Chu Feng: Employing Multiple Measures to Forge a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation
The Chinese nation is a great nation with a civilization stretching back over five thousand years. The various ethnic groups of our country have jointly opened up the vast territory of the motherland, jointly founded a unified multi-ethnic state, jointly written the glorious history of China, jointly created the splendid Chinese culture, and jointly nurtured a great national spirit. At the National Commendation Conference for Ethnic Unity and Progress, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must persist in taking the forging of a firm sense of community for the Chinese nation [1] as the main thread, continuously advance the cause of ethnic unity and progress, and promote the high-quality development of the Party’s work on ethnic affairs." He further elaborated on five aspects: always persisting in the leadership of the Party, focusing on building a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation, accelerating the high-quality development of ethnic minority areas, promoting the all-round embedding [2] of all ethnic groups, and governing ethnic affairs in accordance with the law. Forging a firm sense of community for the Chinese nation requires diligent effort in consolidating the political, cultural, economic, social, and rule-of-law foundations.
The leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the very foundation and lifeblood of the Party and the state; it is where the interests and destiny of the people of all ethnic groups lie. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Always persist in the leadership of the Party, and continuously consolidate the common ideological and political foundation for the united struggle of all ethnic groups. The CPC is the core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and is the most reliable 'backbone' [3] for the people of all ethnic groups." Persisting in the leadership of the Party and continuously strengthening the political and organizational functions of Party organizations can provide powerful leadership, guidance, organization, and rallying power for building an unbreakable community for the Chinese nation, providing a strong political guarantee for a united and unified national community. Only under the strong leadership of the Party, by firmly grasping the main thread of forging a firm sense of community for the Chinese nation, can we continuously enhance the identification [4] of all ethnic groups with the great motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the CPC, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, and continuously consolidate the common ideological and political foundation for the united struggle of all ethnic groups.
Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. It always exerts a subtle influence on a nation's value orientations and cultural psychology through invisible consciousness and concepts; it is an important source of national cohesion and creativity. Cultural identity is the positive realization and recognition of the most meaningful aspects of one's own nation, formed through long-term shared life within a national community; its core is the identification with a nation’s basic values. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Focus on building a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation to provide strong spiritual and cultural support for the building of the community for the Chinese nation." We should strive to continue the Chinese cultural lineage, promote the creative transformation and innovative development [5] of fine traditional Chinese culture, and continuously consolidate the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation to lay a deep cultural foundation for building a shared spiritual home. Guided by the core socialist values, we must deepen education in patriotism, collectivism, and socialism, guiding the masses of all ethnic groups to firmly establish correct views of the state, history, nationality, culture, and religion.
In promoting Chinese-path modernization and achieving common prosperity, not a single ethnic group can be left behind. Limited by geographical environments and natural conditions, the economic and social development of ethnic minority areas is mostly relatively lagging, the level of productive forces is generally not high, and there are problems such as imbalanced productive forces and irrational industrial structures between and within regions and industries. Achieving common prosperity for all people is an essential feature of Chinese-path modernization, a significant marker distinguishing it from Western modernization, and the key to why the path of Chinese-path modernization is feasible and steady. To accelerate the high-quality development of ethnic minority areas and solidly promote common prosperity for all ethnic groups, we must completely, accurately, and comprehensively implement the New Development Philosophy. We must focus on strengthening infrastructure construction in ethnic areas, vigorously cultivate and develop industries with comparative advantages, orderly develop the characteristic resources of ethnic areas, and develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions. We must effectively promote the adjustment and upgrading of industrial structures in ethnic areas, focus on solving the prominent problems of unbalanced and inadequate development, and enhance the self-development and sustainable development capabilities of ethnic areas, thereby laying a solid economic foundation for forging a firm sense of community for the Chinese nation.
Extensive contact, exchange, and integration [6] are important paths for advancing the building of the community for the Chinese nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Chinese nation was forged through the contact, exchange, and integration of various ethnic groups, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will surely be realized through the same. The great unity of the Chinese nation is the prerequisite and foundation for comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization. The process of building a strong country and national rejuvenation will necessarily be a process of extensive contact, exchange, and integration among all ethnic groups, and a process of all ethnic groups striving together and developing prosperously together." On the New Journey, to actively promote the contact, exchange, and integration of all ethnic groups, we should construct mutually embedded social structures and community environments, continuously broaden the practical paths for the all-round embedding of all ethnic groups, and encourage all ethnic groups to be "closely embraced like pomegranate seeds" [7]. This will maximize harmonious factors, enhance the vitality of social development, focus on maintaining the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, and strengthen and innovate social governance. We must promote the formation of a social governance community where everyone is responsible, everyone does their duty, and everyone shares the benefits, continuously improving the capacity and level of public service provision, giving full play to the role of improving people’s livelihoods in gathering hearts and minds, and orderly promoting the flow and co-residence of populations of all ethnic groups.
Advancing the modernization of the governance system and capacity for ethnic affairs within the framework of the rule of law is both a fundamental requirement of the strategy of comprehensively governing the country according to the law in ethnic affairs and an inevitable choice for advancing the building of the community for the Chinese nation. On the New Journey, we must persist in taking Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law as our guide, govern ethnic affairs according to the law, and continuously improve the capacity and level of ethnic affairs governance. We must persist in and improve the system of regional ethnic autonomy and the system of primary-level self-governance [8], gradually improve relevant laws, regulations, and differentiated regional support policies, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the masses of all ethnic groups in accordance with the law. We must improve the mechanisms for legislative drafting, demonstration, coordination, and deliberation, promote the integrated construction of a law-based state, government, and society, and strengthen education on the rule of law. We must guide the masses of all ethnic groups to enhance their awareness of the state, citizenship, and the rule of law, providing a solid legal guarantee for forging a firm sense of community for the Chinese nation.
(Author: Chu Feng, Researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Central Party School [National Academy of Governance]; Senior Editor at the Journal Publishing House)
Source: Guangming Daily (January 10, 2025, Page 06) Web Editor: Huihui