[Original] Chen Xuefeng: An Analysis of the "Change" and "Continuity" in the Themes of Plenary Sessions of the CPC Central Committee Since the Reform and Opening-up
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The topics researched, decisions made, measures adopted, and signals released by successive Third Plenary Sessions serve as an important basis for people to judge and understand the governing principles and priorities of each central leadership collective." What remains constant throughout these Third Plenary Sessions is the study and discussion of the issue of "reform." This sends a strong signal of unswervingly holding high the great banner of reform and reflects a consistency and persistence in the theories, principles, lines, and policies established since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. Ultimately, every Third Plenary Session answers the major long-term questions of what banner to hold and what path to take, while the "changes" are reflected in the specific contexts of the time and the prominent problems facing the cause of the Party and the people.
I. A Review of the Themes of Successive Third Plenary Sessions Since Reform and Opening-up
The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee was held against a complex and severe domestic background and a significant development gap with Western countries. It was a crucial turning point held at a historical crossroads for the Chinese nation. The meeting focused on the theme of rural reform and shifted the focus of the entire Party’s work to socialist modernization. It restored and established the Party’s ideological, political, and organizational lines, correcting the course for socialist construction.
The Third Plenary Session of the 12th CPC Central Committee was held after rural economic structural reform had achieved great success, and urban economic structural reform had also yielded significant results and experience. Focusing on the theme of enhancing enterprise vitality, the session issued the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Reform of the Economic Structure. It proposed the important thesis of implementing a "planned commodity economy," spoke "new words never uttered by our ancestors" [1], and opened the great curtains on a new situation for socialist modernization.
The Third Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee took place as the transition between old and new systems caused economic disorder and rapid price increases, affecting the daily lives of the masses. The Plenum focused on managing the economic environment and establishing economic order as the primary directions for deepening reform, clearing the path for further reform and addressing people's livelihoods.
The Third Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee was held after the entire Party clarified a series of theoretical misunderstandings and resolved major issues that had long constrained people's thinking—specifically after the 14th National Congress clarified the goal of economic structural reform. The Plenum used the construction of the basic framework for a socialist market economy system as a breakthrough point, initiating a new journey of economic structural transformation.
The Third Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee was held after more than 20 years of rural reform, at a time when the status of "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" [2] was becoming increasingly prominent within the overall framework of reform, opening-up, and modernization—particularly regarding the imbalance between urban and rural development. The Plenum clarified the goal of building a new socialist countryside with Chinese characteristics and made further arrangements for deepening rural reform.
The Third Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee was held following the 16th National Congress's ambitious goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the strategic deployment to improve the socialist market economy system. With China's formal entry into the World Trade Organization, the domestic and international economic environments underwent major changes, and institutional obstacles gradually emerged. The Plenum focused on the theme of improving the socialist market economy system, pushing China's reform, opening-up, and modernization to a new stage and providing powerful momentum for economic and social development.
The Third Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, marking the 30th anniversary of reform and opening-up, took place after the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects had achieved a historical leap for farmers from basic subsistence to general prosperity. However, as the income gap between urban and rural residents continued to widen and the urban-rural dual structure remained fundamentally unchanged, the Plenum focused on rural reform once again. It clarified the strategic deployment for building a new socialist countryside, planned the acceleration of a new pattern of integrated urban-rural economic and social development, and proposed the principles of industry nurturing agriculture, cities supporting the countryside, and "giving more, taking less, and liberalizing" (多予、少取、放活). This achieved positive results in promoting sound and rapid rural economic and social development.
The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee was held as reform and opening-up entered the "fast lane," reaching the stage of "tackling tough challenges and wading through deep water" (攻坚期和深水区) [3]. The easy reforms had been completed, and while significant results had been achieved in certain fields, Chinese socialism had entered a New Era. The construction of Chinese socialism involved every field of economic and social development, necessitating a new journey of comprehensively deepening reform. The Plenum clarified that economic structural reform was the priority of comprehensively deepening reform, taking the relationship between the government and the market as the core issue, and proposing a comprehensive and integrated reform plan for several important long-term issues.
The Third Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee was held because the setup and functional allocation of Party and state institutions were not fully adapted to the requirements of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four Comprehensives, nor to the requirements of comprehensively deepening reform. The Plenum reviewed and adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Deepening Reform of Party and State Institutions, clearly pointing out that the system of functions for Party and state institutions is an important part of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and a major guarantee for our Party’s governance of the country. Strategic deployments were made to improve the system for upholding the Party's overall leadership, optimize the setup and functional allocation of government institutions, coordinate the reform of Party, government, military, and mass organizations, and rationally set up local institutions.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was held ten years after the start of comprehensively deepening reform. Our Party has led the people in creating the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. The general goal of comprehensively deepening reform has achieved phased results, and the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics has become more mature and finalized. Meanwhile, the session faced an increasingly complex domestic and international situation, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the evolution of the principal contradiction in society, and new expectations from the masses. The Plenum proposed building a high-level socialist market economy system, improving the systems and mechanisms for promoting high-quality development, constructing systems and mechanisms to support comprehensive innovation, improving the macroeconomic governance system, perfecting systems and mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development, improving the system for high-level opening-up to the outside world, strengthening the institutional system of whole-process people's democracy, perfecting the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, deepening reform of the cultural system, improving the system for guaranteeing and improving people's livelihoods, deepening reform of the ecological civilization system, advancing the modernization of the national security system and capacity, continuing to deepen defense and military reform, and improving the Party's leadership level for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization. The connotation of "comprehensive reform" has become richer, the priorities more prominent, and the requirements higher.
II. Analysis of "Change" and Invariance in the Themes of Third Plenary Sessions Since Reform and Opening-up
"Change" and invariance in the themes of odd-numbered Plenary Sessions. The Third Plenary Sessions of "odd-numbered" Central Committees mostly focus on key issues and specific fields—this constitutes the "change." The 11th Central Committee's Third Plenum used rural reform as a breakthrough to open the curtains on national reform and opening-up; the 13th focused on the economic environment and order, seeking breakthroughs from the crux of the problems facing reform; the 15th focused on the "three rural issues" (三农问题), once again targeting rural reform; and the 17th remained concerned with rural reform, proposing the strategic deployment of building a new socialist countryside. The 19th Central Committee’s Third Plenum resolved issues regarding the alignment of Party and government institutions and functions that constrained comprehensive reform, while continuously optimizing the national governance system and capacity—the general goal of comprehensively deepening reform. Thus, it is evident that the "invariance" of odd-numbered sessions is their continuous focus on key reform areas and pivotal bottlenecks, using breakthroughs in key areas to drive the deepening of reform.
"Change" and invariance in the themes of even-numbered Plenary Sessions. The themes of the Third Plenary Sessions of the 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th Central Committees all focused on economic structural reform. The 12th focused on urban economic reform and proposed the thesis of a "planned commodity economy"; the 14th aimed at constructing the basic framework of a socialist market economy system; the 16th prioritized improving that system; the 18th made major deployments for comprehensively deepening reform but still clarified that economic structural reform was the priority; and the 20th conducted strategic planning for further comprehensively deepening reform, specifically focusing on building a high-level socialist market economy system. In summary, that "even-numbered" sessions focus on economic structural reform is the expression of invariance. What changes is the emphasis: from differentiating the relationship between planning and the market or between the socialist system and the market economy, to coordinating urban and rural economic structural reform, to clarifying the priorities of comprehensive reform; from constructing the basic framework of the socialist market economy to its improvement, and finally to the strategic deployment of a high-level socialist market economy system.
Looking across the successive Third Plenary Sessions since reform and opening-up:
The fundamental guarantee of reform remains unchanged—upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party is the "stabilizing anchor" (定海神针) [4] that allows us to achieve great transitions, open new periods, eras, and journeys, respond to risks and challenges (even "stormy waves"), and ensure the correct course of reform while unswervingly advancing the comprehensive deepening of reform.
The value orientation of reform remains unchanged—upholding a people-centered approach is both the value thread running through the entire process of reform and the primary force for comprehensively deepening reform. It is the starting point, the focus, and the ultimate goal. Only by conforming to the will of the masses, respecting the people's position as masters, and following the mass line can our cause of reform "cleave the waves" and move forward courageously.
The direction and path of reform remain unchanged—we must persist in taking the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Direction determines the future; the path determines destiny. The practice of reform has fully proved that the "evil road" (邪路) of changing banners [abandoning socialism] would ruin our socialist future, while the "old road" (老路) of rigidity and isolation would miss opportunities for development. We must maintain a clear head and remain determined not to change our aspirations or our path. We must be clear on what should be changed and what should not, and what to change and how to change it.
The mission and tasks of reform remain unchanged—we must insist that development is the basis and key to solving all problems. To develop, we must unswervingly focus on economic construction; to develop, we must persist in focusing on scientific development and high-quality development. Through development, we meet the people's new expectations for a better life and promote the realization of the great historical cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.