking the right balance between fairness and efficiency. 

Striking this balance has been a perennial challenge for all societies and systems, but only few have been able to get it right. As the governing party, the CPC will have an important role in ensuring China can balance these two factors. And there are several reasons why I think it will be able to effectively fulfill this role. 

First, the CPC has accumulated a lot of experience with regard to the challenges involved in promoting efficiency and fairness. This means it is prepared for any potential pitfalls. For example, it has made it clear that common prosperity is not egalitarianism. Efforts will still be focused on encouraging people to realize prosperity through hard work and creativity, while also ensuring the state better plays its role of meeting basic needs and providing services. 

Second, it has defined common prosperity as a long-term endeavor. President Xi has stressed that this process must be neither rushed nor delayed. By ensuring gradual and consistent progress toward the goal of common prosperity in the decades to come, China will be able create plenty of scope for promoting both fairness and efficiency. 

Third, the CPC's practice of piloting measures at the local level before rolling them out nationwide will be crucial. A demonstration zone for common prosperity has been set up in Zhejiang. Other localities around the country are also working to develop innovative approaches for promoting common prosperity. I think this kind of local experimentation will provide opportunities for developing innovative solutions, perfecting policies, and addressing potential problems.

Overall, the progress China had made over the past decade has left it well-placed to take significant strides toward common prosperity in the years to come. The future is also looking bright for my wife's business as she is making plans to open a second store.

Excerpt from Sean Slattery's Speech at "Hong Ting Forum: Understanding the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China".