Wen Zhiqiang and Lu Yanchen: Advancing with the Times to Enhance Governance Capacity in the Cultural Sphere
When culture flourishes, the national destiny flourishes; when culture is strong, the nation is strong. During the 17th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "anchor the strategic goal of building a cultural powerhouse by 2035," to "continuously develop a New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics that possesses strong ideological leadership, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and international influence," and to "continuously strengthen the spiritual power of the people while consolidating the cultural foundation for building a strong country and national rejuvenation." He further stressed the necessity to "uphold the leadership of the Party, enhance governance capabilities in the cultural sphere under informationized conditions, and consolidate the Party's governing foundation and mass foundation [1] ideologically, spiritually, and culturally." General Secretary Xi Jinping’s resonant words scientifically guide the direction and path for building a socialist cultural powerhouse on the new journey of the New Era. We must unswervingly follow the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics, continuously enhance cultural governance capabilities, leverage the boundless power of culture, and allow the prosperity and development of culture to empower and cast the soul [2] of Chinese-path modernization.
Uphold the leadership of the Party to consolidate the Party's governing and mass foundations
Culture concerns the fundamental essence and destiny of the state. The leadership of the Party, as the leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, is not only the "ballast stone" [3] for the continuous development of the cause of the Party and the state but also the most fundamental and reliable guarantee for enhancing governance capabilities in the cultural sphere and promoting cultural prosperity. In the process of enhancing cultural governance capabilities, we must consistently uphold the leadership of the Party to ensure that cultural governance work always advances in the correct direction. Party leadership is manifested not only in grasping the direction of cultural development but also in improving the cultural governance system, the formulation and execution of cultural policies, and the allocation and utilization of cultural resources. Simultaneously, it provides a stable policy orientation and unified strategic goals for cultural construction, ensuring the orientation and consistency of cultural governance and avoiding uncertainties brought about by market fluctuations, thereby providing a solid guarantee for the long-term development of cultural undertakings. Against the backdrop of rapid economic globalization and informationization, Party leadership has strengthened ideological security and the guidance of socialist core values in the cultural field, ensuring the precise implementation and effective execution of cultural principles and policies. By strengthening the Party's leadership and continuously enhancing cultural governance capabilities under informationized conditions, we must promote innovation in the concepts, methods, means, and mechanisms of propaganda, ideological, and cultural work. This will consolidate the Party's governing and mass foundations ideologically, spiritually, and culturally, provide a solid political guarantee for cultural governance, stimulate the cultural creative vitality of the broad masses, and promote the continuous advancement of socialist cultural undertakings.
Uphold fundamentals and break new ground to fortify the ideological cornerstone of cultural governance
Upholding the fundamental system of the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field is the ideological cornerstone for enhancing cultural governance capabilities. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "ideology determines the direction and development path of culture." Only by maintaining a clear-cut adherence to Marxism can we ensure that our country's culture advances in the right direction. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country were founded; it is not only the scientific theory guiding cultural development but also the core and soul of socialist cultural construction with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. In the process of enhancing cultural governance capabilities, we must consistently uphold the guiding position of Marxism and adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, arming our minds, guiding our practice, and advancing our work with the latest achievements in the Sinicization of Marxism. By strengthening the study and research of Marxist theory, we must deepen our understanding of combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture [4] (the "Two Combinations"). We must safeguard the CPC's cultural leadership and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Culture in cultural construction, and explore future-oriented theoretical and institutional innovations. This will achieve an organic connection between the traditional and the modern, developing a socialist culture that is national, scientific, and popular—oriented toward modernization, the world, and the future. We will continuously improve the theoretical level and practical capacity of cultural governance, persistently constructing Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and China's strength.
Adhere to the integration of culture and technology to promote the intelligent transformation of cultural governance
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to explore effective mechanisms for the integration of culture and technology, achieving the digital empowerment and informationized transformation of cultural construction to turn cultural resource advantages into cultural development advantages. We must accelerate the improvement of cultural management systems and production/operation mechanisms. Through the synergy of technological and institutional innovation, we shall build a modern cultural industrial system, promote the high-quality development of the cultural industry, and realize digital empowerment and informationized transformation. Simultaneously, we should make full use of modern information technology to innovate cultural governance methods and improve governance efficiency. This requires us to integrate new quality productive forces—represented by advanced technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence—into cultural governance to provide new momentum and achieve intelligent, precise, and efficient governance. Furthermore, the modernization of cyberspace governance is a key link in realizing the modernization of the state governance system and governance capability. Under the digital backdrop, by strengthening the construction of internet culture, creating a favorable online cultural ecosystem, and enhancing cyberspace cultural governance capabilities, we can ensure that cyberspace becomes an important frontier for spreading positive energy and promoting the "main melody" [5].
Maintain cultural confidence to stimulate the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation
Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, deeper, and more lasting force in the development of a country and a nation. Cultural confidence is not only the identification with and affirmation of one's own culture but also a form of spiritual composure and resilience, and more importantly, the internal driving force for cultural innovation and development. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted, "Without the prosperity and flourishing of Chinese culture, there will be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." This demonstrates that cultural confidence is both the source of power for cultural development and an important guarantee for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization," adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, made systematic arrangements for comprehensively deepening the reform of cultural systems and mechanisms. On one hand, deepening the reform of cultural systems and mechanisms is key to stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the whole nation and is the core of enhancing governance capabilities in the cultural sphere. Through reform, we can break down the institutional barriers hindering cultural development and release the potential of cultural innovation and creativity. On the other hand, creating a favorable cultural ecosystem is an important condition for stimulating national cultural creativity. A good cultural ecosystem facilitates the expression of the individuality of cultural subjects and forms a powerful synergy for cultural innovation. To this end, it is necessary to fully promote academic democracy and artistic democracy, providing a favorable environment for writers, artists, and experts to root themselves in life and focus on creation. Meanwhile, high-level cultural talent is a vital force in promoting cultural innovation. Therefore, we must increase support and cultivation of cultural talent, respect the laws of talent growth, and build a large-scale, well-structured, and innovative team of high-level cultural talent to provide a strong guarantee for the continuous burst of cultural innovation and creativity.
Persist in soul-strengthening and cohesion to promote socialist core values
Against the backdrop of global cultural integration and the clashing of various currents of thought, enhancing cultural governance capabilities has become a critical strategic task for safeguarding national cultural sovereignty and security. The key to cultural governance lies in firmly grasping the leadership of ideology, taking socialist core values as the guide, fortifying cultural confidence, and guarding cultural security. Ideological security is a vital component of national security, directly related to the stability of the political system and the consolidation of state power; it also serves as an important shield for ensuring the solidity of national cultural sovereignty and security. By enhancing cultural governance capabilities, we can not only effectively resist the infiltration of foreign cultures but also consolidate the uniqueness and subjectivity of local culture, ensuring the dominant position of socialist core values. As the concentrated expression of the contemporary Chinese spirit, socialist core values embody the common value pursuits of all people and point the direction for cultural innovation and development. Promoting socialist core values provides deep-level value guidance for cultural governance, ensuring that cultural innovation moves along the correct value trajectory and promoting cultural diversity and prosperity. In the process of enhancing cultural governance, we must always adhere to socialist core values as the fundamental compliance, continuously constructing Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and China's strength. This will not only fortify the foundation of national cultural governance but also help build cultural brands with international appeal, enhancing the international communication and influence of national culture. At the same time, we must strengthen the construction of mainstream values, mainstream public opinion, and mainstream culture, developing and expanding a positive, healthy, and upward-looking ideological culture.
Enhancing governance capabilities in the cultural sphere is an inevitable requirement for building a socialist cultural powerhouse in the New Era and an important guarantee for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Anchoring the strategic goal of becoming a cultural powerhouse by 2035, we must adhere to the guiding position of Marxism, unswervingly follow the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics, and actively explore the modernization path of the cultural governance system and capabilities. Taking stronger ideological leadership, value appeal, cultural cohesion, and international communication as benchmarks, we will promote the continuous deepening of Chinese-path modernization. In the future, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will continue to build a healthy, open, and vibrant cultural governance ecosystem, showcasing to the world the image of a confident, innovative, and enterprising socialist cultural powerhouse, while contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the progress of human civilization and global cultural diversity.
(Author's affiliation: National Governance Research Institute, Tianjin Normal University) Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net (cssn.cn) Web Editor: Huihui