Turning 60 is an important milestone in the life of any person, let alone a country. A big parade was held in Beijing yesterday to celebrate the dramatic improvement in living standards in the 60 years of the People's Republic, and the party continues, with a national holiday running until next Thursday.

    A mood of nostalgia has also prevailed, people comparing photos and telling stories. This has led me to reminisce over an old handkerchief parcel of food coupons my mother left me. For decades in China there was rationing of everything from meat to cloth. I grew up knowing and experiencing hunger. My mother kept the coupons in case such times were to return. They never did.

    In 1949 China's GDP was $18bn, or $50 per capita. In 2008, total GDP reached $4.3 trillion and $3,260 per capita. In the past 30 years, 200 million people came out of poverty. Today, Chinese society has become open and dynamic. There are close to 2,000 newspapers, more than 9,000 magazines and 287 TV channels. With 700 million mobile phone subscribers, 300 million internet users and 180 million bloggers, not surprisingly the Chinese lead the world in texting, blogging and surfing the web. Some 800 international journalists sat in some of the meetings of the National People's Congress this year and asked questions. And more than 30,000 journalists covered the Olympics last year.

    There has also been major progress in developing the rule of law and local democracy. In the past 30 years, 223 laws were promulgated, a task that has taken many countries hundreds of years. When the labour law was debated, the National People's Congress received 200,000 suggestions, largely from public letters, emails and web comments. Elections were introduced at rural level 10 years ago, and all of the 64,000 village committees are directly elected. The government is working hard to introduce democratic decision-making at all levels to ensure that people's voices are heard.

    But we know we still have much to do. After all, China's per capita GDP ranks 104th in the world while the UK's is 20th. Britain is about the size and population of China's Hunan province, yet Britain's GDP is 17 higher. Per capita overseas investment in China is only 1/25th of that of Britain. Some 135 million people across the country still live on less than a dollar a day.

    Any small problem can grow into a huge one if multiplied by 1.3 billion. A big achievement can become too tiny to notice once divided by that number. China will press ahead with reforms aimed to build a strong and harmonious society, where every child is at school, everyone has work to do and a roof over their head, every sick person is treated, and every elderly person is taken care of.

    China's rapid progress would not have been possible without close interaction with the world, the west in particular. In the past 30 years, China's trade increased from $20.6bn to just under $2.6 trillion, a more than hundredfold rise. Thirty years ago, foreign direct investment in China was virtually nonexistent. In 2008 it grew to $92.4bn, ranking first place among developing countries. As of the end of 2008, China has invested $150bn in 170 countries and regions. In the past 30 years, 1.39 million Chinese studied in 109 countries. In 2008, 45 million Chinese travelled overseas as tourists.

    China's rise in the world was not achieved through war or aggression but through exchanges and trading. Seeking friendship and fostering a peaceful and co-operative international environment is China's constant objective. We are learning to fulfill our growing international responsibilities, from restoring global growth to fighting climate change, and will continue to partner Britain in this process. My mother's food coupons will go to the British Museum as I have promised. On this 60th birthday we celebrate our past and our future.

    Fu Ying is China's ambassador to the UK

    中國人看重60周年的紀念，無論是一個人的年齡，還是一個國家的歷程都是如此。昨天在北京舉行了盛大的閱兵儀式，歡慶建國60年來人民生活發生的巨大變化，節日的喜慶氣氛將持續到下周四。

    人們也產生了懷舊情緒，用照片和故事的對比，回顧著家庭生活的變遷。在這個情緒的影響下，我也翻出了母親留給我的包在手絹里的舊糧票。多年來，中國從肉制品到布料，幾乎所有的日用品都實行過配給制，我本人也曾經體驗過饑餓的滋味。我母親保存著這些糧票，是防備短缺的日子再度出現。但這樣的日子已經一去不復返了。

    看看這組數字：1949年建國時，中國的GDP總量只有180億美元，人均GDP只有50多美元，而2008年GDP總量達到了4.3萬億美元，人均GDP達到3263美元。過去30年，2億中國人擺脫了貧困。中國社會也變得越來越開放和充滿活力。全國共有近2000種報紙、9000多種雜志，287家電視臺，還有7億手機用戶，3億網民和1.8億博客，毫不奇怪，中國人是世界上發短信、寫博客和上網最活躍的國家。今年，800名外國記者參與了兩會的采訪，他們還能夠旁聽一些會議的討論并提問。去年共有3 萬名記者采訪了北京奧運會。

    中國在民主法治建設方面也取得了重要進展。過去30 年共制定了223項法律。討論勞動法期間，全國人大收到20萬多條建議，大部分是民眾直接通過信件、郵件和網上留言提出來的。10多年前，中國開始實行基層選舉，六萬四千個村民委員會由村民直接選舉產生。政府堅持推進政治體制改革，加強各級民主決策，傾聽民眾意見。

    但是，我們清醒地認識到，還有很長的路要走。中國人均GDP排名第104位，英國排第20位。英國的國土面積和人口與中國的湖南省差不多，但英國的GDP卻是湖南省的17倍。中國人均海外投資額僅為英國的1/25.目前仍有1.35億人每天生活費不足一美元。

    在中國這樣的人口大國，任何小的困難只要乘以13億就會成為大難題，任何成就除以13億就變得微不足道。中國將繼續堅持改革開放，建設富強與和諧的社會，目標是實現全國人民學有所教、勞有所得、住有所居、病有所醫、老有所養。

    中國的快速發展離不開與世界，特別是西方國家的交往。改革開放30年來，中國的貿易總額由206億美元增加到2.5616萬億美元，增長了100多倍。30年前，中國基本沒有外商直接投資，2008年，外商直接投資達到924億美元，在發展中國家名列第一。到2008年年底，中國共在170個國家和地區投資近1500億美元。過去30年，共有139萬中國學生在全球109個國家留學。到2008年，中國出境游達到了4500萬人次。

    中國的崛起不是通過戰爭和侵略得來的，而是在與他國的交流與貿易中實現的。因此，推動友好關系、營造和平、合作的國際環境是中國孜孜以求的目標。我們將認真履行從恢復全球增長到應對氣候變化等各方面的國際責任，并將繼續與英國發展合作。我已經答應把母親留給我的糧票捐贈給大英博物館。在中國60周歲的生日之際，我們為取得的成就而歡慶，也為更加美好的未來而歡慶。