[Academic Announcement] 21st Century Marxism Grand Lecture Series (Lecture 1)

Since the 18th Party Congress ^[1], changes in the domestic and international situation and the development of our country's various undertakings have presented us with a major question of the times: how to systematically answer, through a combination of theory and practice, what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics we should uphold and develop in the New Era, and how to uphold and develop it. Revolving around this major question of the times, our Party has persisted in taking Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development as guidance; persisted in liberating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, and being realistic and pragmatic; and persisted in dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Closely integrating new temporal conditions and practical requirements, the Party has deepened its understanding of the laws of Communist Party governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society with an entirely new perspective. Through arduous theoretical exploration, it has achieved major theoretical and practical innovation results and founded Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This Thought is the latest achievement in the Sinicization of Marxism; it is contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism. It has opened a new realm for the development of 21st-century Marxism, brought the Sinicization of Marxism into a new stage, and achieved a new leap. Deeply studying, publicizing, researching, and interpreting Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply researching major theoretical and practical issues of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, and better serving the epochal task of enriching and developing contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism are important historical missions for the Institute of Marxism Studies (IMS) and Marxist scholars nationwide.

The world is undergoing great changes unseen in a century ^[2], and China is in a critical period for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Starting today, the Institute of Marxism Studies is launching the "21st-Century Marxism Grand Lecture Hall" series. We will periodically invite renowned Marxist scholars from China and abroad to deliver thematic lectures on major theoretical and practical issues, broadening our theoretical horizons and enriching our academic cultivation. For the first lecture, we have invited Researcher Li Shenming, a renowned Marxist scholar and former Vice President and Deputy Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group ^[3] of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The title of the lecture is "A Preliminary Discussion on Our Country’s Period of Important Strategic Opportunity."

Time: Thursday, December 24, 2020, 9:30 AM Location: IMS Conference Room, Room 1345, CASS Research Building Speaker Biography: Li Shenming is the former Vice President and Deputy Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Director of the World Socialism Research Center, Researcher, and Doctoral Supervisor. He served as a member of the Standing Committee of the 10th, 11th, and 12th National People's Congress (NPC); Vice Chairman of the Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee of the 12th NPC; and a delegate to the 16th and 17th National Congresses of the Party. He is a member and Chief Expert of the Advisory Committee of the Central Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project; Head of the International Affairs Group of the National Philosophy and Social Science Planning Fund Project Review Committee; a member of the Political Science Discipline Review Group of the 6th and 7th Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council; President of the Chinese Political Science Association; and a consultant for the National Party Building Research Association, the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, the China Association for International Friendly Contact, and the Expert Advisory Committee for the Reform and Development of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is also a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Primary Research Interests: Party building, democratic politics, international strategy, Party history, history of the People's Republic of China, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe.

Principal Works: Anxiety for the People, Anxiety for the Party: An Exploration of Mao Zedong's Thoughts on Preventing the Party from Changing Its Nature; Reflections on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Discourse on Socialism; Preparedness in Times of Peace: Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of the CPSU’s Collapse; Why People Live; China’s International Strategy in the Context of Globalization; China’s Comprehensive Party Building in the Context of Globalization; Li Shenming on the Financial Crisis; Selected Works of Li Shenming; China’s Peaceful Development and International Strategy; War, Peace, and Socialism; Riding Through Hunan and Jiangxi; Biography of Wang Zhen (Co-author, Volumes I and II), among others. He has served as editor-in-chief for over 20 academic works, including the series Tracking Research Reports on World Socialism—Hearing the Sounds of New Tides from the Trough and the Global Politics and Security Reports (series). He has published over 300 articles in major central newspapers and journals such as People’s Daily, Qiushi, and Guangming Daily. Many of his works have received national awards.