Zhao Jianying: The Triple Internal Determinants of Chinese Modernization
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "Chinese-path modernization is the socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China." The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC explicitly summarized five aspects of Chinese characteristics that define the scientific connotation of Chinese-path modernization: it is the modernization of a vast population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development. Marxist philosophy holds that every object has its own qualitative, internal determinacy [1], which is the fundamental attribute inherent to the object itself that distinguishes it from another. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on Chinese-path modernization profoundly reveal the essential differences between Chinese-path modernization and Western modernization. We must systematically and deeply explain the underlying logic, academic rationale, and philosophical principles therein, and accurately grasp the essential features and distinctive characteristics of Chinese-path modernization.
The Value Determinacy of Chinese-path Modernization
From the premise that "the essence of modernization is the modernization of people" to the "ultimate goal of modernization is the realization of the free and comprehensive development of individuals," we see a concentrated reflection of our Party's profound grasp of the goals of Chinese-path modernization. Taking the realization of the free and comprehensive development of individuals as the ultimate goal essentially defines the internal determinacy of Chinese-path modernization from a value dimension. The aspects of a vast population, common prosperity for all, coordination between material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and the path of peaceful development not only clearly reflect in theory the value pursuit of Chinese-path modernization—namely, the realization of the modernization of people and their free and comprehensive development—but also clarify the specific paths and practical requirements for achieving this.
Defining the free and comprehensive development of individuals as the value determinacy of Chinese-path modernization stems from a comprehensive and accurate grasp of the essence and value orientation of Marxist theory. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Marxism maintains the position of achieving people's liberation and safeguarding people's interests; it takes the realization of the free and comprehensive development of individuals and the liberation of all humanity as its own responsibility, reflecting humanity's beautiful vision for an ideal society." Marxism is the theory of the people; it is a system of thought dedicated to the people achieving their own liberation. Marxism is broad and profound, but in the final analysis, it can be summarized in one sentence: seeking liberation for humanity. To seek the liberation of the people, realize the free and comprehensive development of individuals, and build an "association of free individuals"—that is, a communist society—is the basic logic of scientific socialism founded by Marx and Engels. It is a fundamental viewpoint of the Marxist historical and value outlook. Naturally, it also sets the value target for Chinese-path modernization—the inevitable stage and the only way leading toward a communist society.
The value determinacy of Chinese-path modernization is reflected not only in the understanding of the essential characteristics of Marxism, but even more so in the guiding ideology, original aspiration, and founding mission of the leadership subject of Chinese-path modernization—the Communist Party of China. The CPC takes Marxism as its fundamental guiding ideology. This ideology determines the nature, purpose, original aspiration, and founding mission of a proletarian party. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party, Marx and Engels pointed out: "All previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority." The CPC is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, as well as the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. It is the core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It represents the development requirements of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. This defines the nature of the CPC and is the important hallmark distinguishing a Marxist party from the parties of other classes. The original aspiration and founding mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. The Party's comprehensive and strong leadership carries the ideals and beliefs of Chinese Communists—that is, their values. Therefore, the Party's leadership is directly related to the fundamental direction, future, and destiny of Chinese-path modernization. Only by unwaveringly upholding the Party's leadership can Chinese-path modernization have a bright future and achieve prosperity.
The people are the creators of history; they are the most solid foundation and the deepest strength for advancing modernization. In persisting with Marxism as our guide, the core issue is to resolve for whom we are working. The question of "for whom" is a fundamental and principled one. "The ultimate goal of modernization is to achieve the free and comprehensive development of individuals. Whether a path to modernization can be successful and stable depends crucially on whether it adheres to a people-centered approach. Modernization should not only look at indices and data on paper, but more importantly, at the happiness and well-being of the people. Political parties should anchor themselves to the people's aspirations for a better life, comply with the people's desire for civilization and progress, and strive to achieve material wealth, political integrity, spiritual enrichment, social stability, and an agreeable ecosystem. Modernization must better respond to the various demands and multi-level needs of the people, enhancing the well-being of the current generation while protecting the rights and interests of future generations, thereby promoting the sustainable development of human society." This important exposition by General Secretary Xi Jinping demonstrates that our Party grasps the people-centered direction of modernization and its effects from the height of the unity between the historical outlook and the value outlook.
Realizing the free and comprehensive development of individuals is an important marker of how Chinese-path modernization transcends Western modernization in terms of values. The CPC has always adhered to a people-centered approach, persisting in the unity of lofty ideals and phased goals, advancing the cause through the relay efforts of successive generations. The Chinese nation has achieved a historical leap from standing up and becoming prosperous to becoming strong. The lives of the people have achieved a historical leap from lacking sufficient food and clothing to achieving an overall well-off society [2], and then to a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Chinese-path modernization puts the people first and follows a "humanistic logic," taking "the modernization of common prosperity for all" as an essential feature, thereby sublated and transcending the "logic of capital" inherent in Western modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The greatest drawback of Western modernization is that it is capital-centered rather than people-centered; it pursues the maximization of capital interests rather than serving the interests of the vast majority, leading to a large gap between the rich and the poor and serious polarization." In contrast, Chinese-path modernization insists that development is for the people, relies on the people, and its fruits are shared by the people. It insists on ensuring and improving people's livelihoods during the development process, insisting that in the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, "no one should be left behind," and on the road to common prosperity, "no one should fall behind."
The Historical Determinacy of Chinese-path Modernization
What kind of modernization path a country chooses is determined by many factors, such as its historical traditions, social system, developmental conditions, and external environment. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Achieving modernization has been the cherished dream of the Chinese people since the beginning of modern times. The over-100-year history of the CPC uniting and leading the Chinese people to pursue national rejuvenation is also a history of continuous exploration of the path to modernization. Through the unremitting efforts of several generations, we have forged the path of Chinese-path modernization." Socialism with Chinese characteristics was derived from the great practice of more than forty years of reform and opening up; from the continuous exploration of more than seventy years since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC); from the more than one hundred years of practice of our Party leading the people in a great social revolution; from the historical process of more than 180 years since the start of modern times during which the Chinese nation moved from decline to prosperity; from the magnificent development of world socialism over more than 500 years; and from the inheritance and development of Chinese civilization over more than 5,000 years. This historical process fully reflects the historical determinacy of Chinese-path modernization—that is, Chinese-path modernization is the choice of history. It is the inevitable result of the development of the history of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the history of the PRC, the history of the CPC, modern Chinese history, the history of world socialism, and the history of Chinese civilization.
Chinese-path modernization did not emerge out of thin air; it is a modernization path with distinct Chinese characteristics formed under specific historical conditions. During the more than 5,000 years of the development of Chinese civilization, the Chinese nation held a leading position in the world for a long time. Since the late Ming Dynasty, under the impact of the wave of modernization driven by the Western industrial and scientific-technological revolutions, combined with the corruption and incompetence of rulers and a multitude of internal conflicts, China gradually sank into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Under such a social background, achieving modernization was impossible. Faced with "changes unseen in three thousand years," [3] attempts to save the nation from subjugation and ensure its survival—such as the Taiping Rebellion, the Self-Strengthening Movement, the Hundred Days' Reform, and the Boxer Rebellion—failed one after another. Although the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the absolute monarchy that had ruled China for thousands of years, it also failed to change China's status as a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society or the tragic fate of the Chinese people. History has proved that old-style peasant revolutions, reformism, and the blueprint for a bourgeois republic could not save the nation from peril. The heavy responsibility of exploring China's modernization path fell historically upon the CPC. The founding of the CPC marked the emergence of a strong leadership core for China's cause of modernization. Guided by Marxism, the CPC insisted on integrating the basic principles of Marxism with the actual reality of the Chinese revolution, created Mao Zedong Thought, and led the people to overthrow the "three big mountains" [4] of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism. They established the PRC, where the people are the masters of the country; achieved national independence and people's liberation; and won the victory of the New Democratic Revolution—thereby creating the fundamental social conditions for achieving modernization. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "Without an independent, free, democratic, and unified China, it is impossible to develop industry." This historical process fully proves that the leadership of the CPC is the choice of history and the people.
After the founding of the PRC, the CPC united and led the people in carrying out the socialist revolution, establishing the basic socialist system, and engaging in painstaking explorations of socialist modernization. At the time of its founding, the PRC faced the national condition of "poverty and blankness" [5]. To achieve national industrialization in a short period, it was necessary to rely on the advantage of the socialist system to "concentrate resources to accomplish major undertakings." Comrade Mao Zedong, in On the Ten Major Relationships, emphasized that modernization must be based on China's actual conditions. Our Party proposed the goal of striving to build China into a powerful socialist country with modern agriculture, modern industry, modern national defense, and modern science and technology. China began its modernization process on a weak economic foundation. By concentrating resources through a planned economy, it initially built an independent industrial system and established a group of heavy industrial bases and infrastructure. In the field of agriculture, large-scale water conservancy projects were undertaken, and improved seeds and fertilizers were promoted, significantly increasing grain yields. In terms of science and technology, breakthroughs such as "Two Bombs, One Satellite" [6] were achieved, laying the foundation for national defense and technology. Although there were serious setbacks during the exploratory process, the independent industrial system and scientific-technological foundation established during this period provided valuable experience, theoretical preparation, and material foundation for creating socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new historical period.
During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, our Party made the historic decision to shift the focus of the Party and state's work to economic development and to implement reform and opening up. The exploration of China's modernization path thus entered a new journey. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people in emancipating the mind, forging ahead with determination, and creating the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has achieved great accomplishments in reform, opening up, and socialist modernization. In just over 70 years, and especially in the more than 40 years since reform and opening up, China has achieved industrialization results that took Western capitalist countries hundreds of years to attain. Economic and social development has seen brilliant achievements, the people's standard of living has significantly improved, and the country's comprehensive strength has greatly increased. This provided the institutional guarantee full of new vitality and the material conditions for rapid development for Chinese-path modernization. Faced with the questions of the era—what kind of modernization to achieve and how to achieve it—our Party has always maintained a clear head, not simply following in others' footsteps or blindly copying Western modernization, but emphasizing proceeding from China's specific reality and walking its own path of modernization.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to a problem-oriented approach, unremittingly advancing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and the comprehensive deepening of reform. It has continuously liberated and developed the productive forces, pushing Chinese-path modernization toward greater depth and achieving continuous innovative breakthroughs in both theory and practice. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out:
"Based on long-term exploration and practice since the founding of New China, particularly since the start of reform and opening up, and following theoretical and practical breakthroughs since the 18th National Congress, our Party has successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization." The 20th National Congress further deepened our understanding of the connotation and essence of Chinese-path modernization, summarizing its Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles. This has preliminary constructed a theoretical system for Chinese-path modernization, making it clearer, more scientific, and more perceptible and actionable. At the practical level, reform and opening up have been pushed to greater depths; China's total economic output has climbed year after year, achieving a historic leap; the problem of absolute poverty has been resolved historically; and scientific and technological innovation capabilities have transitioned from quantitative accumulation to a qualitative leap, with continuous strengthening of basic research and high-tech innovation. The ecological security barrier continues to be consolidated, and remarkable achievements have been made in building a Beautiful China. Numerous world-leading results have been achieved in major transportation hubs, water conservancy projects, information infrastructure, and national security reserves, realizing leapfrog development in infrastructure. The historic achievements and changes in the cause of the Party and the state since the New Era began have provided Chinese-path modernization with more complete institutional guarantees, a more solid material foundation, and a more proactive spiritual force.
History and practice fully prove that the path of Chinese-path modernization is the inevitable choice for the Chinese nation to achieve its great rejuvenation, and the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the fundamental guarantee for advancing it. Chinese-path modernization both follows the general laws of modernization development and is rooted in China's unique cultural traditions and actual national conditions, embodying a historic transcendence of Western modernization models. Joining together and leading the people, the CPC has successfully blazed a path of modernization characterized by a huge population, common prosperity, material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development, providing a new choice for humanity to achieve modernization. This historical process profoundly demonstrates that only by upholding the Party's overall leadership can we ensure that Chinese-path modernization always advances in the correct direction; only by adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics can we realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We must strengthen our historical confidence and cultural confidence.
The Cultural Determinancy of Chinese-Path Modernization
"Chinese-path modernization is deeply rooted in fine traditional Chinese culture, embodies the advanced nature of scientific socialism, draws on and absorbs all outstanding achievements of human civilization, represents the developmental direction of human progress, presents a new picture different from the Western modernization model, and is a new form of human civilization. Chinese-path modernization provides the globe with a brand-new modernization model, represents a major transcendence of Western modernization theory and practice, and offers a brand-new choice for the vast number of developing countries." "Only by standing on the surging history of over five thousand years of Chinese civilization can one truly understand the historical necessity, cultural connotation, and unique advantages of the Chinese path." This series of important expositions by General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly elucidates the cultural determinacy of Chinese-path modernization. The modernization process of any country is not a "starting from scratch" [7] that simply severs tradition and discards history and culture, but rather a natural growth upon deep historical and cultural soil. The cultural determinacy of Chinese-path modernization is centrally reflected in three aspects: fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture.
Fine traditional Chinese culture provides Chinese-path modernization with distinct Chinese characteristics and cultural genes. The Chinese civilization’s worldview, centered on the "union of heaven and humanity" [8], advocates for the harmony and unity of man and nature, and society and the environment. This holistic thinking has profoundly influenced the worldview and ecological outlook of New China’s modernization, such as the commitment to the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the building of a community of life for humanity and nature. The values contained within Chinese civilization, such as "the world is for the public" [9] and "the people are the foundation of the state" [10], provide an ethical undertone that is part of the same lineage as the people-centered political outlook and the core modernization goal of "common prosperity for all." The prominent continuity of Chinese civilization has shaped a historical outlook of "examining the past to understand the present" [11]; it emphasizes drawing wisdom from history while persisting in "weeding out the old to bring forth the new" [12] and "constantly striving for self-improvement" [13]. From the ancient sentiment that "though Zhou is an old state, its mission is renewal" [14] to the New Era's "upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground," China's modernization process seeks breakthroughs and transcendence within the continuity of civilization. The inclusive nature of Chinese civilization, characterized by "harmony without uniformity" [15] and "promoting harmony among all nations" [16], has shaped a distinct outlook on civilization—using the Global Civilization Initiative to build a platform for dialogue and replacing the "clash of civilizations" with a "dialogue of civilizations." This allows China to maintain relative stability and developmental resilience within the global modernization process. The traditional Chinese thought of "selecting the virtuous and capable" [17], combined with socialist democratic politics, has provided beneficial nourishment for the formation of whole-process people's democracy. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a continuing ancient civilization, not one that eliminates it; it is a modernization grown from Chinese soil, not a copy-paste of other countries; it is the result of civilizational renewal, not a product of civilizational rupture. Chinese-path modernization is the 'old state with a new mission' [18] for the Chinese nation, and it will surely lead the Chinese civilization to regain its glory."
Since the advent of the modern era, the CPC has led the Chinese people in a surging revolutionary journey that birthed a rich revolutionary culture, creating in particular the spiritual pedigree of Chinese Communists with the Great Founding Spirit of the Party [19] as its source. This has injected powerful spiritual momentum and a distinct political character into Chinese-path modernization. The fine traditions formed during the great struggle for national independence and people's liberation—such as arduous struggle, integrating theory with practice, seeking truth from facts, and maintaining close ties with the masses—have become precious spiritual assets for overcoming difficulties and forging ahead in the modernization process. The spirit of independence and self-reliance emphasized by revolutionary culture has profoundly influenced the firm determination of Chinese-path modernization to follow a path consistent with its own national conditions. The unremitting pursuit of equality and justice contained in revolutionary culture, along with its spirit of profound critique and transformation of the old system, provides a powerful spiritual impetus for Chinese-path modernization to break through developmental obstacles and to persist in and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, shaping its distinct socialist attributes and people-centered character.
Advanced socialist culture is formed under the leadership of the CPC through the practice of socialist construction and reform; it is an advanced cultural form that reflects the requirements of the times and represents the direction of progress. Guided by Marxism and with Socialist Core Values as its soul, it establishes the fundamental value compliance and spiritual coordinates for Chinese-path modernization. The spirit of patriotism, collectivism, and socialism advocated by advanced socialist culture, along with the spirit of the times characterized by reform, innovation, openness, and inclusiveness, has shaped an open, enterprising, and cooperative zeitgeist. The continuous pursuit and institutional construction of value goals such as common prosperity, fairness and justice, and well-rounded human development in advanced socialist culture directly reflect the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization, allowing it to transcend modernization models dominated by the logic of capital.
The fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture nurtured in the joint struggle of the Chinese nation link the past, present, and future. The cultural determinacy of Chinese-path modernization is, in essence, a profound "chemical reaction" occurring on a practical basis between the essence of Marxist thought and the cream of fine traditional Chinese culture. This is not a simple addition of elements, but rather through the "Second Combination" [20], it allows Marxism to become Chinese and fine traditional Chinese culture to become modern. Fine traditional Chinese culture provides deep foundations and unique genes; revolutionary culture tempers the spiritual backbone and political character; and advanced socialist culture points the direction of the era and shapes the institutional form. The three are interconnected, mutually nourishing, and organically unified, together constituting the deepest and most lasting source of strength for Chinese-path modernization. This fusion maintains the continuity of the roots of Chinese civilization while endowing it with powerful modern vitality, successfully creating a new form of human civilization.
(Author: Zhao Jianying, Specially Invited Researcher at the CASS Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and former President of the China Social Sciences Press) Source: Guangming Daily (January 5, 2026) Web Editor: Huihui