Top Ten Theoretical Hotspots of 2024

Editor’s Note: The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee drew up a grand blueprint for opening up broad prospects for Chinese-path modernization through further comprehensively deepening reform. Actively responding to the impact of changes in the domestic and international environments, we have launched a series of policy "combination punches" ^[1] to solidly promote high-quality development, leading to a recovery and improvement in our country’s economy. We have cultivated new quality productive forces according to local conditions, with new industries, new business forms, and new models emerging in rapid succession.

In the scroll of 2024, solid answers in the test of development have coalesced into theoretical advantages, while the vivid practice of high-quality development provides inexhaustible momentum for theoretical innovation. Looking back at this year’s footsteps of forge-ahead struggle ^[2] through a theoretical lens and tracing the origins and development of theoretical hotspots serves as both an in-depth observation and a tool to help the broad masses profoundly grasp the mighty power of the Party’s innovative theories. To this end, the Sichuan Daily Press and Guanzhi Think Tank, together with the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies and the CASS Think Tank for Marxist Theoretical Innovation, have jointly released the "Ten Major Theoretical Hotpots of 2024" (in no particular order), based on extensive consultation with experts and scholars as well as questionnaire surveys. We invite your attention.

01. Deeply Studying and Implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Culture

In October 2023, the Central Committee of the Party convened the National Conference on Public Communication and Cultural Work, formally proposing and systematically expounding Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, thereby raising high our Party’s cultural banner on the new journey. To deeply study Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee organized the compilation of the Outline for the Study of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture (hereafter "The Outline"), which was published at the end of 2024. Simultaneously, a notice was issued regarding the earnest organization of study sessions for the Outline.

Every step forward in theoretical innovation must be followed by a step forward in theoretical arming. We must take the publication of the Outline as an opportunity to strengthen publicity and study, guiding the broad ranks of Party members and cadres to profoundly grasp the scientific value of truth, the mighty spiritual power, the profound cultural sentiment, and the distinct practical character contained within Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, so as to achieve deep study, thorough understanding, and the translation of principles into action ^[3]. We must more consciously use Xi Jinping Thought on Culture to arm our minds and guide practice, anchoring ourselves to the strategic goal of building a leading cultural power. We must ensure that all measures for the reform of cultural systems and mechanisms are implemented, contributing more to solidifying the cultural foundation for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

The historical background and major significance of the emergence of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has insisted on placing cultural development in a prominent position in state governance. Through a series of major deployments, it has ensured that cultural development achieves historical accomplishments by returning to original sources while clearing away "muddiness" ^[4] and upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, leading to solid strides in building a strong socialist cultural power. General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important speeches and instructions, creatively putting forward new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments that constitute the "cultural chapter" of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The formation of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture marks a new height in our Party’s understanding of the laws governing socialist cultural development and a new height in the Party’s historical and cultural confidence. It is a major milestone in China’s cultural development, providing a powerful ideological weapon and a scientific guide for action in propaganda, ideological, and cultural work on the new journey, and for promoting cultural prosperity and building a leading cultural power.

The core essence and rich connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture profoundly answers fundamental questions such as what banner to raise, what path to follow, what principles to uphold, and what goals to achieve in China’s cultural development in the New Era. it contains a series of innovative new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments, primarily reflected in twelve aspects: upholding the Party’s leadership over culture; promoting the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations; adhering to the "Two Combinations" ^[5]; undertaking the cultural mission of the New Era; strengthening cultural confidence; cultivating and practicing Socialist Core Values; casting a sense of community for the Chinese nation; maintaining dominance over public opinion under informationized conditions and broadly building social consensus; adhering to a people-centered work orientation; strengthening the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage; constructing a Chinese discourse and narrative system; and promoting mutual learning between civilizations. Based on these twelve aspects, the Outline organizes its chapters to systematically expound on the formation, rich connotations, innovative significance, and practical requirements of these ideas, constituting the complete framework and rich content of the scientific system of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture.

The spiritual essence and practical requirements of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture focuses on a high degree of cultural self-awareness, strong cultural confidence, resolute adherence to upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, deep sentiment for the people, and a broad concern for the world—all of which are important manifestations of its spiritual essence. Insisting on using Xi Jinping Thought on Culture to arm the mind, guide practice, and promote work is an inevitable requirement for deeply studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and comprehensively advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Outline should be included in study plans, with Party members organized to read the original works, learn the original texts, and grasp the original principles. This will help them profoundly grasp the scientific truth, spiritual power, cultural sentiment, and practical character while mastering the Marxist stands, viewpoints, and methods running through it. This continuous deepening of understanding will lead to a more profound grasp of the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," strengthening the "Four Consciousnesses," firming the "Four Confidences," and achieving the "Two Upholds," so as to consciously maintain a high degree of unity with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and strive to create a new situation for propaganda, ideological, and cultural work.

02. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Thought on the Party’s Self-Revolution

On January 8, 2024, at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping systematically summarized the new progress and achievements of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. He profoundly expounded on his important thought on the Party’s self-revolution, scientifically answering major questions such as why our Party must practice self-revolution, why it is able to do so, and how to promote it. This provides the fundamental blueprint for deepening the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, the construction of Party conduct and clean government, and the anti-corruption struggle on the new journey of the New Era.

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a new achievement of our Party’s insistence on the "Two Combinations" in theoretical innovation. It is a new chapter of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, marking a new height in our Party’s understanding of the laws governing the building of a Marxist party and the laws of Communist Party governance.

Why must the Party practice self-revolution? Self-revolution is an inevitable requirement for ensuring the Party maintains its vigor and vitality while shoulder its historical mission in the New Era. On the one hand, the spirit of self-revolution is the powerful support for the Party to remain eternally youthful. An advanced Marxist party is not born as such, but is tempered through continuous self-revolution. As the situation, tasks, external environment, and the ranks of Party members change, various contradictions and problems inevitably arise within the Party. The Party must have the courage to "turn the blade inward" ^[6], promptly eliminating negative influences to ensure it remains full of vigor. On the other hand, the ideals our Party pursues are lofty and sacred, and the mission it shoulders is arduous and heavy. Only by scrutinizing ourselves against the requirements of the times, remaining alert with a strong sense of potential hardship, and forging ourselves through self-revolution can we ensure the Party never changes its nature, its conviction, or its character ^[7], and always remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Why is the Party able to practice self-revolution? This is determined by the Party’s nature, purpose, and original aspiration and founding mission. The Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, of the Chinese people, and of the Chinese nation. For over a hundred years, it has remained committed to its founding mission of seeking happiness for the people and rejuvenation for the nation. The Party's nature and purpose determine that it always represents the fundamental interests of the broadest possible masses of people. By seeking no private interests, the Party possesses a thorough spirit of self-revolution, enabling it to pursue fundamental and great benefits, uphold truth, correct errors, and have the courage to inspect its own conduct. By not hiding its "maladies" or glossing over its faults ^[8], the Party can discover and solve its own problems, effectively resisting the "hunting" ^[9] and erosion by any interest groups, power cliques, or privileged strata. This is the secret to why the Party maintains its advanced nature and purity, and it is the source of the Party’s confidence in promoting self-revolution. It is in this sense that the courage for self-revolution is the Party’s most distinctive character and greatest advantage. The Party’s self-revolution provides the "second answer" ^[10] to the question of how to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall under the conditions of long-term governance.

How to promote self-revolution? We must profoundly grasp the practical requirements of the "Nine Essentials" ^[11]. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "the Party Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership as the fundamental guarantee; leading the great social revolution as the fundamental goal; Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the fundamental guide; escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall as the strategic goal; solving the unique challenges of a large party as the main direction of attack; improving the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party as the effective path; forging strong organizations and building a high-quality workforce as the important focus; rectifying conduct, enforcing discipline, and fighting corruption as the key grasp; and combining self-supervision with people’s supervision as the powerful impetus." The "Nine Essentials" systematically explain nine issues that must be handled well in the practice of deepening the Party’s self-revolution. They include both strategic arrangements and work deployments, as well as both epistemology and scientific methodology. They form an interconnected, logically rigorous, and comprehensive organic whole, fully reflecting our Party’s deepening understanding of the laws of self-revolution and the political determination of the Party Central Committee to unswervingly promote the Party’s self-revolution.

03. Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform

Reform has always been an important means for the Chinese nation to respond to challenges, break through difficulties, and promote development. It is the key choice for the Party and the state to foster new opportunities amidst crisis and open new prospects amidst a changing landscape. It is the path of action to continuously meet the people's real needs for a better life and has marked important milestones in the progress of the nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized on many occasions that we must "carry reform through to the end." This means not only that reform has no end point and no limit in the temporal sense—it is always a "work in progress"—but also that it must be grasped holistically in its depth. We must continuously explore how to better adapt the relations of production to the productive forces, the superstructure to the economic base, and national governance to social development, providing powerful impetus and institutional guarantees for Chinese-path modernization.

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has accurately grasped the general trend of the times and historical initiative. It systematically designed and promoted a new journey of reform, initiating the great historical process of comprehensively deepening reform. This process has moved through stages of "laying the foundations and erecting the pillars," "comprehensive advancement and accumulating momentum," and "systematic integration and collaborative efficiency." It has realized a transformation from local exploration and "ice-breaking" breakthroughs to systematic integration and comprehensive deepening. A fundamental institutional framework in various fields has been basically established, and historical changes, systematic reshaping, and holistic reconstruction have been achieved in many areas. This provided a strong institutional guarantee for completing the build-out of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieving the Party’s First Centenary Goal, pushing our country onto a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

At present, with the world's once-in-a-century great changes accelerating, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, viewed through the lens of history, profoundly answered the "questions of China, the world, the people, and the times" ^[12]. It issued a general mobilization and deployment for advancing the comprehensive deepening of reform in both breadth and depth. The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization (hereafter the Decision), deliberated and adopted at the session, drew a grand blueprint for opening up the broad prospects of Chinese-path modernization. It clarified the general goals and major tasks for further deepening reform. This Plenary Session wrote a "continuation" to the practice of comprehensively deepening reform since the 18th Plenary Session and opened a "new chapter" for advancing Chinese-path modernization on the new journey. It proposed more than 300 important reform measures revolving around the economy, politics, culture, society, ecological civilization, national security, and Party building. These measures are rich, diverse, and implemented in different ways, yet they all converge on the general goal: adhering to institutional development as the main line, making the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics more complete, and basically achieving the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, as well as the basic realization of socialist modernization.

To ensure the completion of the reform tasks proposed in the Decision by the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, further comprehensively deepening reform must cognitively involve the deep study and implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments regarding comprehensively deepening reform. We must consistently uphold the Party's overall leadership, persist in a people-centered approach, uphold the fundamentals and break new ground, persist in taking institutional building as the main thread, persist in comprehensively governing the country according to law, and persist in a systems thinking ^[13]. In terms of methodology, we must place greater emphasis on systemic integration, highlighting key priorities, and achieving practical results from reform. We must focus on building a high-level socialist market economy, focus on developing whole-process people's democracy, focus on building a strong socialist culture, focus on improving the quality of people's lives, focus on building a Beautiful China, focus on building a Peaceful China at a higher level, and focus on improving the Party's leadership level and long-term governing capacity. These focuses serve as practical "action handles" to enhance the systematic and integrated nature of institutional building. We emphasize leveraging institutional advantages, gathering strength from all quarters, achieving coordination across multiple tasks and different fields, and promoting the orderly connection between top-level design and grassroots exploration.

4. Education on Party Discipline The centralized education on Party discipline carried out across the whole Party in 2024 is the first time in the Party's history that such an campaign has focused specifically on the theme of Party discipline ^[14]. It represents an innovative exploration of the Party's internal educational mechanisms and serves as an important form for advancing the Great New Project of Party Building in the New Era and on the New Journey, carrying through the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party to the end, and deeply advancing the Party's self-revolution. On January 8, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection ^[15] the need to "conduct in-depth education on Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline; inherit the Party's glorious traditions and fine style; stimulate the lofty idealistic pursuits of Communist Party members; and regard seeking personal gain through power and corruption as a great shame." He also put forward clear requirements for conducting education on Party discipline. Subsequently, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee issued the Circular on Carrying Out Education on Party Discipline Throughout the Party, emphasizing that this education be treated as a major political task to ensure that Party members and cadres complete their tasks with high quality. From April to July 2024, the education was carried out in an orderly manner across the Party. On August 30 of that year, the Central Leading Group for Party Building held a meeting to deliberate on the Opinions on Promoting the Normalization and Long-term Effectiveness of Education on Party Discipline, summarizing the educational efforts and providing essential conditions for strengthening the correction of conduct and enforcement of discipline with a "strict" keynote.

To govern the country, one must first govern the Party; to govern the Party, one must be strict; and strictness must be based on established rules. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the building of Party discipline. They have proposed a series of important judgments and propositions, emphasizing that "strengthening disciplinary building is the fundamental cure for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party" and that "disciplinary building must be placed in a more prominent position." They have alerted the whole Party that comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is "always on the road," the Party's self-revolution is "always on the road," and the improvement of Party conduct, clean government, and the anti-corruption struggle are "always on the road." They have explicitly integrated disciplinary building into the overall layout of Party building, creating a holistic plan, top-level design, institutional arrangement, and work deployment for the comprehensive strengthening of Party discipline. Carrying out education on Party discipline is an inevitable requirement for advancing the construction of a proletarian political party, an internal need to fully carry forward the Party's fine traditions and unique advantages, and a practical necessity to promote the development of comprehensive and strict Party governance toward greater depth. This education emphasizes the objective of ensuring members remain "loyal, clean, and responsible." It focuses on the newly revised Regulations on CPC Disciplinary Action as the core learning material, stressing the integration of disciplinary education into daily life and regular practice—internalizing it in the heart and externalizing it in action—so as to guide Party members and cadres to study, know, understand, and abide by discipline, while continuously strengthening their political, disciplinary, moral, and anti-corruption resolve.

Advancing the normalization and long-term effectiveness of education on Party discipline requires adhering to "scientific thinking." We must persist in historical thinking, grounding ourselves in the vivid practice of Party disciplinary building in the New Era, deeply summarizing the historical experience of the CPC's disciplinary building over its century-long history, and revealing the basic laws of disciplinary building for a Marxist party, thereby providing valuable resources for further progress. We must persist in "rule-of-law thinking." Internal Party regulations are born of, established by, and flourish through the Party; they are the important support and powerful guarantee for the CPC’s growth from small to large and from weak to strong. We must improve the system of internal Party regulations based on the new topics, practices, and experiences of disciplinary building. We must persist in dialectical thinking, achieving the unity of the "two-point theory" and the "priority theory" ^[16] by combining universal requirements with specific ones. This involves managing both the "key few" ^[17] and the "vast majority," while increasing disciplinary education for "top leaders," young cadres, and newly promoted cadres. Finally, we must persist in systems thinking, viewing education on Party discipline within the broader context of centralized Party education and the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, integrating its unique role into the Party's self-revolution to continuously advance the Great New Project of Party Building in the New Era.

5. Developing New Quality Productive Forces According to Local Conditions Since July 2023, during inspection tours in Sichuan, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, and Guangxi, General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed integrating scientific and technological innovation resources to lead the development of strategic emerging industries and future industries, thereby accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces. On January 31, 2024, during the eleventh collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping further systematically elucidated a series of major theoretical and practical issues regarding new quality productive forces, forming a complete framework of theory and development ideas. On March 5, 2024, while attending the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to firmly grasp the primary task of high-quality development and develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions. The Government Work Report listed "vigorously promoting the construction of a modernized industrial system and accelerating the development of new quality productive forces" as the first of the ten major tasks for the government in 2024, marking the completion of the process from the emergence, proposal, and establishment to the deployment and implementation of this concept. From July 15 to 18, 2024, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was held. The session deliberated and adopted the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization, which for the first time wrote the measure to "improve the systems and mechanisms for developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions" into a Central Committee document, providing the fundamental guidance for deepening China's institutional reform and seizing the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Productive forces are the fundamental driving force of human social development and the ultimate cause of all social change and political transformation. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that new quality productive forces are advanced productive forces in which innovation plays the leading role. They break away from traditional economic growth modes and paths of productive force development, featuring high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and aligning with the new development philosophy. They are catalyzed by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading. Their basic connotation is the leap in the quality of laborers, means of labor, and subjects of labor, as well as their optimized combination. Their core indicator is a significant increase in total factor productivity. Their characteristic is innovation, the key lies in high quality, and their essence is advanced productive forces. Accelerating the development of new quality productive forces is of great strategic significance for advancing Chinese-path modernization.

Developing new quality productive forces is the only path to seizing the commanding heights of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation; it is an inherent requirement and important focus for promoting high-quality development, and a major strategic measure for advancing Chinese-path modernization. China’s vast territory, large population, and diverse geography mean that development priorities and difficulties vary by region. Conditions for development differ across regions and industries, which objectively requires analyzing specific situations and developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions. General Secretary Xi Jinping's explicit requirement to act "according to local conditions" is the latest discourse on developing these forces, pointing out the direction and path forward.

Developing new quality productive forces does not mean ignoring or abandoning traditional industries; it is necessary to prevent a "headlong rush" ^[18] or the creation of bubbles, and one must not impose a single model. All localities must persist in starting from reality, "establishing the new before breaking the old" ^[19], following local conditions, and providing classified guidance. Based on local resource endowments, industrial foundations, and scientific research conditions, they should selectively promote the development of new industries, new models, and new growth drivers. They should use new technologies to transform and upgrade traditional industries, actively promoting the high-end, intelligent, and green development of industry.

We must improve the systems and mechanisms for developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions. This involves strengthening the institutional supply for new fields and "new tracks," establishing mechanisms for increasing investment in future industries, and improving policies and governance systems that promote strategic industries such as next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, aerospace, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, biomedicine, and quantum technology. We must guide the healthy and orderly development of emerging industries while strengthening institutional constraints related to environmental protection and safety. By improving relevant rules and policies, we can accelerate the formation of relations of production that are better suited to new quality productive forces, promoting the clustering of various advanced production factors toward their development and significantly increasing total factor productivity.

6. Persisting in Supporting High-Quality Development through High-Level Protection Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has treated ecological civilization construction as a matter of fundamental importance for the eternal development of the Chinese nation. It has creatively proposed important judgments such as "humanity and nature share a community of life," "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and "protecting the ecological environment is protecting productive forces; improving the ecological environment is developing productive forces." The Party has unswervingly followed a path of high-quality development that prioritizes ecology and emphasizes green, low-carbon growth. In July 2023, at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly elucidated several major relationships that need to be correctly handled to continue advancing ecological civilization construction on the New Era's new journey. The first of these is the "relationship between high-quality development and high-level protection." In April 2024, while presiding over a symposium on promoting the Great Development of the Western Region in the New Era in Chongqing, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must persist in supporting high-quality development through high-level protection and build a solid national ecological security barrier." These important discourses fully reflect the development and integration of Xi Jinping Economic Thought and Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, providing the fundamental guidance for this persistence.

On the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, grasping the concept of supporting high-quality development through high-level protection from both theoretical and practical dimensions is of great significance for comprehensively promoting the construction of a Beautiful China and accelerating the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature.

High-quality development and high-level protection complement and reinforce each other; they are not separate but exist in an organic unity. High-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country. This form of development is the solid guarantee and deciding factor for alleviating structural, root-cause, and trend-based pressures on environmental protection. High-level protection emphasizes systemic governance, promoting a virtuous cycle between ecological protection and economic development, comprehensively enhancing the quality of high-quality development, and constantly shaping new drivers and advantages for growth.

High-quality development is the prerequisite for high-level protection. It is development that can well satisfy the people's growing needs for a better life, providing financial, technological, and market support for high-level protection. On the one hand, the fruits of high-quality development can be used to promote ecological projects and the environmental protection industry through policy tools such as increased fiscal investment, green finance, and ecological compensation mechanisms. On the other hand, green development is the key link and the defining characteristic of high-quality development. High-quality development advances green transformation across the board, advocating for green consumption and low-carbon industries, and building a green, low-carbon circular economic system. This promotes the simultaneous increase of "green content" in development and "gold content" in ecology ^[20], effectively reducing the resource and environmental costs of development.

High-level protection is an important support for high-quality development. High-level protection proceeds from the integrity of ecosystems and the systematic nature of river basins, focusing on solving problems rather than merely "treating the symptoms" ^[21]. On the one hand, high-level protection widens the path for turning "lucid waters and lush mountains" into "invaluable assets," promoting the industrialization of ecology and the "ecologization" of industry. By improving mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products and horizontal ecological protection compensation, we can accelerate green technological innovation and the application of advanced green technologies, creating efficient eco-green industrial clusters. On the other hand, by implementing the requirements of "Great Protection," high-level protection prioritizes the governance of key ecological zones, acting as a gatekeeper for high-quality development through measures like ecological zoning and optimizing the layout of territorial space development.

7. Constructing an Independent Knowledge System for Chinese Philosophy and Social Sciences

The "Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization," adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, emphasized "constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences" as a vital task for improving the responsibility system for ideological work. It stated: "Innovate the project for Marxist theoretical research and construction, implement the philosophy and social sciences innovation project, and construct an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences." In November 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping issued important instructions regarding the Project for Marxist Theoretical Research and Construction in the New Era, emphasizing the acceleration of this construction process. From "constructing" to "accelerating construction," a sense of urgency has palpably emerged. How are we to accelerate the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences?

We must persist in and skillfully apply the Marxist worldview and methodology, especially the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Adherence to Marxism as guidance is the fundamental hallmark distinguishing contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences from others; accelerating the construction of this independent knowledge system must consistently maintain this adherence. Only with a correct worldview and methodology can people better observe and explain various phenomena occurring in nature, human society, and human thought, summarize historical experience, reveal the underlying regularities ^[22], and thus construct and refine an independent knowledge system. In contemporary China, the key lies in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as guidance, applying its inherent worldview and methodology, and properly summarizing the laws governing the development of philosophy, social sciences, and various academic disciplines.

We must persist in the "Two Combinations," particularly the "Second Combination," making the fruits of this synthesis the foundation for accelerating the construction of an independent knowledge system. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the "Two Combinations" are our greatest magic weapon ^[23] for achieving success. Undoubtedly, this is also the magic weapon for constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences. By persisting in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, the Party's theoretical innovation has flourished with vitality. Marxism adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times has continuously achieved new leaps; Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Segregated Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era have become the soul of this independent knowledge system. By persisting in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture, the new culture formed through this "combination" becomes the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization—this is the cultural foundation of the knowledge system. The "Second Combination" represents another emancipation of the mind ^[24], allowing us to fully utilize the precious resources of fine traditional Chinese culture within a broader cultural space, employing Chinese conceptions of the universe, the world (tianxia), society, and morality to explore a future-oriented independent knowledge system.

We must take China and the times as our focus of observation, answering the "Questions of China, the World, the People, and the Times," while advancing innovation in knowledge, theory, and method. First, we must ground ourselves in Chinese reality to solve Chinese problems. The construction of any independent knowledge system is the result of the needs of national and ethnic development. Looking at the thinkers of the Axial Age ^[25], the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, or the Renaissance—without exception, they took solving the problems of national development and ethnic progress as the premise for constructing their thought systems. Today, to accelerate construction, we must conduct deep research into the basic questions of Chinese-path modernization, major issues in advancing high-quality development, core problems in building a high-level socialist market economy, unique challenges in Party building, the pressing "urgent, difficult, and anxious" concerns of the masses, and fundamental issues of national security. The answers to these questions are precisely the key to constructing an independent knowledge system. Second, we must maintain a global vision and respond to the challenges facing humanity. This system is not isolated from the "great road of human civilization" but is built upon the sum of all human knowledge. We must absorb and draw lessons from all outstanding achievements of human civilization, promote the common values of humanity—peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom—and have the courage to answer world-class challenges.

08 The "Five Must-Coordinate" Principles

The 2017 Central Economic Work Conference first proposed Xi Jinping's economic thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, using "Seven Persistences" to explain its core substance. Since the 19th and 20th CPC National Congresses, the Central Economic Work Conference has continuously deepened the understanding of the laws governing economic work in the New Era through formulations such as the "Five Fundamentals," "Four Musts," "Six Persistences," and "Five Musts." The "Five Must-Coordinate" principles proposed at the 2024 Central Economic Work Conference enrich and develop Xi Jinping’s economic thought and further deepen the understanding of economic patterns. Methodologically, the "Five Must-Coordinate" principles adhere to a systems perspective and apply dialectical materialism to scientifically answer a series of major questions in economic work. In terms of core content, they focus on five major relationships in New Era economic work, grounded in basic national conditions and development needs, consistently adhering to principles of systematicity, holism, and synergy. Logically, these principles summarize and refine the patterns seen in economic work since the 20th Party Congress, demonstrating the theoretical characteristic of evolving alongside practice.

The "Five Must-Coordinate" principles are basic requirements for promoting high-quality development. The 20th Party Congress clearly stated: "High-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects." Centered on this primary task, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made specific deployments. Fundamentally, these five principles are the basic requirements for implementing these tasks. We must coordinate the relationship between an efficient market and a proactive government, forming an economic order that is both "dynamic without chaos" and "managed without stagnation." We must let the market play the decisive role in resource allocation while better exerting the government's role in macro-management and public services. We must coordinate total supply and total demand, smoothing the domestic economic cycle. This requires both demand-side management to solve aggregate problems and supply-side management to solve structural problems. We must coordinate cultivating new drivers and renewing old drivers, developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions. We must vigorously develop industries like intelligent robotics, biotechnology, and new energy while accelerating the transformation of traditional manufacturing. We must coordinate optimizing increments and revitalizing stocks ^[26], improving resource allocation efficiency. We cannot simply adopt a "one-size-fits-all" approach; we must "establish the new before breaking the old" ^[27], proceeding steadily to prevent serious social problems. We must coordinate improving quality and expanding scale, consolidating the material foundation of Chinese-path modernization. Quality improvement is a slow, long-term process requiring persistence, while quantitative growth must be controlled within a reasonable degree.

These five principles constitute a logically rigorous, dialectically unified whole. Coordinating market and government solves resource allocation to prevent both "market failure" and "government failure." Coordinating supply and demand ensures balance and prevents structural mismatch. Coordinating new and old drivers ensures the momentum of development while preventing excessive structural shocks. Coordinating increments and stocks improves efficiency and prevents resource waste. Coordinating quality and scale secures the material base while protecting the ecological environment and preventing economic downturns.

09 Unswervingly Following the Path of Financial Development with Chinese Characteristics

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has strengthened comprehensive leadership and strategic planning of financial work. In October 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Central Financial Work Conference, systematically expounding for the first time on the basic essentials of the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics and the main connotations of a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics. On January 16, 2024, at the opening of a study session for provincial and ministerial-level officials, he pointed out that this path "follows the objective laws of modern financial development, possesses distinct features suited to China’s national conditions, and is fundamentally different from Western financial models."

General Secretary Xi Jinping incisively summarized this path through "Eight Persistences": persisting in the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over financial work; persisting in a people-centered value orientation; persisting in the fundamental purpose of finance serving the real economy; persisting in risk prevention and control as the eternal theme; persisting in promoting financial innovation on the track of marketization and rule of law; persisting in deepening financial supply-side structural reform; persisting in coordinating financial opening and security; and persisting in the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability. He used the "Six Strengths"—a strong currency, a strong central bank, strong financial institutions, strong international financial centers, strong financial supervision, and a strong talent pool—to indicate the core elements of a financial powerhouse. He systematically expounded on building a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics, including sound financial regulation, market systems, institutional systems, and infrastructure, pointing the way for China to transition from a "large financial nation" to a "financial powerhouse."

To unswervingly follow this path, we must focus on preventing and resolving financial risks, especially systemic risks. Financial supervision must "have teeth and thorns" ^[28] and be sharp-edged; the key is for regulatory and industry departments to clarify responsibilities and strengthen coordination. In the process of risk disposal, we must resolutely punish corruption, strictly prevent moral hazard, and crack down on financial crimes.

Furthermore, we must increase opening-up to improve the efficiency of financial resource allocation and enhance international competitiveness and influence over rules, while carefully managing the pace and intensity. We should focus on institutional opening-up, strengthen the interconnectivity of domestic and foreign financial markets, and actively participate in international financial regulatory reform, while maintaining the bottom line of financial security under open conditions.

Building upon the foundation that “Chinese excellent traditional culture must be vigorously promoted within the financial system,” General Secretary Xi Jinping further proposed that we must persist in combining the rule of law with the rule of virtue, and actively cultivate a financial culture with Chinese characteristics. This involves: being honest and trustworthy, and not crossing the bottom line; pursuing profit through righteousness ^[29], and not seeking profit as the sole end; remaining steady and prudent, and not being eager for quick success or instant benefits; upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, and not diverting from the real economy toward the virtual; and operating according to the law and compliance, and not acting recklessly. This consolidates the cultural foundation for promoting high-quality development in finance and building a financial powerhouse.

10. Unilateral Opening-up

The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization, deliberated and adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, proposed to “expand autonomous opening-up” and “expand unilateral opening-up to the least developed countries.” The 2024 Central Economic Work Conference proposed to expand autonomous opening-up and unilateral opening-up in an orderly manner. Both autonomous and unilateral opening-up are important forms of China’s proactive opening to the world. They represent an inevitable choice for China to gain the initiative in economic development and international competition through the initiative of opening-up, and constitute practical actions to continuously provide new opportunities for the world through China’s new development.

Expanding autonomous opening-up and unilateral opening-up to the least developed countries are new requirements from the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the proposal and promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative, Pilot Free Trade Zones, and the China International Import Expo (CIIE) have all been important measures for China to expand its autonomous opening-up. At present and for a period to come, we should further relax market access and expand the opening of our commodity, service, capital, and labor markets in an orderly manner. Expanding unilateral opening-up to the least developed countries responds to the strong desire of the Global South for equality and change.

Unilateral opening-up, as opposed to reciprocal opening, mutual-benefit opening, or treaty-based opening, refers to a country or economy unilaterally and proactively expanding its opening to the other party regardless of whether that party opens to it. Therefore, it is characterized by not seeking reciprocal opening, being fundamentally free from treaty constraints, and not violating existing rules.

Expanding unilateral opening-up, from China’s perspective, helps empower the optimization of the global layout of industrial and supply chains, better drives and leads the dual circulation, and accelerates the construction of a new development pattern. From the perspective of the target of opening-up, it helps achieve mutual cooperation, win-win results, and common developmental progress while continuously promoting the integration of interests with relevant countries and regions. In the short term, it helps empower a new round of globalization, making the greatest possible effort to jointly offset anti-globalization forces. In the long term, it helps empower the joint construction of the Belt and Road, creating new conditions and a new environment for the healthy development of the global economy and promoting the reshaping of the future global trade landscape.

However, unilateral opening-up is by no means the same as practicing unilateralism; rather, it is an inevitable requirement for a responsible major power to lead the world toward inclusive and beneficial development. As the world's second-largest economy, China’s unilateral opening and unilateral granting of benefits to the least developed countries can help them better integrate into the international market and achieve common development, while also demonstrating China's image as a responsible major power.

Expanding unilateral opening-up is an urgent necessity and an important driving force for China to respond to the complex international environment and achieve high-quality economic development. Unilateral opening-up helps a country integrate global resource factors at the international level, attract and aggregate high-quality global factors, and promote the better convergence of funds, technology, markets, raw materials, and many other high-quality resources necessary for its development. Currently, the changes unseen in a century ^[30] are accelerating, with increasing factors of uncertainty and complexity, and world trade and the global economy face severe challenges and many difficulties. China’s explicit proposal and implementation of a unilateral opening-up policy not only allows China to play the role of a premier stabilizer in such a turbulent world—using China’s certainty to overcome the world’s uncertainty—but also constitutes an inevitable requirement for promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and gaining strategic initiative in increasingly fierce international competition. Furthermore, it is a strategic measure for further comprehensively deepening reform and promoting high-level opening-up at the present moment.

Expanding unilateral opening-up is an inherent need for China to further expand its autonomous opening-up. In the written speech delivered at the 2024 APEC CEO Summit and at the 2024 Central Economic Work Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized autonomous opening-up and unilateral opening-up together. The prerequisite for unilateral opening-up must be autonomous opening-up, and the two should be viewed as a whole. Unilateral and autonomous opening-up are not merely responses to the demands of other countries, nor are they the passive acceptance of other countries' conditions. Expanding unilateral opening-up is not unprincipled; the fields and degrees of opening must be determined autonomously and promoted with precision according to China's own developmental needs.