The Fifth Lecture of the "21st Century Marxism Grand Lecture" Successfully Held: Director Chen Xiwen Discusses "Agricultural Modernization with Chinese Characteristics"

On April 27, 2022, the fifth session of the "21st Century Marxism Grand Lecture Series," hosted by the CASS Academic Division of Marxist Studies and organized by the Institute of Marxism Studies, was held. Chen Xiwen, a member of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress and Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, was invited to deliver a lecture titled "Chinese-Path Socialist Agricultural Modernization." Xin Xiangyang, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies, presided over the event.

Director Chen Xiwen provided an in-depth explanation focused on two aspects: the fundamental connotation and the institutional basis of Chinese-path socialist agricultural modernization.

Regarding the concept and fundamental connotation of Chinese-path socialist agricultural modernization, Chen Xiwen pointed out that understanding this concept requires grasping three keywords: agricultural modernization, Chinese characteristics, and the path. First, agricultural modernization—or modern agriculture—is described in contrast to traditional agriculture; it is a description of the current state of agriculture within the context of industrialization. Modern agriculture is an industry characterized by the continuous refinement of the social division of labor, the ongoing innovation of agricultural production and management organizations, increasing state support and protection, the constant renewal of agricultural facilities, and the continuous extension of industrial and value chains. Unlike traditional agriculture, modern agriculture benefits from scientific and technological progress, with the contribution rate of such progress steadily rising. Additionally, several social and institutional factors influence the process of agricultural modernization, which is closely linked to specific stages of economic and social development. Second, differences in resource endowments—such as land, resources, and population—as well as historical traditions and developmental stages determine the Chinese characteristics of agricultural modernization. The historical and contemporary reality of a "large population with limited land" ^[1] and a high proportion of agricultural population dictates that we must forge a unique path of agricultural modernization to succeed. From the perspective of its social attributes and institutional prescriptions, the fundamental premise of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the features of Chinese-path modernization dictate that we must pursue a path of Chinese-path socialist agricultural modernization. While China’s agricultural modernization needs to draw on the experiences of other nations, it cannot be a mechanical copy. Third, the "path" prescribes the direction and methods of Chinese-path agricultural modernization. This process cannot be achieved overnight; it requires comprehensive planning and the coordination of agricultural development with the common prosperity of the peasantry, while simultaneously focusing on food security, ecological protection, and the inheritance of fine traditional Chinese culture ^[2]. In practice, one must avoid a "one-size-fits-all" ^[3] approach and instead promote development according to local conditions, with various regions exploring specific forms of implementation based on their actual circumstances.

Chen Xiwen emphasized that understanding Chinese-path socialist agricultural modernization also requires a profound recognition of the four basic rural systems in our country: the land system, the organizational system, the management system, and the social governance system. First, regarding the collective ownership of rural land, he pointed out that land in our country is subject to state ownership and collective ownership by farmers; private ownership of land does not exist. Adhering to the collective ownership of rural land is of great significance for maintaining our country's basic economic system, which takes public ownership as the mainstay. Rural collective land ownership is not an abstract concept but a basic system situated in specific, individual villages, and the boundaries of this ownership are very clear. Adhering to rural collective land ownership respects both history and the collective ownership rights of farmers, ensuring equal rights for every member within the collective economic organization. Second, regarding the rural collective economic organizational system, due to historical inheritance, some Villagers' Committees and villagers' groups ^[4] exercise ownership rights and carry out land contracting. While these committees and groups can perform the functions of rural collective economic organizations on their behalf, they cannot fully replace them. "Rural collective economic organization" has a specific meaning: here, collective assets are indivisible, which is fundamentally different from a shared-ownership economy based on private property. In carrying out the reform of the rural collective property rights system and establishing joint-stock cooperatives, the "shares" represent the right of each member of the collective economic organization to share in the distribution of returns. The so-called "determination of rights to shares and to individuals" ^[5] refers specifically to this right to income distribution. Furthermore, the circulation of these "shares" within the collective economic organization is strictly limited. Third, the two-tier management system—based on household contracted management and combining unified and independent operations ^[6]—is the basic rural management system of our country. This system has not changed rural land collective ownership; rather, it has found an effective form for realizing such ownership and has granted peasant households greater autonomy. Additionally, only members of the collective economic organization are eligible to contract land. The basic rural management system is the policy cornerstone of our Party in the countryside and must be unswervingly upheld. Adhering to this system requires grasping three major principles: first, respecting the will of the farmers; second, properly managing the degree of land transfer and large-scale operations, avoiding "scaling up for the sake of scaling up"; and third, ensuring that ordinary peasant households are not neglected. He emphasized that rural land collective ownership, rural collective economic organizations, and the basic rural management system form a "trinity" that guarantees the three basic rights of farmers: the right of every collective member to contract land, to hold a residential land base ^[7], and to participate in the distribution of collective operating income. These three basic systems and the three basic rights of farmers are an integrated whole.

Chen Xiwen also discussed several issues existing in the process of rural reform and development, such as the lagging development of agriculture and rural areas; the practical and institutional difficulties faced in the transfer of the agricultural population and the "citizenization" of farmers ^[8] regarding housing, social security, and the education of accompanying children; the insufficiently prominent role of farmers' subjectivity; and the lack of clarity in institutional norms.

Finally, Chen Xiwen introduced the progress and expectations regarding legislation for rural collective economic organizations.

In his summary, Secretary Xin Xiangyang spoke highly of the lecture, considering it to be of high quality, rich in content, and possessed of both theoretical depth and practical significance. He stated that Director Chen's explanation was profound yet easy to understand, offering a very thorough understanding of the path of Chinese-path socialist agricultural modernization. Director Chen's research on the fundamental connotations and characteristics of this path, along with his analysis of the four basic rural systems, demonstrates the historical continuity, institutional innovation, and powerful vitality of Chinese-path socialist agricultural modernization. It also allows us to understand the complexity and arduousness of this path. Xin Xiangyang emphasized that the Institute of Marxism Studies has always attached importance to the study of major theoretical and practical issues, encouraging researchers to commit themselves to the integrated development of basic theoretical research and applied policy research. Many issues mentioned by Director Chen—such as the basic rural systems, agricultural and rural modernization, and the common prosperity of farmers and rural areas—are major theoretical and practical issues that scholars at the Institute of Marxism Studies need to study in depth.

The lecture strictly implemented various requirements for pandemic prevention and control. Gong Yun, Deputy Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies, along with some of the research staff, attended the lecture in person.