Quantity to quality

Xiaokang has been invoked in political planning since it was named as the Party's new historic mission at the CPC's 15th National Congress in 1997.

In his report to the 19th CPC National Congress on Oct 18, 2017, President Xi Jinping highlighted the goals of realizing a moderately prosperous society in all respects and to ensure the victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new era, indicating the achievement of xiaokang had entered the final phase.

"Xi's saying 'to understand whether it is xiaokang or not, you need to look at life in the villages' reveals the current Chinese leadership's understanding of the problem," Lomanov says.

"One needs to look not at statistics or abstract numbers but at the real everyday lives of people, their difficulties and their aspirations.

"The process of constructing the xiaokang society marked the transition from quantity to quality, from raising people's incomes to ensuring a higher quality of life."

He points out that limiting xiaokang to per capita income may oversimplify poverty alleviation.

"The policy of building the xiaokang society was successful because it helped activate people to become rich. But it did not forget about the need for balanced development without excessive income gaps between social strata and regions," he says.

"After all, a small number of very rich people can balance the statistics of the desperate acute poverty of millions. In China, great efforts are being made to help everyone to escape poverty."

He says that it's especially noticeable this year, since COVID-19 has hit the economy hard.

Beijing Capital Normal University professor David Moser says: "In the last three decades, over 1 billion people globally have been brought out of extreme poverty. According to the World Bank, of that 1 billion people, around 800 million of them were Chinese. This is quite a remarkable achievement, and one for which China does not often receive credit."

Xiaokang goes beyond economic strength to include advancements in education, investment in science and technology, cultural flourishing, environmental improvement and social harmony.

"Now, it is a question of people's satisfaction with their quality of life, including social benefits, access to education and medical services, and the quality of the environment," Lomanov says.

The concept of xiaokang means democracy, the rule of law, fairness, justice and a good environment, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"In the spirit of the original Confucian understanding of xiaokang, the importance of access to cultural services is growing steadily," Lomanov says.

"The state cares more about cultivating high moral standards in society, and supporting the development of science and education."

He adds that China remains the world's largest developing country, but it is making persistent efforts to ensure access to health services, education and social guarantees for vulnerable groups.