Shen Haixiong: Letting the Power of Truth Strike Deep into the Hearts of the People
"The more clearly one knows, the more earnestly one acts; the more earnestly one acts, the more clearly one knows" [1]. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in observing general trends, planning for the overall situation, and performing practical work. It has continuously deepened its understanding of the regularities of economic work, proposed a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies, and formed Xi Jinping’s economic thought. Masterful, far-sighted, and clarifying, Xi Jinping’s economic thought systematically explains and profoundly answers a series of major theoretical and practical questions in the New Era, such as for whom we develop, how we develop, and what kind of development we aim to achieve. It represents the latest theoretical achievement in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist political economy, serves as a scientific guide for promoting high-quality development in our country, and possesses significant theoretical, practical, and global significance.
The world has currently entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, standing once again at a critical crossroads. A small number of countries have defied the trend of history, creating obstacles to the global economic recovery. Faced with changes unseen in a century [2], we must focus our energy on managing our own affairs well and advancing Chinese-path modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. As a major stronghold of the Party's news and public opinion work, the China Media Group (CMG) considers it its responsibility and mission to publicize and interpret Xi Jinping’s economic thought in a vivid and engaging manner, promoting the transformation of the power of truth into the great power of practice. Under the robust guidance of the Central Propaganda Department, CMG collaborated closely with the National Development and Reform Commission to produce the large-scale special program Readings on Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought, which aired during evening prime time on the CMG Finance Channel from March to April 2025, with simultaneous broadcasting on new media platforms such as CCTV News and CCTV Finance. As the first television documentary series to interpret Xi Jinping’s economic thought, the program triggered an enthusiastic response after its premiere. Related reports reached over 400 million people across all media platforms and received high praise both at home and abroad. The "positive energy" truly became "massive traffic," providing beneficial inspiration for further publicizing and interpreting Xi Jinping’s economic thought and loudly sounding the "theory of the bright prospects of the Chinese economy."
Countering Global Instability and Uncertainty with Chinese Stability and Certainty
General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out: "Economic globalization is an objective requirement for the development of productive forces and an inevitable result of scientific and technological progress. It is a surging historical trend. Although it has encountered headwinds and backwaters, its general trend of development has never changed. Obstructing economic cooperation under various pretexts and insisting on fracturing an interdependent world is to turn back the clock of history." Currently, China's economic development faces new domestic and international challenges. A small number of countries have defied historical trends and economic laws, adopting beggar-thy-neighbor policies and zero-sum games. Unilateralism and protectionism, which were long ago abandoned, are now seeing a resurgence. The more arduous the tasks, the more we need scientific ideological weapons as theoretical guidance; the more complex the state of the world, the more we need to use our own stability and certainty to respond to the world’s instability and uncertainty, providing powerful positive energy for a turbulent world.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must reduce global development imbalances and push economic globalization toward a more open, inclusive, balanced, and win-win direction, so that people of all countries can share the fruits of economic globalization and global economic growth." Since the beginning of this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping has successfully conducted state visits to Southeast Asian countries and Russia and attended the second China-Central Asia Summit, yielding fruitful results through "head-of-state diplomacy." We deeply feel that the concepts advocated by General Secretary Xi Jinping, such as building a community with a shared future for humanity and strengthening cooperation on industrial and supply chains, have received wide praise and strong resonance from various countries. We profoundly sense the vast development opportunities that Chinese-path modernization brings to neighboring countries. This is a vivid miniature of the historic achievements and transformations our Party and country have achieved under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s economic thought.
In recent years, through the practice of communication, exchange, and confrontation with international media, we have deeply realized that the concepts of global economic governance advocated by Xi Jinping’s economic thought—such as equality, openness, cooperation, and sharing—are increasingly gaining widespread recognition and support from the international community. As General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly noted, "There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars; unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemonism are destined to harm others and oneself." International public opinion generally believes that so-called "country-first" policies are like drinking poison to quench thirst [3] and acting in a perverse manner; they are bound to fail. Recently, a global poll released by CMG-CGTN (China Global Television Network) showed that 92.14% of respondents believe that the economic coercion of certain countries against others seriously disrupts the stability of global markets, and that those who harm others will eventually harm themselves. In the face of a new round of economic bullying through the abuse of tariffs by certain countries, we launched Readings on Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought at an opportune time, further strengthening the confidence of the broad audience to overcome risks and challenges. Many experts and scholars noted after watching the program: "The documentary series perfectly meets the current enthusiastic expectations of the whole Party and society. The timing of the broadcast is a great opportunity to boost confidence and inspire drive, clearly declaring China's position and demonstrating the responsibility of a major power." Simultaneously, we responded with speed and decisiveness, launching a large number of international communication products—including special reports like The Trauma of Tariffs and ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs Cannot Save Themselves, as well as documentaries, authoritative interviews, commentaries, and global polls. We "reasoned with righteous calm," presenting facts and logic to promote the large-scale dissemination of Xi Jinping’s economic thought in the international arena, eliciting strong resonance.
Moistening Things Silently: Promoting the Publicity of Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought into the "Homes of Ordinary People"
General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "We must persist in the people-centered development philosophy. Development for the people is the fundamental position of Marxist political economy." Xi Jinping’s economic thought originates from the practical creations of the masses; it is the "economics of the people," which the masses can best understand and apply. It must be disseminated and interpreted in ways that the masses enjoy. The extraordinary practice of Chinese-path modernization is vivid and alive; therefore, our theoretical publicity and interpretation must also be vivid and alive. How to both interpret this important thought in its original flavor and disseminate it according to the characteristics of different audiences—to foster resonance and conscious practice—is a test of our capabilities.
CMG adheres to the standard that "the height of the leader's thought is the height we pursue in our reporting." We profoundly recognize that only through innovation can highly condensed theoretical expressions be presented vividly and concretely through the means of "thought + art + technology." We persist in seeking inspiration, ideas, and answers from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts, discourses, and instructions, continuously working on innovating discourse and improving writing styles. The system of Xi Jinping’s economic thought is rigorous, broad, and profound. We deeply understand that this important thought is the theoretical crystallization of the practice of promoting our country’s economic development; it is a rational generalization of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics using the basic principles of Marxism; it is a precious spiritual treasure of the Party and the state. Readings on Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought consists of 14 episodes, each focusing on a single theme. The titles use "golden quotes" from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches, such as "High-Quality Development is the Hard Truth of the New Era" and "The People’s Aspiration for a Better Life is Our Goal." We use "stories" that are perceptible and accessible to explain the "logic," using "logic" that is useful and effective to inspire and guide people. This approach is both as sincere as a first impression and highly infectious. Xi Jinping’s economic thought "clarifies the essence to achieve practical use" [4], integrating substance and application. We deeply understand that in the New Era, the comprehensive deepening of reform has achieved major practical, institutional, and theoretical results that have attracted worldwide attention and have far-reaching influence. The four segments in the program—"Question of the Times," "Study of Ideas," "Power of Thought," and "Learning, Thinking, Practicing, and Realizing"—are organically linked and advance step-by-step. This reflects the internal logic that theory originates from practice and in turn guides practice, leading the vast audience to seek the source of ideas, perceive their charm, and comprehend their wisdom. Xi Jinping’s economic thought comes from the people and is rooted in the people. We always keep in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping’s earnest exhortation to "realize, maintain, and develop the fundamental interests of the broadest range of people; closely grasp the issues of most direct and realistic concern to the people; and persist in doing our best within our means while going deep among the masses and the grassroots." The creative team conducted in-depth investigations and visits across various parts of the country, listening to all voices and acquiring first-hand material. They accurately grasped the connection points between national policies and the micro-level perceptions of the audience, transforming theoretical discourse and professional terminology into plain and simple "common language." By combining over 100 grassroots practice cases with interpretations from more than 40 case observers, the program explained the profound in simple terms, giving policy concepts a sense of warmth and making statistical data more vivid.
In terms of production and presentation, we uphold a style of excellence, meticulousness, and the pursuit of perfection. For the 14 episodes totaling 630 minutes, the raw footage and edited material used exceeded 80,000 minutes. We scrutinized every detail, skillfully blending "scattered perspective" and "focal perspective" techniques with an immersive stage layout, reflecting a strong Chinese style and spirit that is both solemn and elegant. To better meet the learning needs of the audience, CMG is currently publishing a collection of the documentary series to further deepen the study, publicity, and implementation of Xi Jinping’s economic thought.
Striving to Create a World-Class New Mainstream Media: Demonstrating the Powerful Truth of Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought Across Multiple Dimensions and Levels
General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "We must regard innovation as the primary driving force leading development" and "let innovation run through all work of the Party and the state, making it a common practice in the whole of society." From the CMG 8K "Big Red Van" fleet shining at the Paris Olympics to the Year of the Snake Spring Festival Gala becoming a global hit, the launch of the "CMG World Robot Skills Competition," and the opening of the Artificial Intelligence Building—on the journey to create a world-class new mainstream media with strong leading power, communication power, and influence—CMG has long ceased to be a media organization in the traditional sense. It has become a dynamic innovation platform. A series of innovative measures have demonstrated the hard and soft power of Chinese media in the New Era. We persist in giving full play to CMG's advantages in all-media brand resources, striving to transform Xi Jinping’s economic thought into innovations and ideas, high-quality programs, and practical results, thereby assisting high-quality economic and social development. After the broadcast of Readings on Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought, many central and state organs, local Party committees and governments, central and state-owned enterprises, financial institutions, and universities organized collective viewing and study sessions. Platforms such as "Xuexi Qiangguo" and the China Officers’ Network Academy opened dedicated columns, sparking a new wave of enthusiasm for studying, publicizing, and implementing the thought.
We earnestly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s earnest instructions to "form a synergy in public opinion, strengthen positive publicity," and "continuously focus on and respond to social concerns, resolving doubts and explaining confusion in a timely manner," while continuing to promote innovative development. In recent years, CMG has carefully cultivated a large number of commentary brands such as CCTV Quick Commentary, Yuyuan Tantian, International Sharp Commentary, CCTV Finance Commentary, and Financial Reporters Say. With a style that features viewpoints, data, and warmth, they resolve doubts and build consensus. In 2024, CMG launched the in-depth investigative column Financial Investigation, which uses constructive supervision to provide positive guidance for public opinion, achieving a good response. We earnestly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important requirement to "vigorously promote theoretical, practical, institutional, and cultural innovation, and innovation in all other aspects, continuously opening up new fields and tracks for development, and shaping new drivers and advantages for development." We work closely with relevant ministries and local governments to continuously carry out innovative media activities such as the "Brand Strengthening Project," "National Recruitment Action," "National Consumption Promotion Month," "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Consumption Season," "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Consumption Season," "Shanghai May 5th Shopping Festival," and "New Quality Productive Forces China Tour." We have promoted the continuous "breakout" popularity of domestic films like Ne Zha 2, stimulating economic vitality and boosting consumer confidence.
The launch of Readings on Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought has once again allowed CMG to taste the sweetness and reap harvest from the study, thinking, perception, and realization of the leader's ideas. Content guided by thought has more weight, and energy that can provide positive incentive is more valuable. CMG always keeps in mind the important requirement to "strengthen economic publicity and public opinion guidance, and sound the theory of the bright prospects of the Chinese economy." We will further act as the main force and vanguard in disseminating Xi Jinping’s economic thought, continuing to run key economic programs such as Economic News, Economic Half Hour, Dialogue, and CCTV Finance Commentary. We will plan brand activities such as the "New Quality Productive Forces Index," the "Financial Street Economic Climate Index," the "Consumption Vitality Index," and the "Supply Chain Resilience Index." CMG profoundly understands the global significance of the Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions contained in Xi Jinping’s economic thought in response to the "question of the times"—"what is wrong with the world, and what should we do?" We will further leverage the advantages of our international communication platforms, including 82 languages, CGTN, and overseas bureaus. We will use internationalized expressions to launch more high-quality works such as Readings on Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought (International Edition), continuously enhancing CMG's "tone-setting power," right to speak, and influence in the international public opinion arena. Simultaneously, we will solidly promote the construction of key projects such as the ultra-high-definition demonstration park "CCTV World" and the National (Hangzhou) Short Video Base, aiding the high-quality development of China's AI, ultra-high-definition, and other industries, and striving to set more Chinese benchmarks on the international stage.
As General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "The Chinese economy is an ocean, not a small pond." This vast ocean has withstood countless tests of violent storms and is now more expansive and magnificent, with uniquely beautiful scenery. CMG will deeply study and implement the series of important instructions from General Secretary Xi Jinping regarding CMG’s work. We will maintain firm belief and diligent practice, be fond of learning and proficient in writing, forge ahead with determination, and pioneer through innovation. We will continue to deepen the publicity and interpretation of Xi Jinping’s economic thought, striving to push the "Two Upholds" to new heights. We firmly believe that with the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the ship of the Chinese economy will surely brave the wind and waves and sail steadily toward a far horizon!
(The author is the Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, and the Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and President of the China Media Group)