Wu Guangqiang jw368@163.com THIS is a tough year for China. The COVID-19 pandemic remains to be tamed, upsetting an urgently needed economic recovery. The Russia-Ukraine conflict overshadows global economic prospects. The high inflation in the United States and elsewhere, and inevitable interest rate hikes that follow may lead to a global economic contraction. Domestically, sporadic outbreaks of the pandemic are disrupting manufacturing and consuming. The economic growth faces a significant threat, probably the worst in decades. Since the beginning of this year, a series of fiscal and monetary stimuli has been adopted to boost the economy. Facing the unparalleled challenges, Shenzhen City and Zhejiang Province have been tasked with finding new routes to prosperity. Shenzhen is designated as a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and Zhejiang province a demonstration zone for common prosperity. Of far-reaching historical significance, these moves demonstrate China’s commitment to further reform aimed at building a more equitable society. Shenzhen, a pioneer in reform and opening up, has achieved miracles over the past 40 years. Now the city has been given even greater autonomy in pursuing new reforms. An official guideline has mapped out 24 measures to facilitate market access in sectors of technologies, finance and investment, medicine, education, culture and transportation. The chief objectives include exploring new governance systems and policies to boost the socialist market economy, and speed up the integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as an economic powerhouse. Meanwhile, Zhejiang’s undertaking as a demonstration zone for common prosperity shows the determination of the Chinese Government to build a better society for the common folks. An affluent and equal society is a long-pursued dream for humanity, but is currently out of reach. Despite the historical achievements of eliminating absolute poverty in rural areas and greatly improving the living standards of the Chinese people in the past four decades, the problem of the unbalanced development remains unsolved, with a big economic gap between the urban and rural areas. There is also a huge wealth gap between different social classes. Zhejiang has been chosen as the demonstration zone because it has fostered a flourishing private economy, withthe majority of its population living a good life. By 2015, the province had eradicated absolute poverty, achieving an annual per capita disposable income of 35,537 yuan (US$5,527) for its citizens. In 2020, Zhejiang’s urban-rural income ratio reached 1.96:1, one of the lowest in the country. The success of the two wheels of further reform will give new momentum to China’s growth. (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.) | 