The SCO, as a multilateral platform, should serve as an important channel to disseminate accurate information about China and its policies and make the establishment of genuine multilateralism a reality.

China's birth rate in 2020 is likely to be 8.52 per 1,000, below 10 for the first time, while the natural population growth rate during the same period is expected to be 1.45 per 1,000, according to China Statistical Yearbook 2021 released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Some Western media outlets have been claiming that China will "take over" large-scale infrastructure facilities such as airports and ports in some African countries if those countries' governments fail to repay China's loans. Some Western officials and biased international organizations allege that China is engaged in "neocolonialism" in Africa and has been plundering African resources.

That 2021 is drawing to a close means the Joe Biden administration has been in office for nearly one year. What has Biden's presidency been like?

The Japanese government insists on discharging nuclear contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea ignoring the opposition of many countries including China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, Russia and South Pacific island states. On Friday Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority officially started to review a plan for discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

The Central Economic Work Conference held early this month mapped out the path of China's economy in 2022. Apart from highlighting stability as the top priority, the conference also laid out the road map for addressing short-term economic issues and challenges, and decided to keep a firm eye on the country's key long-term goals.

Thanks to the "double reduction" policy, many Chinese private tutoring giants including New Oriental Education and Technology Group, TAL Education Group and Juren Education have announced that they will terminate their tutoring business for primary to junior high school students (the nine-year compulsory education period) by the end of this year.

Traditional Chinese culture has become increasingly popular among youths, who are taking greater interest in historical and cultural sites and relics such as the Palace Museum (the Forbidden City), the Sanxingdui cultural artifacts (second millennium BC objects found at the Sanxingdui archaeological site in Sichuan province) and the representation of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes through virtual reality.

Editor's note: Social and cultural changes in 2021 continued to influence people's lives while improved social governance and rising public interest and participation in cultural events contributed significantly to social stability. Yet some changes have created new challenges for the country. Three experts share their views on what these changes and challenges mean to the country with China Daily:

Beyond its historical significance, the Winter Games comes at a time when humanity has been challenged like few times before－and issued an ultimatum that either we come together or fall apart.

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has transformed into a comprehensive strategic and cooperation platform for China and African countries.

The National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has analyzed the security environment in the Asia-Pacific, particularly the US' role in the region, in its annual report on regional security.

The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative are part of China's approach to promote global sustainable development and common prosperity, and make important contribution to the world.

The supply chain crisis that has hit the United States is likely to continue into 2022. The crisis has already led to the highest inflation in the US in 30 years, which in turn has deepened the supply chain problem.

Following the earlier announcement made by the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in her 2021 Policy Address about Mandatory Provident Fund investments into bonds issued by the Central People's Government and Chinese mainland policy banks, the HKSAR government's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority have completed the review on this matter. The implementation plan and timetable are set out as follows.

A review of the available information on the US president's National Security Strategy, the US defense secretary's National Security Strategy, and the US Department of Defense's Study on Future Force Structure and Deployments, the three strategic documents the US is expected to release in January 2022, and the views of some US experts, give us an insight into the key points of the Joe Biden administration's strategy toward China.

China has mapped out the priorities for its economic policy in 2022, highlighting stability as a major priority at the recently concluded annual Central Economic Work Conference.

Maintaining economic stability and higher-quality development, and achieving "common prosperity" are priority areas for China. But in pursuit of higher-quality development, China remains mindful of the importance of creating millions of jobs every year. Will China succeed in realizing its goals?

The China-Laos-Myanmar-Thailand joint patrol and law enforcement mechanism, launched in 2011, is the first joint security cooperation mechanism between the four countries for the Mekong River. It was established to meet the security challenges and better protect the region's environment to ensure the common development of the river basin.

US President Joe Biden hosted the "Summit for Democracy" last week so he and some other countries' leaders could talk about how "democratic" and great they are. Like "freedom" and "human rights", we can count "democracy" as another term that's lost its meaning after being trotted out by the country that cares least about it.

While addressing the Understanding China Conference in Guangzhou, via video link, earlier this month, President Xi Jinping said that to understand China one must strive to understand the Communist Party of China. Which gains added importance because the CPC is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding this year.

The recently concluded Central Economic Work Conference paid special attention to the real estate industry, especially because the near collapse of property giant Evergrande has caused panic across the industry in China and alarmed stock exchanges around the world.

In 2018, Steve Bannon, then-US President Donald Trump's chief strategist, argued that the United States needed to "decouple" from China. Since then, the term has become a fixture in discussions of Sino-American relations－to the point that some, such as former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, have warned that it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. How salient is that risk today?

Clearing the technology bottlenecks created by foreign entities is necessary for China to become self-reliant in science and technology, and build a modern socialist society by 2035.

The just concluded Central Economic Work Conference highlighted the importance of China's two carbon goals－realizing peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060－not only for the country but also for the global fight against climate change, one of the world's most prominent global challenges. China, as a country with international responsibility, has long proved to be one that can seize opportunities from challenges. By following a low-carbon development path, China will both be a beneficiary and contributor.

US President Joe Biden has striven to re-activate "traditional value-oriented diplomacy" and made it one of his diplomatic tools to reshape the United States' relations with its allies and reclaim its global leadership since his inauguration in January. The "Summit for Democracy", a first-of-its-kind meeting, is a typical example of what Biden calls value-oriented diplomacy.

The information released after the Central Economic Work Conference lays the road map for addressing short-term economic issues and challenges, while keeping a firm eye on the country's key long-term goals.

China's accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001 has proven to be one of the most significant economic events in modern world history, as it created a win-win outcome for all.

Sequential growth in China almost stalled in the third quarter of 2021 owing to sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks, regulatory tightening and power shortages, in addition to the lagged effect of macro policy normalization. The government, acknowledging the downside risks to the economy, recently fine-tuned real estate policy and boosted coal supply to prevent further slowdown in construction and production.

The recent Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted an important resolution which reviewed the Party's achievements in the 100 years since its founding, and charted the country's future course of action.

Just short of entering the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy is still in a precarious state. The US economy is unlikely to achieve its promised growth rate of 7-8 percent, and Europe and other regions face obstacles in their way to full recovery due to emergence new variants waves of the novel coronavirus.

Whole-process people's democracy covers all aspects of democracy in the national governance system and construction of governance, and provides the systemic guarantee for governing the country for the people.

Apart from the high cost and heavy casualties, the "war on terror" also exacerbated racial discrimination, with minority groups, especially Muslims, being the main targets, and fueled white supremacism in the US.

China's recent efforts to reform the legal and judicial system, in order to promote more effective rule of law reflect its longstanding commitment to pursue modernization and foster a rules-based society.

As a born optimist, I consider 2021 as the year of recovery. The pandemic is not yet over, but there is a ray of hope for a better tomorrow both in the health sector and the economy.

The only thing certain about the future is uncertainty.

Global economic recovery in 2021 faces many challenges, not least because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, emergence of new variants of the novel coronavirus and vaccine inequity.

As the world observes International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Friday, we honor the leadership of persons with disabilities and their tireless efforts to build a more inclusive, accessible and sustainable world. At the same time, we resolve to work harder to ensure a society that is open and accommodating of all.

The China-Laos Railway was inaugurated on Friday, with President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president, watching the opening ceremony via video link, and congratulating each other on the success of the project.

A Chinese national living in Germany told me recently that, as a college student in Shanghai back in the 1980s, he used to admire US democracy, but added that he has since become extremely baffled by many of the US' actions.

The US Department of Commerce announced on Nov 24 that it had added to its exports blacklist, formally Entity List, 27 new entities－12 from China, 13 from Pakistan, and one each from Japan and Singapore－because they did not meet the country's national security or foreign policy requirements.

Making COVID-19 vaccines accessible to all is crucial. But it's just as important to ensure that as many people as possible feel confident enough to take them. While access to COVID-19 vaccines remains an obstacle in many low- and middle-income countries, another challenge looms: vaccine hesitancy.

The recent Sixth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China Central Committee was not a mere domestic political event charting the course of China's future. Its impact has rippled beyond the borders of the country. The session attracted global attention, not least because it issued a historical resolution only for the third time since the founding of the Party 100 years ago. Its significance is visibly pronounced to the international community as the second largest economy is now assuming an increasingly pivotal role impacting the world.

The two-day Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which concluded on Tuesday, reviewed the FOCAC's achievements since its establishment in 2000 and vowed to take China-Africa cooperation to a higher level in accordance with the theme of the conference, "Deepen China-Africa Partnership and Promote Sustainable Development to Build a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in the New Era".

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg and other campaigners were quick to label the recently-concluded two weeks of climate change hand-wringing at COP26 in Glasgow as little more than "blah, blah, blah".

Following his meeting with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted on Nov 25 that an agreement between Teheran and the global nuclear watchdog is possible.

At their summit in June, the G7 leaders endorsed US President Joe Biden's global infrastructure initiative, "Build Back Better World Framework" and agreed to form a partnership led by "major democracies" to help narrow the $40 trillion infrastructure need in the developing world, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ongoing Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Dakar, Senegal, could offer a strategic framework for deepening China-Africa relations.

The ongoing Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Dakar, Senegal, is likely to see the two sides agreeing on a joint action plan to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and build a China-Africa community with a shared future.

Editor's note: The ongoing Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will assess the implementation of the plans announced at the two previous conferences and chart the future course of Sino-African relations. Three experts share their views with China Daily on how the FOCAC has helped both sides to strengthen cooperation and what can we expect from it in the future:

China will provide more resources and opportunities for Africa's development. And that is the significance of the Eighth China-Africa Cooperation Forum being held at this time.

The China-US Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s issued at the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, could inject new vitality into the global fight against climate change and help ensure the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will be held in Dakar, Senegal, on Monday and Tuesday.

The transitory inflation debate in the United States is over. The upsurge in US inflation has turned into something far worse than the Federal Reserve expected. Perpetually optimistic financial markets are taking this largely in stride. The Fed is widely presumed to have both the wisdom and the firepower to keep underlying inflation in check. That remains to be seen.

Combating climate change by, among other things, achieving carbon neutrality is necessary to not only protect our planet but also build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Common prosperity is a catchphrase used to emphasize that a responsible government should make efforts to ensure that every citizen gets a fair share of the nation's wealth. Sharing is a human trait. For example, toddlers playing together share their toys.

After the talks between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, via video link, on Nov 16, The New York Times and other Western media summed up the achievements of the meeting, with one media outlet saying: "The US and Chinese leaders spoke about human rights, Taiwan and trade."

Gina Raimondo's first visit to Asia as US Secretary of Commerce from Nov 15 to 18 came after the considerable disappointment in the Asia-Pacific region over the United States' perceived lack of engagement with Asia during the Donald Trump presidency (2017-20).

Sharing China's progress in greening development can spread and deepen awareness and knowledge about the challenges, innovations and best practices in pursuing a more environmentally sustainable future.