Lu Chunlong: Accelerating the Construction of an Independent Knowledge System of Chinese Political Science
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that "accelerating the construction of a philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, in the final analysis, the construction of China's autonomous knowledge system." Political science is a vital component of the philosophy and social sciences; thus, constructing an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese political science is an inherent requirement for developing philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies while advancing our nation’s political construction and state governance. These new concepts and measures have driven continuous innovation in research within Chinese political science circles and have led to the formation of numerous original and iconic concepts in the field. Currently, as the great changes unseen in a century accelerate their evolution and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation enters a critical period, the Chinese political science community faces the "Questions of China, the World, the People, and the Times." It is urgent for scholars to carry forward the spirit of historical initiative and accelerate the construction of an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese political science. This will provide academic support for interpreting "China's Governance" [1] and unswervingly following the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics, while contributing Chinese wisdom and strength to global governance.
I
Political science research concerns critical issues of state governance modernization ranging from the macro to the micro level, and is thus linked to the practical process of Chinese-path modernization. Constructing a political science knowledge system that both conforms to the general laws of social science and possesses Chinese characteristics requires clarifying research categories, improving research logic, and highlighting research priorities. We must persist in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide, persist in serving Chinese-path modernization, and persist in applying the work method of systems integration. We must enhance our ability to resolve major issues in the process of modernizing the state governance system and governance capacity through maintaining our unique characteristics while absorbing and borrowing from others.
Persist in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide. To accelerate the construction of an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese political science, we must adhere to this guidance to ensure the correct direction of research and development. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has centered on the major practical subject of socialist political construction in the New Era. They have proposed a series of important ideological viewpoints, such as adhering to the people-centered development philosophy and developing whole-process people’s democracy, and have made major strategic deployments to comprehensively advance the law-based governance of the country. These efforts concentrate and reflect our Party’s deepened and expanded understanding of the laws governing socialist political construction. In building an autonomous knowledge system, we must deeply understand and grasp the major judgments and theoretical generalizations contained within Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must take the General Secretary’s important expositions on the construction of socialist democratic politics as our fundamental following, utilizing the Marxist worldview, methodology, and the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods that permeate them. We must "clear the source and reform the stream" [2], uphold the fundamentals and break new ground, and continuously realize the enrichment and development of Marxist political science.
Persist in serving Chinese-path modernization. The vitality of theory comes from practice, and its value lies in guiding practice. In the leapfrog development from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial and information society, Chinese-path modernization has forged a path distinctly different from Western modernization, urgently requiring an autonomous political science knowledge system to provide interpretation and support. Simultaneously, the success of Chinese-path modernization has greatly propelled the innovation and development of Chinese political science theory. The goal of serving Chinese-path modernization determines the direction and focus of theoretical innovation. In constructing an autonomous knowledge system, we must prioritize Chinese state governance theory and whole-process people’s democracy. We must theoretically explain the "code" of "China's Governance," respond to new problems and challenges facing China’s state governance and democratic construction, and effectively increase the contribution rate of the political science knowledge system to these fields. We must capture major practical issues with a keen eye, testing political science categories and theoretical viewpoints within the practice of democratic construction and governance. Using scientific thinking, we should refine local democratic practices and governance issues into major theoretical questions, sublimating rational understanding from local experiences to realize a virtuous cycle between theory and practice. This will promote better results for state governance and whole-process people’s democracy through breakthroughs and the scientific application of the political science knowledge system.
Persist in the method of systems integration. Systems integration is an important work method emphasized by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in his explanation of the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization." He emphasized: "Comprehensively deepening reform involves the overall situation of the Party and state work, various fields of economic and social development, and many major theoretical and practical issues; it is a complex systemic project." He further noted: "Reform must pay more attention to systems integration, persisting in planning and advancing with an overall perspective and systemic thinking. We must strengthen the coordination and matching of various reform measures, promoting reforms in various fields and aspects to exert force in the same direction and form a synergy to enhance overall efficiency." The construction of an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese political science is also a complex systemic project, as it includes the construction of the disciplinary system, academic system, discourse system, and textbook system. These four systems constitute an organic whole, being both interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Among them, the political science textbook system originates from the consensual achievements of the academic system; the development of the disciplinary system drives the academic system and serves as the fundamental anchor for both the academic and discourse systems; the discourse system is rooted in the academic system as its form of expression, directly influencing the receptivity of academic achievements. Ultimately, the level and attributes of political science academic research determine the level and attributes of the discourse system. The autonomous knowledge system is the overarching goal. To successfully construct it, we must fully utilize the foundational work method of systems integration, coordinating the construction of all four systems without neglecting any single aspect, thereby forming a synergy and increasing overall efficiency.
II
Constructing an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese political science is a pioneering undertaking. We must persist in Chinese characteristics and autonomy, deeply mining three resources: the principles of Marxist political science, traditional Chinese political wisdom, and the governance practices of socialist China.
The principles of Marxist political science scientifically reveal the objective laws of human social and political activities and are the theoretical cornerstone that must be upheld. The political principles created by classic Marxist writers across different eras still hold significant guiding importance for contemporary Chinese political construction and state governance. For instance: the political superstructure is built upon the economic base; the state is an instrument of class rule; political power is the power of class rule; and the attributes of the state determine political forms. The autonomous knowledge system we seek to build today essentially remains a Marxist political science knowledge system. It is a system that inherits the state and class theories of classic Marxist writers while continuously evolving and innovating in combination with Chinese political practice. In this construction, we should absorb the essence of Marxist political principles, persist in using Marxist theory to examine contemporary Chinese political issues, and dialectically understand major relationships such as the economic base and superstructure, state attributes and political forms, proletarian and bourgeois parties, social existence and political ideology, and war and peace. We must scientifically grasp the laws of political development, state political construction, and state governance to continuously open new realms in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.
Only by taking root in the fertile soil of the nation’s history and culture can an autonomous political science knowledge system become deep-rooted and luxuriant. The political wisdom and "Way of Governance" [3] nurtured by over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization are important ideological sources for theoretical innovation. Concepts from excellent traditional Chinese culture—such as "the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is firm, the state is at peace" [4], "governing with virtue" [5], "appointing the virtuous and capable" [6], "enriching the people’s livelihood" [7], and "when the Great Way prevails, the world is shared by all" [8]—reflect views on the people, governance, and administration. These have been fused into the historical process of the Party leading the nation's political construction, providing deep historical and cultural roots for the autonomous knowledge system. On the new journey of the New Era, we should draw political wisdom from the long river of Chinese civilization, becoming adept at deepening our understanding of political operational laws through history and culture. We should address current practical issues of political construction, predict future governance trends, combine traditional governance experience with modern methods, and use traditional political wisdom to catalyze new theoretical growth points. By giving excellent traditional political culture modern forms of expression and new contemporary connotations, we can achieve its creative transformation and innovative development, providing rich cultural nourishment for modernizing the state governance system and capacity.
The history of the CPC leading the people to advance national political construction and state governance is a history of the continuous Sinicization and modernization of Marxist political science principles, as well as a history of continuous theoretical innovation in the field. To build an autonomous knowledge system, we must base ourselves on the great practice of the Party-led political construction and development, promoting the integration of Marxist principles with the practices of Chinese political construction, state governance, and whole-process people’s democracy. We must focus on summarizing and utilizing the massive historical achievements and experiences gained since the New Era, creatively explaining the laws of modern state governance and the essence of political construction. This should guide the construction of whole-process people’s democracy and state governance on the new journey. The autonomous knowledge system will surely continue to develop and innovate as whole-process people’s democracy deepens, the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC improves, and the modernization of state governance progresses.
III
Constructing an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese political science must focus on contemporary Chinese politics and the great political practices currently underway in Chinese society. It must move forward with reality-based questions as the lead, Chinese political practice as the foundation, and comparison as the method.
Taking reality-based questions as the lead. Political science theory consists of general statements that describe and explain the causes or results of the same category of political phenomena, providing causal explanations and mechanisms. Producing original theoretical knowledge is an important mission bestowed by the times. Looking at the present and focusing on practice, we cannot conduct corrective research centered on Western theories and problems, nor can we simply verify theoretical propositions of Western political science. Instead, we must take China’s own problems as the new center of gravity. For example: how to clearly explain the consistent continuity of "Great Unification" [9] at the national level; the internal consistency in the evolution from traditional consultative politics to consultative democracy; why the "Four Look-ats and Four More-so Look-ats" [10] serve as the criteria for evaluating whether a country is democratic; and why China’s modernization did not follow the path of external colonization, military plunder, or armed expansion. By focusing on major national strategies and concerns with reality-based questions as the lead, we can discover the unique mechanisms and laws of Chinese politics, drive paradigm breakthroughs, and inject vitality and lasting theoretical life into the construction of the autonomous knowledge system.
Taking Chinese political practice as the foundation. We must construct concepts, propositions, and theories based on Chinese political practice and experience, establishing a theoretical framework from the practice of Chinese-path modernization. Concepts are the cornerstones of a knowledge system, reflecting the attributes of political phenomena in the human mind. The attributes of Chinese political phenomena differ significantly from those in the West. For example, Western party competition theory cannot explain the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the CPC, nor can it grasp the "Sixteen-Character Policy" [11] of "long-term coexistence, mutual supervision, treating each other with all sincerity, and sharing weal and woe." Therefore, we need to propose original Chinese concepts based on indigenous experience. At this new historical juncture, we should focus on explaining the logic of moving from "China’s System" to "China’s Governance," exploring the academic foundation of the autonomous knowledge system. We should deeply study the political principles contained in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, multi-dimensionally explaining "improving the Party’s leadership system" and emphasizing its key role in political construction. This involves analyzing the reform of Party and state institutions...
...the operational mechanisms of these systems and their role in promoting the modernization of governance; explain the connotations, characteristics, and theoretical foundations of the new type of party relations to contribute Chinese wisdom to the theory of party politics; conduct multi-dimensional research on the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity, emphasizing its innovative significance and construction paths for international relations theory; focus on the actual operational effectiveness of grassroots governance, highlighting the supporting role of grassroots consultative democracy; and explore the connotations, functions, and theoretical significance of whole-process people's democracy from multiple perspectives to promote the expansion of research fields and the disciplinary development of Chinese political science.
Taking comparison as the method. Constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese political science does not mean being closed, conservative, or speaking only to oneself behind closed doors. On the contrary, only by strengthening comparative dialogue with an open and inclusive attitude and actively absorbing all the outstanding achievements of Western political science and political science from other regions can we truly form Chinese characteristics and establish autonomy. Only through mutual verification in comparison—understanding the laws, strengths, and weaknesses of political construction and development in various countries—can we deepen our cognitive understanding of the laws of political development. This requires learning to apply universal scientific thinking and terminology, using a series of scientific terms such as concepts, propositions, theories, testing, inference, falsification, and generalization. Only in this way can our independent knowledge system engage in comparative dialogue with Western political science knowledge systems, and through such dialogue, enhance the international influence of Chinese political science discourse and manifest the unique value of Chinese political science in the world.
Advancing this process requires the collective wisdom and systematic synergy of the Chinese political science community to jointly develop open-source shared academic infrastructure, including political science public databases, institutional simulation experimental platforms, and global networks for regional and country studies [12]. It also requires proposing Chinese standards for the academic evaluation of political science, including indicators such as awareness of local issues, methodological innovation, and global dialogue capabilities. A high-quality piece of Chinese political science research needs a strong awareness of Chinese problems, research methods that advance with the times, and excellent influence in global dialogue. We should accurately grasp the logic of the evolution of the world landscape, identify our temporal positioning and development direction, and provide new perspectives for problem-solving through multidisciplinary integration that brings new theories and methods.
Furthermore, we should promote the application of big data and artificial intelligence in political science research, emphasize the integration of political science with engineering and artificial intelligence, and actively develop emerging and interdisciplinary subjects such as computational political science to expand the disciplinary system of political science and construct a future-oriented political science knowledge system. We must strive to break through the "segregation" between internal affairs and diplomacy, properly handle the relationship between academic research and theoretical propaganda, achieve the integration of practical experience with academic discourse, and manifest the unique value of Chinese political science in international communication and dialogue.
(The author is a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of the China University of Political Science and Law, and a professor at the School of Political Science and Public Administration.)
Source: Red Flag Manuscripts [13] Issue 15, 2025 Web Editor: Ma Jingren