Xin Xiangyang: "Integration" Strengthens the Foundation of the Path
In his important speech at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development on June 2, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward an important thesis: "integration" has fortified the foundations of our path. This important thesis contains a wealth of connotations.
First, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics possesses deep theoretical and cultural foundations.
Compared with the socialism of other countries, why is our socialism different? Compared with those socialist countries and systems that have already collapsed or undergone drastic changes, why is our socialism able to flourish and remain full of vitality? Compared with other development paths and models, why has our socialism been able to continuously create human miracles? The heart and key lie in "Chinese characteristics." The key to Chinese characteristics lies in the "Two Integrations" [1]. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics was walked out under the guidance of Marxism, and it also emerged from the over 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization.
The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is first and foremost a socialist path. This comes from Marxism and was explored under the guidance of Marxism. We combined the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities, successively exploring the path of the New Democratic Revolution, the path of socialist revolution, and the path of socialist construction. On this basis, we proposed the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental achievement attained by the Party and the people through untold hardships and at a great price; it is the correct path for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the only way to lead the Chinese people in creating a beautiful life for themselves. With Marxism as our guide, the historical conclusion drawn from the Party’s century-long struggle is: walking our own path is the standing point for all the Party’s theory and practice. From "walking the path of the Russians" to walking our own path, then to carving out our own path, and finally to walking a broad road [2], there have been mud and bumps, but we have always remained in the correct direction.
The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a path explored by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and it possesses deep cultural roots. Simple socialist elements in Chinese culture, including the ideal of Great Unity (datong) and the tradition of atheism, not only provided a cultural basis for China’s acceptance of Marxism but also became the cultural soil for our exploration of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The system of People’s Congresses and the system of political consultation created by our Party, as well as the path of political development of socialism with Chinese characteristics we explored, are profoundly connected to the "people-as-the-base" (minben) thought of Chinese civilization, the concept of "governing the world together" (tianxia gongzhi), the administrative traditions of "republicanism" (gonghe) and "consultation" (shangliang), and the political wisdom of "inclusivity and seeking common ground while reserving differences." The general trend of the development of the Chinese nation toward inward cohesion and "pluralistic integration," along with the tradition of great unification in Chinese culture—where "the nine provinces are governed by the same system" (jiuzhou gongguan), "the same customs prevail throughout the six directions" (liuhe tongfeng), and "the four seas are one family" (sihai yijia) [3]—meant that in the design of our political system, we did not adopt federalism or confederalism. Instead, we established a unitary state form and implemented the system of regional ethnic autonomy. This allowed our country to avoid the ethnic divisions and the shattering of the nation seen in many other countries, forming a powerful collective force.
Second, the "Second Integration" gives the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics a more expansive and profound historical depth.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that in the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, an important reason why the cause of the Party and the state has achieved historical achievements and undergone historical changes is that we have persisted in the "Two Integrations."
As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, we integrated the basic principles of Marxism more closely with China’s specific realities, greatly expanding the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This path not only persists in the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" but also the "Four Comprehensives" strategic layout; it emphasizes not only basing ourselves on the new development stage, implementing the new development philosophy, and constructing a new development pattern, but also emphasizes taking the domestic large-scale circulation as the mainstay with domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other; it emphasizes not only letting the market play the decisive role in resource allocation and the government playing its role better, but also emphasizes the continuous realization of common prosperity for all people. It can be said that in the more than ten years of entering the New Era, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has undergone a tremendous expansion. At the same time, our Party has continuously promoted the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, achieving a new leap in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and producing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This thought has injected new connotations into the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, enriched the understanding of the development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and proposed the path of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, the path of educational development with Chinese characteristics, and the path of women's development with Chinese characteristics, among others.
As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, we closely integrated the basic principles of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture, expanding the historical depth of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Guided by the Marxist worldview and methodology, we have come to deeply realize that the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization—its continuity, innovativeness, unity, inclusiveness, and peaceful nature—fundamentally determine that the Chinese nation must walk its own path. We deeply recognize that "since ancient times, the Chinese nation, with the broad mind of 'Great Unity under Heaven' and 'harmony among all nations' (xiehe wanbang), has confidently and generously carried out exchanges with foreign ethnic groups and cultures, once writing the long songs of the vast Silk Road with its ten thousand miles of camel bells and waves, and creating the 'Great Tang atmosphere' (sheng Tang qixiang) where ten thousand nations' officials met in Chang'an." Viewed from a historical perspective of several millennia, "reform and opening up are generally the historical norm for China." This scientific understanding of Chinese civilization has given us a deeper grasp of the openness, innovativeness, and peaceful nature of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This is a path of independent development, yet it is not a closed and rigid path, but rather a path where the door opens wider and wider, a path where innovativeness is constantly enhanced, and even more so, a path that brings well-being to humanity.
Third, Chinese-path modernization is the concrete manifestation of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the field of modernization; it is the broad road for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.
With the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Chinese-path modernization has a solid foundation. The opening and expansion of Chinese-path modernization have always taken the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics as a prerequisite. It is precisely on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that Chinese-path modernization endows Chinese civilization with modern power, while Chinese civilization endows Chinese-path modernization with profound depth.
The path of Chinese-path modernization is the path to advancing the construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. Chinese-path modernization is the "old state with a new mission" (jiubang xinming) [4] for the Chinese nation and will surely drive Chinese civilization to regain its glory.
First, Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that continues an ancient civilization, rather than a modernization that eliminates an ancient civilization. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that has activated the fine genes of Chinese civilization; it continues the excellent qualities of this civilization and carries them forward.
Second, Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that has grown out of Chinese soil, rather than a modernization that mechanically copies other countries.
Finally, Chinese-path modernization is the result of civilizational renewal, not the product of civilizational rupture. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always emphasized that Chinese civilization possesses prominent continuity and is the only civilization that has never been interrupted and continues to this day in the form of a state. This continuity is not a simple linear development but a spiral upward development. This point was mentioned by the great German thinker Hegel in his lectures on the "Philosophy of History" 200 years ago. Hegel said that the Chinese Empire is the only enduring state in the world: "History must begin with the Chinese Empire. For according to historical records, China is truly the oldest state; its principle possesses such substantiality that it is both the oldest and, at the same time, the newest empire."
The path of Chinese-path modernization is the path to building a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.
On this path, by 2035, we are to build a country strong in education, science and technology, talent, culture, and sports. We must also build a country strong in manufacturing, quality, aerospace, transportation, cyberspace, the ocean, trade, and agriculture. The construction of a strong country in various aspects supports the edifice of a great modern socialist country, and the construction of a strong country in every aspect is inseparable from the path of Chinese-path modernization. To build a country strong in manufacturing and quality, we must walk the path of new industrialization; to build a country strong in culture, we must walk the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics; to build a country strong in education, we must walk the path of socialist educational development with Chinese characteristics; to build a country strong in agriculture, we must walk the path of agricultural modernization with Chinese characteristics. Each path is deeply rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese civilization. For example, when discussing the Chinese characteristics of a strong agricultural country, General Secretary Xi Jinping summarized five aspects, one of which is continuing the agrarian civilization: "Our country possesses a brilliant and long-standing agrarian civilization. We must ensure that its roots and veins continue incessantly... ensuring that the agrarian civilization and urban civilization shine upon each other... and the spiritual power of the broad masses of farmers is full."
The path of Chinese-path modernization is a path capable of mobilizing majestic power.
This path is a path for seeking happiness for the people; more than 1.4 billion people can twist together like a rope to realize a beautiful life. This path is a path for seeking rejuvenation for the nation; all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation will unite closely for this goal. This path is a path for seeking progress for humanity; all justice-seeking forces in the world will become supporters of this path. This path is a path for seeking "Great Unity" (datong) for the world; the initiative for a community with a shared future for humanity and the advocacy of the common values of all humanity have received wide support from the international community.
Source: School of China (Zhongguo Xuepai) July 25, 2024