Liu Haixing: Profoundly Grasping the Global Significance of China’s Path, Governance, and Theory
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The period of the '15th Five-Year Plan' (2026–2030) is a critical period for consolidating the foundation and exerting full force. By formulating and implementing the '15th Five-Year Plan' effectively, we can lay a more solid foundation for basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035." The "Recommendations" of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee accurately grasp the historical position of our country's development, clearly propose the guiding principles and main goals for economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, and sketch a grand blueprint for national development over the next five years. This blueprint encapsulates the Chinese path, Chinese governance, and Chinese theory—unique models that also benefit the world. We must take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, as our guide. From a strategic and global perspective, we must deeply understand and comprehensively implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. We should deeply grasp the global influence and historical contribution of our Party as the world's largest Marxist governing party. From both theoretical and practical dimensions, we must effectively communicate to the international community the world significance of the Chinese path, Chinese governance, and Chinese theory, actively projecting a positive international image of the Communist Party of China.
Deeply Grasping the Important Contribution of the Chinese Path to Global Prosperity and Stability
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "China insists on following a development path that suits its own national conditions" and "The Communist Party of China has united and led the Chinese people in carving out a path to modernization that both develops itself and benefits the world." Our Party has continuously deepened its understanding of the laws of Communist Party governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society. Centered on active exploration of major contemporary issues such as scientific socialist theoretical innovation, modernization construction, and world peace and development, we have opened up the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, successfully forged the Chinese-path modernization, created a new form of human civilization, and remained committed to the broad "right path of the world" [1] of peaceful development. This has allowed the historical significance and era value of the Chinese path to be continuously manifested.
The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has pushed the world socialist movement into a new stage. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Marxism is an open and constantly developing theory. Only through localization can it take root, and only by staying abreast of the times can it be full of vitality." Our Party insists on combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture. In responding to new questions of the era and new requirements of practice, we have continuously enriched and perfected the Party’s theoretical system, forming the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This path has promoted the realization of national prosperity, national rejuvenation, and people's happiness, demonstrating the power of Marxist truth and the practical might of socialism. At a time when systematic crises of capitalism break out frequently, the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics has driven Marxist parties in various countries to jointly promote theoretical and practical innovation. This has continuously enhanced the influence and appeal of socialism, causing the historical evolution and contest between the two ideologies and social systems of socialism and capitalism to undergo a major shift in favor of socialism on a global scale. Some foreign political parties have spoken highly of the mainstay role of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the 21st-century world socialist movement. It is generally believed that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is "the Marxism of our time" and "makes original contributions to enriching the theoretical treasure house of Marxism." The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics created by the CPC not only effectively guides the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics toward continuous success but also inspires progressive forces in all countries to unite and strive together to create a beautiful future for socialism.
The Chinese-path modernization provides a new modernization trajectory for developing countries. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The modernization we pursue is not one where China prospers alone; rather, we look forward to achieving modernization together with all countries, including the vast number of developing countries." Our Party closely follows changes in the global and national situation, implements the new development philosophy, constructs a new development paradigm, and promotes high-quality development. We are leading more than 1.4 billion Chinese people toward modernization, which in turn strengthens the overall power of developing countries and promotes the most progressive major shift in the international balance of power since modern times. Our Party adheres to pioneering innovation. Centered on the goals and tasks of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, we have carved out a distinctive Chinese-path modernization through comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, creating a new form of human civilization. The Chinese-path modernization breaks the "Western-centric" logic that "modernization equals Westernization," setting an example and providing a brand-new choice for the vast number of developing countries to move toward modernization independently. Many leaders of political parties in developing countries have stated that Chinese-path modernization is not only committed to its own development but also provides important public goods to the world, greatly encouraging the confidence and determination of developing countries to explore modernization paths suited to their own national conditions. Many foreign political parties, especially those in developing countries, are competing to learn from and borrow the development experience of Chinese-path modernization, carrying out creative practices in infrastructure construction, poverty alleviation, and industrial cultivation and upgrading in combination with their own national conditions, achieving good results.
Adhering to the path of peaceful development gathers strength for promoting world peace and common development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We will never follow the old path of colonial plunder, nor will we follow the crooked path of seeking hegemony once strong; instead, we will follow the broad 'right path of the world' of peaceful development." For a long time, China has consistently focused on construction and development with single-minded dedication. In the process of adhering to the path of peaceful development, China has become the largest contributor to global development and the greatest builder of world peace. Especially now, as geopolitical conflicts intensify and protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise, China firmly acts as a force for peace, stability, and progress in the world, continuously injecting certainty into a world of turbulence and change. Facing the scarcity of global ideological public goods, General Secretary Xi Jinping, with a view toward safeguarding the fundamental interests of all humanity, has creatively proposed a series of new concepts and initiatives, such as the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Four Global Initiatives [2]. These have profoundly answered the question of the times: "What kind of world should we build, and how should we build it?" This not only points the way forward for the benign interaction between China and the world but also contributes ideological public goods for all countries to jointly respond to the changes of the era, continuously attracting and uniting more international forces to walk hand in hand on the road of peaceful development. China's image as a major country that is trustworthy, values friendship, upholds justice, and observes morality has been highly praised by the international community. The concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity has been written into multiple UN resolutions and various bilateral and multilateral documents. The Belt and Road "big family" already includes three-quarters of the world's countries, and the Four Global Initiatives have received support from more than 100 countries and international organizations. Chinese concepts and initiatives are being deeply promoted and continuously practiced on a global scale. Many countries and political parties have expressed their firm stance to stand on the right side of history with China. They highly appreciate and thank China for its important contributions to global prosperity and stability, and they look forward to taking the implementation of China's "15th Five-Year Plan" as an opportunity to further strengthen the alignment of development strategies and jointly build a better world.
Deeply Grasping the Unique Inspiration of Chinese Governance for Global Party Governance
The Chinese path encapsulates Chinese governance—that is, the theoretical creations and practical experiences of the Communist Party of China in governing the country. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "In the midst of the changes unseen in a century, China provides stability and certainty." Since the New Era, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the modernization of our national governance system and governance capacity has been continuously promoted, effectively ensuring China's economic development and social stability. The governance efficacy of the CPC is recognized worldwide. Chinese governance provides inspiration and reference for political parties around the world that are facing problems such as political polarization, economic stagnation, and difficult livelihoods, helping them to break out of predicaments, seek strength through governance, solve the problems of party governance, and achieve national prosperity through party revitalization.
Exerting the Party’s role as the core of leadership. Unswervingly exercising the Party’s role as the leadership core that oversees the overall situation and coordinates all parties is the foundation of Chinese governance. It is the key to ensuring the correct direction of the path and achieving equal emphasis on both development and stability. From continuously solving the problems of unbalanced and inadequate development to successfully responding to the challenges of "high winds and turbulent waves" [3] in the external environment, our Party has united and led the whole Party and people of all ethnic groups in continuously opening up new prospects for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. Practice has repeatedly confirmed that General Secretary Xi Jinping, as the core of the Party Central Committee and the core of the whole Party, always plays a decisive role in "setting the course" [4]. In contrast, looking at the governance dilemmas currently faced by some foreign political parties, emerging challenges are often accompanied by a loss of direction. These parties are gradually realizing that strengthening the Party’s centralized and unified leadership and highlighting the key role of a leadership core is the key to solving problems and gathering strength. Only by preventing political parties from falling into chaos amidst diverse demands can the continuity and effectiveness of policy execution be ensured. In the exchanges of experience in state governance between our Party and foreign political parties in recent years, "Party leadership" and "core role" have become high-frequency terms mentioned by the foreign side, and are also key points they wish to learn from. Many of them stated that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the CPC has continuously improved its ability to manage and govern the Party, demonstrating strong cohesion, organizational power, and action-oriented capacity. This stands in sharp contrast to the situation of some foreign political parties that invest their main energy in elections, attacking each other between parties and forming cliques within the party for the sake of winning, which leads to a fragmented state. The CPC's rigorous organizational system is the important "secret code" that allows China to continuously formulate and successively implement Five-Year Plans. By uniting and leading the people of the whole country to strive together for the goals of the "15th Five-Year Plan," we will surely continue to achieve new and even greater successes.
Adhering to the value orientation of putting the people first. Putting the people first is the fundamental standpoint of Marxism, the distinctive color of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the core essence of Chinese-path modernization. The process by which our Party promotes the step-by-step advancement of socialist modernization has always manifested as being "people-centered." The advanced governance model of putting the people first runs through the entire process of formulating and implementing the "15th Five-Year Plan" and a series of policies. The outstanding achievements of China’s economic and social development have powerfully proved that only by consistently taking the realization, maintenance, and development of the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as the starting point and foothold of all work can we ensure that we win the historical initiative amidst the changes of the century and remain invincible in the increasingly fierce and complex game. In today’s world, the party politics of many countries have fallen into the chaotic game of polarization and fragmentation. Many political parties lack responsible reflection on social tearing and livelihood hardships. Some traditional mainstream parties have lost their "original aspiration," deviating from the nature and purpose of the party at its founding. They only care about catering to radical propositions of the moment, using "emotional votes" to gain political advantage, and find it difficult to propose effective policy propositions for problems like economic weakness, social injustice, and governance failure. They are unable to integrate the demands of different interest groups, becoming estranged from the masses and gradually losing their governing status. Other foreign political parties play the "people card" to win votes, unrealistically proposing "eating next year's food today" [5] style welfare policies and economic development policies that cannot be implemented. Although they gain voter support in the short term, they sacrifice long-term development. In essence, they still safeguard the private interests of a few interest groups rather than the fundamental interests of the broad masses. This is fundamentally different from our Party’s insistence on putting the people first. As the core value connotation for understanding Chinese governance, "putting the people first" replaces the logic of capital with the logic of the people, completely transcending erroneous concepts such as "private interest first" and "capital first," providing an answer for political parties around the world to solve development and governance problems.
Promoting the spiritual quality of self-revolution. Our Party has always persisted in promoting the Party’s self-revolution with the tenacity and perseverance of "always being on the road," continuously achieving new results and experiences in managing and governing the Party, and providing useful references and lessons for political parties worldwide. Under the impact of the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the trends of conservatism and extremism, the underlying logic and operating modes of global party politics are facing profound challenges. Some national political parties blindly trust Western...
The "separation of powers" mechanism of checks and balances has failed to escape the cycle of history [6], leaving such systems mired in the quagmire of frequent government turnovers and intensified partisan strife. Since the start of the New Era, our Party, with the courageous spirit that "it takes a blacksmith's own strength to forge iron," has deeply advanced the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. We began by formulating and implementing the central Eight-Point Regulations to break through difficulties, leading by example from the top down, "moving the pole to establish trust" [7], and persisting over the long term. This has not only revitalized the conduct of the Party and the government but also continuously strengthened the Party's cohesion and combat effectiveness. It has profoundly changed China and polished the "golden business card" of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) experience in Party governance on the world stage of political parties. Many foreign political parties and dignitaries sincerely admire General Secretary Xi Jinping’s sense of mission and responsibility—expressed as "offending thousands to avoid failing the 1.4 billion"—and highly praise our Party’s great courage and political wisdom in self-revolution. They believe the CPC’s experience in solving the global conundrum of party self-supervision through comprehensive and strict governance, thereby providing a fundamental guarantee for economic and social development, is invaluable. They are eager to strengthen anti-corruption exchanges and international cooperation with our Party. Many foreign parties also pay close attention to the study and education programs our Party conducts to thoroughly implement the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations, earnestly proposing to learn from our Party's governance wisdom in using the "small opening" of conduct construction to drive an overall improvement in the level of Party governance.
Formulating long-term scientific plans. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Scientifically formulating and successively implementing Five-Year Plans is an important experience of our Party’s state governance and a significant political advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics." Since World War II, some countries have also attempted to formulate economic plans or programs. However, viewed generally, these countries’ plans lacked scientific rigor and applicability, resulting in poor execution or mid-way abandonment. Looking across the world, only China has formulated and executed Five-Year Plans with the greatest persistence and success, thereby creating the two miracles rarely seen in post-war international society: rapid economic development and long-term social stability. Our Party scientifically formulates phased development goals, clarifies key tasks and policy orientations, and effectively coordinates developmental resources and forces. This not only continuously enhances China’s strength but also releases China’s development dividends, bringing discernible opportunities to the world. More and more political parties worldwide attach importance to studying and learning from China’s long-term scientific planning. Particularly, parties in "Global South" countries pay close attention to how the CPC leads the scientific formulation and successive implementation of Five-Year Plans, believing that China's ability to transform long-term development goals into reality step-by-step is admirable. Many foreign political parties and dignitaries state that understanding the Five-Year Plans formulated by the CPC is the "guidebook" to decoding the CPC’s governance logic and the trajectory of Chinese-path modernization.
Profoundly Grasping the Leading Role of China’s Theory in the Progress of Human Civilization
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Our advancement of theoretical innovation is theoretical innovation based on practice, not ivory-tower speculation; we must persist in discovering and developing truth through practice." China’s theory is the theoretical source of China’s path and China’s governance. It is the crystallization of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. It both guides China’s practice and provides Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for solving the common problems of today's world. Under the new situation, we must focus on summarizing, refining, and effectively communicating China’s theory to the outside world, ensuring that the study, comprehension, implementation, and dissemination of China’s theory are closely linked and integrated.
Communicating the global significance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the great synthesizer of China’s theory. It has not only historically transformed China but also provided important enlightenment for various countries to solve domestic development difficulties and respond to global challenges. More and more countries realize that having a strong leadership core is of great significance in a world intertwined with change and disorder. They admire General Secretary Xi Jinping’s leadership, influence, and charisma as a world-class leader. It has become a common trend for the international community to "look East" and learn from the CPC. Many "Global South" political parties attach importance to studying and borrowing from Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, having already integrated it into their own party-building theory and practice and transformed it into practical measures for their countries' economic and social development. Political parties in some Western countries are also showing growing interest and deepening understanding of the governance wisdom and development experience contained within Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must fully seize historical opportunities, respond to the needs of the international community, and promote the international dissemination of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to increasingly greater depths.
Communicating the contemporary value of fine traditional Chinese culture. Fine traditional Chinese culture is the civilizational gene of China’s theory. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped the historical experience of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and the laws governing the development of Chinese civilization, promoting the mutual compatibility and fulfillment of Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture. Sinicized Marxism possesses distinct Chinese characteristics, a Chinese style, and a Chinese spirit, fundamentally due to the nourishment of fine traditional Chinese culture. "The more national it is, the more international it is." Only by consistently rooting ourselves in our own long cultural heritage can we scientifically calibrate our historical position, profoundly understand global trends, and calmly respond to risks and challenges. In today’s world of change and disorder, the excellent qualities of fine traditional Chinese culture—such as maintaining a global vision, advocating harmony, constant self-improvement, and valuing honesty and neighborliness—have regained their charm. This stands in sharp contrast to certain foreign behaviors of self-importance, wanton bullying, and perfidy. We must stand on the great practice of the New Era, use international discourse to tell the story of our Party’s creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, and make the deep and lasting civilizational foundations behind China’s path and China’s governance easier for the international community to understand and accept, thereby continuously enhancing the reach and influence of Chinese civilization.
Communicating the worldview of the Communist Party of China. Building a community with a shared future for humanity is an important concept of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and particularly Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. It is a sincere proposal and historical aspiration of our Party, which upholds Marxist truth while facing the world and the future. Our Party seeks happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, but also seeks progress for humanity and the "Great Harmony" [8] for the world. Our Party’s global vision and concern for the world are determined by the Party's advanced nature; they have never been absent since its founding. Building a community with a shared future for humanity grasps the historical laws of human social development, plans common solutions for global challenges, innovatively establishes new ideas for international relations, leads new directions for global governance, and creates new forms of international engagement, consistently attracting and uniting the people of all countries to build a beautiful world together. Our Party firmly believes that when the world is well, China will be well; when China is well, the world will be better. In today's world, the more people who identify with this concept, the more conducive it will be to world peace and development, and the more beneficial it will necessarily be for Chinese-path modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We must clearly explain the beautiful original intentions, realistic possibilities, and practical paths of the CPC’s efforts to build a community with a shared future for humanity alongside the world, further consolidating the majestic strength of all nations to jointly promote this community and creating a favorable external environment for Chinese-path modernization.
On the new journey, the Party's external work will always adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on the Party’s external work. We will focus on the main goals and key tasks of economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period [9], firmly grasping the "Three Importants" positioning: that the Party's external work is an important front for the Party, an important component of the nation's overall diplomacy, and an important manifestation of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, we will leverage our unique characteristics and advantages, continuously consolidate the global network of political party partnerships, deeply communicate the global significance of China’s path, China’s governance, and China’s theory, and make greater contributions to the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the promotion of the cause of human progress.