The Year 2024

On the afternoon of February 4, the Institute of Marxism Studies (IMS) convened a plenary meeting of all cadres. Ke Wenjun, Deputy Director (Presiding) of the Personnel and Education Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Executive Vice President of the CASS Party School, announced the cadre appointment decision on behalf of the CASS Party Group: Comrade Yu Haiqing is appointed as Vice Dean of the IMS. Zhen Zhanmin, Vice President and Member of the Party Group of CASS, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Xin Xiangyang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Dean of the IMS, presided over the meeting, which was attended by all cadres and staff of the IMS.

On the afternoon of May 13, the IMS convened a plenary meeting of all cadres. Li Honglei, Deputy Director of the Personnel and Education Bureau of CASS, announced the cadre appointment decision on behalf of the CASS Party Group: Comrade Luo Wendong is appointed as Secretary of the Party Committee of the IMS. Zhen Zhanmin, Vice President and Member of the Party Group of CASS, attended the meeting and delivered a speech, with all IMS cadres and staff in attendance.

On the morning of June 4, Xin Xiangyang, Dean of the IMS, presided over the reception and hosted a symposium for a visiting delegation of theoretical cadres from world Communist Parties, who were invited to China by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC). The delegation was led by Nader Chowdhury, Joint General Secretary of the National Socialist Party of Bangladesh, and consisted of 20 Communist Party leaders and young-to-middle-aged theorists from 18 countries including Denmark, Moldova, the United Kingdom, and Chile. The delegation engaged in productive exchanges with experts and scholars from the IMS regarding Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the global significance of Chinese-path modernization, and issues related to the world socialist movement. Research personnel including Yu Haiqing (Vice Dean of the IMS), He Xinyuan, Sun Yingshuai, He Qin, Liu Ailing, Wang Xuedong, Li Kaixuan, and Lou Yu (who provided Spanish translation) participated in the exchange. Relevant responsible comrades from the Research Office of the IDCPC and the Bureau of International Cooperation of CASS also attended the symposium.

On the afternoon of June 6, the Youth Work Symposium of the Institute of Marxism Studies, CASS, was held in Room 1345 of the IMS. The meeting focused on youth needs and suggestions for youth work. Luo Wendong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the IMS, attended and delivered a speech, offering guiding opinions and suggestions on youth work. The symposium was divided into stages for remarks, speeches, and conclusions, presided over respectively by Yang Jing (Head of the Youth Work Group), Lei Xiaohuan (Deputy Head), and Fang Tao (Youth Team Leader). Nearly 50 representatives from the Youth Work Group and various departments attended.

On June 18, the "Thematic Forum of the Seminar on the Theory of Chinese-path Modernization—Chinese-path modernization and a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity," hosted by CASS and organized by the IMS, was held in Beijing. More than 50 experts and scholars from universities and research institutions, including CASS, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Nanjing Normal University, Jilin University, and the Hunan Academy of Social Sciences, conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions. The forum was divided into three stages, presided over by Luo Wendong (Party Secretary of the IMS), Lin Jianhua (Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Vice Dean of the IMS), and Dai Lixing (Deputy Director of the Department of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, IMS).

On August 22, Xin Xiangyang, Yuan Xiuli, Liu Zhichang, and other IMS comrades attended the symposium held by the central authorities to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Deng Xiaoping.

In August, the Research Office for Integrity Building and Social Evaluation was transferred from the Institute of Sociology to the IMS.

On September 9–10, the 14th World Socialist Forum was held in Beijing. The theme of the forum was "The Current Changes in the World, the Times, and History." Zhen Zhanmin (Vice President and Member of the Party Group of CASS), Chen Zhou (Vice Minister of the IDCPC), Phouvong Vongkhamsany (President of the Lao National Institute of Political and Administration), and José Luis Centella (President of the Communist Party of Spain and Vice President of the Party of the European Left) attended the opening ceremony and delivered keynote speeches. Li Shenming, former Vice President of CASS and Director of the World Socialism Research Center, gave a written speech. More than 60 foreign Communist Party leaders, Marxist researchers, left-wing social activists, and some diplomatic envoys from over 30 countries participated. They conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as the world's major changes unseen in a century ^[1] and China’s responsibility, the "rise of the East and decline of the West" ^[2] and the evolution of the global political landscape, socialism with Chinese characteristics and the development of world socialism, the developmental dilemmas and trends of Western capitalism, and the new round of technological and industrial revolution and the development of world socialism. Luo Wendong and Xin Xiangyang presided over different stages of the forum. The forum was hosted by CASS and organized by the CASS World Socialism Research Center, the IMS, and the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

On November 2, a theoretical seminar titled "Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China and Studying and Implementing the Spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee" was held in Suzhou. The meeting was jointy hosted by the IMS and Soochow University (Sūzhōu Dàxué). It was jointly organized by the National Training Base for Ideological and Political Theory Course Teachers in Higher Education (Soochow University) of the Ministry of Education, the Soochow University Base of the Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Jiangsu Provincial Alliance of Marxist Theoretical Disciplines, the Soochow University Federation of Philosophy and Social Sciences, the National Studio for Renowned Teachers of Ideological and Political Courses (Soochow University), the Suzhou Alliance of Marxist Colleges in Universities, the IMS Department of Sinicized Marxism Research, the School of Marxism at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS), the IMS Think Tank for Marxist Theoretical Innovation, and the School of Marxism at Soochow University. Attendees included Luo Wendong; Luo Yuting (former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan University and convener of the State Council's Disciplinary Review Group for Marxist Theory); Zhou Jiuhua (Second-level Inspector of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education); Ye Meilan (Chair of the Jiangsu Provincial Graduate Education Steering Committee for Philosophy, Law, and History and President of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications); Huang Ximing (Executive Deputy Head of the Suzhou Municipal Publicity Department); and Deng Min (Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Soochow University). Experts, scholars, and representatives of master's and doctoral students from CASS, Renmin University, Peking University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, Beijing Normal University, and other research institutes participated. The opening ceremony was presided over by Sun Jianhua, Dean of the School of Marxism at Soochow University.

On November 8, the "11th International Socialist Forum," hosted by the IMS, the Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences (LASES), and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), was held in Vientiane, Laos. The theme was "Marxism in the 21st Century." Nearly 100 experts, scholars, government officials, and diplomats from China, Vietnam, and Laos conducted productive discussions on three topics: "Theory of Socialist Modernization and Harmonious Sustainable Development," "Practice of Socialist Modernization and Harmonious Sustainable Development," and "Socialist Cooperation for Achieving Harmony and Sustainable Development." Kongkeo Saysongkham (Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of LASES), Chen Zhigang (Vice Dean of the IMS), and Tạ Minh Tuấn (Vice President of VASS) delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

On December 7, the 16th National Forum for Deans of Marxist Colleges was held in Beijing. The theme was "Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Chinese-path Modernization." Xin Xiangyang and Cui Weihang (Secretary of the Party Committee of UCASS) attended and delivered speeches. Luo Wendong presided over the opening ceremony. Scholars from CASS, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, Beijing Normal University, Fudan University, Sichuan University, Jilin University, Lanzhou University, and other institutions attended. They studied and implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on the Project to Study and Develop Marxist Theory in the New Era. Participants engaged in deep discussions on topics such as the great achievements and valuable experience of comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era, the exploration and practice of paths for Chinese-path modernization and high-quality development, new quality productive forces and the construction of a high-level socialist market economy system, and the new great project of Party building in the New Era. The forum was hosted by the IMS and UCASS, and organized by the School of Marxism at UCASS and the IMS Department of Marxist Principles.