Dean Xin Xiangyang Presides over the Meeting with Australian Minister to China James Fisher and His Delegation
On the afternoon of November 18, 2024, Xin Xiangyang, Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies (IMS) [1] of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), presided over a meeting and academic exchange with James Fisher, Minister of the Australian Embassy in China, and his delegation. Accompanying the Minister were Alex Chapman, First Secretary; Kieran Stenson, Second Secretary; and Yu Li, Senior Analyst of the Australian Embassy. Participants from the IMS included He Xinyuan, Researcher and Deputy Director of the Department of Marxism Sinicization [2] Studies; Liu Xukuan, Researcher and Director of the Research Office of the Department of Xi Jinping New Era Chinese-style Socialism [3] Studies; Liu Zixu, Associate Researcher and Deputy Director of the Editorial Department of International Critical Thought; and Chen Jianbo, Associate Researcher of the Department of Xi Jinping New Era Chinese-style Socialism Studies. The meeting lasted approximately one and a half hours.
Director Xin Xiangyang first expressed a warm welcome to Minister Fisher and his delegation on their first visit to the IMS and provided a brief introduction to the functions, positioning, institutional structure, and academic platforms of the Institute under CASS. Minister Fisher raised two questions: First, what are the most important topics currently within the field of Marxism Sinicization research in China? Second, what are the current priorities and the next steps for advancing Marxism Sinicization?
Director Xin Xiangyang engaged in an exchange centered on these questions, pointing out that to study Chinese issues, one must study the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Sinicization of Marxism; the Minister’s questions, he noted, grasped the essential core of the matter. Regarding the first question, Xin pointed out that whether from a theoretical or practical perspective, the most important issue in the research of Marxism Sinicization today is how to academicize and systematize the extensive and profound Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Another priority issue of relative difficulty concerns the "Two Combinations" [4] proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping—specifically, the question of how to better combine Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture in practice.
Regarding the second question, Researcher He Xinyuan remarked that the current priorities of Marxism Sinicization are: first, to promote theoretical innovation and continuously open up new frontiers in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism; second, to strengthen theoretical armament, continuously raising the Party's level of Marxist proficiency and its capacity for governance and leadership; and third, to advance theoretical research by strengthening the academicized and systematized study of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. In terms of implementation measures, first, it is necessary to achieve the "Two Combinations" and the "Six Must-Persists" [5]; second, to consciously use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to transform the subjective world while simultaneously transforming the objective world [6]; and third, to conduct academic explanations and systematic research of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era from the dimensions of underlying principles, academic logic, and philosophical reasoning.
During the meeting, Director Xin Xiangyang spoke of the exchanges between the IMS and the Communist Party of Australia, noting that the latter is able to view China's development issues objectively. He also shared his impressions of Australia’s ecological environment, humanities, and arts. The meeting concluded in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.