Cheng Enfu: Several Issues Concerning Understanding the Spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC Based on the Basic Principles of Marxism
The Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as "the Report") provides a comprehensive summary of the work over the five years since the 19th National Congress and the great transformations of the past decade of the New Era. It lays out strategic deployments for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country on the new journey of the New Era. Holding high the banner, defining the orientation, grasping the general trend, and overseeing the entire situation, the Report is a brilliant programmatic document for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, requiring understanding and interpretation from multiple perspectives. Reflecting on it from the perspective of the basic principles of Marxism is conducive not only to deepening the understanding of the Report's ideological and theoretical foundations but also to deepening the recognition of its significant contributions to theoretical innovation.
I. Comprehending the Latest Achievements of Sinicized Marxism through the Marxist Worldview and Methodology
The Marxist worldview is the worldview of the proletariat. As Lenin pointed out: "Only the Marxist worldview correctly reflects the interests, viewpoints, and culture of the revolutionary proletariat." A worldview consists of people’s general and fundamental views on the world (the universe) and provides principles and a basis for methodology; methodology consists of the cognitive concepts and guides to action for people to understand and transform the world, facilitating the concrete implementation of the worldview.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Dialectical materialism is the worldview and methodology of Chinese Communists." Dialectical materialism and historical materialism are simultaneously a worldview and a methodology. As a methodology, they are closely linked to social practice and various scientific disciplines, scientifically answering questions regarding the relationship between man and the world, subject and object, and thinking and being. Adhering to dialectical materialism and historical materialism requires us to uphold the principle of the material unity of the world, the principle that social life is essentially practical, the principle of the movement of contradictions in things, and the principle of the dialectical unity of subjective initiative and objective laws. We must also establish the principle that the masses are the decisive force in social transformation. Simultaneously, we must persist in the methodology of seeking truth from facts, the methodology of contradiction analysis, the systems methodology, and the mass line methodology, among others.
As a Marxist party, the basic reason the Communist Party of China has grown from weak to strong over the past century, leading the people to continuous victories in the cause of revolution, construction, and reform, is that the Party has always adhered to the Marxist worldview and methodology, using them as the ideological and theoretical basis for analyzing and handling all problems. Since the reform and opening up, the Party has applied the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism to form two core theories: the theory of the primary stage of socialism and the theory of the socialist market economy [1]. At the same time, it has used Marxist dialectics to scientifically handle the relationships between the construction of material and spiritual civilizations, between the Four Cardinal Principles and reform and opening up, between "getting rich first" and common prosperity, and between the plan and the market. This has actively promoted the progress of reform and opening up and realized the historical transformation of China’s leapfrog development.
As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping, while presiding over a collective study session of the Central Policy Bureau on dialectical materialism and historical materialism, summarized: "Our Party uses historical materialism to systematically, concretely, and historically analyze the movements of Chinese society and its laws of development. In the process of understanding and transforming the world, we continuously grasp and actively apply these laws, driving the cause of the Party and the people from one victory to another." In the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, "for our Party to unite and lead the people to achieve the 'Two Centenary Goals' [2] and the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must constantly receive nourishment from the wisdom of Marxist philosophy and more consciously adhere to and apply the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism." In concrete practice, the Party has used dialectical materialism and historical materialism to make a scientific judgment on the principal contradiction in Chinese society in the New Era [3], correctly handling the relationships between the government and the market, the public sector and the non-public sector, openness and security, the local and the global, the immediate and the long-term, and the domestic and the international. On this basis, the Report to the 20th National Congress clearly stated: "Our insistence on taking Marxism as our guide is to use its scientific worldview and methodology to solve China's problems, rather than to memorize and repeat its specific conclusions and phrases"; "To continue promoting theoretical innovation based on practice, we must first grasp the worldview and methodology of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and adhere to and apply the positions, viewpoints, and methods that run through it." Furthermore, the Report incisively summarized the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the core content of which is the "Six Must-Adheres": we must put the people first, we must maintain self-confidence and self-reliance, we must uphold the fundamentals and break new ground, we must maintain a problem-oriented approach, we must apply systems thinking, and we must maintain a global vision. These "Six Must-Adheres" represent the inheritance and development of the Marxist worldview and methodology. Accordingly, we should focus on the following aspects.
First, adhering to the basic principle of historical materialism that the people create history requires us to stand firm in the value pursuits of a Marxist party. The value pursuit of the struggle of a proletarian party is to safeguard the interests of the people, with the focus on the interests of the broad masses of working people. The "people-centered nature" is the essential attribute of Marxism; it is the fundamental hallmark that distinguishes a Marxist party from other political parties. To this end, Marx and Engels clarified in the Manifesto of the Communist Party that the Communists "have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole." General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his speech at the conference marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, incisively summarized this: "Marxism is broad and profound, but in the final analysis, it can be summed up in one sentence: seeking the liberation of humanity." For the Communist Party of China, the Party's original aspiration and founding mission is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. The reason the Party has always maintained a "flesh-and-blood connection" with the masses is that it always represents the fundamental interests of the people. Correspondingly, the reason the Party’s theory maintains its vitality and is identified with by the people is that it always upholds the standpoint of the people and the value orientation of putting the people first. Starting from the 18th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly stated that "the people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal," and has consistently emphasized that "the Party's foundation is in the people, and its strength is in the people." In promoting economic and social development in the New Era, he vividly proposed the people-centered development philosophy: "Only by adhering to the people-centered development philosophy, and insisting that development is for the people, relies on the people, and its fruits are shared by the people, can there be a correct view of development and modernization." In practice, the Party has led the people in comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and winning the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, fully demonstrating the CPC's value pursuit of putting the people first. In foreign relations, targeting the hegemonism and unilateralism practiced by Western capitalist countries, as well as the numerous challenges facing international governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly proposed the Chinese solution of building a community with a shared future for humanity. This concept upholds and promotes the common values of all humanity, seeks the greatest common denominator for mankind, shapes a new type of international relations centered on win-win cooperation, and advocates for peaceful, common, and sustainable development. The concept of a community with a shared future for humanity fully demonstrates the Chinese Communists' global mindset of "taking the world as one's responsibility" [4] and their sense of duty in striving for a better future for humanity. Therefore, the Report clarifies the political standpoint of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as "putting the people first," brilliantly proposes the worldview and methodology of "maintaining a global vision," and declares that "the Communist Party of China is a party that seeks happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation; it is also a party that seeks progress for humanity and the Great Harmony for the world" [5].
Second, adhering to the principles of dialectical materialism regarding the material unity of the world, the essential practicality of social life, and the dialectical unity of subjective initiative and objective laws requires us to firmly establish the basic viewpoint that "practice is the sole criterion for testing truth." We must achieve an organic combination of theory and practice on the basis of correctly grasping China's specific national conditions, the Party's conditions, and the global situation. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has consistently adhered to the basic principles of dialectical materialism and historical materialism in the practice of constructing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Based on changes in China’s developmental orientation, they made the major judgment that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. Simultaneously, combining the new positioning and requirements of China’s economic and social development, they proposed the New Development Philosophy, the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and supply-side structural reform, demonstrating a distinct Marxist historical consciousness and historical initiative. General Secretary Xi Jinping requires that in the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, we must "accurately grasp changes in the international and domestic environments, dialectically analyze the phased characteristics of our country’s economic development," and "insist on formulating policies and promoting work based on objective reality." In the process of comprehensively deepening reform, we must "insist on proceeding from reality in everything, act according to objective laws," and "properly handle the relationship between respecting objective laws and exerting subjective initiative." Precisely for this reason, the Report elucidates the worldview and methodology of the "Six Must-Adheres," such as "must maintain self-confidence and self-reliance," "must uphold the fundamentals and break new ground," and "must maintain a problem-oriented approach."
Third, adhering to the Marxist basic principles regarding the composition of contradictions in human society and the social organic whole requires us to attach great importance to and make full use of social contradiction analysis and systems analysis. Dialectical materialism holds that contradictions are omnipresent and eternal; when analyzing and handling social contradictions, one must possess holistic consciousness and a systems concept. Because society is a complex system of contradictions—including contradictions between man and nature, man and society, and among individuals; contradictions between various social sub-systems such as economy, politics, and culture; contradictions between classes, strata, and interest groups; and contradictions between the state, the collective, and the individual—one must adhere to systems thinking and focus on overall planning when analyzing social contradictions. Conversely, if one only pays attention to individual factors, the one-sidedness of "seeing the trees but not the forest" will occur. Regarding this, Lenin once pointed out: "The dialectical method requires us to regard society as a living organism in action and development." Since the 18th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the importance of adhering to systems thinking. In December 2012, in his speech at the Central Economic Work Conference, he emphasized the need to "enhance the systemic, holistic, and synergistic nature of reform." In November 2013, in a speech at a symposium with non-Party personages convened by the CPC Central Committee, he emphasized: "Comprehensively deepening reform is a complex systemic project that requires strengthening top-level design and overall planning, and strengthening research on the interconnectedness, systematicity, and feasibility of various reforms." In January 2015, during the 20th collective study session of the 18th Central Policy Bureau, he again emphasized: "Facing complex situations and arduous tasks, one must first have a sense of the global situation and have a clear understanding of various contradictions." In the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, the Party Central Committee has coordinately promoted the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" and the "Four Comprehensives" strategic layout, demonstrating a distinct holistic consciousness, systems concept, and dialectical thinking. For instance, in the process of comprehensively deepening reform and expanding opening up, the Party Central Committee has focused on using systems thinking to plan the overall situation, accurately grasping the direction, main line, and key points of reform. It pays attention to both immediate problems and long-term planning, ensuring that the whole and the parts are coordinated, that treating the symptoms is combined with treating the root cause, and that gradual progress is linked with breakthroughs, so that various reform measures are organically linked and mutually synergistic. It is for this reason that the Report incorporates "applying systems thinking" into the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, emphasizing that the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics must "properly handle the relationships between the whole and the part, the immediate and the long-term, the macro and the micro, the principal contradiction and secondary contradictions, and the special and the general."
In short, the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era were formed on the basis of adhering to the basic principles of dialectical materialism and historical materialism as guidance and summarizing the practical experience of constructing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. They are the worldview and methodology of Sinicized Marxism, the worldview and methodology of 21st-century Marxism, and the ideological "magic weapon" for us to observe the times, grasp the times, solve the issues of the times, and promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
II. Comprehending the Innovative Development of Socialist Economic Theory with Chinese Characteristics through the Principles of Marxist Political Economy
Marxist political economy, represented by Das Kapital, reveals the essence of capitalist economic systems and phenomena through an analysis of capitalism’s intricate economic manifestations. At the same time, it discloses the operational mechanisms and objective laws of large-scale socialized production and the market economy, looking forward to the economic formations of future society. It thus provides a scientific vision and essential principles for our understanding of various complex economic phenomena under the conditions of the basic socialist economic system.
Marxist political economy maintains that when people engage in the production of material goods, two types of relations necessarily occur: first, the relation between humanity and nature, which belongs to the category of productive forces; and second, the relations between people, which belong to the category of social relations of production or economic relations. The social mode of production, as a category of political economic research, is the unity of the social productive forces and the relations of production. Within this, the relations of production encompass the sum total of the mutual relations that occur among people across the four stages of the social production process: production, distribution, exchange, and consumption. Within the unified whole of the relations of production, the ownership of the means of production—that is, the property relations between people—holds an extremely important position. The ownership of the means of production determines the way in which laborers are combined with the means of production, the status of people in production and their mutual relations, and the relations of distribution, exchange, and consumption among people; it thereby determines the nature of the relations of production. Therefore, the relations of ownership of the means of production constitute the foundation of the relations of production.
Marx and Engels believed that capitalist private ownership of the means of production determines the relationship in which private capital exploits wage labor—that is, the capitalist possesses the fruits of production, while the wage laborer can only survive by selling their labor power. The ultimate goal of capitalist commodity production is the extraction of the surplus value created by the workers. Under the capitalist economic system, capital accumulation inevitably leads to the continuous deepening of the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, as well as economic and financial crises resulting from the relative overproduction of goods. The basic contradiction of capitalism will continue to develop and intensify along with the increasing socialization and globalization of the economy, the ultimate result of which must be the replacement of capitalism by socialism.
Based on the principles of historical materialism, Marx and Engels described the characteristics of the economic system of the future society grounded in the great development of productive forces. These primarily include: (1) The purpose of socialist production is to satisfy the needs of the people for survival, enjoyment, and development. As an economic category reflecting the substance of production, the purpose of production answers the question of whose material interests production is carried out for. Since any production is always carried out under certain relations of production based on the ownership of the means of production, the question of for whose material interests a society or mode of production produces is determined neither by the relationship between humanity and nature nor by the subjective wishes of people, but by the nature of the material interest relations between people. In the capitalist mode of production, the capitalist owns the means of production and the laborer is separated from them; the capitalist dominates the production process and appropriates the fruits of labor, so production is necessarily carried out according to the capitalist’s motives and intentions. In the socialist mode of production, laborers are the owners of the means of production and the masters of economic activity; the purpose of socialist production is to satisfy the needs of the masses. (2) Implementing public ownership of the means of production. Marx and Engels believed that to liberate and develop the productive forces, the proletariat, after seizing political power, must "expropriate the expropriators" and transform capitalist private ownership into socialist public ownership. Public ownership is not primarily a social system conceived based on some idea of equality, but is the inevitable product of the development of social productive forces to a certain height and is the economic relation required by large-scale socialized production. Therefore, socialist society is "a collective society based on common ownership of the means of production," and it "organizes production on the basis of public ownership of all the means of production (initially by the state)." (3) The future society will implement planned production. Marx and Engels held that to overcome the anarchy and disproportion in capitalist production, socialist production would implement planned organization and regulation on a society-wide scale. (4) Implementing the system of distribution according to work. Marx and Engels believed that the capitalist mode of production features distribution according to capital, where various exploiting classes divide the surplus value created by wage laborers by virtue of their differing degrees of ownership of the means of production; meanwhile, laborers obtain a portion of the value created by their own labor by selling their only special commodity—labor power—and receive this according to the different conditions of use of that labor power. This portion of value created by necessary labor appears in the converted form of the value or price of labor power, known as wages. Conversely, under the conditions of the socialist mode of production, laborers become the masters of the means of production and the state, and the social distribution system implements distribution according to work.
The scientific conceptions of Marx and Engels regarding the future economic society provided an important theoretical basis for establishing the socialist economic system. However, it must be recognized that what Marx and Engels proposed were the general principles and conceptions of the future economic society—a scientific foresight made according to the general trends of economic and social development—rather than a detailed blueprint for every period and developmental stage of that future society. Their scientific conceptions must be followed in their principled spirit, while the specific economic systems and mechanisms should and must be contextualized according to the different historical conditions and practical needs of various countries.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has conducted a series of innovative explorations of economic construction for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, forming a series of new thoughts, viewpoints, and judgments. These are also centrally reflected in the report to the 20th National Congress. Specifically, they mainly include the following aspects.
First, upholding the Marxist value pursuit of achieving the free and comprehensive development of the individual, and practicing the people-centered development philosophy of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Marx and Engels criticized the capital-centered capitalist system and emphasized the comprehensive development of the "association of free individuals" in the future society. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee has clarified that the principal contradiction in our society is the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. Taking "people-centered" rather than "capital-centered" as the basic guide for economic and social development, the Party has continuously deepened its theoretical innovation and practical exploration of "people-centeredness." The report lists "our deep implementation of the people-centered development philosophy" as one of the important reasons for the Party's achievements in the New Era, and emphasizes that comprehensively building a modern socialist country similarly requires "adhering to a people-centered development philosophy" and "putting the people first." This reflects the ideals, beliefs, nature, purpose, original aspiration, and founding mission of the Communist Party of China. It proves beneficial not only for ensuring the nature and correct development direction of the basic socialist economic system but also for promoting the healthy and coordinated development of the national economy, ensuring that the fruits of economic development are shared by the broad masses. This inherits and develops Marxist ideas regarding the principal contradiction in society and the pursuit of the people's welfare.
Second, upholding the spiritual essence of Marxist ownership theory and improving the theory of the socialist property rights system. Based on the basic contradictions of capitalist society and the objective requirements of large-scale socialized production, Marx and Engels proposed the ideas of social possession and cooperative possession of the means of production. Over the century since its founding, the Communist Party of China has creatively practiced Marxist ownership theory in advancing the practice of the Chinese revolution, construction, and reform. Especially since the start of reform and opening up, the Party has, based on the reality of economic construction for socialism with Chinese characteristics, gradually formed a property rights system in which public ownership is the mainstay and diverse forms of ownership develop together. The report points out the need to uphold and improve the basic socialist economic system, to "unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector, and unswervingly encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector." It specifically proposes to "accelerate the optimization of the layout and structural adjustment of the state-owned economy, promote state-owned capital and state-owned enterprises to become stronger, better, and larger, and enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises," as well as to "develop a new type of rural collective economy," optimize the development environment for private enterprises, protect the property rights of private enterprises and the rights of entrepreneurs in accordance with the law, and promote the growth of the private economy. These expressions regarding the developmental requirements of the socialist property rights system are in the same lineage as the Party's economic theory and practical achievements since the reform and opening up began. They highlight the requirement in the New Era to simultaneously promote state-owned capital and state-owned enterprises to become stronger, better, and larger, thereby allowing Marxist ownership theory to be carried forward and enriched.
Third, upholding the spiritual essence of Marxist economic regulation theory, for the enrichment and development of the theories of the socialist market economy and macro-control. In response to the anarchy of capitalist production, Marx expounded the idea of socialism implementing a planned economy and proportionate development. Since the reform and opening up, our Party has, in combination with the realities of economic and social development, reformed the traditional planned economic system, achieving important results in the construction of the market system. Since the 18th National Congress, through the in-depth promotion of supply-side structural reform and the acceleration of the "streamline administration, delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services" [6] series of reforms, the modern market system has become more complete. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee incorporated the socialist market economy system into the framework of the basic socialist economic system. On this basis, the report emphasizes continuing to "adhere to the direction of socialist market economy reform, adhere to high-level opening up, and accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and the domestic and international dual cycles promoting each other." It also dialectically proposes the policy of "organically combining the strategy of expanding domestic demand with the deepening of supply-side structural reform," emphasizing requirements such as "building a high-level socialist market economy system" and "building a unified national market, deepening the market-oriented reform of factors of production, and constructing a high-standard market system." These are major strategic measures proposed based on changes in the domestic and international development environment and the Party's mission and tasks on the new journey in the New Era; they also represent a new development of Marxist theories regarding markets and planning, supply and demand, and domestic and international markets.
Fourth, upholding the principled requirements of the Marxist theory of distribution according to work, and deepening the scientific understanding of the development goal of common prosperity for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. The basic contradictions of capitalist society dictate that capitalist development inevitably leads to the opposition between wealth and poverty and to polarization. One of the important goals of socialism is to eliminate the opposition between wealth and poverty and polarization, establish a fair and just society, and achieve common prosperity for all people. At the beginning of the reform and opening up, our Party, on the basis of profoundly summarizing the historical experiences and lessons of previous modernization efforts, repeatedly expounded the goal of having those who get rich first lead those who lag behind to achieve common prosperity. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has sized up the situation and proposed a series of new concepts, viewpoints, and judgments on the road toward common prosperity for all people. For example, in theory, shared development was identified as one of the components of the New Development Philosophy; in practice, the Party led the people to achieve the centenary goal of eliminating absolute poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, subsequently proposing to promote "more obvious and substantive progress toward common prosperity for all people." On this basis, the report integrates common prosperity with the inherent requirements of Chinese-path modernization, declaring that "Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all people," and clarifying that "the distribution system is a basic system for promoting common prosperity." Regarding the requirements for constructing a specific distribution system, it not only proposes to "build an institutional system in which primary distribution, redistribution, and third-party distribution are coordinated and complementary," but also specifically puts forward new requirements such as "regulating the mechanism of wealth accumulation," thereby further enriching and developing Marxist distribution theory.
III. Understanding new deployments for socialist modernization through the basic principles of scientific socialism
Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the inheritance and development of scientific socialism. What, then, are the basic principles of scientific socialism? Looking at the expositions of scientific socialism by classical Marxist writers, in addition to the aforementioned principles regarding the basic economic system—such as adhering to socialist property rights, regulation, and distribution on the basis of the great development of productive forces—they also include the following aspects:
First, adhering to the leadership of the Party and relying on the working class. Scientific socialism is a social system established through proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, with the working class as the materializing force and the party of the working class as the leadership core. Both proletarian revolution and construction must adhere to the leadership of the Party. Regarding this, Lenin clearly pointed out: "In our country, all the political and economic work of the state power is led by the Communist Party, the conscious vanguard of the working class."
Second, establishing a democratic state system. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party, Marx and Engels clearly stated: "the first step in the revolution by the working class is to raise the proletariat to the position of ruling class to win the battle of democracy." Lenin also emphasized: "Proletarian democracy (of which Soviet power is a form) has developed and expanded as never before in the world; it is democracy for the vast majority of the population, for the exploited and laboring people." Furthermore, classical Marxist writers emphasized the importance of adhering to democratic centralism. In the section "Principles of Party Organization" in the tactical program submitted to the Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in March 1906, Lenin wrote: "The principle of democratic centralism within the Party is now a universally recognized principle."
Third, implementing transformations to achieve a harmonious society. In Marx's view, "In order to transform social production into a comprehensive, harmonious system of free cooperative labor, comprehensive social transformations and transformations of the foundations of the social system are necessary," "production will aim at the prosperity of all," and "everyone will jointly enjoy the welfare created by all." That is to say, socialism must both develop productive forces relatively rapidly and realize common prosperity and social harmony for all people.
Fourth, greatly elevating the spiritual realm of human beings. Marx and Engels believed that the future society must achieve a "complete rupture" with traditional private ownership and ideas of private property, forming socialist ideological concepts compatible with public ownership. Engels pointed out: "A truly human morality which stands above class antagonisms and above any recollection of them becomes possible."
Fifth, establishing a "humanized view of nature." Marx and Engels took practice as the bridge connecting man and nature, understanding nature as the environment for human survival and activity and as a factor of human production, thereby connecting nature and human society concretely and historically, revealing the dialectical relationship between man and nature. Socialist construction must conform to nature, follow the laws of nature, and correctly handle the relationship between man and nature.
Since the establishment of our country's socialist system, the Party has led the people in adhering to the basic principles of scientific socialism and conducting a series of innovative practices in combination with national conditions, leading to the continuous development and improvement of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has provided profound expositions on adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. Especially in the article "Several Issues Concerning Adhering to and Developing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," he pointed out clearly: "Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a dialectical unity of the theoretical logic of scientific socialism and the historical logic of China's social development. It is scientific socialism rooted in Chinese soil, reflecting the will of the Chinese people, and adapting to the requirements of the development and progress of China and the times. It is the only path to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, accelerating the advancement of socialist modernization, and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." General Secretary Xi Jinping's incisive exposition profoundly revealed the fundamental theoretical and practical issues of socialism with Chinese characteristics, clarified major political, ideological, and theoretical rights and wrongs regarding the issue of the "path," further strengthened our Party's consciousness and confidence in the Chinese path, and enabled the cause of the Party and the country to achieve historic achievements and undergo historic transformations.
On the basis of summarizing the practical experience of construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, the Report [to the 20th National Congress] systematically expounded the theory of Chinese-path modernization. It not only revealed the basic characteristics of Chinese-path modernization but also proposed its essential requirements and made systematic deployments and requirements for the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. These deployments and requirements both adhere to the basic principles of scientific socialism and fit the inherent requirements of socialist modernization, further deepening the understanding of the laws of socialist construction. Regarding this, we should focus on grasping the following points:
First, adhere to and strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party, and give full play to the greatest advantage of the highest force of political leadership. Adhering to the leadership of a Marxist party is a basic principle of scientific socialism. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the significance of Party leadership for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, pointing out that "the core of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is strengthening the leadership of the Party." On the basis of the remarkable results achieved in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party in the New Era, the Report of the 20th National Congress further made the important judgment that "the most essential characteristic of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China; the greatest advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China; the Communist Party of China is the highest force of political leadership; and adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the highest political principle." In addition, the Report further proposed specific requirements for adhering to and strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee on the new journey, including improving the mechanism for implementing major decision-making deployments of the Party Central Committee and implementing the primary responsibilities of Party committees (leading Party groups) at all levels. The Report’s prominent emphasis on the "most essential characteristic," "greatest advantage," "highest force of political leadership," and "highest political principle" of Party leadership has greatly deepened the whole Party's understanding of the Party's leadership position, profoundly revealed the fundamental command of Party leadership in the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and innovatively developed the Marxist theory of Party leadership through the combination of theory and practice.
Second, develop whole-process people's democracy and ensure that the people are the masters of the country. In the process of exploring the path of proletarian revolution and liberation, classical Marxist writers expounded on the importance of establishing democratic political power in socialist states and reflected upon and explored the construction of socialist democracy. Realizing that the people are the masters of the country is the goal for which Chinese Communists strive. Since the day of its birth, the Communist Party of China has constantly carried out active explorations and efforts to pursue people's democracy and ensure that the people are the masters of the country. Since the founding of New China, the Party has led the people in establishing a social system in which the people are the masters of the country. As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, the Party Central Committee actively explored the construction of socialist democratic politics and proposed the major judgment of whole-process people's democracy. The Report further incorporated "developing whole-process people's democracy" into the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization; among the 2035 goals for socialist modernization, it also proposed to further improve the system of whole-process people's democracy. Furthermore, the Report made deployments for developing whole-process people's democracy in the New Era, including strengthening the institutional guarantee for the people's status as masters of the country, comprehensively developing consultative democracy, actively developing grassroots democracy, and consolidating and developing the broadest possible patriotic united front, while emphasizing the importance of implementing the Party's principle of democratic centralism. In the construction of the system of norms for the Party's self-revolution, the Report emphasized "taking the Party Constitution as the fundamental, democratic centralism as the core, and improving the system of internal Party regulations." To adhere to and strengthen the leadership of the Party, it is necessary to "implement democratic centralism, innovate and improve leadership methods, and improve the Party's ability to set the direction, manage the overall situation, formulate policies, and promote reforms." The Report's important judgments on developing whole-process people's democracy both inherit the basic tenets of Marxist democratic theory and propose new contents and requirements for democratic political construction in the New Era, such as "improving the institutional system for the people as masters of the country," "comprehensively developing consultative democracy," and "improving the grassroots mass self-governance mechanism led by grassroots Party organizations." By permeating the Party’s democratic centralism through the Party's institutional construction and leadership, it further develops Marxist democratic theory and deepens the law-based understanding of developing socialist democracy.
Third, improve people's well-being and perfect the social governance system. In capitalist society, the expansion and monopoly of private capital lead to a series of problems such as social polarization and class conflict, which Marx and Engels profoundly criticized. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has been committed to achieving social fairness and actively exploring effective ways of social construction. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee has directly faced the earnest expectations of the masses to live a better life and has proposed many new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments on social construction in the New Era. The Report's deployment of social construction for the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country is concentrated in several areas: First, regarding the concept of livelihood construction, it proposes that "benefiting the people is the essential requirement of serving the public and governing for the people" and "closely grasping the most direct and realistic interest issues of most concern to the people, and persisting in doing one's best while acting within one's means," reflecting the value pursuit of the Communist Party of China as a Marxist party. Second, focusing on promoting common prosperity, it proposes specific requirements for livelihood construction on the new journey, including improving the social distribution system, implementing the employment-first strategy, improving social security, and promoting the construction of a Healthy China. The Report especially proposes to "perfect a multi-level social security system that covers the whole population, integrates urban and rural areas, is fair and unified, secure and standardized, and sustainable," "accelerate the improvement of a unified national social insurance public service platform," and "place the protection of people's health in a strategic position of priority development and improve policies for promoting people's health," pointing out the direction for our country's livelihood construction on the new journey. Third, improving the social governance system, proposing to "improve the social governance system of joint contribution, shared governance, and shared benefits, and enhance the effectiveness of social governance." In terms of specific requirements, this includes improving mechanisms for correctly handling contradictions among the people [7] under the new situation, smoothing and standardizing channels for the expression of mass demands, interest coordination, and protection of rights and interests, and the social governance goal of "building a social governance community in which everyone is responsible, everyone does their duty, and everyone enjoys benefits," thereby raising our Party's understanding of the laws of socialist social construction to a new height.
Fourth, strengthen the construction of socialist ecological civilization and promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Correctly handling the relationship between man and nature and realizing "the reconciliation of mankind with nature and with itself" is one of the basic principles of scientific socialism. Our Party has always regarded the construction of ecological civilization as a major issue concerning the well-being of the people, sustained and healthy economic development, and as a matter of public will and support. It has actively solved resource and environmental problems, strengthened ecological environmental construction, and promoted the coordinated development of the economy and ecology. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the construction of ecological civilization, clearly proposed the concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and made it one of the basic strategies for adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. The 19th National Congress of the CPC took "man and nature are a community of life" as the conceptual basis for socialist ecological civilization construction. On this basis, the 20th National Congress further enriched and developed the Party's understanding of the laws of ecological civilization construction, mainly including: first, taking "promoting the harmonious coexistence of man and nature" as an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization, further highlighting the overall status of ecological civilization construction in China's modernization construction; second, making relatively systematic deployments for ecological civilization construction on the new journey, including accelerating the green transformation of development modes, deeply promoting the prevention and control of environmental pollution, comprehensively improving the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems, and actively and steadily promoting carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. The requirements and deployments of the 20th National Congress regarding ecological civilization construction reflect the Marxist thought of respecting natural laws and pursuing harmony between man and nature, and reflect our Party's clear understanding of the development trends of human ecological civilization and its historical initiative in the construction of ecological civilization.
IV. Conclusion and Reflections
The Report of the 20th National Congress pointed out: "Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and our country are founded and thrive." "Why the Communist Party of China is capable and why socialism with Chinese characteristics is good is, in the final analysis, because Marxism works, and Marxism that is Sinicized and adapted to the times works." Within the vast ideological system of Marxism, Marxist philosophy, political economy, and scientific socialism are three extremely important components, and the basic principles explained therein are the most primary theories in Marxist doctrine. Only by adhering to the basic principles of Marxism and creatively applying and developing them based on Chinese practice can we ensure that the Party always adheres to the correct direction and lay the theoretical foundation and guide for action for the continuous victory of China's revolution, construction, and reform.
Analyzing the spiritual essence, the report of the 20th CPC National Congress consistently incorporates the three major aspects of Marxist principles mentioned above. It represents a concrete application and innovative development of the basic principles of Marxism, primarily including the following: First, based on upholding the basic principles of the Marxist worldview and methodology, it has formed the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, providing guidance to further advance the various tasks of the Party on the new journey. Second, by upholding the basic principles of Marxist political economy, it has enriched and developed the economic theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, providing guidance to further promote the high-quality development of the national economy under the new pattern. Third, by adhering to the basic principles of scientific socialism, it has enriched and developed the theory of comprehensively building socialism with Chinese characteristics, providing guidance to accelerate socialist modernization amidst the new changes. In short, the entire report scientifically applies, upholds the fundamentals, and breaks new ground regarding the basic principles and spiritual essence of Marxism; it is a programmatic document of contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism.
Finally, it must be recognized that Marxism and its Sinicized theory are advancing with the times and constantly developing and improving. Therefore, while scientifically comprehending and comprehensively implementing the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, we must also attach great importance to and practice what General Secretary Xi Jinping has earnestly taught: "We must seek truth from facts to analyze what has changed and what has remained unchanged, examine our theories as we advance with the times, adhering to what should be adhered to, adjusting what should be adjusted, and innovating where innovation is needed. We must never 'stand by a tree stump waiting for a rabbit' [8] or 'carve a mark on the boat to find a sword' [9]." This is the essential requirement for Chinese Communists and the vast body of Marxist scholars to consistently persist in the ideological line of seeking truth from facts.
(Author identification: Cheng Enfu is a researcher at the 21st Century Marxism Research Institute of Nankai University and the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chief Professor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and a Member of the Academic Division of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)
Online Editor: Tong Xin Source: Marxism Studies (《马克思主义研究》) Issue 11, 2022.