Lin Jianhua: Utilizing Scientific Methods to Further Deepen Reform Comprehensively and Advance Chinese-Style Modernization
"To succeed in any endeavor, one must possess the proper method." Grasping and applying scientific methods is both an important reason for and a precious experience of our Party's continuous journey from victory to victory for over a century. In a philosophical sense, the so-called "method" refers to the tools, means, and procedures employed by the subject to understand and transform the object; it is the subject's conscious application of the object's essence and laws. When the method is scientific, success follows naturally, often achieving twice the result with half the effort; when the method is incorrect, one achieves half the result with twice the effort, or may even meet with total failure.
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 reform methodology, pushing reform and opening up toward greater depth and driving the various causes 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, 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—and enhance the systemic, holistic, and synergistic nature of reform. In his important speech delivered at the opening of a study session for principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels [1], General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out that reform is a systemic project that requires handling relationships across all sectors and demands a focus on scientific methods. General Secretary Xi 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" and "establishing" [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 us to transform the strategic deployment of further comprehensively deepening reform into a powerful force for advancing Chinese-path modernization. Mastering and applying scientific methods is an essential guarantee for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization; it is a basic skill and a compulsory course for Party members and cadres.
I. Uphold the unity of reform and the rule of law, refine the rule of law through the power of reform, and further comprehensively deepen 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 means of governing the country and managing state affairs. When the rule of law flourishes, the state flourishes; when the rule of law declines, the state falls into disorder. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out that we must uphold the unity of reform and the rule of law, refine the rule of law through the power of reform, further deepen reform in the legal field, and continuously improve the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. We must further expand the scope of 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 legal thinking and legal methods to advance reform, maintain the authority of the rule of law, and ensure that major reforms have a legal basis. We must insist that everyone is equal before the law, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of all citizens, legal persons, and other organizations equally, without engaging in selective enforcement or extra-legal leniency. "The essential path of governing a state 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 consistently tempered one another and resonated at the same frequency. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, themed on 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, themed on 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 peace and stability of the Party and the state. It is an important aspect of improving 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 each other, emerge together, promote each other, and enhance each other's strengths.
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 comprehensive effort, breakthroughs at multiple points, swift yet steady progress [5], and in-depth advancement. Meanwhile, we have persisted in perfecting the rule of law through reform, with a faster pace and higher requirements for national legislation. 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 the People's Republic—the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China—to the revision of the Environmental Protection Law to weave a tight legal net for ecological protection, and then to the revision of the Company Law to improve the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics, the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics is becoming increasingly refined. It actively plays the role of the rule of law in guiding, promoting, regulating, and guaranteeing reform. By being adept at using legal thinking and legal methods to solve difficult reform problems and consolidate reform achievements, the prominent results of comprehensive law-based governance have been fully demonstrated.
To uphold the unity of reform and the rule of law, and to ensure that reform and the rule of law fly together on two wings and are driven by two wheels, we must firmly adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee. We must persist in the people-centered development philosophy, 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, better transforming our institutional advantages into governance efficacy, and continually driving the comprehensive deepening of reform toward greater depth and the steady, long-term progress of Chinese-path modernization. Under the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, we must fully leverage the role of the rule of law in guiding, promoting, regulating, and guaranteeing reform, ensuring that reforms break new ground under the law and advance on the track of the law. Relying on the rule of law as the "greatest common denominator" of the whole society, we must coordinate social forces, balance social interests, regulate social relations, and standardize social behavior, thereby enhancing the execution and penetration of reform and 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" [6] with the strengthening of top-level design. We must synergistically promote reforms in the links of legislation, law enforcement, justice, and law observance, while simultaneously integrating the service of the rule of law for reforms in other fields with the reform of the rule of law itself. This will ensure that reform measures complement each other and policy orientations are consistent, better resolving reform difficulties and consolidating the legal foundation of "China's governance."
II. Uphold the dialectical unity of "breaking" and "establishing," breaking and establishing simultaneously while establishing before breaking, to achieve swift yet steady reform within the unity of breaking and establishing
"Breaking" (pò) and "establishing" (lì) constitute an important relationship in dialectical materialism. Dialectical materialism holds that the development of things is a process of contradictory movement in which various factors in the old and the new contend and wax and wane; through the 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. "Breaking" represents eradication and change—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 and creating the new" (gé gù dǐng xīn) [7]. Reform involves both breaking and establishing, and the key lies in finding the correct method. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must uphold the dialectical unity of breaking and establishing, breaking and establishing simultaneously while establishing before breaking. What should be established must be actively and proactively established, and it must be established firmly, durably, feasibly, and effectively. What should be broken must be broken in a timely, resolute, and thorough manner on the basis of what has been established, thereby achieving swift yet steady reform within the unity of the two. Practice has fully proven that "breaking and establishing simultaneously, while establishing before breaking" is an important method for advancing reform and a successful experience in China's realization of the "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
During the 2022 "Two Sessions," while participating in the deliberations of the Inner Mongolia delegation at the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly noted: "We must establish before breaking, rather than breaking before establishing... You cannot throw away the tools you use to eat before you have the new ones in hand." In his important speech at the opening of the study session for principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels on the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, 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 driving force for the forward development of things, breaking and establishing find their importance—and their difficulty—in their dialectical unity. Only by persisting in breaking and establishing simultaneously with a priority on establishing can the intensity and speed of reform be better unified 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, while establishing is the end. "Breaking" is for the purpose of better "establishing." Only when something can stand firmly can it be broken properly. "Establishing" plays a foundational and leading role. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, the reason 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 propel the cause of the Party and the people to catch up with the times in great strides, is the precious experience of daring to venture and try, involving both establishing and breaking. This provided the institutional guarantee and material conditions for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. A very important lesson from why the comprehensive deepening of reform in the New Era has achieved major practical, institutional, and theoretical results is also 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. It has strengthened top-level design and overall planning, establishing a new development pattern while breaking the reliance on traditional development paths; establishing a new development philosophy while breaking the "GDP-only" obsession; establishing systems for integrated urban-rural development while breaking the defects of the urban-rural dual structure; and establishing new quality productive forces while breaking through weak original innovation capabilities. A series of deep reform measures have driven historic transformations, systemic remodeling, and holistic restructuring across many fields.
Currently, the comprehensive deepening of reform has entered a "period of storming fortifications" and a "deep-water zone," where balancing various interests and coordinating various relationships is more difficult, and the complexity, systemic nature, and arduousness of reform are greater. Further comprehensively deepening reform is a complex systemic project; advancing reform and development and adjusting interest relationships "affects the whole body by pulling a single hair" [8]. In particular, we need to make good use of the method of "breaking and establishing simultaneously, while 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, intensity, and effectiveness, acting only after planning and progressing step-by-step. By using the transformative power of breaking and establishing, we can ensure the steady and long-term progress of further comprehensively deepening reform. This is both a correct summary of practical experience and a profound revelation of the laws of reform.
Whether breaking or establishing, the process tests the courage of reformers to break through the obstacles of old ideas, their sense of responsibility to break through the "fences" of entrenched interests, and their wisdom to lay foundations and set up the main pillars of the institutional framework. It must be particularly emphasized that no matter how reform is carried out, we must adhere to the Party's comprehensive leadership, to Marxism, to socialism with Chinese characteristics, and to 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 is a matter of fundamental principle, direction, and long-term significance. These reflect 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 in the slightest at any time or under any circumstances; they must always be firmly established to ensure that reform and opening up advance in the correct direction.
III. Uphold the unity of reform and opening up, coordinately advance deep-level reform and high-level opening up, and rely 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 are complementary and mutually reinforcing. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out that the deeper the reform, the higher the requirements for the level of opening up; and the higher the level of opening up, the greater its role in promoting reform. Practice has fully demonstrated that using opening up to promote reform and development is an important "magic weapon" for the continuous new achievements of China's modernization.
"Reform necessarily demands opening up, and opening up also necessarily demands reform." General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly elucidated the inherent unified relationship between reform and opening up. Opening up adds vitality to reform, and reform provides the confidence for opening up. Only by correctly grasping the unified relationship between reform and opening up can we seize the initiative in economic development and international competition. A key reason for the historic and great achievements of comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era 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 to the outside world. Through the coordinated advancement of deep-level reform and high-level opening up, we have continuously deepened our Party's understanding of the laws of economic work in the New Era, better transformed institutional advantages into state governance efficacy, 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. Mastering the major task of coordinating deeper-level reform and high-level opening up with greater intensity is a necessity for strengthening the fundamental driving forces of Chinese-path modernization, as well as 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 interest landscape and the transformations of the institutional system involved are more profound, placing higher demands on the coordination of deeper-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 improve the systems and mechanisms for deepening reform and expanding opening up, consciously base the development of the nation and the people on the foundation of our own strength, and insist on holding the fate of our country's development and progress firmly in our own hands. We must adhere to the basic national policy of opening up, persist in promoting reform through opening up, leverage the advantages of our country’s ultra-large-scale market, and enhance our capacity for opening up while expanding 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 an opening up based on the flow of goods and factors to an institutional opening up based on rules, regulations, management, and standards, promote the construction of a new system for a higher-level open economy, and use high-level opening up to promote deeper-level reform and high-quality development.
IV. Handling the relationship between deployment and implementation: Being both a promoter and a man of action for reform
"One part deployment, nine parts 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 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, emphasize the coordination and packaging 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 interconnectedness and synergy become; we cannot "go it alone" or make isolated advances, and even less can we engage in chaotic combat or "grab the eyebrows and the beard all at once" [10]. Instead, we must focus on highlighting priorities 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 successive Party Congresses and Plenary Sessions of the Central Committee have all involved the formulation of detailed implementation plans, clarifying the division of labor for reform tasks and the forms of their results, thereby achieving a graduated sequence, 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 reform situation and tasks, as well as new circumstances and characteristics of reform work, advancing reform through reformist methods.
The important reform measures proposed in the Decision 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 systemic, mechanistic, and institutional levels. Some of these are improvements 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 a better fit between the relations of production and productive forces, the superstructure and the economic base, and national governance and social development. These important reform measures are not meant to be shelved; they must be put into practice and implemented with meticulous detail and thoroughness, making them more perceptible, accessible, and feasible.
To properly handle the relationship between deployment and implementation, the key lies in clarifying priorities and doing a good job in overall planning and systematic layout. In planning work closely around further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization, we must possess problem awareness and persist in a problem-oriented approach. We must strive to solve the "bottlenecks" [11] and "choke points" [12] restricting the construction of a new development pattern and the promotion of high-quality development, the "pain points" and difficulties in the development environment and the field of people's livelihoods, and the "focal points" and "hotspots" that run counter to social fairness and justice. We must 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 strategic and overall major reforms, highlighting the leading role of economic structural reform, and making the guiding role of reform prominent. We must strengthen systematic integration, reinforce the overall planning and systematic layout of reform, and ensure that all aspects of reform coordinate with each other and achieve clinical efficiency during implementation.
To properly handle the relationship between deployment and implementation, the emphasis is on steady progress, promoting the transformation of plans and the solidifying of responsibilities. 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 and evaluation of effectiveness, and promote the implementation of reform measures with meticulous detail and thoroughness." Among ten thousand measures, implementation is the first. The reform deployments made by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee look at the big picture, grasp the general trend, plan for the whole, and embody the direction. To transform the "blueprint" into an operational and executable "construction drawing," it is necessary to formulate meticulous and feasible reform plans, transforming various reform goals and tasks into specific items, landed policies, and effective measures. We must deeply study and analyze the actual conditions of our own regions and departments, aim at the key points, and find the right places to exert force, so 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 decision-making deployments of the Party Central Committee with the specific realities of our regions and departments, ensuring that reforms truly take root. We must improve the organizational system that connects the upper and lower levels and executes forcefully, further improve systems and mechanisms, clarify the division of responsibilities, press down responsibilities level by level, and transform reform plans into tangible reform results.
To properly handle the relationship between deployment and implementation, the difficulty lies in persisting over the long term and maintaining the spirit of "finishing what is started" and "succeeding in what is done." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Leadership teams at all levels must keep in mind the entrustment of the Party and the people, carry forward the spirit that 'success does not have to be attributed to me, but I must contribute to the success' [13], persist in drawing a single blueprint to the end, and for those 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 persevere and work on them one generation after another." Doing practical work, offering practical moves, and seeking practical results allows for no hollow effort or negligence. We must establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, doing both the practical things that the people can see, touch, and benefit from, as well as the good things that pave the way and lay the foundation for future generations and long-term interests. We must perform both "manifest achievements" [14] and "latent achievements" [15], without being concerned with personal fame. We must adhere to our original aspiration and founding mission, maintain our direction without wavering, maintain our resolve without slackening, resolutely oppose the Four Winds, and be willing to do preparatory work and handle unfinished business. We must establish an awareness of the big picture, resolutely prevent and overcome departmentalism, think in one direction and exert effort in one place, ensuring that we move in the same direction and form a synergy. We must carry forward the "spirit of the nail" [16], demonstrate the political courage to crack "hard nuts" [17] and wade through "dangerous shoals" [18], pushing forward time node by time node, and achieving results one step at a time.
(Author's affiliation: Institute of Chinese-path Modernization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) Source: Red Flag Manuscript (Hongqi Wengao), 2025, No. 5 Web Editor: Jing Mu