Yang Cheng: The Inheritance and Development of Fine Traditional Chinese Economic Thought by Xi Jinping’s Economic Thought
As an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Xi Jinping’s economic thought adheres to the "Two Combinations" [1], making significant original contributions to the enrichment and development of Marxist political economy. Seen from the perspective of the history of economic thought, the experience and wisdom accumulated by Chinese civilization over its long history provide rich intellectual resources for modern economic governance. The introduction of the basic principles and methodology of Marxist political economy has allowed these traditional resources to be placed within the holistic logic of productive forces and relations of production, and the economic base and superstructure, thereby gaining theoretical vitality with contemporary value. Marxist political economy provides a scientific analytical paradigm for fine traditional Chinese economic thought, while fine traditional Chinese economic thought injects practical wisdom into the innovation and development of Marxist political economy; the two possess a high degree of compatibility. Xi Jinping’s economic thought both upholds the basic principles of Marxist political economy and achieves the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese economic thought, demonstrating a theoretical character that unifies national identity with the spirit of the times.
Forging New Heights in the Values of Economic Development
In the long course of its history, Chinese civilization has formed distinct value pursuits and translated them into important orientations for economic and social development in practice. Our ancient sages emphasized not only the growth of material wealth but also the maintenance of social fairness. By creatively combining Marxist value balance theory with the economic ethics and value pursuits inherent in fine traditional Chinese culture, Xi Jinping’s economic thought promotes traditional wisdom such as "enriching the people and prioritizing their livelihood" (富民厚生) [2] and "balancing righteousness and profit" (义利兼顾). This has formed a modern economic ethic and value pursuit that balances efficiency and fairness.
Sublimating the distributive justice of "using profit to bring peace to the people." "To govern the world, one must first be public-minded; if there is public-mindedness, the world will be at peace." Our ancient sages possessed a profound understanding of "restraining profit through righteousness," criticizing the phenomenon where "the rich accumulate millions while the poor eat husks and chaff," and emphasizing that "there are constants in governing a state, but benefiting the people is the fundamental." Marxist political economy holds that distribution is determined by production but also reacts back upon it, and "the mode of distribution that can best promote production is that which enables all members of society to develop, maintain, and exercise their abilities as comprehensively as possible." This provides a scientific framework for understanding distribution issues. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out the need to "promote common prosperity through high-quality development," constructing basic institutional arrangements where primary distribution, redistribution, and tertiary distribution are coordinated and complementary. On the prerequisite of holding the bottom line of preventing any large-scale return to poverty, the Party encourages more rural residents to become wealthy through hard work. With the solemn vow that "in the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, not a single person can be left behind; on the road to common prosperity, not a single person should fall behind," the state is steadily expanding the size of the middle-income group and solidly advancing common prosperity. By ensuring that the fruits of modernization benefit all people more extensively and fairly, traditional concepts have been sublimated into a systematic social wealth adjustment mechanism, manifesting the superiority of the basic socialist distribution system and providing a solid guarantee for the realization of common prosperity.
Activating the innovation momentum of "making it new every day." The Chinese nation has always esteemed innovation and creation. From "Although Zhou was an ancient state, its mission lay in renewal," and "If you can renovate yourself one day, do so from day to day; yea, let there be daily renovation" [3], we can see the profound spirit of reform contained within Chinese civilization. Marxist theory of productive forces reveals the important role of innovation in economic and social development, pointing out that science and technology themselves increasingly become an internal and continuously strengthening productive force in the process of civilizational development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized "persisting in cultivating a culture of innovation and inheriting the innovation genes of fine traditional Chinese culture," and put forward a series of important assertions such as "scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening is the fundamental support for promoting the overall development situation." This both holds high the spirit of reform inherent in fine traditional Chinese culture and achieves an innovative development of the Marxist view that science and technology are a driving, revolutionary force. Since the 18th National Congress [4], the Party has deeply promoted the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, proposed the strategic task of accelerating the building of an innovative country, established the goal of becoming a global power in science and technology by 2035, and continuously deepened the reform of the science and technology system. This has fully stimulated the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of scientific and technical personnel, vigorously promoted scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, and injected strong momentum into Chinese-path modernization.
Enhancing New Wisdom in Macroeconomic Governance
Through thousands of years of development, Chinese civilization has formed a unique and effective governance system. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The rich philosophical thoughts, humanistic spirit, educational ideas, and moral concepts of fine traditional Chinese culture can provide beneficial inspiration for people to understand and transform the world, and can provide beneficial enlightenment for governance." Rooted in the complex practice of modern state governance, Xi Jinping’s economic thought creatively applies the basic principles of Marxism, sublimating the governance wisdom in fine traditional Chinese economic thought into modern governance concepts. It provides a significant solution for the macroeconomic governance of an ultra-large-scale country and contributes Chinese wisdom to global governance.
Refining the art of regulation through "holding the two ends and using the middle." The governance concept of "sincerely holding the center" (允执厥中) from the Book of Documents [5] is an important part of the regulatory wisdom in fine traditional Chinese economic thought. The high complexity of the modern market economy often requires a more accurate grasp of the boundary between the government and the market. Developing a socialist market economy, such that the market plays the decisive role in resource allocation while the government’s role is better exerted, is an important theoretical achievement of contemporary Chinese Marxist political economy. It profoundly reveals that the economic functions of a modern state are not limited to maintaining market order and remedying market failure, but also lie in guiding the direction of economic development through macro-governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized "adhering to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability," scientifically applying the balancing wisdom of "holding the two ends and using the middle." Consequently, range regulation, targeted regulation, and discretionary regulation have become more flexible and effective. Range regulation defines the goals of macro-control within a reasonable range; targeted regulation exerts precise force, carrying out specific adjustments for prominent problems in economic operations; and discretionary regulation flexibly adjusts policies according to changes in the economic situation. This embodies a governance realm of "reaching the great heights while exhausting the subtle details," promoting the better combination of an effective market and a capable government, and providing an important guarantee for further liberating and developing productive forces and solidly promoting high-quality development.
Innovating the guarantee system of "food as the priority of governance." Ancient China long held the understanding that "food is the first priority of governance." However, the traditional security system was constrained by the base of the small-peasant economy and technical conditions; its protection capacity was limited, and its role was mainly confined to famine relief. Marxism holds that the production of food is the primary condition for the survival of direct producers and all production. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we "must implement a national food security strategy that is self-centered, based domestically, ensures production capacity, involves moderate imports, and is supported by science and technology." By enhancing the resilience and stability of agricultural industrial and supply chains, strengthening the strategy of "storing grain in the land and in technology," and vigorously developing modern agriculture, he has highlighted the dialectical unity of traditional governance wisdom and modern governance capacity, providing solid support for high-quality economic development.
Smoothing the economic cycle of the "circulation of wealth and goods." The market is the basic platform for economic activity. Ancient Chinese people early on held the idea that "the market is where one can know order or disorder, and where one can know whether goods are many or few." The theoretical analytical frameworks of Marxist political economy regarding the economic cycle both emphasize the smooth flow of the economic cycle to promote the national economy in forming a virtuous, upward-spiraling development. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the construction of a unified national market, pointing out the need to "resolutely break down the bottlenecks and obstructions hindering the construction of a unified national market." Efforts are focused on promoting the unification of systems such as property rights protection, fair competition, and quality standards, breaking down barriers to the flow of factors, and clearing blockages in the flow of logistics, capital, and information. This promotes the transformation of traditional connectivity into institutional and systematic modern connectivity, striving to build a high-standard market system that is unified, open, competitive, orderly, well-regulated, and well-governed. This seeks to achieve the optimal allocation of resources, using the internal stability and long-term growth of the domestic cycle to hedge against the uncertainties of the international cycle.
Opening New Realms for Ecological Economic Development
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Chinese nation has always respected and loved nature. The Chinese civilization, stretching for over 5,000 years, nurtures a rich ecological culture." Rooted in the practice of ecological civilization construction in the New Era, Xi Jinping’s economic thought—through the creative combination of the Marxist ecological view and fine traditional Chinese ecological culture—has sublimated simple philosophical concepts into a systematic modern ecological economic theory. This has been transformed into a practical driving force to promote the development and growth of green productive forces, carving out a new path where ecology is prioritized and development is green. This provides a Chinese solution for breaking the old model in traditional developmental views where environmental protection and economic growth were in opposition.
Applying the holistic concept of "the unity of heaven and humanity." "The unity of heaven and humanity" (天人合一) constitutes the philosophical cornerstone of traditional Chinese ecological wisdom. The I Ching (Book of Changes) states, "The sage patterns his actions after the dao of heaven and earth, and assists in what is appropriate to heaven and earth," containing ecological wisdom that follows the laws of nature. Marxism considers the relationship between man and nature to be the most basic relationship of human society, revealing the dialectical unity between the two, which provides a scientific law of objective material circulation for the "unity of heaven and humanity." General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward important discourses such as "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [6] and "protecting the environment is protecting the productive forces." These embody both the "soul-vein" (魂脉) of the Marxist ecological view and the "root-vein" (根脉) of fine traditional Chinese ecological culture, such as "the unity of heaven and humanity" and "the harmonious growth of all things." By regarding the environment as a close partner sharing weal and woe with humanity, he has revealed the crucial significance of ecological civilization for developing a new form of human civilization. This breaks the pessimistic predictions of the "limits to growth" theory and transcends the narrow thinking of some Western environmentalisms that separate ecological protection from economic development, achieving a fundamental leap in the ecological economic outlook.
Developing the utilization principle of "taking with moderation." Fine traditional Chinese economic thought emphasizes "taking with moderation and using with limit." For instance, Mencius states: "If the seasons of agriculture be not interfered with, the grain will be more than can be eaten. If close nets are not allowed to enter the pools and ponds, the fishes and turtles will be more than can be consumed. If the axes and bills enter the hills and forests only at the proper time, the wood will be more than can be used." This reflects simple thoughts on sustainable development. Marxist political economy holds that natural resources, as objects of labor, are basic elements constituting productive forces. Xi Jinping’s economic thought uses Marxist political economy to activate the principle of "taking with moderation and using with limit" from fine traditional Chinese economic thought and applies it to contemporary practice, innovatively developing it into a green development path where ecological industrialization and industrial ecologization mutually promote one another. For example, facing the practical problem of how to implement protection during development in the Yangtze River basin, he clearly proposed "jointly engaging in great protection, not engaging in great development," leading the regions along the river onto the correct path of "protection during development and development during protection." This has transformed "taking with moderation and using with limit" into an operable and assessable regional collaborative governance plan, reflecting the systematic nature of overall planning on a grand spatial and temporal scale. This effectively corrects the backward concept that environmental protection and economic growth are an "either-or" proposition, promoting their mutual reinforcement and forming Chinese experience for accelerating the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces.
Activating New Momentum for Global Economic Growth
Since ancient times, Chinese civilization has upheld an open and inclusive attitude, actively conducting exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world, and making important contributions to the progress of human civilization. From the opening of the ancient Silk Road to the feat of Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Oceans, the pursuit of the ideal of "Great Harmony" (天下大同) [7] has been consistent throughout Chinese civilization. In today’s deeply developing economic globalization, Xi Jinping’s economic thought emphasizes mutual respect, equal cooperation, and mutual benefit, providing new ideas and solutions for solving global problems, promoting global economic growth, and advancing human social progress.
Carrying forward the long tradition of Chinese civilization’s opening to the outside world. The ancients said, "Trade is the way of mutual benevolence and the way of mutual benefit," reflecting the concept of opening up in ancient China. However, the traditional system of opening was limited by historical conditions; its degree of openness and institutional guarantees were limited, making it difficult to adapt to the needs of deeply developing economic globalization. Marxism discussed issues such as world trade and the world market in detail, explaining the essence, logic, and process of economic globalization, which laid the theoretical foundation for our understanding of economic globalization today. General Secretary Xi Jinping has coordinated the "two overall situations" [8], emphasizing "adhering to high-level opening to the outside world and accelerating the construction of a new development paradigm with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international dual cycles promoting each other." He has put forward a series of methodologies for promoting higher-level opening, promoting a better combination of "bringing in" and "going out." By implementing measures such as the independent customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port to create diverse types of "open highlands," flexibly and pragmatically expanding the network of economic and trade partnerships, and actively aligning with high-standard international economic and trade rules, the state is continuously releasing the dividends of institutional opening-up. This promotes better connectivity between the domestic and international markets, ensuring that China's door opens wider and wider, allowing China to achieve development and progress in international economic cooperation.
Manifesting the world sentiment of "the world belongs to the public." Ancient Chinese people long held the beautiful expectation that "when the Great Way prevails, the world belongs to the public," carrying out exchanges and cooperation through the way of interaction characterized by keeping one's word, cultivating harmony, and being kind to neighbors. With a forward-looking vision and a sentiment of concern for humanity, General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped the contemporary characteristics of universal connection and interdependence among all countries. He proposed the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, which develops the Marxist theory of world history and inherits fine traditional Chinese culture such as "Great Harmony" and "harmony among all nations." This profoundly answers the question of our times—"What is wrong with the world, and what should we do?"—emphasizing that countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures, and development levels share common interests, rights, and responsibilities in international affairs. China actively participates in global economic governance, carrying out extensive cooperation through mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative, injecting impetus into sustainable global economic development, providing new ideas and models for global economic governance, and joining hands with all countries in the world to create a better future.