Xin Xiangyang: Livelihood First: An Important Global Contribution of Chinese Modernization
In April 2024, during an inspection of the Minzhu Village Community in the Shejiawan Neighborhood of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “In Chinese-path modernization, people’s livelihoods are of paramount importance (minsheng wei da). All work of the Party and the government is directed toward ensuring that the common people lead a happier life.” Subsequently, during local inspections and attendance at meetings, General Secretary Xi further stressed that “people’s livelihoods are of paramount importance and are the key priority,” and that we must “adhere to the principle that people’s livelihoods are paramount, and strive to perform more practical deeds for the masses.” This important thesis—that people’s livelihoods are paramount in Chinese-path modernization—highlights the people-centered nature of Chinese-path modernization, expands the breadth and depth of human modernization practices, and makes a significant contribution to the innovation of global modernization theory and practice.
The people have truly become the subjective force of modernization, exploring a new path for a populous nation to achieve modernization.
Chinese-path modernization persists in the principle that people’s livelihoods are paramount, breaking the myth that “modernization equals Westernization” or “modernization equals capitalization,” thereby making modernization an endeavor with the people as its subject. Most Western countries that have already achieved modernization have relatively small populations, with only a few exceeding 50 million. These countries relied on massive social wealth seized through colonial plunder to achieve so-called primitive accumulation of capital, using this as the foundation to advance modernization. Although these countries have reached modernization standards in indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), per capita national income, and capital returns, under a capital-centered logic, their internal societies exhibit the exploitation of the bottom by the top, resulting in a vast gap between the rich and the poor. Modernization achieved in this manner is not a modernization for all the people, but only for a minority; only a small portion of the population enters the ranks of modernization, while the vast majority of the public is excluded.
Adhering to the principle that people’s livelihoods are paramount fully demonstrates that Chinese-path modernization follows a path of endogenous and autonomous development. It takes the enhancement of people’s well-being and the realization of common prosperity as its foundational value, refusing to depend on, mechanically copy, or blindly follow Western models. It has broken free from the capital logic and hegemonic logic of Western modernization, relying closely on the masses to achieve modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The people are the subject of Chinese-path modernization; we must rely closely on the people, respect the people’s creative spirit, and pool the wisdom and strength of all the people.” Modernization with the people as the subject fundamentally transcends the modernization narrative of Western-centrism, rejects the capital logic of Western modernization, and highlights the people-centered logic of Chinese-path modernization. Modernization is created by the people and shared by the people; on the road to realizing Chinese-path modernization, not a single ethnic group and not a single person shall be left behind. In measuring the level of modernization, as General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Modernization depends not only on indicator data on paper, but even more on the happiness and well-being of the people.” We do not pursue a modernization of mere data or indicators, but rather a modernization that solidly promotes the benefit of people’s livelihoods. Practice has proven that modernization with the people as the subject provides a reference for developing countries to achieve modernization independently and autonomously, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the innovation of world modernization theory and practice.
Achieving the mutual promotion of economic vitality and social order, writing a Chinese answer to the difficult problems of modernization.
Handling the relationship between vitality and order is a world-class challenge in the process of modernization. A problem encountered by many countries embarking on the journey of modernization is that vitality and order are difficult to make compatible: once the economy is energized, society falls into disorder, which in turn restricts the further release of economic vitality, while social disorder intensifies, causing the modernization process to stagnate. This difficulty has seriously hindered the modernization process of many countries. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Chinese-path modernization should and can achieve a dynamic balance of being vigorous but not chaotic, and active yet orderly.” Chinese-path modernization adheres to the principle that people’s livelihoods are paramount, avoiding through people-centered practice the problems of political polarization and social fragmentation that have appeared in the modernization processes of some countries. It breaks the myth of modernization dominated by capital logic and effectively resolves the difficult problem of the incompatibility between vitality and order.
Chinese-path modernization consistently focuses on the coordinated development of economy and society. In the process of modernization, it emphasizes the close integration of investment in things and investment in people. Investment in things must always be oriented toward improving people’s lives; whether in infrastructure construction or technological progress, it must promote well-rounded human development. Chinese-path modernization organically unifies economic development with the improvement of people’s livelihoods. It involves not only investing in the supply of service products for the elderly and children, investing in education, human resource development, and the human living environment (renju huanjing) [1], but also investing in the health and housing needs of the people. Government fiscal expenditure maintains an appropriate scale, with an optimized expenditure structure and increased spending on boosting consumption and ensuring and improving people’s livelihoods. At the same time, it focuses on key areas such as new quality productive forces, new-type urbanization, and well-rounded human development, strengthening the momentum of effective market-led investment and increasing the proportion of government investment in livelihood categories. These investments have effectively improved the quality of life for the people.
Chinese-path modernization consistently focuses on transforming the fruits of economic development into the well-being of the people, embedding social order within economic vitality. While the masses enjoy the benefits of development, a strong consensus has formed that only through social stability can better economic development be achieved; this consensus, in turn, adds vitality and momentum to economic development. During the process of economic development, as the number of market participants increases and types diversify, new contradictions and demands arise. Upholding the philosophy that people’s livelihoods are paramount, Chinese-path modernization emphasizes the development of whole-process people’s democracy, correctly handles contradictions among the people [2] under new circumstances, and strives to resolve conflicts and disputes at the primary level (jiceng) and in their nascent state. It guides the masses to express their interest demands and safeguard their legal rights through rational and legal channels. It persists in coordinating development and security, strengthening the overall prevention and control of social order to ensure the people live and work in peace and contentment. It attaches importance to satisfying the reasonable demands of the masses, particularly in social construction and social governance, institutionalizing the satisfaction of reasonable demands for the long term, so that the people’s growing needs for a better life are continuously met in both quantity and quality, making the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security more substantial, better protected, and more sustainable.
Better satisfying the people’s growing needs for a better life, effectively promoting the resolution of the principal contradiction in the modernization process.
The contradiction between the socialization of production and the private ownership of the means of production is the fundamental contradiction of capitalist society. This fundamental contradiction persists in both developed and developing capitalist countries. In some developing capitalist countries, this fundamental contradiction manifests even more sharply during the modernization process, primarily through: insufficient political participation of the public, unbalanced sharing of development fruits, inadequate employment absorption capacity, and untimely ecological and environmental governance.
Rooted in the socialist system, Chinese-path modernization avoids the fundamental contradictions of capitalist society at the institutional level. The basic contradictions of socialist society remain the contradictions between the productive forces and the relations of production, and between the economic base and the superstructure. In the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, these are specifically manifested as the principal social contradiction between the people’s growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. Aiming to resolve this principal social contradiction, our Party adheres to the principle that people’s livelihoods are paramount, consistently establishes the philosophy of putting the people first, promotes high-quality development, and effectively solves problems in development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “High-quality development is development that can well satisfy the people’s growing needs for a better life; it is development that embodies the new development philosophy, in which innovation is the primary driver, coordination is an endogenous characteristic, green is the universal form, openness is the only way, and sharing is the fundamental purpose.” High-quality development achieves development that conforms to the will of the people. We develop whole-process people’s democracy, improve the system of primary-level democracy, and refine working mechanisms for soliciting public opinion and pooling the people's wisdom, ensuring that the people manage primary-level public affairs and public welfare projects according to the law. High-quality development achieves development with compassion. Realizing the people’s aspiration for a better life is the starting point and ultimate goal of Chinese-path modernization; we emphasize the strengthening of inclusive, foundational, and "safety-net" [3] livelihood construction, striving to do more practical deeds for the masses. High-quality development achieves development with employment. We deeply implement the employment-first strategy, improve the mechanism for promoting employment, construct an employment-friendly development mode, and promote high-quality full employment. High-quality development achieves development with a future. Green development is the distinct background color of Chinese-path modernization; Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature. In building a socialist modernized country, “beauty” is both an important goal and an important support. These important characteristics and advantages of high-quality development provide significant enlightenment and reference for countries around the world, especially the vast number of developing countries, in advancing their modernization construction.
Promoting global development to be more balanced, inclusive, and sustainable, demonstrating our country's global vision and responsibility as a major power in livelihood construction.
The Communist Party of China is a party that seeks progress for humanity and the common good for the world (da tong) [4]; Chinese-path modernization clearly embodies this responsibility. Chinese-path modernization has not only solved the problem of absolute poverty but is also committed to promoting the prosperity of both the material and spiritual lives of all people.
In November 2024, at the 19th G20 Summit, President Xi Jinping pointed out: “The problem of poverty in developing countries can be solved. Weak birds can fly first and fly high (ruo niao xian fei). If China can succeed, other developing countries can succeed as well. This is the global significance of China’s success in winning the battle against poverty.” In just over 40 years, China achieved the lifting of 770 million rural poor out of poverty. This miracle of poverty alleviation created by China is of great significance to global development, providing full proof that the key to solving the pressing problems of the masses lies in the governing party truly serving the people and adhering to the principle that people’s livelihoods are paramount.
Chinese-path modernization correctly handles the relationship between domestic livelihood development and the improvement of livelihoods in other countries. China upholds the philosophy of people’s livelihoods as paramount and fulfills its responsibility as a major power. By walking the path of modernization hand-in-hand and jointly building the "Belt and Road" with high quality, China promotes the improvement of livelihoods in other developing countries. Taking cooperation between China and African countries as an example, as early as 2021, China and Africa jointly formulated the "China-Africa Cooperation 2035 Vision" and decided to jointly implement "nine programs," which include the poverty reduction and agricultural benefit program. This program is not just about "blood transfusion" (direct aid) but more about "blood generation" (capacity building). By helping African countries build a more solid agricultural foundation and strengthening the training of professional personnel, it aims to reduce the impoverished population in African countries. In the process of promoting the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road," China emphasizes "three coordinations," one of which is to coordinate the promotion of major landmark projects and "small yet beautiful" (xiao er mei) livelihood projects, so that more "small yet beautiful" projects directly benefit the people of countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. China’s series of actions to improve livelihoods and fulfill its responsibility as a major power demonstrate that adhering to the people-centered development philosophy, taking the path of independent development, and advocating for a global governance outlook based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, provide important enlightenment for the vast number of developing countries to pursue their own modernization. This is of great significance for promoting better world development and fully demonstrates the global breadth and the contribution as a major power of Chinese-path modernization.
(The author is a specially invited researcher at the CASS Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)
Source: People’s Daily (June 3, 2026 [Note: likely a typo in original for 2024]) Editor: Huihui