Lin Jianhua: Using Scientific Methods to Further Deepen Reform Comprehensively and Advance Chinese-style Modernization

"Everything must have its method if it is to succeed." Grasping and applying scientific methods is an important reason for—and a repository of precious experience from—our Party's continuous journey from victory to victory for over a century. In a philosophical sense, "method" refers to the tools, means, and procedures adopted by a subject to understand and transform an object; it is the subject's conscious application of the essence and laws of the object. When methods are scientific, results follow naturally, and one may even achieve twice the result with half the effort. If methods are improper, one will exert twice the effort for half the result, or even suffer a total collapse.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has consistently adhered to the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism to observe the world, lead the times, and guide practice. He has formed a rich, comprehensive, and systematic methodology for reform, pushing reform and opening up toward greater depth, and driving the various undertakings of the Party and the state in the New Era toward historic achievements and historic transformations. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized the need to uphold a systems concept ^[1] and properly handle major relationships—such as those between the economy and society, the government and the market, efficiency and equity, vitality and order, and development and security—to enhance the systematic, holistic, and synergetic nature of reform. In his important speech at the opening ceremony of a study session for principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out that reform is a systemic project that requires handling relations in all aspects and demands attention to scientific methods. He profoundly elucidated the need to handle four pairs of relationships: upholding the unity of reform and the rule of law; upholding the dialectical unity of "breaking" (pò) and "establishing" (lì) ^[2]; upholding the unity of reform and opening up; and properly handling the relationship between deployment and implementation. These important expositions provide methodological guidance and a practical manual for translating the strategic deployment of further comprehensively deepening reform into a powerful force for advancing Chinese-path modernization. Grasping and applying scientific methods is an important guarantee for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization; it is a basic skill and a required course for Party members and cadres.

I. Upholding the unity of reform and the rule of law: Perfecting the rule of law through the power of reform, and further comprehensively deepening reform on the track of the rule of law

"The law is the beginning of governance." ^[3] Throughout history, the rule of law has been an indispensable and important means of national governance. When the rule of law flourishes, the nation prospers; when the rule of law declines, the nation falls into disorder. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out the necessity of upholding the unity of reform and the rule of law, using the power of reform to perfect the rule of law, further deepening reform in the legal field, and continuously improving the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. We must further expand the space for legal work and better leverage the active role of the rule of law in removing obstacles to reform and consolidating reform achievements. We must be adept at using rule-of-law thinking and rule-of-law methods to advance reform, maintain the authority of the law, and ensure that major reforms are grounded in law. We must persist in the principle that everyone is equal before the law, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of all citizens, legal persons, and other organizations equally. We cannot engage in selective law enforcement, let alone extra-legal leniency. "The key to governing a country lies in fairness and integrity." ^[4] China’s practice of reform and opening up demonstrates that the realization of the rule of law cannot be separated from the impetus of reform, and the deepening of reform inevitably requires the guarantee of the rule of law.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has planned from an overall and strategic height, vigorously advancing the comprehensive deepening of reform and the comprehensive promotion of the law-based governance of the country. Reform and the rule of law have always tempered each other and resonated at the same frequency. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, focused on the theme of comprehensively deepening reform, adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform; the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, focused on the theme of comprehensively promoting the law-based governance of the country, adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Promoting the Law-based Governance of the Country. Reform and opening up is a profound social revolution. To uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, the fundamental driving force remains the comprehensive deepening of reform. Comprehensive law-based governance is a major strategic issue concerning our Party’s governance and national rejuvenation, the people’s happiness and well-being, and the long-term stability of the Party and the state. It is an important aspect of perfecting and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of the state governance system and governance capacity. Reform and the rule of law are like the two wings of a bird or the two wheels of a cart; the two complement and accompany one another, promoting each other and bringing out the best in each other.

Only with good laws can there be good governance. Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, reform has presented a favorable situation of overall exertion, multi-point breakthroughs, "swift but steady steps" (tíjī-wǔnbù), and deep-level advancement. Simultaneously, we have persisted in perfecting the rule of law amidst reform, with the pace of national legislation becoming faster and requirements becoming higher. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee deployed the "improvement of mechanisms for legislative drafting, demonstration, coordination, and deliberation"; the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee deployed the "improvement of legislative systems and mechanisms"; and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee deployed the "deepening of reform in the legislative field," and so on. From the compilation of the first law named a "Code" since the founding of New China—the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China—to the amendment of the Environmental Protection Law to weave a tight legal net for ecological protection, and further to the revision of the Company Law and the perfection of the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics, the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics is becoming more refined day by day. This actively exerts the role of the rule of law in guiding, promoting, regulating, and guaranteeing reform. We are adept at using rule-of-law thinking and methods to solve difficult reform problems and consolidate reform results, fully demonstrating the prominent effectiveness of comprehensive law-based governance.

To uphold the unity of reform and the rule of law, and to ensure that reform and the rule of law fly on "twin wings" and are driven by "dual wheels," we must firmly maintain the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee. We must adhere to the people-centered philosophy of development, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the service of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. We must further comprehensively deepen reform on the track of the rule of law to better translate our institutional advantages into governance efficacy, continuously pushing the comprehensive deepening of reform toward greater depth and ensuring the steady and long-term progress of Chinese-path modernization. Under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, we must give full play to the guiding, promoting, regulating, and guaranteeing roles of the rule of law, ensuring that reforms "break the ice" under the law and proceed along the track of the law. We must rely on the rule of law as the "greatest common denominator" of the whole society to coordinate social forces, balance social interests, regulate social relations, and standardize social behavior. This will enhance the executive and "penetrating power" of reform, ensuring that society remains both vibrant and orderly during the deepening of reform. We must advance the rule of law within the overall framework of comprehensively deepening reform, combining "crossing the river by feeling the stones" ^[5] with the strengthening of top-level design. We should synergistically advance reforms in legislation, law enforcement, the judiciary, and law observance. At the same time, we must link the service of the rule of law for reforms in other fields with the reform of the rule of law itself, ensuring that reform measures coordinate with each other and policy orientations are consistent. This will better solve the difficult problems of reform and solidify the legal foundation of the "Governance of China."

II. Upholding the dialectical unity of "breaking" (pò) and "establishing" (lì): Simultaneous breaking and establishing, establishing before breaking, and achieving swift but steady reform through the unity of the two

"Breaking" (pò) and "establishing" (lì) constitute an important relationship in materialist dialectics. Materialist dialectics holds that the development of things is a contradictory process of movement where various factors within the new and old contend with and wax or wane against each other. Through the repeated cycles of breaking and establishing, things continuously move forward. "Breaking" and "establishing" are also categories in fine traditional Chinese culture used to describe the state of development of things. "Breaking" represents eradication and transformation—the critique and negation of old ideas, systems, or institutions; "establishing" represents construction and consolidation—finding new ideas, establishing new systems, and forming new mechanisms through the continuous exploration of social practice. This is the way of development known as "discarding the old to bring forth the new" (gé gù dǐng xīn). Reform involves both breaking and establishing, and the key lies in mastering the method. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must uphold the dialectical unity of breaking and establishing, pursuing both simultaneously while "establishing before breaking." What needs to be established must be established actively and proactively, and must be established firmly, sustainably, feasibly, and effectively. What needs to be broken must be broken in a timely, resolute, and thorough manner on the basis of what has been established, thereby achieving swift but steady reform through the unity of breaking and establishing. Practice has fully proved that "simultaneous breaking and establishing, and establishing before breaking" is an important method for advancing reform and a successful experience in China's "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.

During the 2022 "Two Sessions," while participating in the deliberation of the Inner Mongolia delegation at the Fifth Session of the 13th National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "We must establish before breaking, not break before establishing," and "one cannot throw away the tools one uses to eat before the new tools are in hand." In his important speech at the opening of the study session for principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, he further emphasized: "We cannot break before establishing, leaving an institutional vacuum that leaves people at a loss and causes disorder and chaos." As the forces promoting the forward development of things, the importance—and the difficulty—of breaking and establishing lies in their dialectical unity. Only by persisting in simultaneous breaking and establishing and establishing before breaking can we better unify the intensity and speed of reform with the degree of public acceptance, thereby better realizing the goal of "seeking progress while maintaining stability" and "promoting stability through progress."

Breaking is the means; establishing is the end. "Breaking" is for the sake of better "establishing." Only when something is established firmly can the "breaking" be handled well. "Establishing" plays a foundational and pioneering role. Since the start of reform and opening up, our Party has been able to liberate and develop social productive forces, enable the people to escape poverty and become prosperous as quickly as possible, and push the cause of the Party and the people to catch up with the times in giant strides. A precious experience in this regard has been the courage to venture and try, combining establishing with breaking to provide the institutional guarantee and material conditions for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. A very important lesson from the significant practical, institutional, and theoretical achievements of comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era is the correct and steady handling of the dialectical relationship between breaking and establishing. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has scientifically grasped the internal laws of comprehensively deepening reform, strengthening top-level design and overall planning. It established a new development pattern and broke the dependency on traditional development paths; it established the new development philosophy and broke "GDP-ism"; it established the system for integrated urban-rural development and broke the defects of the urban-rural dual structure; it established new quality productive forces and broke the weakness in original innovation capacity... This series of deepened reform measures has driven historic transformations, systemic remodeling, and holistic restructuring in many fields.

Currently, the comprehensive deepening of reform has entered a "period of storming fortifications" and a "deep-water zone." ^[6] Balancing various interests and coordinating various relationships has become more difficult, and the complexity, systematic nature, and arduousness of reform have increased. Further comprehensively deepening reform is a complex systemic project; advancing reform and development and adjusting interest relations is a case of "pulling one hair and moving the whole body." It is especially necessary to use the method of "simultaneous breaking and establishing, establishing before breaking." This requires coordinating the dialectical relationships between the new and the old, stability and progress, the current and the long-term, the whole and the part, and the macro and the micro. We must master the timing, the degree, and the effectiveness, acting only after planning and proceeding step-by-step, using the transformative power of breaking and establishing to push "further comprehensively deepening reform" toward steady and long-term progress. This is both a correct summation of practical experience and a profound revelation of the laws of reform.

Whether breaking or establishing, both test the reformer's courage to break through ideological obstacles, the responsibility to break through the barriers of entrenched interests, and the wisdom to "lay the foundation and erect the pillars." ^[7] It must be emphasized that no matter how we reform, we must uphold the Party's overall leadership, uphold Marxism, uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics, and uphold the people's democratic dictatorship. Taking the promotion of social fairness and justice and the enhancement of the people's well-being as the starting point and ultimate goal are matters of fundamental principle, direction, and long-term significance. These embody the nature and purpose of the Party, conform to our national conditions, and serve the fundamental interests of the people. They must not be wavered from even slightly at any time or under any circumstances; they must always be firmly "established" to ensure that reform and opening up proceed in the correct direction.

III. Upholding the unity of reform and opening up: Coordinately advancing deep-level reform and high-level opening up, and relying on reform and opening up to enhance the endogenous power of development

Further comprehensively deepening reform and high-level opening up to the outside world complement and promote each other. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out that the deeper the reform, the higher the requirements for the level of opening up; the higher the level of opening up, the greater the promotional effect on reform. Practice has fully shown that promoting reform and development through opening up is an important "magic weapon" for the continuous new achievements of our country's modernization construction.

"Reform necessarily demands opening up, and opening up also necessarily demands reform." General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly elucidated the internal unity between reform and opening up. Opening up adds vitality to reform, while reform provides the "backbone" for opening up. Only by correctly grasping the relationship of the unity of reform and opening up can we gain the initiative in economic development and international competition. A crucial reason why comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era has achieved great historic success is that reform and opening up complement and promote each other. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, while leading the comprehensive deepening of reform toward greater depth, General Secretary Xi Jinping has always emphasized unswervingly expanding high-level opening up. By coordinately advancing deep-level reform and high-level opening up, we have continuously deepened our Party's understanding of the laws governing economic work in the New Era, better translated institutional advantages into national governance efficiency, and continuously injected strong momentum and pointed the way forward for promoting high-quality development and advancing Chinese-path modernization.

Advancing Chinese-path modernization is a systematic undertaking. Performing the great task of coordinating deep-level reform and high-level opening up with greater intensity is necessary for strengthening the fundamental driving force of Chinese-path modernization and is an inevitable requirement for high-quality development. At present, the domestic and international situations facing the comprehensive deepening of reform are increasingly complex; the adjustments to the structure of interests and the transformations of the institutional system involved are increasingly profound, placing higher demands on the coordination of deep-level reform and high-level opening up. We must persist in the organic unity of self-reliance and opening up to the outside world, continuously refine the systems and mechanisms for deepening reform and expanding opening up, consciously place the development of the country and the nation on the basis of our own strength, and insist on keeping the destiny of China’s development and progress firmly in our own hands. We must adhere to the fundamental state policy of opening up to the outside world, persist in using opening up to promote reform, rely on the advantages of our country’s ultra-large-scale market, and enhance our capacity for opening up through the expansion of international cooperation. We must proactively and continuously expand high-level opening up, make full and effective use of both domestic and international resources, create a better development environment, and better expand the space for the development of Chinese-path modernization. We must persist in the unity of reform and opening up, steadily expand institutional opening up, proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, deepen the reform of the management systems for foreign trade, foreign investment, and outward investment, and create a first-class market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment. We must further accelerate the alignment of domestic systems and rules with international standards, promote the transition from opening up based on the flow of goods and factors to institutional opening up based on rules, regulations, management, and standards, promote the construction of a new system for a higher-level open economy, and promote deep-level reform and high-quality development through high-level opening up.

IV. Properly handle the relationship between deployment and implementation; be both a promoter and a man of action for reform.

"Ten percent of success depends on deployment, and ninety percent on implementation." Reform requires emphasis on planning, but even more so on implementation. Party members and cadres must be both promoters of reform and men of action ^[8] for reform. Regarding the relationship between deployment and implementation, General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out that the design of reform plans must grasp objective laws, fully promote democracy, respond to social expectations, focus on the coordination and integration of various reform measures, enhance the consistency of reform orientations, and prevent and overcome departmentalism ^[9]. This requires us to recognize that the more significant a reform measure is, the higher the requirements for relevance and synergy; we cannot "go it alone" or make isolated advances, let alone engage in chaotic struggle or "grab the eyebrows and the beard all at once" ^[10]. Rather, we must focus on highlighting key points and systematic integration, ensuring that efforts are precise, synergistic, and sustained.

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the reform measures deployed by previous Party Congresses and Plenary Sessions of the Central Committee have all involved the formulation of detailed implementation plans, clarifying the division of reform tasks and the forms of their outputs, thereby achieving the sequential continuation, front-to-back connection, and in-depth advancement of reform tasks. To ensure that reform achieves practical results, we must continuously improve the systems, mechanisms, and methods of reform work based on changes in the situation and tasks of reform, as well as new circumstances and characteristics of reform work, using the methods of reform to advance reform.

The important reform measures proposed in the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization, adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, all involve content at the levels of structure, mechanism, and system. Some are refinements and enhancements of past reform measures, while others are newly proposed based on practical needs and pilot explorations. They aim to provide a powerful impetus and institutional guarantee for Chinese-path modernization by further comprehensively deepening reform and promoting the better adaptation of the relations of production to the productive forces, the superstructure to the economic base, and national governance to social development. These important reform measures are not intended to be shelved; they must be put into practice, implemented with meticulous detail and precision, and made more perceptible, accessible, and feasible.

Properly handling the relationship between deployment and implementation requires clarifying priorities and doing a good job in overall planning and systematic layout. To plan work closely around further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization, one must possess problem-consciousness and adhere to a problem-oriented approach. Efforts must be focused on solving "bottleneck" and "blockage" issues ^[11] that constrain the construction of the new development pattern and the promotion of high-quality development, "pain points" and "difficulties" in the development environment and the sphere of people's livelihoods, and "focus" and "hot-button" issues that run counter to social fairness and justice. These efforts will effectively prevent and resolve major risks and continuously add momentum and vitality to economic and social development. We must grasp the key points, highlighting reforms of systems and mechanisms, highlighting major reforms of a strategic and global nature, highlighting the leading role of economic structural reform, and making the guiding role of reform prominent. We must strengthen systematic integration, enhance the overall planning and systematic layout of reform, and ensure that all aspects of reform cooperate with each other and achieve synergistic efficiency during implementation.

Properly handling the relationship between deployment and implementation centers on proceeding steadily and surely, promoting the transformation of plans into action and the consolidation of responsibility. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "establish and improve a working mechanism with clear responsibilities, a complete chain, and interlocking links, strengthen tracking of effectiveness, and promote the implementation of reform measures with meticulous detail and precision." Among ten thousand measures, implementation is the first. The reform deployments made by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee focus on the overall situation, grasp the general trend, plan for the whole, and embody the direction. Transforming a "blueprint" into an operable and executable "construction drawing" requires the formulation of meticulous and feasible reform plans, translating various reform objectives and tasks into specific matters, grounded policies, and effective measures. We must deeply research and analyze the actual conditions of our own regions and departments, aim at key points, find the right places to apply force, and ensure that reforms more accurately align with the needs of development, the expectations of the grassroots, and the aspirations of the people. We must creatively combine the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee with the specific realities of our own regions and departments, ensuring that reform truly takes root. We must improve the organizational system that connects the upper and lower levels and executes forcefully, further refine institutional mechanisms, clarify the division of responsibilities, press home responsibility at every level, and transform reform plans into tangible reform results.

The difficulty in properly handling the relationship between deployment and implementation lies in persisting over the long term and maintaining the spirit of seeing things through from beginning to end and achieving success. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Leading groups at all levels should keep in mind the entrustment of the Party and the people, carry forward the spirit of 'success does not have to be mine, but I must contribute to success' ^[12], persist in drawing a single blueprint to the end. For existing deployments and plans, as long as they are scientific, meet the requirements of new practice, and conform to the wishes of the masses, we must persist in them and work on them one generation after another." Practical work, practical moves, and practical results are required; there is no room for hollow efforts or negligence. We must establish and practice a correct view of political performance ^[13], focusing both on practical matters that are visible, tangible, and beneficial to the people, and on good deeds that pave the way, lay a foundation, and benefit the long term. We must perform both "conspicuous labor" and "latent labor" ^[14] without dwelling on personal fame or merit. We must uphold our original aspiration and founding mission, maintain our direction without wavering, maintain our resolve without slackening, resolutely oppose formalism and bureaucratism, and be willing to do preparatory work and handle unfinished business. We must foster a sense of the overall situation, resolutely prevent and overcome departmentalism, think in one direction and move in one direction, and ensure that efforts are applied toward the same goal to form a synergy. We must carry forward the "spirit of the nail" ^[15], demonstrate the political courage to overcome difficulties and face challenges head-on, dare to "gnaw on hard bones" and "wade through dangerous shoals" ^[16], advancing from one time node to the next, and achieving results with every step.

(The author is the Party Committee Secretary and a Professor at the Institute of Chinese-path Modernization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) Source: Qiushi (Red Flag Manuscript), Issue No. 5, 2025 Online Editor: Ma Jingren