Jiang Jinquan: Further Deepen Reform Comprehensively by Focusing Closely on Advancing Chinese Modernization
The "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization" (hereinafter referred to as the Resolution), adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, points out: "Further comprehensively deepening reform must be centered closely on advancing Chinese-path modernization." This is the thematic sentence of the Resolution, signifying that further comprehensively deepening reform must focus on the theme of advancing Chinese-path modernization. The entirety of the Resolution plans and deploys reforms in various fields precisely around this theme. Once the key link is grasped, everything else falls into place [1]. To comprehensively and deeply study and implement the Resolution, we must first understand, internalize, and execute this theme well.
Advancing Chinese-path Modernization Requires Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Reform and opening up is a powerful instrument for the Party and the people to catch up with the times in giant strides; it is the key to maintaining the vitality of the Party and the country, the most distinctive feature of contemporary China, and the most prominent character of contemporary Chinese Communists." Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, our Party has led the people in successfully creating socialism with Chinese characteristics and catching up with the times in giant strides by relying on reform and opening up. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the people in pushing socialism with Chinese characteristics into a New Era, achieving the First Centenary Goal on schedule, and successfully embarking on a new journey toward the Second Centenary Goal [2], also by relying on reform and opening up. On the new journey of the New Era, to turn the blueprint for Chinese-path modernization depicted at the 20th National Congress into reality, the fundamental key still lies in further comprehensively deepening reform.
The Resolution states: "Chinese-path modernization has been continuously advanced through reform and opening up, and it will surely open up broad prospects through reform and opening up." Chinese-path modernization was born in tandem with reform and opening up; without reform and opening up, there would be no Chinese-path modernization. Similarly, reform and opening up is an intrinsic requirement of Chinese-path modernization; without continuously and deeply advancing reform and opening up, Chinese-path modernization cannot be realized. Facing a complex and volatile international and domestic situation, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and the new expectations of the masses, we can only provide a powerful impetus and institutional guarantee for Chinese-path modernization by carrying reform and opening up through to the end, and by continuously promoting the better alignment of the relations of production with the productive forces, the superstructure with the economic base, and national governance with social development. This is the profound rationale for the report of the 20th National Congress listing "persistence in deepening reform and opening up" as one of the five major principles for advancing Chinese-path modernization, and it is the basic consideration for the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee to focus its study on further comprehensively deepening reform.
The "six inevitable requirements" pointed out in the Resolution not only summarize the situation facing the advancement of Chinese-path modernization but also clearly put forward the major issues that further comprehensively deepening reform needs to answer, profoundly elucidating the great significance of further comprehensively deepening reform for advancing Chinese-path modernization.
First, further comprehensively deepening reform is an inevitable requirement for upholding and improving the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and for promoting the modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance. The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental institutional guarantee for development and progress in contemporary China. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has comprehensively deepened reform around the general goal of improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, driving major achievements in the construction of our national system and governance system. At the same time, we must profoundly recognize that the perfection of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a dynamic historical process. We need to further comprehensively deepen reform to consolidate foundations, leverage advantages, bridge gaps, and strengthen weaknesses, promoting the further improvement of various systems and better transforming our institutional advantages into effective national governance.
Second, further comprehensively deepening reform is an inevitable requirement for implementing the new development philosophy and better adapting to the changes in the principal contradiction in Chinese society. High-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects, and the continuous deepening of institutional and mechanistic reforms is an important condition for promoting high-quality development. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has grasped the changes in the principal contradiction of our society [3], grounded itself in the new development stage, proposed and implemented the new development philosophy, accelerated the construction of a new development pattern, and focused on promoting profound transformations affecting the overall development of our country, driving continuous major progress in high-quality development. Currently, using the new development philosophy to guide and promote high-quality development still faces many institutional obstacles and bottlenecks. These need to be effectively resolved through further comprehensively deepening reform to provide speed and empowerment for the realization of Chinese-path modernization.
Third, further comprehensively deepening reform is an inevitable requirement for persisting in a people-centered approach and ensuring that the fruits of modernization benefit all people more extensively and equitably. Common prosperity for all people is an essential feature of Chinese-path modernization and a significant marker distinguishing it from Western modernization. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in a people-centered approach, taking effective measures to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, winning the battle against poverty, and finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, thereby creating favorable conditions for promoting common prosperity. Currently, as we solidly promote common prosperity, we face many complex problems involving the adjustment of deep-seated interest relations. We must further comprehensively delete reform to establish and improve an institutional system compatible with promoting common prosperity for all people, making the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security more substantial, better guaranteed, and more sustainable.
Fourth, further comprehensively deepening reform is an inevitable requirement for responding to major risks and challenges and ensuring the steady and long-term progress of the cause of the Party and the country. Chinese-path modernization is a broad road for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation, but a broad road does not mean it is level ground. Currently, China's development has entered a period where strategic opportunities and risks/challenges coexist, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing. The risks and challenges we need to deal with and the contradictions and problems we need to prevent and resolve are more severe and complex than before. To advance Chinese-path modernization under these conditions, we must accurately identify changes, respond to them scientifically, and seek changes proactively, being adept at turning crises into safety and opportunities. The most fundamental solution is to seek methods from reform, responding to various risk variables with a "reform lead-time," and relying on a sound governance system and strong governance capacity to overcome various risks and challenges on the road ahead.
Fifth, further comprehensively deepening reform is an inevitable requirement for promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and winning the strategic initiative amid the accelerating evolution of changes unseen in a century. Seeking our own development while firmly maintaining world peace and development, and better maintaining world peace and development through our own development to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, is a prominent feature of Chinese-path modernization. Currently, the world's great changes unseen in a century are accelerating, entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, and the external environment for our country's development is becoming increasingly grim. If we are to win the strategic initiative in fierce international competition, especially in the wrestling between major powers, we must further comprehensively deepen reform and improve the institutional arrangements for implementing "Chinese propositions" and "Chinese initiatives" and for safeguarding China's sovereignty, security, and development interests. We must continuously enhance our country's international influence, appeal, and power to shape [events], creating a favorable external environment for advancing Chinese-path modernization.
Sixth, further comprehensively deepening reform is an inevitable requirement for deeply advancing the new great project of Party building in the New Era and building a stronger and more powerful Marxist party. Party leadership is directly related to the fundamental direction, future, fate, and ultimate success or failure of Chinese-path modernization. Advancing Chinese-path modernization must unwaveringly persist in the Party’s overall leadership. "It takes a good blacksmith to forge good steel" [4]. To persist in Party leadership, we must deeply advance the new great project of Party building in the New Era and unswervingly promote the Party's self-revolution. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has unswervingly promoted comprehensively and strictly governing the Party with great political courage, and the Party has become stronger through revolutionary tempering. At the same time, our Party still faces a series of unique challenges for a large party that require continuous and deep resolution, requiring us to manage and govern the Party with a spirit of reform and strict standards, improve the system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and ensure the Party always remains the strong leadership core for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform Must Focus on Advancing Chinese-path Modernization
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Planning and deploying reform around the Party's central task is a successful experience of the Party leading reform and opening up." Looking back at the process of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, we can see that our Party always grasps the staged characteristics of history in the reports of the Party's National Congresses, establishes development goals and central tasks to unify will and pool strength, and then focuses on research into reform topics at the Third Plenary Sessions. By taking the service of central tasks and strategic goals as the theme of reform, we add momentum to the completion of central tasks and the realization of strategic goals through reform. The 20th National Congress established the central task of comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. Advancing Chinese-path modernization is the banner for pooling the wisdom and strength of the whole Party and the people of the whole country on the new journey in the New Era, and it must inevitably be the theme of further comprehensively deepening reform.
The Resolution closely surrounds the advancement of Chinese-path modernization and emphasizes "seven focuses" within the general goal of further comprehensively deepening reform, pointing the way for how further comprehensively deepening reform should focus on the theme.
First, focusing on building a high-level socialist market economy. High-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects, and building an economic system that promotes high-quality development is the priority of further comprehensively deepening reform. Of the 15 parts of the Resolution, six parts directly involve economic structural reform, releasing a strong signal of further liberating and developing social productive forces and stimulating and enhancing social vitality. Only by persisting in and developing our country's basic economic system and continuously improving the systems and mechanisms for high-quality development can we build a modern economic system.
Second, focusing on developing whole-process people's democracy. Developing whole-process people's democracy is an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization, and improving the institutional system of whole-process people's democracy is an inherent part of further comprehensively deepening reform. Only by persisting in the organic unity of Party leadership, the people as masters of the country, and the rule of law, and by promoting the further improvement of the country’s fundamental, basic, and important political systems, can we better follow the people's will, gather wisdom, and stimulate strength. This ensures that further comprehensively deepening reform always maintains a dynamic balance of being active and orderly—vibrant but not chaotic—thus promoting the smooth forward development of Chinese-path modernization.
Third, focusing on building a strong socialist culture. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which material and spiritual civilizations are coordinated, and deepening the reform of cultural systems and mechanisms is an important part of further comprehensively deepening reform. Only by upholding the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological field and continuously improving the systems and mechanisms for the development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries can we promote cultural prosperity, greatly enrich the spiritual wealth of all people, and make them confident and self-reliant in thought and culture, thus better cultivating the spiritual power to advance Chinese-path modernization.
Fourth, focusing on improving the people's quality of life. Guaranteeing and improving people's livelihoods in the course of development is a major task of Chinese-path modernization, and improving the institutional system for guaranteeing and improving livelihoods is an important part of further comprehensively deepening reform. Only by planning and promoting reform starting from the overall, fundamental, and long-term interests of the people, and by making more obvious substantive progress in promoting all-around human development and common prosperity for all people, can reform gain the support of the masses and can Chinese-path modernization obtain a powerful source of momentum.
Fifth, focusing on building a Beautiful China. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, and deepening the reform of the ecological civilization system is an important part of further comprehensively deepening reform. We must coordinate economic development and ecological environmental protection, and we cannot follow the old path of "pollute first, treat later" taken by Western modernization. Only by focusing on building a Beautiful China, improving the systems and mechanisms for ecological environmental protection, perfecting the ecological civilization institutional system, and promoting the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development, can we support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment.
Sixth, focusing on building a higher-level Peaceful China. National security is an important prerequisite for the steady and long-term progress of Chinese-path modernization, and improving the systems and mechanisms for maintaining national security is an inherent part of further comprehensively deepening reform. Without national security, it is impossible to realize Chinese-path modernization. Only by coordinating development and security, unswervingly implementing the Holistic Approach to National Security, improving the national security system, and effectively building a new security pattern can Chinese-path modernization proceed steadily and reach far.
Seventh, focusing on improving the Party's level of leadership and long-term governing capacity. Party leadership is the fundamental guarantee for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization. Only by always maintaining a high level of consciousness in leading social revolution through the Party's self-revolution, deepening the reform of the Party building system, improving the system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and continuously promoting the Party's self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement, can we improve the Party's level of leadership and long-term governing capacity, ensuring the Party always remains the strong leadership core for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Grasp the effective methods for implementing the requirements of further comprehensively deepening reform centered on advancing Chinese-path modernization.
In further comprehensively deepening reform, every reform measure must be tightly focused on the theme of advancing Chinese-path modernization without distraction or loss of focus, employing scientific methods to ensure that the requirements of further comprehensively deepening reform centered on advancing Chinese-path modernization are implemented effectively.
First, we must persist in combining goal-orientation with problem-orientation to enhance the precision of further comprehensively deepening reform centered on advancing Chinese-path modernization.
We must take the strategic goals of Chinese-path modernization established by the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the reform goals established by the Decision [5] as our directional guidance. We must persist in starting from the various problems that restrict the smooth advancement of Chinese-path modernization, identifying institutional and mechanistic obstacles and limiting factors, and seeking strategies that address both symptoms and root causes. Specifically, this means taking the resolution of "bottleneck" issues hindering high-quality development, "hot-button" issues affecting social equity and justice, "difficult" issues regarding people's livelihoods, prominent issues in Party building, and risk issues in various fields as breakthrough points. We must practice "targeted therapy" and focus on breaking down deep-seated institutional and mechanistic obstacles and structural contradictions, thereby enhancing the relevance and precision of reform measures.
Second, we must persist in combining holistic advancement with highlighting key priorities to enhance the synergy of further comprehensively deepening reform centered on advancing Chinese-path modernization.
The Decision provides a strategic layout for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization; it both covers the entire field and highlights key priorities, reflecting the distinct characteristic of the dialectical unity between comprehensive deepening and key breakthroughs. In implementing the reform tasks established by the Decision, we must grasp this characteristic. On the one hand, we must strengthen the coordination and integration of various reform measures, promoting reform initiatives in all fields and aspects to exert force in the same direction and form a collective synergy. This will enhance the systematic, holistic, and synergistic nature of reform, preventing and overcoming phenomena where each goes their own way, like a heap of loose sand [6], or even where parts hinder one another. On the other hand, we must focus on grasping the principal contradiction and the principal aspect of a contradiction. Wherever contradictions and problems are most prominent and wherever the "knots" are hardest to untie, that is where the spearhead of reform must be directed. We must prevent "trying to grab the eyebrows and the beard all at once" [7], attacking on all fronts and distributing effort equally. Rather, we should strive for the positive results gained from letting key points drive the overall situation and using key breakthroughs to promote holistic synergy.
Third, we must persist in combining proactive initiative with a steady and sound approach to enhance the effectiveness of further comprehensively deepening reform centered on advancing Chinese-path modernization.
All regions and departments must proactively grasp the implementation of the reform tasks established by the Decision, but the pace of reform must be steady. We must persist in simultaneous "breaking and establishing," prioritizing establishing the new before breaking the old [8], so as to prevent negative effects such as management chaos caused by breaking without establishing. We must adapt measures to local conditions [9] and act at the appropriate time, mastering the timing, intensity, and effectiveness of reform. We must comprehensively consider necessity and feasibility, conduct thorough demonstrations and evaluations of every reform measure, and fully grasp realistic conditions, social expectations, and impacts on other areas. We must give full consideration to endurance levels and potential consequences, considering all possible scenarios and preparing sufficient measures to respond to various risks. This ensures that reform plans are pragmatic, effective, and feasible, preventing them from drifting away from reality or blindly advancing, which would leave hidden dangers for development. We must test reform through actual results and the satisfaction of the masses, implementing reforms that are meaningful and valuable for Chinese-path modernization, and preventing "image projects" [10] that seek sensationalist effects but are futile and waste both labor and money.
To further comprehensively deepen reform centered tightly on advancing Chinese-path modernization, we must persist in taking Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide. We must profoundly understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, enhance the Four Consciousnesses [11], strengthen the Four-sphere Confidence [12], and achieve the Two Upholds. We must deeply study and implement the series of new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments of General Secretary Xi Jinping regarding comprehensively deepening reform, mastering the positions, viewpoints, and methods that run through them and applying them to the practice of reform. We must focus on strengthening strategic thinking, historical thinking, dialectical thinking, systems thinking, innovative thinking, rule-of-law thinking, and bottom-line thinking, continuously improving the Party's level of leadership over further comprehensively deepening reform and the advancement of Chinese-path modernization.