Zhang Yuyan et al.: Major Theoretical Innovations in Xi Jinping's Economic Thought on Economic Globalization
Xi Jinping Economic Thought creatively proposes important ideas for promoting the healthy development of economic globalization. It provides scientific theoretical guidance and a practical path for steering economic globalization toward a more open, inclusive, balanced, and win-win direction, as well as for improving the global economic governance system. Furthermore, it offers a conceptual framework and a basis for action to create a favorable external environment for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and to enhance global economic governance capacities.
I. Innovative Development of Marxist Political Economy
Rooted in the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, Xi Jinping Economic Thought creatively inherits and innovatively develops Marxist political economy, representing a form of Marxist political economy with distinct characteristics of the age and practical features. Facing the world's changes unseen in a century [1], the theories on economic globalization within Xi Jinping Economic Thought further extend, expand, and innovate the theoretical and academic traditions of Marxist political economy and world economics; they also provide a scientific diagnosis and critique of the problems arising from existing neoliberal economic globalization. Addressing the deficits in peace, development, governance, and trust present in today's world, General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly revealed a series of defects and their root causes caused by neoliberal economic globalization from the perspective of Marxist political economy.
The innovative development of the Marxist theory of the world market. Marxist theory on the world market posits that with the continuous expansion of demand, the exchange of commodities and the sphere of exchange will expand into a world market. History thus moves from the history of nations to world history, where "demand gradually loses its local character... and the products of various countries increasingly enter the consumption of the inhabitants of one country or another." Xi Jinping Economic Thought has produced a brand-new summation of the characteristics and development trends of the world market under new historical conditions, proposing the proposition that "integrating into the world economy is the major historical direction." From the perspective of China's own practice, for the economy to develop, one must have the courage to swim in the vast ocean of the world market. Practice has proven that bravely stepping toward the world market is a correct strategic choice. Facing the trend of "de-globalization" [2], General Secretary Xi Jinping adheres to the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, pointing out that "any attempt to artificially cut off the flow of capital, technology, products, industries, and people between countries, and to turn the ocean of the world economy back into isolated small lakes and rivers, is impossible and runs counter to the trend of history." The world market is not perfect, and economic globalization will bring concomitant problems. But problems are not to be feared; what is fearsome is not daring to face problems or failing to find a way to solve them. Facing the opportunities and challenges brought by economic globalization, the correct choice is to make full use of all opportunities, cooperate to meet all challenges, and properly guide the direction of economic globalization, rather than negating economic globalization itself.
The innovative development of Marxist theories of productive forces and relations of production. Marxism holds that material productive forces are the material prerequisite for all social life, and the sum total of the relations of production corresponding to a certain stage of the development of the productive forces constitutes the economic base of society. Productive forces are the most active and revolutionary element promoting social progress. Productive forces determine the relations of production, and relations of production are "independent of human will"; the economic base determines the superstructure, which includes politics, law, ideology, and other aspects. Xi Jinping Economic Thought applies classical Marxist theory to the international level, pointing out that profound changes have occurred in the balance of international economic power. The contribution rate of emerging markets and developing countries to global economic growth far exceeds that of developed countries, yet the global governance system—which represents the superstructure of the international system—has failed to reflect this new landscape, and its representativeness and inclusiveness are seriously insufficient. As representatives of emerging markets and developing countries, the total economic volume of the BRICS countries [3] calculated at market exchange rates in 2021 was equivalent to 57.7% of the total economic volume of the Group of Seven (G7). However, to date, the BRICS countries hold only about 14% of the voting power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while G7 members hold about 42%. General Secretary Xi Jinping's major judgment regarding the contradictory relationship between the economic base and the superstructure at the international level in the current era has laid a solid theoretical foundation for the reform of the global economic governance system.
The innovative development of Marxist development theory. Marxism pursues the free and comprehensive development of the individual, while emphasizing that the production and development of material goods are the prerequisite and foundation for such development. The theory of economic globalization in Xi Jinping Economic Thought is grounded in China's development practice. it adheres to the people-centered development philosophy and emphasizes solving the current serious problems of insufficient and unbalanced global development through cooperative development, open development, and shared development. This provides a brand-new choice for developing countries to achieve modernization. As Marx critiqued, under the capitalist social formation, the dependence on things merely replaced the personal dependence of pre-capitalist social formations; this also caused developed countries with advantages in material technology to become objects of dependency for developing countries lacking such advantages. Traditional Western development theories were mainly established on the basis of a relationship where developing countries follow or depend upon developed countries. Over several centuries, the process of human modernization led by the West accelerated the accumulation of advanced modernization factors while simultaneously accelerating the accumulation of backward factors. In the process of national rejuvenation since modern times, China has, through arduous and tortuous exploration, blazed a new path to modernization different from that of the West. The pioneered Chinese-path modernization provides a new choice for the modernization cause and the future destiny of all humankind, pushing Marxist development theory to a new frontier. General Secretary Xi Jinping summarized the distinct features of Chinese-path modernization as: a massive population, common prosperity for all, coordination between material and cultural-ethical Chu-material advancement [4], harmony between humanity and nature, and following the path of peaceful development. These five aspects contain the endogenous power of Chinese-path modernization and serve as a remedy for the chronic ailments of Western-led modernization. Only by promoting the construction of the superstructure of a community with a shared future for humanity can we encourage and accommodate more rapid technological progress on a global scale. On this basis, we can achieve a more productive and inclusive economic globalization, overcome resource constraints that are becoming increasingly tight, produce larger-scale and fairly shareable material and spiritual products, and continuously push the modernization level of economic and social development to new heights, offering a bright future for all humankind.
II. Conceptual Innovation Leading the Development of Economic Globalization
Xi Jinping Economic Thought is a theoretical system that stands from the perspective of all humankind and solves the practical problems facing humanity, highlighting a moral purpose of concern for all humankind. An important characteristic of the theory of economic globalization in Xi Jinping Economic Thought is the embedding of value elements into global politico-economic relations, occupying the international moral high ground. This is centrally reflected in important ideas such as promoting the common values of all humankind and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity. In a world characterized by diversity of civilizations, plurality of values, and variability of demands, the common values of all humankind highlight the shared aspirations of all people for a better life and provide correct value guidance for building a community with a shared future for humanity. It is the Chinese solution to the questions of our times, such as "Where is the world going? Peace or war? Development or recession? Openness or closure? Cooperation or confrontation?"
Promoting the common values of all humankind. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized on many important international occasions that peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom are the common values of all humankind. Peace and development are the foundations for the in-depth development of economic globalization and the resolution of global problems, and are necessary conditions for countries to achieve common prosperity. Equity and justice mean that in international cooperation, we should promote mutual respect, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation, so that the fruits of development benefit all humankind. Democracy and freedom are important mainstays for practicing true multilateralism and promoting the democratization of international relations. While respecting the diversity of world civilizations, the common values of all humankind highlight the consensus among civilizations, serving as the "greatest common divisor" for dialogue between civilizations. This transcends the theoretical limitations of Western countries promoting so-called "universal values" based on their own experiences and serves as the value foundation for promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity.
Building a community with a shared future for humanity. Promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity—and building a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, cleanliness, and beauty—is the Chinese solution proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping with an eye toward the common development of all humankind. It is an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization and has become a distinct banner leading the trend of economic globalization and the direction of human progress. Currently, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is profound, the trend of de-globalization is rising, unilateralism and protectionism are increasing significantly, the recovery of the world economy is sluggish, local conflicts and turbulence occur frequently, and global problems are intensifying. The deficits in peace, development, security, and governance are worsening, and human society faces unprecedented challenges. People of all countries have realized more deeply that humanity has become a community with a shared future where we rise and fall together. Building a community with a shared future for humanity is a historical necessity of world development. To build such a community, we must persist in cooperation rather than confrontation, openness rather than closure, and mutual benefit rather than zero-sum games. We should look after the legitimate concerns of other countries while pursuing our own interests, and promote global common development while seeking our own development. For example, Juncao technology [5] is an original technology for which China holds completely independent intellectual property rights. It has opened a new path for eliminating poverty, promoting high-efficiency resource recycling, and advancing sustainable development. General Secretary Xi Jinping once remarked: "After I became Vice President, I continued to promote Juncao in the South Pacific, Africa, and South America. Now this technology has taken root in more than 100 countries, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs locally." Under China's vigorous promotion, Juncao technology has made active contributions to the global cause of poverty reduction, especially for underdeveloped countries. Juncao has now become a "grass of happiness" benefiting humanity. These vivid cases profoundly reflect the consciousness of a community with a shared future for humanity within the Chinese solution, providing strong practical support for building such a community.
Practicing the global governance outlook of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that with the development of the times, the current global governance system is increasingly unsuitable, and the international community's call for its transformation is growing louder. Transforming the global governance system is the common business of the international community. We must adhere to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, transforming propositions for global governance reform into consensus and collective action among all parties. Extensive consultation (共商) means pooling wisdom and discussing matters of common interest together, taking into account the interests and concerns of all parties and reflecting their wisdom and creativity. Joint contribution (共建) means each country playing to its strengths and doing its best, giving full play to the advantages and potential of all parties, and persisting over the long term to "gather sand into a pagoda and accumulate water into an abyss" [6]. Shared benefits (共享) means letting the fruits of construction benefit the people of all countries more fairly, creating a community of interests and a community of destiny. Under the guidance of this global governance outlook, China actively practices true multilateralism. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "The world needs true multilateralism. All countries should act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and cannot engage in unilateralism or hegemonism, nor can they use the name of multilateralism to form 'small circles' or engage in ideological confrontation." True multilateralism means persisting in openness and inclusiveness rather than closure and exclusion; persisting in international law as the basis rather than self-centeredness; persisting in consultation and cooperation rather than conflict and confrontation; and advancing with the times rather than being stuck in one's ways. Practicing true multilateralism means adhering to the core values and basic principles of multilateralism and maintaining the basic norms of international relations with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as its cornerstone.
Uphold a correct conception of righteousness and profit. As a responsible major power, China is a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. At the opening ceremony of the 2017 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Jointly Shoulder Responsibility of Our Times, Promote Global Development," emphasizing the shared responsibility of humanity in the face of difficulties. The correct conception of righteousness and profit—defined by General Secretary Xi Jinping as "putting righteousness first and balancing righteousness with profit"—provides guidance for major powers to assume their due responsibilities and obligations in the process of economic globalization. The correct conception of righteousness and profit is a diplomatic concept for a major power with Chinese characteristics; it serves as the value-based guide for China to handle the dialectical relationship between its own developmental interests and global developmental interests. At the moral level, this conception reflects China's advocacy for firmly following the path of peaceful development, actively fulfilling international responsibilities, maintaining the equality of all nations, and opposing hegemonism, forming the international moral foundation for promoting a new type of international relations. At the level of interests, it advocates for mutual benefit, win-win results, and common development, while opposing zero-sum games. The correct conception of righteousness and profit especially emphasizes "putting righteousness first" and "giving more while taking less" [7] in cooperation with developing countries, demonstrating China’s responsibility as a major power in promoting global common development. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China actively participated in formulating and fully implementing the G20 "Debt Service Suspension Initiative" (DSSI) for the poorest countries, becoming the G20 member that implemented the largest amount of debt relief. At the 2022 Coordinators' Meeting on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China announced it would waive 23 interest-free loans for 17 African countries that had matured by the end of 2021. China's measures in debt reduction and suspension have become a vivid case of practicing the correct conception of righteousness and profit.
III. Highlighting the Chinese Characteristics of Economic Globalization Theory
Xi Jinping’s economic thought emphasizes exchange and mutual learning with Western economic theories, discarding [8] the outmoded elements of Western economic globalization theory while highlighting Chinese characteristics. In terms of concepts, systems, institutions, and policies, Xi Jinping’s economic thought regarding economic globalization differs from the theoretical traditions of Western-dominated international trade and international economics. It fully reflects China's practical experience in participating in economic globalization and highlights the Chinese character and imprint. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes mutual learning between different civilizations and the diversity of paths toward modernization. Past economic globalization was primarily led by the US and the West, with a relatively singular development model; however, the new round of economic globalization is more likely to be a model in which multiple civilizations participate or lead together. Against this backdrop, the relevant theoretical innovations in Xi Jinping’s economic thought are concentrated in promoting the construction of a pluralistic path to modernization.
Promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. The creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture is a powerful support for telling China's story well to the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Fine traditional Chinese culture is the crystallization and essence of the wisdom of Chinese civilization, the root and soul of the Chinese nation, and the foundation upon which we stand firm amidst the turbulence of world cultures." Concepts in fine traditional Chinese culture such as "when the Great Way prevails, the world is shared by all" (dadao zhi xing ye, tianxia wei gong), "harmony among all nations" (xiehe wanbang), and "harmony without uniformity" (he er bu tong) [9] contain the unique perceptions of traditional Chinese culture regarding the international system. Concepts such as "all within the four seas are brothers," "observing the humanistic spirit to transform and perfect the world," "regarding all people as one's kin and all things as one’s kind" (minbao wuyu) [10], and "establishing oneself to help others succeed" offer traditional cultural support for building a community with a shared future for humanity. Furthermore, ideas like "harmony is the most precious," "valuing sincerity and cultivating amity," "being kind to neighbors," and "turning shields and spears into silks and satins" [11] manifest the cultural genes of the Chinese people who prize peace and harmony. The theoretical innovation of Xi Jinping’s economic thought on economic globalization emphasizes activating the vitality of fine traditional Chinese culture with the spirit of the times, ensuring it better serves society and humanity through civilization exchanges and mutual learning.
Integrating the rich practice of China's participation in the process of economic globalization. For a long time, many theories regarding economic globalization were formed and developed based on the concepts and practices of Western countries, lacking due attention to the non-Western world and rarely understanding the essence of economic globalization from a non-Western perspective. As an important promoter of economic globalization, China has achieved great developmental success and accumulated rich practical experience through its positive interaction with the world. In the course of China’s practice, many phenomena that have occurred or are still occurring are difficult to explain reasonably through Western theories; many questions require us to provide original answers. Xi Jinping’s economic thought fully taps the significant value of Chinese experience for theoretical innovation, comprehensively displaying distinct Chinese characteristics. Regarding the current features of economic globalization, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the important judgment that "we are facing a profound transformation in the process of economic globalization." He noted: "In past decades, economic globalization has made significant contributions to world economic development and has become an irreversible trend of the times. At the same time, facing developments in the situation, economic globalization is confronting new adjustments in its form and content. Conceptually, it should focus more on openness and inclusiveness; in terms of direction, it should focus more on benefit-sharing and balance; and in terms of effect, it should focus more on justice and win-win results." The huge shocks brought to the world by the 2008 international financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020 show that to guide the healthy development of economic globalization, it is necessary to strengthen coordination, improve governance, and promote the construction of an open, inclusive, balanced, and win-win economic globalization. China's proposal for economic globalization contributes Chinese experience to other countries’ participation in globalization and provides a brand-new choice for other countries to advance their modernization processes.
Elucidating the practical logic of leading economic globalization with the new development landscape. In recent years, along with changes in the external environment and our country's factor endowments, the momentum of the "international great circulation"—where both markets and resources are "on the outside"—has significantly weakened. Conversely, the potential of China's domestic demand is being continuously released, and the vitality of the "domestic great circulation" is becoming increasingly robust, creating an objective trend where one waxes as the other wanes. Facing a more complex and severe external environment, China has maintained its strategic resolve, prioritizing its own interests and using the certainty of reform, opening up, and its own development to offset external uncertainties. It has converted external pressure into the driving force for reform and opening up and is advancing reform and opening up comprehensively. At the same time, benefiting from the strong internal drive of deepening reform and opening up, China is pushing for the market to play the decisive role in resource allocation while better utilizing the role of government. We are continuously stimulating the vitality and creativity of market entities, improving the business environment, and shifting the drive for development from factor-driven to innovation-driven, and the mode of development from scale expansion to high-quality development. To adapt to the changes in our country's developmental stage, environment, and conditions, General Secretary Xi Jinping made the strategic deployment to accelerate the construction of a new development landscape with the domestic great circulation as the mainstay and the domestic and international dual circulations reinforcing each other. In the process of constructing the new development landscape, we must implement the new development philosophy fully, accurately, and comprehensively, adhere to the direction of socialist market economy reform, persist in high-level opening up, and continuously enhance the endogenous drive and reliability of the domestic great circulation while improving the quality and level of the international circulation.
IV. Achieving Chinese Autonomy in the Knowledge System of Economic Globalization
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, in the final analysis, about building a Chinese autonomous knowledge system. The goal of theoretical innovation in Xi Jinping’s economic thought regarding economic globalization is to establish a Chinese autonomous knowledge system on the subject. Through the construction and perfection of this system, these theoretical innovations will contribute Chinese wisdom to the resolution of major practical problems such as the global governance deficit.
Achieving Chinese autonomy at the production level of the economic globalization knowledge system. The original, hallmark concepts proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping—such as the new form of human civilization, the correct conception of righteousness and profit, true multilateralism, the global governance view of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, a community with a shared future for humanity, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Security Initiative—have provided a brilliant demonstration and laid a solid foundation for China’s autonomous theoretical innovation and knowledge production regarding economic globalization. We must take these hallmark concepts as the cornerstone, base ourselves on Chinese reality, and continuously promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. We must advance innovation in knowledge, theory, and method, so that philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, including the theory of economic globalization, can truly stand tall among the world's academic achievements. The key is to extract premises, create core concepts, form theoretical propositions, test Chinese experience, and solidify Chinese values from fine traditional Chinese culture and the great practices of the contemporary era—especially the New Era—forming an economic globalization knowledge system with Chinese characteristics and imprints in the process of assisting national rejuvenation and promoting human progress.
Achieving Chinese autonomy at the command level of the economic globalization knowledge system. "The stone from another mountain can be used to polish one's own jade." [12] Economic globalization theory itself did not originate in China. The theoretical discourses on economic globalization in Xi Jinping’s economic thought involve both original aspects and the synthesis of existing knowledge. It is necessary not only to have a masterful grasp of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s original concepts, theories, and their subtle applications but also to possess a more comprehensive, systematic, and profound understanding of the existing knowledge system of economic globalization. This enables us to freely command and autonomously apply this knowledge to understand and transform the world, achieving the maximum effect in promoting the development of global productive forces and the improvement of relations of production.
Achieving Chinese autonomy at the sharing level of the economic globalization knowledge system. The theories on economic globalization in Xi Jinping’s economic thought come from China's practice, but their effects will benefit the whole world. They offer a brand-new choice for explaining and transforming the world for those countries and nations that wish to accelerate development while maintaining their own independence. We must utilize the unique role of philosophy and social sciences in bridging Chinese and foreign cultures and increasing civilized exchange, disseminating the Chinese voice, Chinese theory, and Chinese thought regarding economic globalization theory, making active contributions to building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Empowering global governance with a Chinese autonomous knowledge system of economic globalization. This autonomous knowledge system will provide powerful theoretical armament for global governance aimed at solving global problems. Facing the issues of closed and fragmented trade and investment rules in the process of economic globalization, President Xi Jinping proposed initiatives to strengthen supply chain cooperation and promote trade, investment, and sustainable development through the Belt and Road Initiative and cooperation platforms like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Facing the instability of the international financial safety net, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that all countries should strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination. Major developed countries should adopt responsible economic policies to avoid negative spillover effects. At the same time, we must clearly oppose the politicization and weaponization of the world economy and oppose certain countries' wanton use of their dominant position in the international financial and monetary system to impose sanctions. Facing the lack of action in addressing climate change, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that ecological protection and economic development are dialectically unified and complementary. Building an ecological civilization and promoting green, low-carbon, and circular development can not only meet the people's growing need for a beautiful environment but also promote higher-quality, more efficient, more equitable, more sustainable, and safer development, blazing a trail for a civilization characterized by developed production, affluent life, and a sound ecosystem.