Tang Aijun: In Comprehensively Deepening Reform, We Must Adhere to the Socialist Direction and Principles
By Tang Aijun
Direction determines the future, and the path determines one's destiny. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Our reform and opening up has a direction, a position, and principles." Reform is the self-perfection and development of the socialist system; how we reform and what we reform are governed by our political principles and bottom lines [1]. Failing to implement reform and opening up would lead to a dead end; likewise, pursuing a "reform and opening up" that negates the socialist direction would also lead to a dead end. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee [2] has embarked on a new journey of further comprehensively deepening reform. By adhering to socialist directions and principles and fully reflecting the essential requirements of socialism, the superiority, charisma, and attraction of the socialist system have been greatly enhanced, allowing scientific socialism to radiate vigorous vitality in 21st-century China.
Comprehensively deepening reform consistently adheres to the leadership of the Party, following the basic principle of scientific socialism that the proletarian party is the fundamental leading force of the socialist cause. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the greatest advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization, and the fundamental guarantee for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization. The Party’s nature, purpose, original aspiration and founding mission, ideals, beliefs, policies, and propositions determine that Chinese-path modernization is socialist modernization and not some other kind of modernization; they determine that our reform is socialist reform and not some other kind of reform. The reason why reform and opening up and Chinese-path modernization are defined as "socialist" is precisely because we consistently and unswervingly adhere to the leadership of the Party. The CPC takes communism as its ultimate ideal, always holds high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and persists in developing the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This ensures that reform and opening up and Chinese-path modernization proceed smoothly along the socialist road, providing scientific ideological guidance, strong institutional guarantees, and powerful spiritual strength for further comprehensively deepening reform.
In the New Era and on the new journey, comprehensively deepening reform consistently adheres to the principle that "the Party leads everything—be it the government, the military, society, or schools; be it in the east, west, south, north, or center" [3]. We resolutely uphold the authority of the Central Committee, improve the institutional system of Party leadership that oversees the overall situation and coordinates all parties, and implement Party leadership in all fields, aspects, and links of national governance. The Party’s overall leadership is continuously strengthened, ensuring the correct direction of China’s socialist modernization and demonstrating the advantage of the socialist system in "mobilizing resources to accomplish major undertakings" [4]. In the process of further comprehensively deepening reform, we must always maintain the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. Party committees (and leading Party groups) at all levels, as well as the broad ranks of Party members and cadres, must consciously act with the overall situation in mind, improve the mechanisms for implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, and ensure that these decisions regarding further comprehensively deepening reform are implemented to the letter.
Comprehensively deepening reform consistently adheres to a people-centered approach, upholding the basic value position of socialism. From the perspective of the purpose of reform, comprehensively deepening reform consistently insists that everything is for the people, continuously realizing a beautiful and happy life for the people through reform and development. Socialist society adheres to a logic of production and development that is people-centered. Socialist reform upholds the value orientation of "the people above all," establishes a people-centered concept of reform, and takes the realization of people’s happiness and a beautiful life as the goal and destination of social development and reform. Comprehensively deepening reform integrates the fundamental position and value pursuit of being people-centered throughout the entire process. Major reform decisions consistently involve "seeking advice from the people and asking the people about their needs" [5], fully promoting democracy, extensively pooling the wisdom of the masses, sincerely listening to the voices of the people, and responding timely to their concerns. This ensures that "the reform responds to what the people call for," making reform measures realistic and aligned with the people's wishes.
From the perspective of the driving force of reform, comprehensively deepening reform always respects the principal status and pioneering spirit of the masses, relying closely on the people to push reform forward. Further comprehensively deepening reform fully stimulates the initiative of the masses to participate, promoting a vivid situation where hundreds of millions of people involve themselves in, support, and advance reform. It respects the pioneering spirit of the grassroots and the masses, encourages trailblazing and innovation, and uses new ideas and methods to explore solutions to new problems encountered in new fields and practices, striving to create fresh experiences that can be replicated and promoted.
From the perspective of sharing the fruits of reform, comprehensively deepening reform consistently insists that the results of reform be shared by the people. It continuously increases the intensity of reforms that benefit the people, planning and implementing measures that address urgent public needs and aspirations. It focuses on solving the "urgent, difficult, and anxious" [6] problems of the masses—such as employment, income growth, schooling, medical care, housing, childcare, elderly care, and ecological protection—giving the people a tangible sense of gain, continuously improving their quality of life, and achieving a "beautiful life." Comprehensively deepening reform proceeds from the overall, fundamental, and long-term interests of the people, ensuring that the vast majority of the masses share in the fruits of reform and preventing these fruits from being monopolized by a few.
Comprehensively deepening reform consistently adheres to the direction and goal of common prosperity, reflecting the essential requirements of socialism. Common prosperity is a basic goal of Marxism and an essential requirement of socialism. Marx and Engels envisioned that in the future society, "production will be aimed at the prosperity of all" and "everyone will together enjoy the welfare created by all." For over a century, our Party has led the people in a tireless struggle to create a better life and achieve common prosperity. Since the 18th National Congress [7], our Party has placed the gradual realization of common prosperity for all people in an even more prominent position. By persisting in "targeted poverty alleviation" and "sending the best forces to the front lines" [8], we won the largest battle against poverty in human history, historically resolving the problem of absolute poverty and laying a solid foundation for promoting common prosperity. China has fully built a moderately prosperous society (xiaokang), and the entire population is now running on the broad road toward a beautiful life.
Comprehensively deepening reform consistently follows the socialist essential requirement of common prosperity. We do not wait until modernization is achieved to solve the problem of common prosperity; rather, we always take meeting the people’s new expectations for a beautiful life as the starting point and end point of development, gradually solving this problem during the modernization process. Distribution systems are the foundational institutions for promoting common prosperity. Comprehensively deepening reform adheres to socialist principles of distribution, maintaining the system where distribution according to work is the mainstay while multiple modes of distribution coexist. We are building foundational institutional arrangements where primary distribution, redistribution, and tertiary distribution [9] are coordinated, increasing the intensity and precision of regulation through taxation, social security, and transfer payments. We aim to expand the proportion of the middle-income group, increase the income of low-income groups, reasonably regulate excessive income, and abolish illegal income, forming an "olive-shaped" distribution structure that is large in the middle and small at both ends. This promotes social fairness, justice, and all-around human development, ensuring all people move steadily toward the goal of common prosperity.
Comprehensively deepening reform consistently adheres to the principle of fairness and justice, firmly grasping the internal requirements of socialism. Fairness and justice are inherent requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, China’s economic and social development has achieved great successes, providing a solid material foundation and favorable conditions for promoting social fairness and justice. Comprehensively deepening reform must take the promotion of social fairness and justice and the enhancement of the people's well-being as its starting point and end point. If reform cannot bring tangible benefits to the common people or create a fairer social environment, it loses its meaning and cannot be sustained.
In further comprehensively deepening reform, we must use the promotion of social fairness and justice and the enhancement of people’s well-being as a "mirror" to examine our systems, mechanisms, and policies. Wherever there is an issue inconsistent with social fairness and justice, reform is needed; whichever field or link has prominent problems becomes the focus of reform. Comprehensively deepening reform takes institutional building as the main thread, innovating institutional arrangements to overcome phenomena of unfairness caused by human factors. This ensures the people's right to equal participation and development, allowing the fruits of reform to benefit all people more extensively and fairly, thereby continuously demonstrating the charisma and attraction of socialism. The legal system is an important guarantee for social fairness and justice. The unfair phenomena existing in China at the current stage can be resolved through institutional arrangements, legal norms, and policy support. We must accelerate the improvement of a legal system that embodies fairness in rights, opportunities, and rules, ensuring that everyone is equal before the law and that citizens’ rights of person, property, personality, and basic political, economic, cultural, and social rights are fully implemented.
Source: Learning Times (Xuexi Shibao) Online Editor: Hui Hui