The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.

China has shown miraculous progress during the last four decades. The early stage of reform and opening-up was welcomed by the Western world and they extended all possible support to China in the interest of capturing the Chinese market. Japan led the rest of the world and entered the Chinese market in the early 1980s. I was student in China from 1980 till 1987 and could witness the heavy Japanese presence in China. Almost half the foreigners were from Japan. The majority of foreign or multinational companies were Japanese and Japanese products were visible everywhere in China. One can say, Japan captured the Chinese market in the 1980s and reaped maximum benefits. This created a temptation for the Western world. America and Europe also entered China with the intention to capture a big market share. Many of the multinational companies were visible as joint ventures with Chinese companies in the 1990s and early 2000s.

It was the wisdom and hard work of the Chinese people that helped them learn new technologies and skills from such foreign joint ventures. Gradually, Chinese companies were skilled enough to replace or compete with foreign companies. The Chinese government was introducing reforms continuously and strengthening national industry and enterprises. As a result of visionary leadership and the persistent hard work of common people, China has become the world’s second largest economy. Mao Zedong liberated China, Deng Xiaoping made China economically strong and President Xi Jinping made China a global power. Under Xi’s leadership, China has emerged as a world power and proactively taken an interest in world affairs.

Today, the West, which intended to capture the Chinese market, has become a market for Chinese products. All Western theories and judgments about China have turned out to be wrong. Today, the Western world considers China their big competitor or, more precisely, a threat. The West has a negative mindset about China and is trying to curtail China. President Trump gave a brief hint during his State of the Union address, targeting Russia and China. Recent initiatives from the US regarding trade with China are also indications of something serious. It is easy to predict -- China may face tough times from the West in the near future.

As China has developed up to this stage, economic growth and development in the social sector have affected domestic issues as well, which are more complex in nature compared to four decades ago.

Under this scenario, the 13th National People's Congress?(NPC) in Beijing has become more important. The NPC has to discuss all the issues -- including the pros and cons, ups and downs, and challenges to be faced domestically as well as internationally. The congress is an opportunity to plan a strategy for the next five years, and it is empowered to amend the constitution too. This is the right time to introduce structural reforms and strengthen leadership to face the challenges of the future.

Strong leadership and structural reforms are vital to address the complex challenges to be faced by China in the near future. Trust that the NPC shall understand the importance and requirements of the time and shall take appropriate measures to ensure the smooth development of China and the realization of the Chinese Dream. Only a strong leadership can ensure the continuation of huge initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative. The people of China believe President Xi is capable to handle the challenges to be faced by China domestically or internationally.

The people of Pakistan will always stand with our Chinese brothers and sisters. Long live the Pakistan-China traditional friendship.

The author is a professor and sinologist for the Chinese Studies Center of Excellence at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan.