Chen Jin: Continuously Advancing and Expanding Chinese Modernization (Earnestly Studying, Publicizing, and Implementing the Spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC)
The 20th National Congress of the CPC drew a grand blueprint for comprehensively building a modern socialist country and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, sounding the clarion call of the times for a forge-ahead journey on the new path. To firmly grasp the Party's missions and tasks on the new journey in the New Era, we must deeply understand and grasp the historical logic, innovative breakthroughs, Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and profound impact of Chinese-path modernization. We must continuously advance and expand Chinese-path modernization, striving in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and to comprehensively advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
At the opening of a workshop for newly-elected members and alternate members of the CPC Central Committee, as well as principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, focusing on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The summative proposal and in-depth exposition of the theory of Chinese-path modernization is a major theoretical innovation of the 20th National Congress and represents the latest major achievement of scientific socialism." The 20th National Congress drew a grand blueprint for comprehensively building a modern socialist country and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, sounding the clarion call of the times for a forge-ahead journey on the new path. To firmly grasp the Party's missions and tasks on the new journey in the New Era, we must deeply understand and grasp the historical logic, innovative breakthroughs, Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and profound impact of Chinese-path modernization, continuously advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization and striving in unity for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Deeply recognize the historical logic behind the formation of Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization is the result of long-term practical exploration by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people; it is a great and arduous undertaking. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, conducted painstaking explorations of socialist modernization. As early as the 1940s, Comrade Mao Zedong proposed: "We Communists must strive for China's industrialization" and "transform China from an agrarian country into an industrial one." After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Comrade Mao Zedong proposed and elaborated in detail on "China's path to industrialization." On this basis, our Party gradually formed the development strategy of the "Four Modernizations" [1]—namely, of industry, agriculture, national defense, and science and technology—setting specific and clear strategic goals for our country’s economic and social development. During the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, our Party based itself on national conditions while paying attention to global modernization trends, advancing with the times to summarize and reflect upon what modernization is and how to achieve it. In 1979, Comrade Deng Xiaoping proposed that the "Four Modernizations" we aimed to achieve were "Chinese-style modernization" [2]. In December of that year, while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira, Comrade Deng Xiaoping further noted: "Our concept of the Four Modernizations is not a concept of modernization like yours, but a 'moderate prosperity family' (xiaokang zhijia)." This is the origin of our "striving for xiaokang" [3] on the road of Chinese-path modernization, which allows for a more profound understanding of the historical logic of its formation.
Deeply recognize the intrinsic lynching between Chinese-path modernization and the comprehensive building of a xiaokang society. At the beginning of reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping used xiaokang to interpret Chinese-path modernization, clearly proposing the goal of "establishing a xiaokang society in China" by the end of the 20th century. We can understand its essential meaning from three aspects. First, the "Chinese-style modernization" proposed at that time was based on the national condition that China had a "thin foundation and too large a population." It opposed rash advancement and advocated for establishing development goals suited to China's conditions; it opposed the mechanical copying of Western experiences and advocated for following China's own path of development. Second, achieving socialist modernization is a long-term goal, while a xiaokang society is a phased objective within the realization of that long-term goal. Third, the proposal of the xiaokang society goal indicated that Chinese-path modernization pursues not only economic development, the elevation of industrial civilization, and material-technological progress, but also the improvement of the people’s living standards and spiritual civilization—that is, the comprehensive progress of society and the well-rounded development of the individual. Through long-term unremitting efforts, the goal of the people's lives generally reaching a xiaokang level was achieved as scheduled by the end of the 20th century. In 2002, the 16th National Congress of the CPC proposed the goal of comprehensively building a xiaokang society, marking the shift from "overall xiaokang" to "comprehensive xiaokang." Subsequently, the 17th National Congress put forward new requirements for achieving the goal of comprehensively building a xiaokang society; the 18th National Congress proposed the goal of finishing the building of a xiaokang society in all respects by 2020; and the 19th National Congress called for winning the decisive victory in building a xiaokang society in all respects, while drawing up the timetable and roadmap for comprehensively building a great modern socialist country.
Deeply recognize the innovative breakthroughs achieved in the continuous advancement and expansion of Chinese-path modernization. From "moderate prosperity family" to "xiaokang society," from "overall xiaokang" to "comprehensive xiaokang," and from "comprehensively building" to "comprehensively finishing the building"... In the practical struggle to build a xiaokang society in all respects, the Communist Party of China has continuously deepened its understanding of what a xiaokang society is and how to build it. This process of historical progress is also a process of expanding and deepening the connotation of Chinese-path modernization. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has moved forward on existing foundations, continuously achieving innovative breakthroughs in theory and practice, and successfully advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization. Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, established Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, achieving a new leap in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, and providing a fundamental guide for Chinese-path modernization. We have further deepened our understanding of the connotation and essence of Chinese-path modernization, summarized and formed its Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles, and preliminarily constructed a theoretical system for Chinese-path modernization, making it clearer, more scientific, and more perceptible and feasible. We have continuously refined our strategy, deeply implementing a series of major strategies such as the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the strategy on developing a quality workforce, and the rural revitalization strategy, providing solid strategic support for Chinese-path modernization. We have continuously enriched our practice, advancing a series of transformative practices, achieving a series of breakthrough developments, and attaining a series of landmark results. This has pushed the cause of the Party and the country to achieve historical achievements and undergo historical changes—especially eliminating absolute poverty and finishing the building of a xiaokang society in all respects—providing a more refined institutional guarantee, a more solid material foundation, and a more proactive spiritual force for Chinese-path modernization.
Deeply grasp the Chinese characteristics of Chinese-path modernization. The reason why our country's socialist modernization construction has been able to create such a favorable situation today lies fundamentally in the fact that our modernization is a socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. It possesses the common characteristics of modernization in all countries, but more importantly, it has Chinese characteristics based on our own national conditions. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a huge population. With more than 1.4 billion people moving into a modern society as a whole—a scale exceeding the combined population of all existing developed countries—the arduousness and complexity are unprecedented, and the development paths and methods of advancement must necessarily have their own characteristics. We must keep the future and destiny of our development firmly in our own hands, promoting Chinese-path modernization with greater historical patience and more strenuous efforts. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all. Common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Chinese-path modernization is a people-centered modernization that prevents polarization, rather than a capital-centered modernization lacking equity and justice; it insists on regarding the realization of the people’s aspirations for a better life as the starting point and ultimate goal of modernization. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement in coordination. We must not only continuously thicken the material foundation of modernization and consolidate the material conditions for the people's happy lives, but also vigorously develop advanced socialist culture, strengthen education in ideals and convictions, inherit Chinese civilization, and promote the comprehensive abundance of things and the well-rounded development of people. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature. By treating humanity and nature as a community of life, we correctly handle the relationship between development and protection, unswervingly following a path of civilized development featuring increased production, affluent living, and a sound political ecosystem [4], providing more high-quality ecological products to meet the people’s growing needs for a beautiful environment. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of peaceful development. Unlike the modernization of some countries in history that brought profound suffering to the people of developing countries through war, colonization, and plunder, Chinese-path modernization holds high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit. It advocates and actively promotes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, seeking its own development while resolutely maintaining world peace and development, and better maintaining world peace and development through its own development.
Deeply grasp the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly expounded the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization, providing a fundamental guide for comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization. We can understand and grasp these essential requirements from three aspects. The requirements to uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and to adhere to socialism with Chinese characteristics profoundly clarify from the perspective of historical experience and essential laws that Chinese-path modernization must persist in the Party's leadership and its socialist nature, pointing out the correct direction for its advancement. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest strength of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Without the leadership of the CPC, there would be no initiation or advancement of Chinese-path modernization, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation would be impossible. The Chinese-path modernization led by the CPC has always been a socialist modernization, formed and developed under the condition of adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Party's leadership and the socialist system are what fundamentally distinguish Chinese-path modernization from Western modernization. The requirements to achieve high-quality development, develop whole-process people’s democracy, enrich the people’s spiritual world, achieve common prosperity for all, and promote harmony between humanity and nature demonstrate that the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan," requiring the coordinated advancement of economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization construction. The requirements to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and to create a new form of human advancement reflect the lofty pursuit of Chinese-path modernization to "have the whole world in mind" (xiong huai tian xia) and its mission to provide a new choice for humanity to achieve modernization, establishing its historical positioning from the perspective of global significance and the development of civilization.
Deeply recognize the profound impact of Chinese-path modernization on the global process of modernization. Chinese-path modernization both fits China's reality and reflects the laws of socialist construction as well as the laws of human social development. Based on long-term exploration and practice since the founding of the People’s Republic, and especially since reform and opening up, and through innovative breakthroughs in theory and practice since the 18th National Congress, we have successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization. This has made China a "growth pole of global modernization" and profoundly influenced the world map of modernization, holding great significance for solving the difficult problems of human social development and advancing the process of human modernization. The Chinese characteristics of Chinese-path modernization highlight our confidence in our path, theory, system, and culture, while simultaneously overcoming the defects of Western modernization in both theory and practice. The modernization of Western capitalist countries inherently contains limitations that the capitalist system itself cannot overcome. This capital-driven modernization, while bringing economic and social development, has also caused a series of problems such as the gap between rich and poor, polarization, and spiritual emptiness. Chinese-path modernization adheres to a people-centered approach, taking the promotion of common prosperity for all as its goal, promoting both the comprehensive abundance of material things and the well-rounded development of the individual. This embodies the essential requirements of socialism and transcends the limitations of capitalist modernization. Chinese-path modernization is a major innovation in global modernization theory and practice, a major contribution to the progress of human civilization, and contributes Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the cause of human peace and development. Chinese-path modernization breaks the myth that "modernization equals Westernization," presents another picture of modernization, and expands the path choices for developing countries to move toward modernization, providing great encouragement and enlightenment to those countries and nations in the world that wish to speed up their development while maintaining their independence.
In short, Chinese-path modernization is a modernization led, initiated, and promoted by the Communist Party of China; it is a modernization that adheres to and develops socialism with Chinese characteristics. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism and not any other "ism"; Chinese-path modernization is socialist modernization led by the CPC and not any other kind of modernization. From the perspective of the historical process, Chinese-path modernization and socialism with Chinese characteristics have been advanced and expanded in an integrated manner. The Chinese characteristics and essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization embody the scientific connotation of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has been the theme of all the Party's theory and practice since reform and opening up, and Chinese-path modernization reflects this theme. Adhering to socialism with Chinese characteristics profoundly reflects the basic nature and development direction of Chinese-path modernization. Upholding the leadership of the CPC is the most prominent advantage of Chinese-path modernization and a major principle that must be adhered to in its advancement. In the process of leading and promoting Chinese-path modernization, our Party has always adhered to its correct direction, insisted on the principal position of the people, and clarified the goals, tasks, and priorities of Chinese-path modernization in different historical periods. It has continuously deepened its understanding of the laws governing Chinese-path modernization, pushing it to new stages and new heights in the historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.