Han Zhenfeng: An Important Achievement in Studying, Thinking, Practicing, and Understanding Xi Jinping's Economic Thought

Xi Jinping Economic Thought is a vital constituent part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It stands as the latest theoretical achievement of Marxist political economy in contemporary China and the 21st-century world, serving as the scientific guide for our country’s high-quality development and the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country. Recently, the book series "Studying, Thinking, Practicing, and Realizing Xi Jinping Economic Thought," edited by the Economic Daily (Jingji Ribao) and published by the People’s Publishing House, was officially released nationwide. This series includes the Collection of Research Essays on Xi Jinping Economic Thought (2023) and the Collection of Investigation Reports on Practicing Xi Jinping Economic Thought (2023). This represents another significant achievement following the publication of the 2021 and 2022 editions of the "Studying, Thinking, Practicing, and Realizing Xi Jinping Economic Thought" series.

Xi Jinping Economic Thought is a scientific theoretical system that is continuously enriched and developed through practice. It is a powerful ideological weapon guiding our country’s high-quality development, scientifically addressing major risks and challenges, and comprehensively building a modern socialist country. It has pointed out the correct direction and provided the fundamental compliance ^[1] for our economic work in the New Era. To further advance the academic and systematic research of Xi Jinping Economic Thought from both theoretical and practical perspectives, the Economic Daily, in 2023, collaborated with seven institutions—including the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance)—to conduct a call for papers titled "Research on Xi Jinping Economic Thought," subsequently editing and publishing dozens of excellent theoretical articles. Simultaneously, the Economic Daily continued its in-depth investigations into the implementation of Xi Jinping Economic Thought on its existing foundation, successively publishing several series of heavyweight reports on local, industrial, and corporate investigations. The release of these theoretical research and practical investigation series has garnered widespread attention from all sectors of society. To meet the learning needs of the broad masses of cadres and the public, the Economic Daily selected the best works from these two series to launch this collection, which centrally embodies the results of researching and practicing Xi Jinping Economic Thought.

From the perspective of theoretical value, this series centrally demonstrates the latest progress in the research of Xi Jinping Economic Thought. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has stood high and seen far, ^[2] overseen the overall situation, and grasped the general trend. It has proposed a series of new concepts, new thoughts, and new strategies, guiding China’s economic development to achieve historical successes and undergo historical transformations, thereby forming and developing Xi Jinping Economic Thought in practice. The Collection of Research Essays on Xi Jinping Economic Thought (2023) in this series contains over 50 research papers. These conduct in-depth research from multiple dimensions, including the main content, scientific system, quintessential essence, theoretical value, and practical significance of Xi Jinping Economic Thought. They put forward many innovative ideas and perspectives, possessing significant theoretical enlightening significance for helping the broad masses of cadres and the public comprehensively and systematically study and understand Xi Jinping Economic Thought.

From the perspective of practical value, this series centrally displays the successful experiences of practicing Xi Jinping Economic Thought. The value of a scientific theory lies in its guidance of practice. Xi Jinping Economic Thought has played a major guiding role in leading the practice of China’s economic development in the New Era. The Collection of Investigation Reports on Practicing Xi Jinping Economic Thought (2023) selects over 20 typical case reports covering local, industrial, and corporate investigations. These centrally reflect and deeply explore the rich practices and innovative measures of various regions and industries in implementing Xi Jinping Economic Thought. Whether it be "Taiyuan’s Transformation," "Changchun’s Responsibility," "Shijiazhuang’s 'Taking the Exam,'" ^[3] or "Ningde’s Leap," as well as "The Dairy Industry’s Counter-Attack," "Shaanxi Automobile’s New Expansion," "Yili’s Answer Sheet," or "Daqing Remains Ever-Young," ^[4] all reveal from different angles the "secrets" of the developmental achievements reached by various regions and industries under the guidance of Xi Jinping Economic Thought. They provide a comprehensive display of the immense practical leadership and persuasiveness of Xi Jinping Economic Thought.

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress emphasized that high-quality development is the primary task in comprehensively building a modern socialist country. "Achieving new breakthroughs in high-quality economic development" is one of the main goals and tasks for the crucial period of starting the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country. In the Collection of Research Essays on Xi Jinping Economic Thought (2023), the research and interpretation by experts and scholars on a series of major theoretical and practical issues—including strengthening the Party’s overall leadership over economic work, solidly promoting common prosperity for all people, the important experiences and inspirations of jointly building the "Belt and Road," and continuously deepening the understanding of the nature and laws of finance—provide important theoretical inspiration for promoting high-quality economic development in the New Era. The results achieved by localities, industries, and enterprises in practicing Xi Jinping Economic Thought, as reflected in the Collection of Investigation Reports on Practicing Xi Jinping Economic Thought (2023), facilitate new progress and effectiveness in China’s high-quality economic development through their representative practical experiences.