Liu Li: Deeply Understanding and Practicing the People-Centered Development Philosophy
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has creatively proposed the people-centered development philosophy and put forward a series of important discourses, such as "the people’s aspiration for a better life is what we are striving for," "the country is its people and the people are the country" [1], and "the people are the decisive force in building a great modern socialist country in all respect." These discourses scientifically answer the fundamental questions of for whom we develop, on whom we rely for development, and by whom the fruits of development are shared. Persistent adherence to the people-centered development philosophy represents the fundamental standpoint of our country’s economic development and serves as an important guidance for conducting economic work in the New Era. We must insist on taking the interests of the people as the fundamental starting point and ultimate goal of the Party’s leadership over economic work, and deeply grasp its theoretical logic, historical context, and practical requirements.
The Inner Integration of the Marxist Position of the People and Traditional Chinese Minben Thought
Historical materialism holds that the masses of the people are the subjects of history, the creators of social material and spiritual wealth, and the decisive force behind social change. The "nature of the people" (renminxing) is the essential attribute of Marxism. The Communist Party of China (CPC) insists on combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and pursues innovative development. Throughout its long-term struggle, our Party established the fundamental purpose of serving the people whole-heartedly and formed the Party's mass line, adhering to "everything for the masses, everything relying on the masses" and "from the masses, to the masses," thereby transforming the Party’s correct ideas into the conscious actions of the masses. The people-centered development philosophy is precisely a vivid expression of this historical materialism; it both continues the theoretical core of the people creating history and deepens the understanding of the people’s subject status based on the reality of development.
The people-centered development philosophy takes "the person" as its value point of origin. It emphasizes that the ultimate goal of development is for the person, the process of development must rely on the person, and the fruits of development should benefit all people more equitably. It encompasses multi-dimensional goals such as material prosperity, political participation, spiritual enrichment, social justice, and ecological livability, aiming to promote well-rounded human development. This not only reiterates the importance of promoting well-rounded human development at the conceptual level but also implements it into every link of economic and social development through the national governance system and public policy arrangements, providing scientific guidance for promoting well-rounded human development and overall social progress.
The people-centered development philosophy is both an inheritance and development of Marxist thought on upholding the position of the people, and a contemporary expression of the minben [2] (people-as-the-base) thought in fine traditional Chinese culture. Whether it is the minben thought that "the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is solid, the state is at peace" [3], or the governing concept that "the way to govern a country begins with enriching the people" [4], these are important components of fine traditional Chinese culture that align with Marxist thought on upholding the position of the people. Entering the New Era, facing new situations and tasks and based on the new practice of governing the country, General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively proposed the people-centered development philosophy, reflecting the inner integration of the Marxist position of the people and traditional Chinese minben thought.
An Important Conclusion Drawn from Summarizing the Party's Century-Long Historical Experience
Upholding the principle of "people first," maintaining the people's subject status, and giving play to the people's subjective role are important conclusions drawn from summarizing the Party's century-long historical experience. The development history of the CPC over more than a hundred years is a history of the Party being heart-to-heart with the people, sharing weal and woe, and a history of acting for the people, relying on the people, and serving the people. Our Party has always relied closely on the masses to create great historical achievements, weaving the principle of "people first" throughout the various historical periods of revolution, construction, and reform.
From the day of its birth, the CPC has engraved the word "people" in its heart, taking the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation as its original aspiration and founding mission. After the founding of New China, our Party proposed that the main task of the people of the whole country was to concentrate forces on developing productive forces and achieving national industrialization to gradually meet the people's increasing material and cultural needs. In the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, our Party clarified that the principal contradiction in our society was the contradiction between the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and backward social production. From solving the problems of food and clothing to moving toward a moderately prosperous society (Xiaokang), the Party has always promoted development in close connection with the people's needs, planting deep roots and accumulating experience for the start of the new journey in the New Era.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core comprehensively assessed the general international and domestic trends and proposed that the principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into that between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. It keenly perceived the people's increasing demands for democracy, the rule of law, fairness, justice, security, and the environment, providing the basis for managing the economy, planning development, and promoting reform in the New Era. Our Party has united and led hundreds of millions of people to adopt a series of strategic measures, promote a series of transformative practices, achieve a series of breakthrough progress, and obtain a series of landmark results, making the people-centered development philosophy deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The fight against poverty won a complete victory, historically resolving the problem of absolute poverty that had plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years, with nearly 100 million rural poor lifted out of poverty, and a moderately prosperous society in all respects was fully realized. We have built the world's largest high-speed railway and expressway networks, with the comprehensive transportation network becoming increasingly sophisticated. Whole-process people's democracy has continuously developed, and the institutional system has been steadily improved. We have continued to consolidate the world's largest education, healthcare, and social security systems, making the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security more substantial, better guaranteed, and more sustainable. Prominent environmental problems of concern to the masses were resolved in a timely manner; the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [5] has been widely practiced, and the construction of a Beautiful China has made major strides. Material and spiritual civilizations have developed in coordination, and the cultural confidence of the whole Party and people of all ethnic groups has been significantly enhanced and increasingly firm. The journey of struggle in the New Era eloquently proves that always adhering to the people-centered development philosophy is the source of strength for our Party to lead the people in creating the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
Implementation Throughout the Entire Process and All Fields of Economic and Social Development
The people-centered development philosophy is not an abstract or abstruse concept; it cannot remain merely a slogan or stop at the level of thought; it must be implemented throughout the entire process and in all fields of economic and social development. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to the people’s subject status, conformed to the people’s aspiration for a better life, and continuously realized, safeguarded, and developed the fundamental interests of the broadest possible masses. On the one hand, we unswervingly promote reform and opening up and improve the quality and efficiency of economic development, creating both material and spiritual wealth to meet the people's growing needs for a better life and providing a solid foundation for building a modern socialist country in all respects. On the other hand, we persist in promoting well-rounded human development, fully mobilizing the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the people, promoting high-quality and full employment, and improving the income distribution system so that the fruits of development benefit all people more equitably.
First, we must take the satisfaction of the people’s needs for a better life as the starting point and ultimate goal. In the process of planning medium- and long-term development programs, designing major policies, and laying out major projects, we must always remember that "the people’s aspiration for a better life is what we are striving for." We should focus efforts on the most direct and realistic interests of the masses, improve the mechanism for promoting high-quality and full employment, refine the public employment service system and the guarantee system for encouraging entrepreneurship to drive employment, and solidify the foundation of people's livelihoods through stable employment. We must further deepen the reform of the social security system, continuously improving a multi-tiered social security system that covers the entire population, integrates urban and rural areas, and is fair, unified, secure, normative, and sustainable, thereby firmly holding the bottom line of people's livelihoods. Aiming at the shortcomings in education, medical care, elderly care, childcare, and housing, we should implement targeted measures to promote the equalization of basic public services. Simultaneously, we must construct a more solid material and technical foundation. High-quality development is the important support for meeting the people's needs for a better life. We must be guided by the people's growing, multi-level, and personalized material and cultural needs, using the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces as a starting point. We should plan and promote reform based on the overall, fundamental, and long-term interests of the people, improve the scientific and technological innovation system, and push the country’s economic strength, scientific and technological strength, and comprehensive national strength to new heights.
Second, we must fully stimulate the creative power of hundreds of millions of people. The masses of the people are the fundamental driving force for economic and social development. We must respect the pioneering spirit of the masses, attach great importance to grassroots practice, and encourage local governments, grassroots levels, and the masses to explore boldly and conduct pilot programs. We should improve institutional mechanisms that encourage innovation, summarize experience in a timely manner, courageously promote theoretical and practical innovation, and continuously deepen the understanding of the laws governing economic and social development in the New Era. We must fully exert the subject role of the masses, continuously improving their level of participation in the management of national, economic, cultural, and social affairs. We must persist in "investing in people," focusing on bridging the knowledge and skills gaps, and promoting the synchronized modernization of vocational roles with human development. This will create a favorable situation where everyone can become a talent and fully display their talents, transforming the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of hundreds of millions of people into a powerful force for economic and social development.
Third, we must solidly promote common prosperity to achieve more obvious substantive progress. Common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics and is also a long-term historical process. Achieving common prosperity for all people involves the organic unity of efficiency and fairness, and of development and sharing. In practice, we need to deepen the reform of the income distribution system, focusing on increasing the proportion of resident income in national income distribution and the proportion of labor remuneration in primary distribution. We should improve the policy system for distribution according to factors of production and increase the factor income of low and middle-income groups through multiple channels. We need to coordinately promote urban-rural integration and regional coordinated development, breaking the urban-rural dual barrier through institutional innovation. We must continue to deepen the reform of the household registration (hukou) system, allocate public resources according to the permanent resident population, and optimize the planning and layout of rural infrastructure and public services. We should promote agricultural scale and full-chain upgrading, guide suitable industries to transfer to county areas, and cultivate characteristic industrial clusters. In particular, we must smooth the flow of factors between urban and rural areas, protect farmers' land rights and interests, and attract talents to return to their hometowns for employment and entrepreneurship nearby. Finally, we must hold the bottom line of basic livelihood needs accurately and firmly, increasing support for compulsory education, basic elderly care, basic medical care, and social assistance, while strengthening care and service guarantees for groups with special difficulties.