这样的数据还可以列举很多。根据一项调查，80%的中国人不认为中国已经是世界强国。这是毫不奇怪的。中国人常说，家家有本难念的经，其中的复杂性只有家人自己最知晓。在中国这样的人口大国，任何小的困难只要乘以13亿就会成为大难题，任何成就除以13亿就变得微不足道。

The list can go on and on. That is why, as survey shows, 80% of Chinese disagree that we have achieved the status of a global power. As an old Chinese saying goes, only the family members can appreciate the complexities and difficulties within the family. The Chinese Premier once remarked: any small problem in China 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.

那么，中国的目标是什么？中国人心中的追求又是什么呢？

Then, what is China’s target? What are we trying to achieve?

这个问题不太好一概而论。简而言之，我们希望把中国建设成为一个繁荣昌盛、民主法治的国家，一个在世界上推进和平合作的国家。

It is hard to generalize. To put in a simple term, we are hoping to develop China into a country with prosperity, democracy and rule of law and a country that works for peace and cooperation in the world.

中国人所追求的繁荣就是人人居有其所、幼有所教、病有所医、老有所养的社会。现在，这个目标的实现已经不那么遥远了。

The Chinese pursuit of prosperity is to enable everyone to have a roof over the head, every child in school, the sick having access to medical care and the elderly taken care of. That is now within grasp.

中国历史上第一次摆脱了饥饿。记得在我上大学的时候，人们彼此的问候不是“你好吗”，而是“吃了吗？”温饱曾经是中国家庭和中国政府最关心的大问题。

For the first time in history, people are not dying of hunger in China. Even when I was in college, the greeting words for people meeting each other on the street was not: how are you? But: have you had your meal? Food was the biggest concern of the families and of the government.

但是现在，如果你问我女儿这代人“吃了吗？”，他们会怀疑你是不是有毛病。我遇到一对刚刚从上海回来的美国夫妇，他们说上海的天际线美得如梦如幻。

Now you ask the young people like my daughter: have you had your meal? They would wonder if you have a problem. I met an American couple from the States who just came back from Shanghai and they think the Shanghai skyline is like surreal.

但是中国最大的变化不仅仅发生在上海这样的大城市，而且发生在广大的农村地区。不知道大家有没有注意到，从2006年第一天起，中国政府取消了农业税。在过去长达2600年漫长的岁月里，中国历代封建王朝和后来的许多届政府的主要财政收入都来自于农民的税赋。农业税的取消，标志着中国从农业社会迈入了工业社会。

But the most significant changes in China in not only in big cities like Shanghai, but in the vast rural China. I wonder how many people noticed that in the first day of 2006 China abolished agricultural tax. For 2600 years the central kingdoms and successive governments mainly depended on taxing the farmers. This move marks the transition of China from an agrarian to industrial society.