BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) came into being in 1921, and in 1949 the People's Republic of China was established. To mark the 100th anniversaries of these two important dates, the CPC set goals that are to be met by 2021 and 2049. The following Q&A will give you an overview of everything you need to know about the "two centennial goals":

Q: What are China's two centennial goals?

A: By 2021, to celebrate the CPC's centenary, the goal is to "build a moderately prosperous society in all respects". This essentially means making sure that China's development improves the lives of all its people, particularly those who are below or near the country's poverty line.

By 2049, the centenary of the People's Republic of China, the goal is to "build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious". This is the reason why much of the reform being pushed in recent years aims to prevent and control major risks, alleviate poverty, curb pollution, and deepen supply-side structural reform to push forward sustained and healthy economic and social development.

Q: What has China achieved so far in the pursuit of the two goals?

A: In terms of poverty relief, China has a remarkable record of lifting about 700 million people out of extreme poverty in more than three decades since reform and opening up began, a figure that represents about 70 percent of global poverty eradication in the period.

As for the country as a whole, China's GDP expanded by an average annual rate of 7.2 percent during 2013-2016, an incredible figure compared with 2.6-percent average global growth and the 4-percent growth of developing economies.

Per-capita disposable income tripled from 7,311 yuan (about 1,111 U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 23,821 yuan in 2016, an annual increase of 7.4 percent. Figures are looking good for 2017 too, with 7.3 percent year on year rise for the first half of the year.

Q: What are the major challenges to meeting the goals?

A: Poverty does still exist in China, albeit only 3 percent of the population. Based on other countries' experiences, the most difficult phase in poverty eradication is normally when number of people living in poverty accounts for less than 10 percent of the overall population, so the next few years will probably be the peak of poverty relief efforts.

Aside from this, external challenges such as climate change and the global economy are the focus of much of China's interactions with international organizations such as the UN and ASEAN, as well as their bilateral relations.