Basics of the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (Qin Xuan, Xu Hongzhi)

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Basics of the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
Author	Qin Xuan, Xu Hongzhi
Translated by	Yang Xu from Chinese
Publisher	Canut International Publishers
First published	2018-01-15
Type	Book
Source	https://archive.org/details/basics-of-the-theoretical-system-of-socialism-with-chinese-characteristics

Acknowledgements

The book we present is written by the most prominent researchers of Marxism in China, and reviewed by Qin Xuan and Xu Zhihong the two se- nior scholars of Renmin University. In 14 chapters they have demonstrated the most important component parts of the CPC’s socialism building con- cept in the Chinese particlarity, which is a meta-system theory, with inter- related sub-theories. At the time when Deng Xiaoping proposed this new concept which emphasized Chinese particularity, he has added new mean- ings to it, when compared with Mao Zedong’s understanding of applying Marxism to Chinese conditions: he strived to thoroughly revise the preva- lent concepts of socialism building and open a new chapter in the history of socialist movement in regards, how to define and build socialism in China. It was a tremendously hard task, when the trials in the eastern European countries were still in development and exploration, especially when the Soviet model of socialism building established by Stalin was deemed as the only universally applicable one, except the Yugoslavian model. The CPC when choosing this term has given a clear signal that each socialist or com- munist party should better determine its own path in building socialism, and external interference wouldn’t be favorable.

The meta-theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics has been grad- ually improved with the development of social practice and times, and is still in development, but its essence and ultimate goal remain the same. It has made great breakthroughs in the cognition of socialism and socialism building and in the aspect of how socialism relates with capitalism and how it step by step dialectically sublates it.

This academically processed but easily readable book will give the read- er a comprehensive understanding of this theory and enable them to com- pare the previous cognition of socialism and socialism building with the current one.

Editor's Note

In 2007, the 17" National Congress of the Communist Party of China has made clear that our party will persist in following the important stra- i tegic thought of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of the i ‘Three Represents’ and the Scientific Concept of Development which was formed by theoretical and practical innovation, generally referred to as the “Theoretical System of Chinese Socialism” and stressed: the report stated: “In contemporary China, to stay true to Marxism means to adhere [| to the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” Since = the 17" National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the | CPC Central Committee has done a scientific deployment of how to cul- tivate the builders and successors who will hold high the cause of social- ism with Chinese characteristics and on how to use theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, to educate the leaders of the youth across the country. The high-level Office for The Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project pays meticulous and consistent efforts to prepare all kinds of cognitive learning materials, which will reflect and expound on the brand new academic achievements attained in the study of Chinese Marxism. Among them, the textbook “Mao Zedong Thought and The Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” has been a unique work which has been highly praised by readers from all walks of people, promising young people including college students. By courtesy of the ministry of education, colleges and universities across the country have made great contributions and achievements in transform- ing the rich contents of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics into teaching materials, a part of which can be utilized in schools. This book—The Basics of the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics—we present to readers was prepared by the most prominent scholars of the subject from the Marxism School of the Renmin University of China especially designed for college students. Throughout the writing and editing of this book, we have both enjoyed the advantage of certain comprehension basis, and a certain degree of difficulty, certain com- prehension basis as an advantage, firstly because we had already edited the “Introduction to Deng Xiaoping Theory”, “Introduction to the Important Thought of Three Represents”, since their publication in 2003, the titles were re-published for dozens of times, and the aggregate print of them has nearly reached 3 million, most of which have reached the readers. Secondly, the writers of this textbook are all in the front line of teaching and research, they have a certain degree of research accretion on the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and have abundant teaching experi- ence on the subject. Thirdly, the academic community has made abundant research on “Deng Xiaoping Theory”, and on the “Important Thought of Three Represents” and also on “The Scientific Concept of Development” and other major strategic thoughts, which are component parts of the theo- retical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and have produced numerous precious research results. These above favorable conditions have laid a virtuous foundation in the writing and editing of this book.

We have faced a certain degree of difficulty, firstly because the theoreti- cal system of socialism with Chinese characteristics still encounters enrich- ment and perfection. The academic circles have different understandings of its theme, its historical starting point, main content and the logical structure of this theoretical system. There still exist differences in the understanding and interpretation of many major issues regarding it. Secondly, we have encountered a considerable difficulties, as in the following, how to break through the previous framework of Deng Xiaoping Theory and unify the three strategic thoughts of —Deng Xiaoping Theory, Important Thought of Three Represents, and The Scientific Concept of Development—and inte- grate them into one and same book, because all the three not only represent major theoretical achievements having their own unique characteristics, but also have succession and development relations among them, besides they follow the same strain and have included successive times character- istics. Thirdly, since the 17 National Congress of the CPC, our party’s understanding on the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese charac- teristics was further deepened, and many new propositions have been put forward. As Comrade Hu Jintao in his speech at the commemoration of the 90" anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, has put forward and summarized a new conception of “the socialist system with Chinese characteristics”, also the 6" Plenary Session of the 17" Central Committee of the CPC put forward the proposition of “the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics.” Regarding these new propositions, the academic community also lacks in-depth research, our un- derstanding is not accurate, yet, which is also a major problem encountered in the preparation of teaching materials. The textbook is the crystallization of collective wisdom, including the designing of its outline, the final draft to be published has been the result of collective deliberation.Scholars from the School of Marxism ‘attached to Renmin University of China who have contributed to this book include Prof. Xu Zhihong (edited Chapter II and V), Prof. Qin Xuan (Chapter I and VID), Prof. Yang Fengcheng (Chapter XI and XIV), Prof. Huang Jifeng (Chapter II and [X), Prof. Wang Xiangming (Chapter VIII and X), Prof. Qi Pengfei (Chapter XII and XIII), Prof. Zhang Xin (Chapter IV, and VI).

The book was finally reviewed. by Professor Xu Zhihong and Professor Qin Xuan. We are grateful to Prof. He Yaomin, the President of the Renmin University Press, and Prof. Zhou Weihua, the editor-in-chief of the Renmin University Press, who have paid great attention to the to the compilation and publication, and to Guo Xiaoming, the head of the public administra- tion department, who has paid a lot of hard work for this book. Our starting point and innermost desire has been preparing a comprehensive and ac- curate book that will comprehensively and accurately reflect the theoreti- cal system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Objectively speaking, such a complex work can never be perfect, cannot avoid certain shortcom- ings and deficiencies. We sincerely welcome criticism, from all quarters, including all aspects, so that we can make it more perfect in future editions.

Formation and Development of the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

Social and historical conditions behind the formation of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics

First, the historical basis: evaluating the positive and negative aspects of socialist construction experiences

The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is formed and developed on the basis of the Party’s summarizing and absorb- ing the historical experience of our socialist development and drawing les- sons from other socialist countries. Since the beginning of the new period, our Party has attached great importance to the summary of historical expe- rience. In the 3 Plenary Session of the 11% CPC Central Committee, the Party seriously summed up the positive and negative experiences, drew lessons from the “Cultural Revolution”, restored the ideological line of Marxism, and resolutely made the major historical choice of transferring the work center of the Party and the state to the economic construction and carrying out the reform and opening up. The 6" Plenary Session of the 11" CPC Central Committee adopted The Resolution on Some Historical Issues of the Party Since the Founding of the PRC through which the Party conscientiously cleared up major historical rights and wrongs and adhered to and inherited all the positive achievements made by our Party in the practice of the long-term socialist construction, marking the completion of the Party’s bringing order out of chaos in the ideological line, political line and organizational line. In the process of reform and opening up and modernization construction, our Party earnestly draws lessons from other

countries, especially the Soviet union, eastern Europe and other socialist countries, which provides an important reference for the better develop- ment of the socialism with Chinese characteristics. As Deng Xiaoping said: if there was no profound summarization of historical experience and les- sons, “It would be impossible to formulate the ideological line, the basic line, politics, organizational lines and a series of policies we have estab- lished since the 3 Plenary Session of the 11% CPC Central Committee.”'

It can be said that the development and expansion of the socialist path with -

Chinese characteristics and the formation and development of the theoreti- cal system of socialism with Chinese characteristics are inseparable from our Party’s adeptness and efforts in summing up and absorbing the positive and negative experiences.

Second, the basis of establishment: Basic national conditions of China in the primary stage of socialism

Accurately grasping the basic national conditions of the primary stage of socialism in China is the fundamental starting point for our Party to promote the theoretical innovation and formulate the correct line, guideline and policy. In the 13 CPC National Congress, the Party expounded the is- sue of the primary stage of socialism in a systematic way and emphasized the need to fully understand the long-term, arduous and complex nature of the socialist construction and to constantly enhance the consciousness of starting from the reality that China is in the primary stage of socialism. This issue was reiterated in the 14", 15" and 16 CPC National Congress which stressed that we should not proceed from the subjective wishes, from the various foreign modes, but from the biggest reality that China is in the primary stage of socialism in doing things, making decisions and thinking about issues.

It was further emphasized in the 17" CPC National Congress that the basic national conditions of our country that it is still in the primary stage of socialism and the principal contradiction between the increasing mate- rial and cultural needs of the people and the backward social production remain unchanged. We shall recognize this basic national condition, grasp the phase characteristics of the century and new phase, and take it as the fundamental basis of advancing the reform and planning the development. It can be said that during the reform and opening up for more than 30 years, our Party’s theory, line, guideline and policy are correct and play a huge role in promoting the social development and progress in practice because they are based on the realities of the primary stage of socialism and on the sober understanding and accurate grasp of the basic national conditions and stage characteristics of this primary stage.

Third, the realistic basis: the party leadership sets things right and starts the vivid practice of opening-up and modernization

Reform and opening up is the main theme of contemporary China, the only way to develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, and also the important foundation for the development of the theoretical system of so- cialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the reform and opening up for more than 30 years, the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese char- acteristics has deepened and enriched with the deepening practice. From the rural reform to urban reform, from the economic system reform to various system reforms, from the establishment of the special economic zone and the opening of the coastal cities to the opening of the inland border cities, the cities along the river and the provincial capitals, from the proposal of the planned commodity economy to the establishment of the socialist market economy, from grasping the two links of material civilization and spiritual civilization to comprehensively promoting the modernization construction in accordance with the “Four-in-one” overall layout, and from strengthen- ing and improving the Party’s leadership to comprehensively promoting the new great project of the Party’s construction, our Party has continuously studied and resolved the new contradictions and problems in advancement and vested the new connotations of the age and practical requirements in the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It can be said that whenever the reform and opening up advances by one step, our Party’s understanding of socialism with Chinese characteristics can be deepened and the enrichment and development of this theoretical system can be pro- moted. The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is vigorous because it is the scientific theory rooted in the great practice of the reform and opening up.

Fourth, the source of power was the rich and creative experience of the people

Insisting on summarizing experience and absorbing wisdom from the vivid practice of the people is an important way to develop the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Deng Xiaoping said that many things in the reform and opening up were put forward by the masses in practice and embodied the wisdom of the masses. Jiang Zemin said that a good solution does not fall from heaven nor is it inherent in our minds, in the final analysis correct theories come from the people’s practice of creat- ing history. Hu Jintao pointed out: “Respecting the people’s practice and drawing ideological nutrition from the people’s great creation and elevating it to a theoretical form are the inexhaustible sources of our party’s theoreti- cal innovation.”

Much of the experience in reform and innovation during the past more Section II than 30 years of reform and opening up has come from the grassroots level and the masses of people. Our Party has always been adhering to the Marxist ideological line “from the masses, to the masses”, enthusiastically support- ing, encouraging, protecting and guiding the great creation of the people, : and profoundly summing up the practical experience of the people, from : First, the preliminary exploration of the path of socialism with which the laws of the socialist modernization construction can be mastered : Chinese characteristics by the CPC

and the Marxist theoretical innovation can be constantly promoted. It can be said that the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is formed and developed due to our party’s effort to closely rely on the people, widely mobilize the people’s enthusiasm, initiative and creativity and gather strength and wisdom from the people.

Fifth, the background: the profound changes in the international situation and the new trends in world development China has experienced a long process of exploration, choice and struggle before embarking on the socialist path

Since the 1970s, great changes have taken place in the whole world, and the intensity and profundity of these changes is far beyond the expectation. The most significant change is that peace and development have become the theme of the times, the trend of world multi-polarization and economic globalization has developed in an accelerating way, and the competition in the comprehensive national strength is becoming increasingly fierce. In particular, the new science and technology revolution and the following wide applications of the great science and technology discoveries and inventions have promoted the unprecedented profound changes in production mode, way of life and economic society all over the world and also unprecedented major changes in the global economic pattern, interest pattern and security pattern. In the face of such profound and major changes our Party should constantly emancipate the mind and vigorously promote theoretical innovation and then the new development of the cause so as to better solve the new issues and meet the new challenges raised by the times and usher in new situations for the development of the party and the people. It can be said that the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, including Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of “Three Represents”, the scientific outlook on development and other ma- jor strategic thoughts, is formed and developed on the basis of our Party’s effort to follow the world development trend, draw on the experience and lessons from the ups and downs of other countries and critically absorb all the civilization achievements created by human society.

Stages in the development of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics

First, the preliminary exploration of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics by the CPC

It is pointed out in the 17 CPC National Congress that the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the scientific theoreti- cal system that includes Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of “Three Represents”, the scientific outlook on development and other major strategic thoughts.

China has experienced a long process of exploration, choice and struggle before embarking on the socialist path. Since modern times, the Chinese nation has faced two historical tasks: one is to seek the national independence and people’s liberation; the other is to realize the national prosperity and mighty and people’s affluence. After the opium war, China was reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country. In order to save the nation from peril, the Chinese people made a long-term exploration and strenuous struggle, including the Westernization Movement, the Hundred Days’ Reform, Taiping Rebellion led by Hong Xiuquan, the Boxer Rebellion and the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen, which all ended in failure. And the social nature of China as a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society and the people’s miserable fate remain unchanged, for which a fundamental reason is that no scientific theoretical guidance is provided. The advanced Chinese have tried various ideological weapons in order to seek the way of saving the country and their people. After making the fierce struggle and difficult choices, Marxism gradually took root in Chinese society because of its popularity among the progressive youth and even the Chinese people. It is the history that has chosen Marxism and it is Marxism that has profoundly changed the fate of China. Mao Zedong points out that the Chinese people have turned from the passive status into the active status and created a new outlook of Chinese revolution since the introduction of Marxism-Leninism. Thanks to the guidance of Marxism, the repeated com- parison and profound thinking, and especially the influence of the Russian “October Revolution”, the advanced Chinese have made a clear choice of the scientific socialist path. The founding of the Communist Party of China in 1921 ushered in a new era of the Chinese revolution. At the begin- ning of the founding, our Party made it clear that the ultimate direction of the democratic revolution led by it is socialism. Under the leadership of the Party and Mao Zedong, our Party founded Mao Zedong Thought and Opened up a revolution path that was in line with the realities in China by combining the Marxism-Leninism and China’s realities and overcoming the erroneous tendency to dogmatize Marxism and sanctify the resolutions of the Communist International and the experience of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union that enjoyed great popularity at one time. After 28 years of arduous struggle, the Communist Party of China overthrew the three big mountains (imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism), won the New Democratic Revolution, and founded the New China, which indicated the realization of the national independence and people’s liberation that several generations of Chinese dreamed about since the modern times and the completion of the first historical task of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

During the 28 years between the founding of the New China and the end of the “Cultural Revolution”, the Party’s first collective leadership, with Mao Zedong as the core, led the whole party and people of all ethnic groups throughout the country to rapidly heal the trauma of the war and restore the national economy, and then to propose the general line in the transition period, carry out the socialist transformation, and establish the basic sys- tem of socialism without losing any time, resulting in the realization of the most profound and greatest social transformation in China. However, how to build socialism is a brand new exploration for our Party. Mao Zedong said at that time that we should realize “the second combination” of the basic principle of Marxism-Leninism and the concrete realities of China, and find out the correct way of socialist construction in China. Some impor- tant ideas on the socialist construction in China, concerning the economy, politics, culture, national defense, diplomacy and other aspects, were put forward in Mao Zedong’s Zen Major Relationships, Issues on Correctly Handling the Contradictions among the People and other works, and the documents of the 8 CPC National Congress, which marked the beginning of our Party to independently explore the socialist construction path suit- able for our country’s national conditions. Under the leadership of the Party and Mao Zedong, China has gradually established an independent, rela- tively complete industrial system and national economic system, and accu- mulated important experience in socialist construction. As a new subject in the Marxism and socialism development history, the socialist construction in such a backward eastern country in China was doomed to experience errors and setbacks, given the lack of regular understanding on how to com- bine the socialist path with the national conditions and the influence of the complex international environment at that time. These errors and setback have left deep historical experience and lessons and China paid a huge price for them.

Our Party’s victory in the revolution and exploration of the socialist construction path in China under Mao Zedong’s leadership provided the fundamental political premise and institutional foundation for all the devel- opment and progress in contemporary China, and exerted a profound influ- ence on the opening up and emergence of the socialist path with Chinese characteristics. As indicated in the 17" CPC National Congress, we must always bear in mind that the great cause of reform and opening up is based on the valuable experience of the Party’s first collective leadership with Mao Zedong as the core in leading the whole Party and people of all eth- nic groups throughout the country to build the New China, make the great achievements in the socialist revolution and construction and explore the laws of socialist construction.

Second, The initial formation of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics

When the “Cultural Revolution” came to an end in 1976, what stood in front of our Party was the China with many things waiting to be done and an urgent problem about whether China continued adhering to the wrong line in the “Cultural Revolution” period or opened up a new path reflecting the trend of the times and the China’s conditions by getting rid of the “left- ist” ideological shackles. The 3 Plenary Session of the 11% CPC Central Committee held at the end of 1978 re-established the Party’s ideological line, political line and organization line, which brought order out of chaos in the guiding ideology and initiated a new exploration of socialist con- struction. It is in this session when the Party’s second central collective leadership with Deng Xiaoping as the core was formed, which marked the entry of our country into the new period of socialist modernization con- struction. In the new historical period, Deng Xiaoping was keenly aware that the Marxism we adhere to is the science and truth and that the social- ist system established in our country is a good system, but the question is: what is Marxism, how can we uphold Marxism what is socialism and how can we build socialism, of which our understanding was not completely clear enough in the past. Our experience is rich enough, but what matters most is to clarify this question. Hence, at the beginning of the new period, our party insisted on combining Marxism with China’s realities, and car- ried out the in-depth theoretical exploration on how to build socialism in economically and culturally backward countries like China, marking the initiation of the new course of localized Marxism in China. In September 1982, Deng Xiaoping made it clear in the opening speech of the 12% CPC National Congress that “we should take our own path and build socialism with Chinese characteristics”. The proposition of this important conclusion _ Points out the direction of our Party’s theoretical and practical exploration _ In the new period.

From 1978 to 1992, our Party, under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership, com- bined the basic principles of Marxism with the specific realities of China and the features of the times, put forward a series of creative ideas, and initially formed the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese charac- teristics. Deng Xiaoping, based on the new changes of the world situation,

clearly argued that “peace and development are two major problems of the .

contemporary world”, and that it was one of the three tasks in the new pe-

riod to oppose hegemonism and safeguard world peace; he also emphasized -

that we must insist on the basic line that takes the economic construction as the center and upholds the Four Cardinal Principles and reform and opening up, and establish the modernized socialist country of prosperity, democ- racy and civilization by “three steps”, given China’s national condition that China is and will be in the primary stage of socialism in the long run when the essential task is to develop the productivity; he also underscored that science and technology are the primary productive force and their modern- ization is the key to realizing the modernization of China, considering their new development situation in the world; that we should develop the social- ist democracy and construct the socialist legal system because there would be no socialism nor the socialist modernization if no democracy exists, and that we should grasp both the material and spiritual civilization with equal importance attached to each because the good development of the two is the real socialism with Chinese characteristics, since the socialism is the requirement of the society with an all-around development; that the social- ism can also adopt the market economy since both the plan and the market are the means rather than the essential difference between socialism and capitalism, according to the development law of the world economy and China’s realities; that we should construct a modern, strong and regular- ized revolutionary army and unswervingly take the path of fewer but bet- ter troops with Chinese characteristics, given the new requirements of the world military reform; that we should combine the Marxist theory of the state with the concrete realities of China, and propose solving the problems of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in accordance with the concept of “One Country, Two Systems”; that the key to China’s problems is the Party and we should thus concentrate on Party’s construction and make our Party a Marxist one with fighting capacity and a strong core that leads the whole nation in constructing the socialist modernization, according to the change of the Party’s historical orientation.

In the 13 CPC National Congress held in 1987, the theory of the primary stage of socialism was expounded in a systematic way, the Party’s basic line in this stage was proposed, the modernization goal of “being prosperous, democratic and civilized” was established, and the development strategy of realizing the modernization by three steps until the middle of the 21*

century was formulated. It was clearly indicated in this congress that the combination of Marxism with China’s practice experienced two great leaps. The first one occurred in the period of the new democratic revolution when the Chinese communists finally found the revolutionary path with Chinese characteristics and led the revolution to victory due to the repeatedly ex- ploration and the summary of experience in the successes and failures. The second one occurred when the Chinese communists began to find a way to build socialism with Chinese characteristics after the 3°? Plenary Session of the 11% CPC Central Committee by summing up the positive and nega- tive experience during the past more than 30 years since the founding of China and studying the international experience and world situation, which opened up a new stage of socialist construction. In the report of the 13° CPC National Congress, the new theoretical ideas proposed by our Party in the process of paving the socialist path with Chinese characteristics are reduced into 12 articles which constitute the outline and mark the initial for- mation of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Deng Xiaoping made a southern speech in 1992 in which he summed up a series of major issues concerning the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and proposed that the basic line should be kept for a hundred years, the criteria for judging all aspects of work should be “Three Favorables”, and that the essence of socialism is to liberate and develop the productive forces, eliminate exploitation and polarization between the rich and poor, and finally achieve the common prosperity. This speech boosted the ideological emancipation of the whole Party and Chinese people and ad- vanced the cause of reform and opening up. In 1992, the 14" CPC National Congress made a summary of the new idea of the theoretical innovations of our Party during the period when Deng Xiaoping reigned, which was called “Deng Xiaoping’s theory of building socialism with Chinese characteris- tics”. In 1997, the 15" CPC National Congress made a further summary and discussion on it and named it “Deng Xiaoping Theory”, which was included into the Party Constitution as the guiding ideology.

Third, the further development of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics

Socialism encountered unprecedented sharp challenges in the world after the 13" CPC National Congress: the drastic changes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. These events that shocked the world are the most serious and profound cri- ses when socialism turned from the theory into practice. The same situation happened domestically in the course of reform and development: political turmoil occurred; the economy was overheated and had to be improved and rectified; in terms of the system reform, no significant breakthrough Was made in state-owned enterprises, and a dual system existed for a long Socialism encountered unprecedented sharp challenges in the world after the 13" CPC National Congress: the drastic changes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. These events that shocked the world are the most serious and profound cri- ses when socialism turned from the theory into practice. The same situation happened domestically in the course of reform and development: political turmoil occurred; the economy was overheated and had to be improved and rectified; in terms of the system reform, no significant breakthrough Was made in state-owned enterprises, and a dual system existed for a long

time with serious contradictions and loopholes due to the lagging reform in the state tax system, financial system and price system. The whole situa- tion was rather grim. In June 1989, the 4% Plenary Session of the 13" CPC Central Committee elected Jiang Zemin as the General Secretary of the Central Committee, and formed the third CPC collective leadership with

Jiang Zemin as the core. However, it became quite urgent for this new lead- .

ership to figure out how to continue promoting the socialist cause with

Chinese characteristics according to the new changes of the world, China.

and the Communist Party.

After the 4" Plenary Session of the 13% CPC Central Committee, the Communist Party of China with Jiang Zemin as the main representative con- tinued promoting the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics by putting forward a series of new ideas and new statements, and enriched and developed the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteris- tics. Confronted with the austere political situation at home and abroad and the arduous task of the reform and development in the late 1980s and early 1990s, this new leadership stressed clearly that the lines and basic policies formulated since the 3" Plenary Session of the 11 CPC Central Committee should be maintained steadfastly and implemented comprehensively. Jiang Zemin pointed out that building socialism with Chinese characteristics was “a major project”, of which the basic ideas and principles have been es- tablished by Deng Xiaoping, and our task was to continue implementing this project in a good way. In this process, Jiang Zemin also proposed a series of innovative ideas, which are mainly manifested in the following 7 aspects. Firstly, he argued that the goal of economic system reform was to establish the socialist market economy system and that the combination of socialism with market economy was a great innovation, according to Deng Xiaoping’s important view that “socialism can also adopt the mar- ket economy”. Secondly, the basic economic system that public ownership plays the leading role and diverse forms of ownership develop side by side, the distribution system with distribution according to work being the main form and the multiple ways of distribution co-existing, and the basic po- litical system should be adhered to and improved, according to the basic principles of Marxism and the national conditions of China in the primary stage of socialism. Thirdly, he, combining the issue of development with the nature and power-exercising philosophy of our Party, made it clear that development was the first task of our Party in governing and rejuvenating the country, and that the advanced nature of our Party and the superior- ity of the socialist system should be put into practice to develop advanced productive forces, advanced culture, to realize the fundamental interests of the majority of the people, and to promote the all-round social progress and human development. Fourthly, the strategy of rejuvenating the country

through science and education, the strategy of sustainable development, and the opening-up strategy that combines “bringing in” with “going out” should be vigorously implemented, the new path of industrialization should be taken, and the rational layout and coordinated development of regional economy should be promoted. Fifthly, he stressed that according to the de- velopment and changes’ of the situation at home and abroad at the turn of the century, our Party should strengthen its construction under the new his- torical conditions, insist on examining itself according to the requirement of the times, improve itself at the spirit of reform, earnestly work out the two major historical problems of how to improve the Party’s leadership and governance capability and its ability to resist corruption and risk, compre- hensively promote the Party construction—-a new great project—so as to make it the Marxist political party that is utterly consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally, always ahead of the times, and can with- stand all kinds of risks and lead the whole nation in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. Sixthly, the national defense and army construction should be strengthened and the military reform with Chinese characteristics should be advanced in addition to the main tasks of developing the market economy and keeping the Party’s advanced nature, according to the new situation of the army and national defense construction in the new period. At last, the world multi-polarization and democratization of international relations should be boosted according to the new world situation after the cold war.

This new collective leadership with Jiang Zemin as the core adhered to the reform and opening up, kept pace with the times, led the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups in the whole country through the po- litical storm, economic risks and other ordeals at home and abroad, and founded the important thought of “Three Represents” on the basis of a pro- found and accurate understanding of the situation changes of the world, China, and the Party. This important thought is a significant part of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the 16% CPC National Congress in 2002, the Party summed up the basic experience of our Party in leading people to build socialism with Chinese characteris- tics since reform and opening up, especially the 4 Plenary Session of the 13" Central Committee, expounded the fundamental requirements of the important thought of “Three Represents”, explicitly proposed the Party’s goal and guidelines and policies in various aspects in the first 20 years of the new century, and made a comprehensive deployment of the socialist economy, politics, culture, and Party building with Chinese characteristics, and other work. It is in this congress when the important thought of “Three Represents” was established along with Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory as the guiding ideology that our Party must adhere to for a long time, another time when our Party’s guiding ideology advanced with the times.

Fourth, opening of the new realm in the development of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics

Since the 16 CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with _ Hu Jintao as its General Secretary, guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and

the important thought of “Three Represents”, followed the development and changes of the situation at home and abroad, carried forward the spirit of seeking truth and forging ahead, continued promoting the theoretical and practical innovation, and proposed a series of important theoretical ideas, strategic thoughts and work arrangement and formed the newest achieve- ments of the socialist theoretical system with Chinese characteristics in the course of developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In the new stage of the new century, our Party, starting from the history and the times, the basic national conditions of China at the primary stage, the stage characteristics and practice of China’s development, the world development trend, the development experience of foreign countries, and the new development requirements, puts forward a series of ideas, such as being people-oriented, realizing the comprehensive, coordinated and sus- tainable development, building the harmonious socialist society, the new socialist countryside, the innovation-driven country, the socialist core val- ues system, and the socialist concept of honor and disgrace, and boosting the construction of a harmonious world, which together answered such ba- sic questions as what socialism is and how to build it. Facing the opportuni- ties and challenges in the 21* century, our Party has made it clear that the construction of its advanced nature is the essence of the Marxist party to survive, develop and expand. As a result, the Party’s governing capacity and advanced nature construction should be taken as the main line of the Party’s construction, the great new project that should be comprehensively promoted at the spirit of the reform and innovation, so as to make the Party always the arduous, honest, clean, energetic, united and harmonious ruling party of Marxism built for the public and exercising state power for the people, and seeking truth and being pragmatic. Centering on this goal, the CPC Central Committee has put forward a series of important new ideas on strengthening and improving the Party’s construction in the new stage of the new century. Centering on the central issue of development, our Party has made a creative exploration of what development is, why and how to develop, for whom the development is, on whom the development depends, who is to share the development achievements and other major issues, and emphasized the correct understanding and proper treatment of the major relations related to the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, so as to strive for scientific, harmonious and peaceful development. In the

17* CPC National Congress, the historical status and background, scientific connotation, spiritual essence and fundamental requirements of the scien- tific outlook on development were profoundly elaborated and taken as an important guideline for China’s economic and social development and a major strategic thought that has to be adhered to and carried out for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Since the founding of the New China, especially the reform and opening up, our Party’s theories and practices have been centering on the theme of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is during the process of the re- form and opening up when the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics was formed and developed. Deng Xiaoping Theory, “Three Represents” and the scientific outlook on development, formed in different periods, focused on exploring and answering the new contradictions and new problems encountered at different periods and different stages, and made their unique contributions to both theoretical innovation and theoreti- cal development. They are interconnected and progressive layer by layer, reflecting the inherent consistency of the scientific system, stage achieve- ments and developmental requirements of our Party’s theoretical innova- tion achievements since the new period. They were summarized as “the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics” in the 17% CPC National Congress, which marks the further maturity of the theory and practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In 2011, when commemorating the 90" anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu Jintao further pointed out: “We have embarked on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, formed a system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and estab- lished a socialist system with Chinese characteristics. These achievements made over 90 years of endeavors, innovation, and enrichment, should be valued, upheld on a long-term basis and continuously built upon by our Party and people.” In this speech Comrade Hu Jintao, for the first time used the term of theoretical socialist system with Chinese characteristics” into the overall! framework of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which has further deepened our Party ‘s understanding of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.’

In 1990, when commemorating the 90" anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao further pointed out: “We have embarked on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, formed a system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and estab- lished a socialist system with Chinese characteristics. These achievements made over 90 years of endeavors, innovation, and enrichment, should be

3 See Hu Jintao, “Speech at the 90" Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese Communist Party”, Beijing, People's Publishing House, 2011.

valued, upheld on a long-term basis and continuously built upon by our Party and people.” In this speech Comrade Hu Jintao, for the first time used the term of “theoretical socialist system with Chinese characteristics” into the overall framework of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which has further deepened our Party ‘s understanding of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.

Theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and its main contents

First, the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics: a scientific theoretical system with a rich compound

It was clearly stated in the report of the 17" CPC National Congress that “the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics mainly in- cludes Deng Xiaoping Theory, “Three represent”, and the scientific outlook on development”, which is a brand new generalization of this theoretical system. Looking back to the development process of the socialist theory with Chinese characteristics, we can see clearly that our Party’s generaliza- tion of this theoretical system is deepening in a gradual way.

In the 13% CPC National Congress in 1987, the new ideas formed in our Party’s theoretical exploration on socialism with Chinese characteris- tics were divided into 12 aspects which have constituted the outline of the socialist theory with Chinese characteristics, preliminarily answered the basic questions of China’s socialist construction, such as the stages, task, motivation, conditions, layout and international environment, and planned the scientific track of our way forward.

In 1992, the Party’s 14" National Congress summarized the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics from 9 aspects. The 14 National Congress of the Communist Party of China made it clear that the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics is the product of the inte- gration of the fundamental tenets of Marxism-Leninism with the reality of present-day China and the special features of our times, a continuation and development of Mao Zedong Thought, a crystallization of the collective wisdom of the entire Party membership and the whole Chinese people, and an intellectual treasure belonging to them all.*

4 CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the 14" National Congress” (Vol. D, p. 13, Beijing, Central Literature Publishing House, 1996.

In 1997, when explaining the historical status and guiding significance of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the 15° National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly pointed out for the first time: “Deng Xiaoping Theory constitutes a new, scientific system of the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has been gradually formed and developed under the historical conditions in which peace and development have become the main themes of the times, in the practice of China’s reform, opening up and modernization drive, and on the basis of reviewing the historical experi- ence of successes and setbacks of socialism in China and learning from the historical experience of the rise and fall of other socialist countries. For the first time it has given preliminary but systematic answers to a series of basic questions concerning the path to socialism in China, the stages of develop- ment, the fundamental tasks, the motive force, the external conditions, the political guarantee, the strategic steps, Party leadership, the forces to be relied on, and the reunification of the motherland. It has guided our Party in formulating the basic line for the primary stage of socialism. It is a fairly complete scientific system which embraces philosophy, political economy and scientific socialism and covers, among other things, the economy, poli- tics, science and technology, education, culture, ethnic, military and foreign affairs, the united front and Party building. It is also a scientific system which needs to be further enriched and developed in all aspects.

In July 2003, after the formation of the important thought of the “Three Represents”, at the theoretical seminar on the important thought of the “Three Represents”, Comrade Hu Jintao made commented: The important Thought of the Three Represents, has solved the major issues concerning the ideological line, the path of development, development stages, devel- opment ways, the fundamental tasks, the motive forces of development, the comprehensive national power, the international strategy, the leading forces, and the fundamental goals of socialism with Chinese characteris- tics. The Thought of Three Represents fulfills the common wishes of the Chinese people and forms the foundation of nation building in the new cen- tury. This thought enriches and develops the basic tenets of Marxism with a series of new ideas, views and theses and profoundly embodies the integra- tion of history with reality in the development of the theory of Marxism, it has answered a series of questions on what socialism is, and how to build it, which are closely linked and integrated. The important thought of Three Represents creatively takes the theory of building the party in office as its main subject and answers what kind of party we should build, and how to build it.

3. CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the 16 National Congress” (Vol. I), p.361, Beijing, Central Literature Publishing House, 2005.

Since the 16" CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee taking Hu Jintao as the General Secretary, starting from the overall situation of the Party and the country in the stage of the new century, has profoundly sum- marized the lessons and experience in the foreign and domestic economic and social development, constantly advanced the theoretical innovations, and explicitly proposed a series of major strategic thoughts, such as the scientific outlook on development, the construction of the harmonious socialist society, the innovation-driven country and the new socialist countryside, the strength- ening of the construction of the Party’s governance capacity and advanced nature, the building of the socialist concept of honor and disgrace, and the path of peaceful development. These important strategic thoughts are elabo- rated around the socialist theory with Chinese characteristics.

The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is always elucidated around the four closely related basic questions: what is Marxism and how to deal with it, what is socialism and how to build it, what kind of party is to be built and how to build it, and what kind of development is to be achieved and how to achieve it, with a rich compound. In terms of the first question, the system stresses that Marxism keeps pace with the times and its essence is to seek truth from facts, which provides a creative answer to how to adhere to and develop Marxism under the new historical conditions, enriches and develops Marxism with a series of new thoughts and ideas, and opens up a new realm for Marxism in China. In terms of the second question, the system creatively answers how to build, consolidate and develop socialism in a country with backward economic and cultural background after the establishment of the socialist system, and provides a series of new thoughts and ideas on how to develop socialism by not only upholding the basic principles of scientific socialism but also considering the conditions of the times and people’s desire, which has raised our Party’s understanding of socialism to a new level. As for the third question, the system answers in a creative way how to adhere to the Party’s foundation, consolidate the ruling foundation and strengthen the power source when the Party’s historical orientation experiences profound changes, and puts forward a series of new ideas that the nature of the Marxist ruling party should be adhered to, the Party’s governance capacity be improved, and the Party’s advanced nature be maintained and developed, which have enriched and developed the Marxist theory of Party construction. In terms of the fourth question, the system gives a creative answer to what development is, why it is necessary to develop, how to develop, for whom the development is, on whom the development depends, who is to share the development achievements, and proposes a series of new thoughts and ideas on develop- ment connotation, concepts, thoughts and problems, and on how to achieve scientific development, which elevates our Party’s understanding of devel- opment issues to an unprecedentedly high level.

The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is sci- entific in that it is in line with Marxism-Leninism, the essential guiding ideology for our Party and country to be well-established and the action guide and powerful ideological weapon for us to learn about and transform the world, and advances with’ the times. It is the outcome of the combina- tion of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete realities and the characteristics of the times. It adheres to the Marxist world outlook and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, to the highest ideal and value pursuit of communism, to the leading core—the proletariat—and the power source of the history—the broad masses of the people, to the fundamental task—emancipating and developing productive forces, to the essential characteristics of socialist democratic politics— people are the masters of the country, to the guiding position of Marxism in the field of Marxist ideology, and to the fundamental driving force of the socialist development—reform and innovation. By adhering to and ap- plying the basic principles of Marxism on scientific socialism, this system analyzes the realities of the world and contemporary China, and thus makes a series of theoretical innovations and embodies the spirit of keeping pace with the times. It is a model of upholding and developing Marxism as well as a scientific theory consistent with Marxism-Leninism.

The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a theoretical system which is in line with Mao Zedong Thought and keeps pace with the times. The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese char- acteristics has its profound theoretical roots in Mao Zedong Thought and it is a continuation and development of Mao Zedong’s arduous exploration and achievements regarding laws of building socialism. As Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “we have been restoring the correct things advocated by Comrade Mao Zedong, The basic points of Mao Zedong Thought are still those we have enumerated. In many respects, we are doing things Comrade Mao suggested but failed to do himself, setting right his erroneous opposi- tion to certain things and accomplishing some things that he did not. All this we shall continue to do for a fairly long time. Of course, we have developed Mao Zedong Thought and will go on developing it.”

Both Mao Zedong Thought and the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics insist on emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, keeping pace with the times, adopting the Party’s mass line and walk- ing on its own way independently. This is their common ground on the basic aspects, such as the positions, views, methods, etc.. Today, these two should be still upheld and developed.

6 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd Edition, Volume 2, p. 300, Beijing, People‘s

Publishing House, 1994.

The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a con- stantly developing and open theoretical system. It is also true for Marxism. It is clearly stated in the report of the 17" CPC National Congress: The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is an open sys- tem that keeps developing. Keeping pace with the times is the theoreti- cal quality of Marxism and theoretical innovation is an essential feature of Marxism and an inexhaustible source of its vitality forever. Practices since the publication of the “Communist Manifesto” nearly 160 years ago have proved that only when Marxism is integrated with the conditions of a spe- cific country, advances in step with the times and is tied to the destiny of the people can it demonstrate its strong vitality, creativity and its appeal. The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, as the lat- est theoretical achievement in adapting Marxism to Chinese conditions, the Party’s invaluable political and intellectual asset, is also an open theoretical system itself and also a scientific system that requires constant enrichment and development. As a new great revolution, reform and opening up cannot win an easy victory and cannot be accomplished in one go.

Over the past 30 years of reform and opening up, the socialism with Chinese characteristics has made remarkable achievements. China has scored achievements in development that have captured world attention. However, the basic reality that China is still in the primary stage of social- ism and will remain so for a long time to come has not changed, nor has Chinese society’s principal contradiction-the one between the ever-grow- ing material and cultural needs of the people and the low level of social production. Our country is the largest developing country in the world. Its international status has not changed.”

Meanwhile, quite a lot of difficulties and problems still exist in the course of continuing to promote the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics. All the achievements and progress made over the past 30 years of develop- ment can be essentially owed to the fact that our Party has paved the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and formed the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Looking into the future and in order to solve the complex problems in the development of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics and seize the new victory of building a well-off society in a comprehensive way, our Party is required to hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, unswervingly follow the socialist path with Chinese characteristics, and continue to deepen the study of the socialist theory with Chinese characteristics; to insist on the scientific Marxist principle and spirit, be good at grasping the objective changes and summarizing the fresh experience created by the people in practice, enrich

7 Hu Jintao: Speech at the Meeting Celebrating the 90" Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC, p. 20.

and develop the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteris- tics, continuously endow the contemporary Chinese Marxism with distinc- tive features in terms of the practice, nation and times, constantly open up new horizons for the Marxist theoretical development, and strive to a wider socialist path with Chinese characteristics.

Second, the main contents of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics

The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics runs through the important strategic thoughts: Deng Xiaoping Theory, “Three Represents” and the scientific outlook on development. It is unified and scientific in that it has formed a series of interconnected basic views on such major issues as the socialist development path, development stage, fundamental task, development motivation, external conditions, political guarantee, strategic steps, leadership and supporting group, and reunifica- tion of the motherland. It includes the following 14 aspects:

———The ideological line. It is the essence of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics as well as the soul of Deng Xiaoping Theory, “Three Represents”, and the scientific outlook on development. It stresses emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, keeping pace with the times, starting from the reality, examining and developing the truth in practice, vigorously carrying forward the spirit of seeking truth and being pragmatic, vigorously promoting the theoretical and practical innovation, and making efforts to realize the ideological liberation, theoretical develop- ment and practical creations.

The fundamental task. It is the central issue of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It stresses that development is the key to solving all problems in China. In essence, socialism is to liberate and develop the productive forces, eliminate exploitation and polarization, and finally achieve common prosperity. We should adhere to the unity of the center—economic construction—and the two basic points—the four basic principles and the reform and opening up, and to the principle of focusing on construction and development, grasp the development laws, innovate the development concept, transform the development mode, solve the de- velopment problems, improve the development quality and efficiency, and Strive to achieve the scientific, harmonious and peaceful development.

The development stage and development strategies. It is the strate- gic goal and grand blueprint proposed by our Party according to the basic national conditions of contemporary China. It is emphasized that we should be soberly aware that China is and will be for a long time in the primary tage of socialism and that the main contradiction of the society is the con- flict between the growing material and cultural needs of the masses and the

backward social production. We should accurately grasp the stage charac- teristics of China’s development, make full use of the important strategic period, better implement the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, the strategy of strengthening China through talents, and the strategy of sustainable development, adhere to the basic require- ments of comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development and the basic methods of making overall plans and taking all factors into consid- eration, comprehensively promote the economic, political, cultural, social and ecological construction according to the four-to-one overall layout, and realize enough food and clothing, the well-off society and modernization through three steps, and build a strong, prosperous, democratic and civi- lized modern socialist country.

The development motivation. It stems from the profound under- standing of the contradiction movement between the socialist productive forces and productive relations, and the economic base and the superstruc- ture, and reveals the vitality source of the development and progress of our Party and country. It emphasizes that the reform and opening up, a new great revolution, is the path to the powerful nation. We should always ad- here to the correct direction of reform and opening up, carry out the spirit of reform and innovation to all aspects of country governance, promote the reform of all areas, and advance the self-improvement and development of our socialist system. In addition, we should improve the scientific nature of the reform decision-making and the coordination of concrete measures, and correctly understand and properly handle the relationship among the reform, development and stability. At last, we should adhere to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world, make it happen in = as- pects, a higher level and wider areas, better combine the “bringing in” and “going out”, and form the new advantage of participating in international economic cooperation and competition at the background of the economic globalization.

The fundamental purpose. It reflects the starting point and foothold of developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and our Party’s fun- damental purpose—-serving the people wholeheartedly. It is emphasized that the Party should always be built for the public and exercise power for people, adhere to the principle of being people-oriented, uphold the peo- ple’s principal role in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, carry forward the people’s initiative spirit, realize, maintain and develop the fundamental interests of the majority of the people, safeguard people’s var!- ous rights and interests, promote people’s all-round development, so as to realize the development for the people, development relying on the people, and development achievements shared by the people.

~——The economic construction. It stresses that we should establish and improve the socialist market economy system, adhere to and improve the basic economic system that public ownership plays the leading role and diverse forms of ownership develop side by side, accelerate the transfor- mation of the economic development mode, and vigorously promote the strategic adjustment of the economic structure. By adhering to the status of science and technology as the first productive force, we should improve the independent innovation capability, promote the coordinated development between urban and rural areas, improve the macro-control system and the level of open economy, and promote the sound and fast development of the national economy. The civilized development path that we develop through production, enjoy in affluence, live in ecologically good environment.

The political construction. It emphasizes that people’s democracy is the life of socialism and thus we must adhere to the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the organic unity of CPC’s leadership, people’s status as the masters of the country and ruling by law, adhere to and improve the people’s congress system, the CPC-led multi- party cooperation and political consultation system, the system of national regional autonomy and the grass-roots democratic system, and constantly promote the self-improvement and development of the political socialist system. We should adhere to the correct political direction, deepen the po- litical system reform, ensure the people’s status as the masters of the coun- try, set the goal of enhancing the vitality of the Party and the country and mobilizing people’s enthusiasm, expand socialist democracy, build a so- cialist country ruled by law and develop the political socialist civilization.

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The cultural construction. It stresses that we need to adhere to the direction of advanced culture, vigorously develop the national, scientific and popular socialist culture that is oriented to modernization, the world, and the future, promote the socialist cultural development and prosper- ity, and give rise to a new upsurge of the socialist cultural construction. By adhering to the guiding position of Marxism in the field of ideology, equipping people with the scientific theory, guiding people with the right public opinion, shaping people with the lofty spirit, inspiring people with excellent works, and approaching the reality, the life, and the masses, we should focus on constructing the socialist core values system, consolidat- ing and expanding the mainstream ideological public opinion, promoting cultural innovation, deepening cultural system reform, developing cultural undertakings and industries, and improving the soft power of the national culture, so as to make the people’s basic cultural rights and interests bet- ter guaranteed, the social and cultural life more colorful and people more high-spirited.

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The social (society) construction. It stresses that social harmony is the essential attribute of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a result, to guarantee and improve people’s livelihood must be carried out as a major task that concerns the overall situation, so as to promote social fairness and justice and enable all people to live a decent and dignified life in which they can be taught when they want to learn, get paid when they work, get treated. when they are ill, be looked after properly when they turn old, and have a place for them to live in. We should also adhere to and improve the distribu- tion system with distribution according to work being the main form and multiple ways of distribution co-existing, and promote the participation of such productive forces as the labor, capital, technology and management into the distribution. Special efforts shall be made to solve the most direct and realistic issue of interests that concern people the most, to correctly handle the contradictions among the people, to maximize the social vitality for creations and the harmonious factors, and to minimize the factors of disharmony.

———The national defense and army building. It stresses that we should, standing at the height of the national security and development strategy, integrate the economic construction with national defense construction, ad- here to the Party’s absolute leadership in the army and to the fundamental purpose of the people’s army, implement the strategic military guideline in the new period, accelerate the military reform with Chinese character- istics, comprehensively strengthen and coordinate the advancement of the revolutionary construction, modernization and normalization of the army, and resolutely safeguard the integrity of the state sovereignty, security and territory, so as to make the prosperous country powerful in its army as well.

——-Basic forces it depends on. It stresses that the working class in- cluding intellectuals, and the broad masses of farmers are the fundamental strength that promotes the development of advanced productive forces and the all-round social progress in our country; and the social classes newly emerging in the social transformation are constructors of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics. We should fully implement the guideline of respecting the labor, the knowledge, the talent, and the creation, mobilize all positive factors in the broadest and fullest way, develop and expand the patriotic united front, unite all forces that can be united, and promote the harmony of party relations, ethnic relations, religious relations, relations among social strata, and relations among foreign and domestic compatriots at home and abroad.

Promoting the great cause of the national reunification. We must un- swervingly implement the highly autonomous principle of “One Country, Two Systems”, “Hong Kong self-rule”, and “Macao self-rule” and act strict- ly by the basic laws of the special administrative region, so as to maintain

the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao; adhere to the principle of “peaceful reunification, and One Country, Two Systems”, the 8 proposals for developing the cross-straits relations and promoting the peaceful reunification process of the country, and the four points of view on the development of the cross-strait relations under the new situation, so as to initiate a new situation of the cross-strait relations and achieve the complete reunification of the-country.

The foreign diplomacy and international strategy. It stresses that we should hold high the banner of peace, development and cooperation, unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, the independent foreign policy of peace, and the opening-up strategy of mutual benefit and win-win result, and develop itself through the maintenance of world peace and maintain world peace through its own development. Besides, we should develop the friendly cooperation with all countries on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence and promote the construction of a harmonious world characteristic with lasting peace and common prosper- ity; the national sovereignty, security and development interests shall be safeguarded.

The leadership core. It makes clear the leadership and fundamen- tal guarantee of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is emphasized that the key to China’s problems lies in the Party and thus the Party con- struction, a new great project, should be connected with the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and be strengthened at the spirit of reform and innovation. It thus follows that we shall adhere to the prin- cipal line of the Party’s governing capacity and advanced nature construc- tion, persist in policing itself and imposing strict discipline on its members, strengthen the Party’s ideological, organizational, work-style, institutional, and anti-corruption construction, so that the Party will always be the strong leadership core of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics.

Generally speaking, the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is not only a scientific, integrated and logically rigorous sys- tem in that it involves various aspects such as reform, development and sta- bility, the domestic and foreign affairs and the national defense, and the ad- ministration of the Party, country and army, and covers the construction in such various areas as the economy, politics, culture, society, Party, national defense and army modernization, but also an open one that is constantly developing and will continue to enrich and develop with the development of the socialist practice with Chinese characteristics.

Historical status, role and guiding significance of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics

First, The correct theory guiding the Chinese people to victories in reform and opening and in promoting socialist modernization

The 17® National Congress of the Communist Party of China has writ- ten the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics into the party constitution and clearly pointed out that the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics “upholds, develops and represents the Party’s adherence to and development of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought and embodies the wisdom and hard work of several gen- erations of Chinese Communists leading the people in carrying out tireless explorations and practices. It is the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to Chinese conditions, the Party’s invaluable political and intellectual asset, and the common ideological foundation for the concerted endeavor of the people of all ethnic groups.”

This is our party’s high evaluation of the historical status and guid- 24 ing significance of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and reflects the common aspirations of the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country.

In the final analysis, the historical position of a scientific theory is deter- mined by practice and determined by its historical pros and cons. Since the reform and opening-up for the past 30 plus years and more, under the guid- ance of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we have achieved rapid and steady long-term development that was unprec- edented in modern times and has won great successes that have attracted worldwide attention. From 1978 to 2007, China’s GDP has increased from 364.5 billion yuan to 24.95 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 9.8%. This is more than three times the growth rate (annual) of the world economy. China’s total economic aggregate has risen to fourth rank in the world fourth. We rely on our own strength in solving the food problem of our 1.3 billion people. China’s total import-export volume has increased from 20.6 billion US dollars to 2.1737 trillion US dollars, ranking third in the world. Its foreign exchange reserves rank the first in the world, consequently China’s foreign investments has increased substantially. And actually utilized foreign capital investments in China has reached nearly

8 CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the 17" National Congress” (Vol.D, p.9, Beijing, Central Literature Publishing House, 2009.

100 billion US dollars. The per capita disposable income of urban residents in China increased from 343 yuan to 13,786 yuan, an increase of 6.5 times in real terms. The per capita net income of farmers has increased from 134 yuan to 4,140 yuan, an increase of 6.3 times in real terms. The number of poor people in rural areas has dropped from 250 million to about 14 mil- lion. Urban per capita housing construction area and rural per capita hous- ing area has doubled. We can see that people’s household property, food, drinking and living standards have seen significant improvement.

The constant enhancement of the economic strength and comprehensive national strength, the remarkable achievements in political, cultural and so- cial construction and the well-off status of people’s living standards on the whole, and the historic changes of the Chinese people, the socialist China and the Communist Party of China, prove that the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the correct theory that has guided the Chinese people in successfully promoting the socialist modernization in the reform and opening up. In contemporary China, none but this theo- retical system can instruct us to achieve the state prosperity and people’s affluence and complete the historical task of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Second, the basic goal of building a moderately well-off society

Since the reform and opening up, especially after entering the new stage of the new century, we have made steady steps towards the goal of build- ing a well-off society in an all-round way which is supposed to be reached by 2020. In the course towards this goal, we face not only important de- velopment opportunities but also many contradictions and problems which are manifested in the following 8 aspects. First of all, the structural con- tradiction and extensive economic development mode formed in a long time remain without fundamental changes, with the relatively low-level productive forces and the less strong capability of independent innovation. Secondly, the institutional and mechanism obstacles in the development and the deep-level contradictions and problems in the further reform in dif- ficult areas still exist. Thirdly, the trend of the widening income distribution gap has not been fundamentally reversed with the number of urban and tural poverty-stricken people and low-income people still considerable and the overall consideration of interests in all areas more difficult. Fourthly, the task of narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas and different regions and promoting the socially and economically coordinated develop- ment remains arduous considering the unchanged weak agricultural foun- dation and lagging rural development. Fifthly, the political system reform needs deepening since the construction of democracy and legal system is not fully adapted to the requirements of expanding people’s democracy and economic and social development. Sixthly, people have increasing spiritual

and cultural needs and their thoughts and activities are increasingly inde- pendent, variable, and diverse with more choices, which poses higher re- quirements for the development of advanced socialist culture. Seventhly, the social structure, social organizational form and social interests pattern have undergone profound changes, and the social construction and man- agement are facing many new problems. Eighthly, the increasingly intense international competition, the advantages of the developed countries in the economy and science and technology over developing countries, and the increasing predictable and unpredictable risks, form a higher requirement for making overall plans of the domestic development and opening up to the outside world. In the face of such complex contradictions and problems and difficulties and challenges ahead, and in order to continue to promote reform and opening up and modernization, we have to adopt the scientific theory as the guidance. Only by adhering to the theoretical system of so- cialism with Chinese characteristics can we have a clearer understanding of the basic national conditions, the stage characteristics of development, and the objective laws of the socialist construction in our country, put forward the correct solutions to these contradictions and problems, and smoothly advance the great cause of building a well-off society in an all-round way and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Third, common ideological basis for the struggles of the whole party and people from all nationalities

Common ideological foundation is the fundamental premise so that a party, a country and a nation can depend on and can maintain its existence and development. Without a common ideological foundation, the party will collapse and the country will be dissolved and its people will be divided. Mao Zedong emphasized: it is of great importance in achieving a common language in the Party, and that socialist countries should have “the will of unity”. Deng Xiaoping emphasized: “in order to advance our cause “the most important thing is the unity of people. To achieve unity, people must have common ideals and firm convictions.” Jiang Zemin pointed out: “Ifa country does not have its own spiritual supporting pillar, it means that it has no soul, and will lose its national cohesion and vitality.”?

Hu Jintao pointed out: “lofty ideals and firm convictions are the great banners that unite people and inspire them to make new progress. They are the source of strength to overcome difficulties and win new victories.”'°

9 Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol.2, pp.230-231, Beijing, People’s Publishing House, 2006. 10 CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the 16 National Congress” (Vol. II) p.729, Beijing, Central Literature Publishing House, 2008.

As a new social system, socialism is not only a social movement, but also a pursuit of the ideal and value, which definitely requires us to unify people’s thoughts with the common thought and will. The Soviet Union gave us a lesson on what kind of theory can be used to unify the Party’s and people’s thoughts. In the Soviet Union, the Party’s theory was rather unat- tractive to the Party members and the masses considering the long-standing ideological rigidity and prevalence of dogmatism within the Party. After coming, into power, Gorbachev put forward “the humane and democratic socialism”, “new thinking”, “openness”, “democratization”, “pluralistic guiding ideology”, “political pluralism”, and “multi-party system”, which confused the thoughts of party members and the masses. Some western scholars explained that the reason for the collapse of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was “the disintegration of the Marxist theory”, which deprived the socialist system of its legitimacy. It shows that we should not only adhere to Marxism but also develop Marxism and unify people’s thoughts and guide the practice with the developing Marxism. The ruling party with more than 80 million party members, confronted with a popu- lation of more than 1.3 billion in China, profound changes in the inter- national and domestic environment, and people’s diverse, variable, and pluralistic views and ideas, must adhere to the education of the Party and people with the developing Marxism and the theoretical system of social- ism with Chinese characteristics. This theoretical system, integrating the socialist development with the historical task of national rejuvenation, the realization of socialist modernization with the common prosperity of the people, and the national security, danger, honor and disgrace with people’s happiness, is the strong spiritual force leading and inspiring the people of all ethnic groups in the country and the backbone conquering all risks and challenges. Only by unifying the thoughts of the whole party and the people with this system can the people of different social classes and different in- terest groups be able to get united to the largest extent and work together for the common goal.

Fourth, a new breakthrough in the development of Marxist theory

Marx and Engels discussed the possibility of constructing socialism and how to build it in countries with backward economy and culture but failed to put it into practice for the absence of conditions. Lenin made some ex- plorations according to Russia’s realities, turned socialism from theory to reality, and achieved valuable results. Based on the experience of the Soviet Union and China’s realities, Mao Zedong made deep reflections and practi- cal explorations, which resulted in many creative ideas. However, Marxist classical writers cannot provide ready-made answers for how to build, consolidate and develop socialism in China today. Deng Xiaoping said: We cannot expect Marx to provide ready answers to questions that arise a

hundred or several hundred years after his death, nor can we ask Lenin to give answers to questions that arise fifty or a hundred years after his death. A true Marxist-Leninist must understand, carry on and develop Marxism- Leninism in light of the current situation."

After the 3 Plenary Session of the 11" CPC Central Committee, our Party has been soberly aware that building socialism cannot proceed from the books nor from the inherent mode but from the concrete realities of China. It is stressed that we should not only adhere to the basic principles of Marxism and carry forward the revolutionary tradition but also compose a new epic of Marxism, create new experience, and guide the new prac- tice of building socialism with Chinese characteristics with the developing Marxism. Our party has combined the basic principles of Marxism with the concrete practical realities of contemporary China, paved the socialist path with Chinese characteristics, formed the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, systematically answered the major theoretical and practical problems of how to build, consolidate and develop socialism in China, added new content and made historic contributions to the Marxist theory.

Ideological Line of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

The enrichment and development of the party’s ideological line Theoretical qualities and essence of Marxism

First, the re-establishment (correction) of the party's ideological line

world outlook and methodology hold by people in the activities of under- standing and reforming the world. The fundamental question that it wants to answer and solve is the relationship between the subjective and objective and that between theory and practice. This question is in fact the concrete embodiment in actual work of the basic philosophical question, namely, the relationship between matter and consciousness and that between be- ing and thinking. Dialectical materialism and historical materialism are sci- entific world outlook and methodology; the fundamental cognitive line of dialectical materialism and historical materialism and the ideological line of the proletariat and its political party is to proceed from reality in all work, achieve correspondence between subjectivity and objectivity, and integrate theory with practice.

The ideological line of the CPC is to proceed from reality in all work, integrate theory with practice, seek truth from facts and verify and develop the truth through practice. An important content and a scientific summary of this ideological line is to emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts, and advance with the times. However, seen from the historical development, emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and advancing with the times, were not proposed at the same time but experienced a process of continuous enrichment and development. It can be said that Mao Zedong

“Ideological line”, philosophically called cognitive line, refers to the Rae

created this ideological line during the New Democratic Revolution, and summarized it as “seeking truth from facts”. Deng Xiaoping re-established and developed it in the new period of socialist construction and summa- rized it as “emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts”. Jiang Zemin further developed it in the new century and summarized it as “eman- cipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and advancing with the times”.

During the period from the 1920s to 1930s, the “left-dogmatism” and the right-dogmatism in the CPC, especially the “left-dogmatism” repre- sented by Wang Ming, carried out the cognitive line of proceeding from books only. Divorced from the actual situation of the Chinese society and the Chinese revolution, they blindly copied the experience of the October Revolution (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and the resolutions of the Communist International. They depended on rote memorization of the books of Marxism-Leninism to solve the extremely complex problem in China, namely how should China carry out revolution in a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, which almost drove the Chinese revolution to the last ditch. The CPC, represented by Mao Zedong, followed the cognitive line of proceeding from reality in all work and combined the basic prin- ciples of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete reality of the Chinese revo- lution. Their shifts depending on time, place and conditions had repeatedly saved Chinese revolution. In the actual activities of leading the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong deeply realized the harm of dogmatism and book- ishness inconsistent with the reality of China to the CPC. In order to over- come various wrong ideas widely found in the Party and ensure the smooth development of the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong summed up the basic cognitive line of dialectical materialism and historical materialism—pro- ceeding from the realities—with four characters “seeking truth from facts” in the 1940s, and established it as the ideological line of the Chinese com- munists. Under the guidance of this ideological line, the Chinese com- munists overcame the obstacles on the way forward, found China’s own revolutionary path, won the new-democratic revolution and established the People’s Republic of China. After the founding of the new China, under the guidance of this ideological line, the Chinese communists quickly restored the national economy, successfully realized the socialist transformation of agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry, established a socialist sys- tem and developed the socialist economy, politics and culture.

In the 1980s, during the struggle against the wrong thinking of “Two Whatevers”, Deng Xiaoping mentioned “emancipating the mind” and “seeking truth from facts” together, proposed a new summary of the fun- damental cognitive line of dialectical materialism and historical material- ism according with the needs of the development of times, re-established the ideological line of seeking truth from facts, and added “emancipating

the mind” to this ideological line, so as to break the long-standing social situation characteristic with the ideological rigidity, ideological conserva- tism and ideological confinement, eliminate the ideological restraints of personal superstition and personal worship on the whole Party and all the people, get rid of the harmful’effects of the “Cultural Revolution” and cre- ate a new historical development period. Guided by the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, the whole Party and all the people started from the reality of the primary stage of socialism, made trials and errors, and have created a socialist path with Chinese characteris- tics and made great groundbreaking achievements on this path.

Second, the enrichment and development of the ideological line

Just after entering the 21" century, in the report of the 16 National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin pointed out: “Persisting in the party’s ideological line, emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and advancing with the times are the decisive elements for our party to adhere and maintain to its advanced nature and enhance its creativity.”

&

This new argument is the new summary of the fundamental cognitive line of dialectical materialism and historical materialism made by the Chinese communists in the new stage of the new century, according to the new situa- tion, new tasks and new requirements. This new summary is consistent with the development needs of the times. It not only adheres to the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, but also adds the new content of “advancing with the times” to this ideological line.

In January 2004, at the 3" Plenary Meeting of the Discipline Inspection Committee of CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Hu Jintao put forward the new requirements of “being realistic and pragmatic” to the whole Party. The essence of being realistic and pragmatic is to ask the whole Party to continuously seek for the truth of the basic national condi- tions in the primary stage of socialism in China and adhere to long-term and arduous struggle; seek the law of socialist construction and human social development, and do a good job at development which is the first priority of the Party in governing and rejuvenating the country; seek the historical status and function of the masses, and develop the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people; seek the law of the governance by the communist party and strengthen and improve the Party construction. To adhere to being realistic and pragmatic, we should strive to: effectively strengthen ideological education, constantly improve the consciousness of the party members and cadres of being realistic and pragmatic; insist on serving the people wholeheartedly, and straighten out the relationship with the masses; correctly understand the national conditions, formulate the guidelines and policies and carry out the work according to the national conditions; understand, grasp, follow and apply the laws. In short, being realistic and pragmatic is to closely focus on the implementation of the work of the Party and the country, put theory into practice, translate idea into action and achieve results.

From “seeking truth from facts” established by Mao Zedong to Deng

Xiaoping’s “emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts”, to Jiang —

Zemin’s “emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and advancing with the times”, and to the new demand of “being realistic and pragmatic” put forward by the former General Secretary Hu Jintao, we can clearly see the continuous enrichment and development of the ideological line of the CPC in revolution, construction and reform practice. With such a continu- ous enrichment and development, the various undertakings of the Party and China have been given a strong spiritual driving force, and the Party’s theo- retical innovation given a fountain head.

Theoretical qualities and essence of Marxism

First, theoretical qualities and essence of Marxism-Leninism

Marxism is a scientific theory that has evolved with the development of social practice. Emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advanc- ing with the times are the theoretical qualities and essence of Marxism. Marxism was born in the 1840s.

Before the creation of Marxism, capitalist society was shrouded in a kind of innocent “myth”. When the bourgeoisie created a productivity that was larger in amount and greater than all productivities created before during its rule which only lasted less than one hundred years and when the capital- ist system showed progress and superiority over the feudal system in all aspects of social life, the bourgeois thinkers, theorists and politicians were so absorbed in such a victory, believing that the capitalist society was the best and most desirable society in the mankind history and that the capital- ist system would be sacred and unshakeable.

Although some economists, philosophers and historians had found that capitalism was not perfect with many defects and full of many evils through studies and observations in various fields, they still strove to speak for the capitalism and demonstrate the sanctity of the capitalist system. In the 1940s, Marx and Engels, starting from the actual conditions of the age when

they lived and critically inheriting all outstanding ideological achievements created before and at that time, carried out an in-depth study on the opera- tion characteristics, basic contradiction and development trend of capitalist economy, politics, culture and’ social life, and finally reached a scientific conclusion that capitalism was bound to death and socialism was bound to success. .They founded Marxism, declared the failure of the myth that capitalism was sacred and unshakeable with the power of truth, and created anew realm of understanding the law and direction of human society devel- opment, thus establishing a scientific ideological system for the liberation movement of the proletariat and all mankind.

Although Marxism, with its critical and scientific spirit, has been warmly welcomed by the proletariat and the masses in the world and has so many strong believers and followers, thus it has become the guiding ideology and theoretical weapon of the proletarian political party, Marx and Engels have never regarded their theories as absolute truths, nor have they treated the specific conclusions that they have arrived under particular historical con- ditions as definite and rigid formulas, besides they have also opposed others who treated their theories as such.

They always emphasized repeatedly: “Our theory is a theory of evolu- tion, not of dogma to be learned by heart and to be repeated mechanically.”

For example, The Communist Manifesto, which is the creation as well as the first programmatic document of Marxism, played a great guiding role in the vigorous development of the workers movement. But the practice in 1872 developed on the basis of the practice at the time when The Communist Manifesto was issued, and as a result, Marx and Engels pointed out clearly in the preface to the second edition of The Communist Manifesto: “However much that state of things may have altered during the last twenty-five years, the general principles laid down in the Manifesto are, on the whole, as correct today as ever. Here and there, some detail might be improved. The practical application of the principles will depend, as the Manifesto itself states, everywhere and at all times, on the historical conditions for the time being existing...., no special stress is laid on the revolutionary measures proposed at the end of Section II. That passage would, in many respects, be very differently worded today.... “But since then, the Manifesto has become a historical document which we have no longer any right to alter.”

Nowhere did Marx indicate this more clearly as when he wrote in his | 877 letter to the Editor of the Petersburg literary-political journal Otechstvennye Zapiski, which printed an article by Nicolai K. Mikhailovski, who treated the analysis found in his book Capital as iron-clad historical laws in non- European settings: He must by all means transform my historical sketch of the development of capitalism in Western Europe into a historical philo- sophical theory of universal development predetermined by fate for all na- tions, whatever their historic circumstances in which they find themselves

may be,.... But I beg his pardon. (That mistaken understanding, does me at -

the same time too much honor and too much insult).”*

For example, when Engels wrote about how to treat materialism, he pointed to the powerful and ever more rapidly onrushing progress of natu- ral science, technology and industry, which have profoundly changed the connotation and denotation of social practice, and he explicitly stressed: “with each epoch-making discovery even in the sphere of natural science it has to change its form.”

The adherence to obtaining theory from practice, putting theory into practice for the test of practice and developing theory together with practice run through the life of Marx and Engels.

Born in the turn of the 19" century and the 20" century, Leninism is the Marxism appearing when capitalism developed into imperialism. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the capitalism entering the imperialist stage underwent quite a lot of changes and found many new characteristics in economy, politics, culture, society and other aspects, comparing to that in the era of free competition. Then, how to rediscover the conditions, paths, methods, means and strategies of proletarian revolution according to the changing situation and practice and turn scientific socialism from theo- ry into practice became a major subject that need be taken seriously and solved by Marxists. However, some people did not proceed from reality but from the books. They rigidified and dogmatized the concrete conclusions of Marx and Engels made in specific historical period and under specific his- torical conditions. They insisted that the socialist revolution could only be successful through simultaneously breaking out in the developed European and American capitalist countries. They argued that the revolution could never break out in the economically and culturally backward countries, let alone achieving the success of socialist revolution. However Lenin insisted that: Marxism is not a dogma but a guide to action.

4 Selected Works of Marx and Engels, 2nd Edition, Vol.3, p.342, Beijing, People's Publishing House, 1995; Marx’s 1877 Letter to the Editor of the Petersburg Literary- political journal Otechstvennye Zapiski. 5 https://www.marxists.org/ archive/marx/works/1886/ludwig-feuerbach/ch02.htm.

For the present, it is essential to grasp the incontestable truth that a Marxist must take cognizance of real life, of the true facts of reality, and not cling to a theory of yesterday, which, like all theories, at best only outlines the main and the general, only comes near to embracing life in all its com- plexity. “Theory, my friend, is grey, but green is the eternal tree of life.”

Starting from this, Lenin combined the basic principles of Marxism with the characteristics of the times and the specific realities of the Russian revolution. Based on the new historical conditions and social practice and through in-depth study of the basic contradictions and development trend of the political and economic relations within and between the imperialist countries, he discovered the imbalance between the economic development and political development of capitalism, and further concluded that: under the new development conditions, the socialist revolution could succeed first in one or several countries in the weak link of the imperialist domination.

“On the Slogan for a United States of Europe” in August 1915, Lenin wrote: Uneven economic and political development is an absolute law of capitalism. Hence, the victory of socialism is possible first in several or even in one capitalist country alone.” In 1917, in his “The Military Programme of the Proletarian Revolution” he wrote: The development of capitalism proceeds extremely unevenly in different countries. It cannot be otherwise under commodity production. From this it follows irrefutably that social- ism cannot achieve victory simultaneously in all countries. It will achieve victory first in one or several countries, while the others will for some time remain bourgeois or pre-bourgeois.”®

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The victory of the Russian October Revolution and the victory of the socialist revolution of the countries with relatively backward economy and culture in the later period proved that Marx and Engels’ thought that the success of socialist revolution could only be achieved simultaneously in several developed capitalist countries did not conform to the new historical conditions and Lenin’s revision of Marx and Engels’ conclusions based on the new practice was completely correct. His revision is a significant theo- _ fetical innovation to Marxism, creating a new realm of understanding the socialist revolution.

Lenin pushed Marxism into a new stage, namely the stage of Leninism and turned scientific socialism from theory into practice. However, Beni did not become complacent because of his great theoretical contribution to the development of Marxism, nor did he absolutize the Russian path be- cause of obtaining the first success of socialist revolution. On the issue of

Se enceeceenaeetenonnns 6 _https://Awww.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/apr/x01.htm. https://www.marxists.org/archive/ lenin/works/1915/aug/23.htm. https://www.marxists.org/ archive/lenin/works/1916/miliprog/i-htm.

theoretical development and revolutionary path, he, like Marx and Engels, respected practice, insisted on correctness and corrected mistakes. For ex- ample, with regard to the socialist path, Lenin pointed out that all nations would eventually go to socialism, which was the universal law of the his- tory of the world. However, socialism cannot be achieved simultaneously

in various countries in accordance with the same pattern. Because of the .

different conditions in the construction of socialism in various countries, such as nationality differences, national differences, local differences, the’ characteristics of economic structure, lifestyle and other aspects, there are various forms for the countries to move to socialism. And the richer the diversity is, the more reliable and the faster the process moving towards socialism is.

Lenin pointed out, in his attitude towards Marxism: We do not regard Marx’s theory as something completed and inviolable; on the contrary, we are convinced that it has only laid the foundation stone of the science which socialists must develop in all directions if they wish to keep pace with life. We think that an independent elaboration of Marx’s theory is especially es- sential for Russian socialists; for this theory provides only general guiding principles, which, in particular, are applied in England differently than in France, in France differently than in Germany, and in Germany differently than in Russia.’

Moreover, after the proletariat gained power, how to transit to socialism and carry out socialist construction is a new and unprecedented undertak- ing. In order to seek the path for an economically backward country to tran- sit to socialism, Lenin tried “wartime communist policy”, and envisioned a direct transition to communism spanning market and merchandise money relations, namely the transition to the unified production and distribution organized by the country. However, it was found that the approach had many problems and was not applicable. Lenin stopped it decisively, and admitted the failure bluntly.

Lenin decisively stopped this policy and frankly admitted that he “made a lot of mistakes in this regard.” He also emphasized in particular: “The responsibility of the Communists is not to conceal the weaknesses of their own movement, but to openly criticize the weaknesses so that they can be overcome quickly and thoroughly.”

“The attitude of a political party toward its own mistakes is critical in respect whether this party is solemn and whether it truly fulfills one of the most important and credible missions it has assumed for the class and the working masses.”'

Second, the theoretical qualities and the essence of Mao Zedong Thought

Born in the 1940s, Mao Zedong Thought is the first theoretical achieve- ment of Marxism in China. From 1840 to 1920, the Chinese progressive people and political forces had explored for 80 years in order to revitalize the Chinese nation. However, they still failed to truly rescue China from sufferings. The October Revolution sent Marxism-Leninism to China, “Follow the path of the Russians—that was the conclusion”. In 1921, the CPC, which was armed with Marxism-Leninism, was founded. And since then, the Chinese revolution has taken on a new look. However, the devel- opment of the Chinese revolution was not plain sailing, and the final victory of the revolution was not won easily.

In the history of our party, in a period of time, some so-called real Marxists in the CPC could not correctly understand the true meaning of “taking the path of Russia.” Instead of proceeding from the actual situation in China they have proceeded from Marxist books on the series of questions regarding the nature, path, motive forces, strategy and tactics of the Chinese revolution. Instead of exploring the various questions encountered by the Chinese revolution independently, they have absolutized the experiences of the Soviet revolution and sanctified the resolutions of the Comintern, which, has for several times caused the thriving revolutionary movement into frustration. Comrade Mao Zedong resolutely opposed this subjectiv- ism and dogmatism in the Party that did not conform with realities, and who blindly copied others’ experiences. He insisted that “the victory of the China’s revolutionary struggle will depend relies on the Chinese comrades” understanding of Chinese conditions”.

He emphasized: It is up to the Chinese comrades to create a new situation in the revolutionary struggle, it is necessary to learn to apply the basic theo- ry of Marxism-Leninism to the specific environment of China and integrate it with the actual situation in China. He said: to use a common expression, it is by “shooting the arrow at the target”. As the arrow is to the target, so is Marxism-Leninism to the Chinese revolution.

With that in mind, Mao Zedong combined the basic principles of Marxism with the actual situation of Chinese revolution and followed the standpoint, viewpoint and method of dialectical materialism and historical _ Materialism. Based on the changes of historical conditions and practice, the in-depth study of Chinese social class, social bracket and Chinese eco- nomic, political and cultural structure, and the summary of the experience and lessons of success and failure, he correctly answered Chinese social na- ture, revolutionary nature, revolutionary path, revolutionary stage, leading class, supporting power and other major problems, founded Mao Zedong

Thought, and realized the first historical leap of combining Marxism with practice in China.

For example, on the nature of the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong gave a thorough analysis of the colonial, semi-colonial and semi-feudal nature of Chinese society: Since Chinese society is colonial, semi-colonial and semi- feudal, since the principal enemies of the Chinese revolution are imperial- ism and feudalism, since the tasks of the revolution are to overthrow these two enemies by means of a national and democratic revolution in which the bourgeoisie sometimes takes part, and since the edge of the revolution is directed against imperialism and feudalism and not against capitalism and capitalist private property in general even if the big bourgeoisie betrays the revolution and becomes its enemy—since all this is true, the character of the Chinese revolution at the present stage is not proletarian-socialist but bourgeois-democratic.”!!

However, in present-day China the bourgeois-democratic revolution is no longer of the old general type, which is now obsolete, but one of a new special type. We call this type the new-democratic revolution and it is developing in all other colonial and semi-colonial countries as well as in China. The new-democratic revolution is part of the world proletarian- socialist revolution.”'?

With regard to the stage of the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong pointed out that: since the Chinese society is colonial, semi-colonial and semi-feu- dal, the Chinese revolution should be divided into two steps. The first step is the new democratic revolution, and the second is the socialist revolution. The two revolutionary steps are like the first part and the second part of one article. The New-Democratic Revolution is the first part, and the Socialist Revolution is the second part. Only after completing the first part can the second part be started. The first part is the necessary preparation, and the second part is the inevitable outcome of the first part. And no dictator- ship of bourgeoisie appearing between the two parts should be allowed. We may turn to the path of the Chinese revolution. What kind of path should Chinese revolution take? Mao Zedong did not proceed from books, but from the specific realities of China. He pointed out that: in China, due to the weak force of proletariat, the large cities in China were completely in the hands of the reactionary ruling class. Therefore, the European revolution path of creating revolutionary surge through revolts in central cities did was not applicable at all. On the contrary, China had vast rural area where there was relatively weak domination of the reactionary forces. The rural area could provide a wide margin for revolutionary forces, and there were the most reliable allies of the proletariat, namely the peasants. Only by relying on the rural areas, arming the workers and peasants, creating the red re- gime, and encircling the city from the rural areas can the proletariat finally win the success. Therefore, the path of the Chinese revolution is different from the Russian path. It can only be the path of encircling the cities from rural areas and seizing power by armed people. Moreover, in terms of the transition to socialism, Mao Zedong proceeded from the reality of China. After winning the victory of the new democratic revolution, there was a period of new democratic society. Then, there was socialist transformation of agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce from new democracy. In this way, the transition to socialism was achieved in a peace- ful way. All these are pioneering work, adding new and valuable content to the development of Marxism-Leninism.

Although Mao Zedong made serious mistakes in his later years and once deviated from the ideological line of seeking truth from facts established by him, he was still a great Marxist seen from his whole life. Without his creation of the special path of the Chinese revolution, successful explora- tion of the transition of the backward countries to socialist and pioneering work in other aspects, it would be impossible to have the victory of the Chinese revolution and the establishment of the socialist system of China. Even the mistakes made by Mao Zedong in his later years also provided a useful lesson for Deng Xiaoping to explore the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics seen from the dialectical point of view. Deng Xiaoping’s theory exactly generated, formed and developed on the basis of inheriting forefathers, pioneering and innovating, and insisting on correct- ness and correcting mistakes.

Third, the theoretical qualities and the essence of Deng Xiaoping Theory

Formed in the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping Theory is an important theoretical achievement of Marxism in China as well as an important part of the theo- retical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the late 1970s, China’s society was at a critical juncture in its development. The whole Party and the national people had three paths to choose. One was the old path. The second was the crooked path and the third was a new path. The old path was to continue to follow the “Cultural Revolution”, namely the path of “Two Whatevers”. The crooked path was to deny the socialist path on the excuse of denying the “Great Cultural Revolution” and any mistakes made before, namely the capitalist path. The new path was not only differ- ent from the old path, but also different from the crooked path. It was a path leading to the bright. Which way would China go? The answer was related to the future of socialism and the future of the Party and the country. With extraordinary courage, Deng Xiaoping led the whole Party to break through _the constraint of “Two Whatevers”a new way by rejecting the old path.

Then, he definitely criticized the ideological trend of denying socialism, refusing the crooked path. He insisted on combining the basic principles of Marxism with the contemporary Chinese practice and the characteristics of the times, and insisted on taking practice as the only standard to test the truth. He constantly summed up experiences, affirmed achievements, cor- rected mistakes, and led the whole Party and the national people to make bold breakthrough and trial. Finally, he carved out a new path, nance the socialist path with Chinese characteristics.

In the process of paving this new path, Deng Xiaoping’s greatest charac-

teristic is that he was not dogmatic but insisted on emancipating the mind, even in questions such as what is Marxism and what is socialism.

Deng Xiaoping said: For many years there has been a question of how to understand Marxism and socialism.... Nobody was clear about exact- ly what changes had taken place over the century since Marx’s death or about how to understand and develop Marxism in light of those changes. We cannot expect Marx to provide ready answers to questions that arise a hundred or several hundred years after his death, nor can we ask Lenin to give answers to questions that arise fifty or a hundred years after his death. A true Marxist-Leninist must understand, carry on and develop Marxism- Leninism in light of the current situation.”

Lenin was a true and great Marxist because it was not books that enabled him to find the revolutionary path and to accomplish the October socialist revolution in backward Russia but realities, logic, philosophical thinking and communist ideals. It was not by reading the works of Marx and Lenin that the great Marxist-Leninist Mao Zedong learned how to accomplish the new-democratic revolution in backward China. Could Marx predict that the October Revolution would take place in backward Russia? Could Lenin foresee that the Chinese revolutionaries would win by encircling the cities from the countryside?”"*

The reason why Lenin is a true and great Marxist is that he found the revolutionary path from reality, logic, philosophy and communism ideal in- stead of books, and obtained the success of October Socialist Revolution in a backward country. Mao Zedong, the great Marxist-Leninist of China, did not seek the way to win the victory of the New-Democratic Revolution in the backward China from the books of Marx and Lenin. Could Marx expect the success of the October Revolution in a backward Russia? Could Lenin predict that China will win victory by encircling the cities from the rural areas?” The same is true when the question is how to build up a country.

After winning the revolution, the countries should build socialism on their own terms. There is and will be no fixed pattern. It is precisely this spirit that makes Deng Xiaoping become the founder of Deng Xiaoping Theory.

From Marx to Deng Xiaoping, from the scientific socialist theory to practice, from one nation’s practice to multiple nations’ practice, from the Soviet model socialism,to the socialism with Chinese characteristics, the development history of Marxism fully proves that the history of Marxism is the history of emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and advanc- ing with the times since its birth. The reason why Marxism is the truth is that it insists on emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, and developing with the development of the times; Marxism is a theoretical weapon because it emancipates the mind, seeks truth from facts, keeps pace with the times and is able to solve the major practical problems. The classical Marxist writers never regard their own theories as a dogma, but as a guide to action and a scientific method of understanding and solving problems; they never regard their theories as changeless thing and irrevocable ultimate truth. On the contrary, they always enrich and de- velop their own theories with the development of practice and according to new practical experience, so as to make their theories accept the test of the society. And they will correct incorrect understanding and judgment according to the test of the society. Emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and advancing with the times profoundly reveals the practicality, scientificity and expansibility of Marxism, and provides a scientific per- spective for us to understand the development law and vitality of Marxism.

Advancing with the times

First, the ideological connotations and the relationship between emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and advancing with the times

Emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, the 3 principles contain rich ideological contents. The so-called emancipation of the mind is to bravely break the shackles of backward tra-

ditional concepts and be good at starting from reality and strive to forge ahead’!

It is manifested in three aspects. First of all, the premise of emancipat- ing the mind shall be the guidance of Marxism. Mind emancipation will be impossible if non-Marxism or even anti-Marxism rather than Marxism Is taken as the guidance. Secondly, mind emancipation shall aim at break the habitual force and subjective prejudice. If it does not aim to break the habitual force and subjective prejudice, but the correct ideas and practic- es meeting the needs of social development, it shall not be regarded as mind emancipation. Thirdly, the purpose of emancipating the mind shall be studying the new situation, solving new problems and forging ahead. If mind emancipation only remains in the empty slogan and the “revolution” in the mind instead of solving practical problems and forging ahead, it shall not be regarded as mind emancipation. The true mind emancipation shall be the integration of all these three aspects.

According to Mao Zedong’s argument seeking truth from facts, includes the following of cessation: “Facts” are all the things that exist objectively, “¢ryth? means their internal relations, that is, the laws governing them, and “to seek,” means to study. We should proceed from the actual conditions in- side and outside the country, the province, county or district, and derive from them, as our guide to action, laws that are inherent in them and not imaginary, that is, we should find the internal relations of the events occurring around us. And in order to do that we must rely not on subjective imagination, not on momentary enthusiasm, not on lifeless books, but on facts that exist ob- jectively; we must appropriate the study material in detail and, guided by the general principles of Marxism-Leninism, draw correct conclusions from it."°

To be simple, seeking truth from facts is to require people to adhere to proceeding from reality, understanding things according to their original appearance, seeing through the appearance to perceive the essence, striving to grasp the internal relations and development of things, guiding actions with the understanding of the development law of things, and consciously realizing the historical unity of subjective and objective, theory and prac- tice in the activities of understanding and reforming the world.

“Keeping pace with the times means that all the theory and work of the Party must conform to the times, follow the law of development and display great creativity.”...“Its content includes the organic combination of these three aspects: the characteristics of times, regularity and creativity.”"”

Emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times is an organic whole. The three aspects are interrelated, mutually pro- moted and indivisible. Emancipating the mind is the premise and condition of seeking truth from facts. Seeking truth from facts is the essence and foun- dation of emancipating the mind. The two are unified in the social practice. In the final analysis, they are unified in the process of advancing with the times. The key of adhering to the Party’s ideological line, emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and advancing with the times is to carry on truth-seeking and pragmatic spirit and adhere to advancing with the times. Whether this can be achieved consistently determines the future of the Party and the country.

Second, keeping up with the times as the key link

Why is “keeping up with the times” the key link?

To cerrectly understand and grasp this problem, we must first correctly understand and grasp the concept of “times”. The so-called “times” is an important philosophical category.

Philosophically, its biggest characteristic is that it is one-dimensional, just like time. In other words, it moves in one direction, which is irrevers- ible. Time is continuous, but it is manifested through different stages of development. The larger time span can be called the era, and the smaller time span can be called the development stage or historical period. Whether it is the era, the stage of development or the historical period, the question of the times discussed now is to emphasize that the present is not the past. It is necessary to recognize the difference between the present and the past, the changes since the publication of The Communist Manifesto, and the new situation and new features presented at current development stage compared with the previous development stages. It is because of the characteristics of the times that Jiang Zemin had repeatedly stressed that adhering to advanc- ing with the times is to recognize the major changes in politics, economy, culture, technology and other aspects over the past more than 160 years since the publication of The Communist Manifesto, the major changes in the socialist construction of China, and the major changes in the work, living conditions and social environment of the vast party members and cadres and the masses. It is also necessary to take full account of the serious chal- lenges and new subjects put forward by these changes to the Party, correctly understand the historical process of socialist development, and have a cor- rect understanding of the historical process of the socialist development and capitalist development, the influence of the practice of Chinese socialist reform on the thoughts of people, and the influence of current international environment and international political struggle. Great changes have taken place in the times, and the history has entered a new stage of development. The situation has changed, and the problems are different. In this way, the theory, ideas, methods and measures to solve the problem cannot remain unchanged. If we indiscriminately copy the old theory, ideas, methods and measures to face the new situation, solve the new problems, and create new things, we will inevitably get into trouble on all sides and encounter failure. _ This is why the adherence to advancing with the times should firstly ensure _that “all theories and the work of the Party accord with the times”.

Secondly, to correctly understand and grasp that the key is to advance with times, we should also correctly understand and grasp the relationship between the times and regularity and the significance of regularity. Whether in philosophy or science, “time” is not an empty frame existing indepen- dently. It is always closely related to things, and is the form of existence and development of things. When “time” changes, things will change too. And the internal relationship among things and the development rule and development trend formed by such relationship will also change inevitably. Based on this, we have every reason to say that situation changes when time changes. The past has its own situation, so does the present. Only by grasp- ing the present can we grasp the current situation, go with the flow, and ride on the momentum. If we stand still, we will go against the flow and will inevitably encounter failure. Throughout the development history of human society, the current age is different from the age more than 160 years ago, and the current situation is different from that more than 160 years ago. The times have changed, and the situation is different. As a result, the develop- ment law and development trend of social politics, economy, culture and other aspects of social life will also change inevitably.

To advance with times, we must study new situation and new problems, grasp the new laws and new trends of the development of things, and guide our actions with the understanding and grasp of new laws. Otherwise, noth- ing will be done. Why the formal Chairman Jiang Zemin repeatedly stressed that all party members should focus on the practical problems of China’s reform and opening up and modernization construction, things we are do- ing, the application of Marxist theory, the theoretical thinking on practical problems, new practices and new developments? That is the reason; and that is also the reason why the adherence to advancing with the times is to “make all theories and work of the Party... should accord with the laws of development”.

Finally, to understand and grasp that the key is to advance with times, the most important is to correctly understand and grasp the “advancing”. The achievement of advancing with the times, after all, should be reflected in the ability to “keep pace”. “Advancing” is to move forward. However, moving forward cannot be realized passively. It should be a kind of con- scious behavior. This requires forging ahead and bold innovation. We need

forward. Attitudes of cessation, pessimism, inaction and complacency are all wrong.

He added: Ideas of stagnation, pessimism, inertia and complacency are all wrong. They are wrong because they agree neither with the historical facts of social development over the past million years, nor with the histori- cal facts of nature so far known to us (i.e., nature as revealed in the history of celestial bodies, the earth, life, and other natural phenomena).”!®

By entering into the 21% century, Jiang Zemin explicitly pointed out: “Innovation is the soul driving a nation’s progress and an inexhaustible source of a country’s prosperity and development, also the source of the eternal vitality of a political party.”"°

In the report of the 16 CPC National Congress, he highlighted the im- portance of innovation again through summarizing the development history of human society, the social development history of Chinese society, espe- cially that since the modern times, and the struggling course of the CPC since its establishment.

Css

Innovation is manifested in the theory, institution, science and technol- ogy, culture and other aspects of the society. In these innovations, theoreti- cal innovation is the premise and key to the development of the Party and the country. System innovation is the guarantee of the development of the Party and the national cause. Scientific and technological innovation and cultural innovation are the driving force and intellectual support for the development of the Party and the country.

The classical Marxist writers once made clear that the theory is the fore- runner of action and there will be no real revolutionary movement without the correct revolutionary theory; once the correct theory is mastered by the masses, it will be transformed into a great material force to transform the world. Therefore, to obtain the continuous development of the cause of the Party and the country, it is necessary to continuously develop theory at first. The theoretical innovation should be carried out, otherwise all new devel- opments will indulge in empty talk.

However, theoretical innovation does not drop from the skies, nor gen- erate by itself. It is driven by social practice and its needs. Marx made it

to open a path in the thorns, and even a path in the place where there is no |

_ Clear that the degree of implementing a theory in one country depends on

path. If there is no forging ahead, there will be no new path. Without inno- vation, there will be no new ideological realm. The discovery of the special

path of the New Democratic Revolution in China and the opening of the -

path of socialist construction with Chinese characteristics has proved the importance of innovation. In the 1960s, Mao Zedong once pointed out tha human beings have to constantly sum up, discover, invent, create, and move

the degree to which the theory meets the needs of the country. The con- tent of theoretical innovation comes from the scientific induction, sum- Mary and sublimation of new practical experience; theoretical innovation depends on absorbing all the outstanding ideological achievements made

https:/Avww.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/ch22.htm. Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol.3, p.64.

by predecessors and contemporaries; whether the theoretical innovation is true or false should be tested and judged by practice; the innovative theo- ry can be the guide of new practice. Practice, need, inheritance and new practice guidance are indispensable elements and functions of theoretical innovation.

The vitality of Marxism lies in constant theoretical innovation; the vital- ity and vigor of the CPC also lies in constant theoretical innovation.

In his article “Insist on the Scientific Method in the Study of Marxism .

and Start from Practical Problems”, Jiang Zemin pointed out: “Attaching importance to theoretical construction and theoretical guidance is one of the fundamental characteristics of our party. And emphasizing the building of the party ideologically is an important political experience of our party. At every moment of the development of our enterprise, our party has paid due attention to the supreme priority of theoretical construction. Our 80-year historical experience shows that paying attention to theoretical innovation is an important guarantee for the advancement of the party’s cause. As long as we closely the principle linking theory with practice and continuously push forward the theoretical innovation, the cause of the Party is full of vig- or and vitality, and when the development of theory lags behind the prac- tice, the cause of the party will be harmed and even setbacks will occa

In his speech at the meeting celebrating the 80" anniversary of the found- ing of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin further pointed out: “Many changes have taken place in the present world and the time we are in, as compared with the past. We face many problems both at the interna- tional level and domestic level, therefore new problems and new situations must be answered and resolved theoretically and practically or we will not be able to move forward smoothly. We must keep pace with the times and continue to enrich and develop Marxism. If we allow the trend of old age and stagnation, we will be out of date, and our party will face with the risk of losing its advanced nature and leadership qualifications.””' When celebrating the 90" anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu Jintao pointed out: “For Marxism, practice is the source of its theory, the basis for its development, and the criterion for test- ing its truth. Any actions that stick to dogma, ignore practice, or overstep oF lag behind real life will not succeed.” Based on China’s national conditions, we find that the world is changing

when we open our eyes to the whole world and look forward to the future. — China’s reform and opening up and modernization is moving forward, and the great practice of the masses are developing. All these urge the Party to take the theoretical courage of Marxism to summarize the new experience of practice, draw lessons from the beneficial results of contemporary hu- man civilization, expand new horizons in theory and make new summaries. Only in this way can the Party’s ideological theory guide and inspire the whole Party and the people to continuously push forward with the cause of socialism with Chinese charatteristics.

Treating Marxism with a scientific attitude

First, adherence to Marxism

The premise for carrying on theoretical innovation is that we must adhere to the basic position, basic ideas and basic methods of Marxism, and adhere to the basic principles of Marxism. Why should we insist on this premise? It is because the truth of Marxism is irrefutable and is the guiding ideology and theoretical weapon of the Party. Deng Xiaoping had repeatedly stressed that we are engaged in reform and opening up and socialist modernization without forgetting our ancestor; we should not forget our ancestor. If we lose our ancestor, we lose our root.

In the spring of 1992, Deng Xiaoping also confidently pointed out in a conversation in the South Speeches: I am convinced that more and more people will come to believe in Marxism, because it is a science. Using his- torical materialism, it has uncovered the laws governing the development of human society. Feudal society replaced slave society, capitalism supplanted feudalism, and, after a long time, socialism will necessarily supersede capi- talism. This is an irreversible general trend of historical development, but the path has many twists and turns.””3

In July 2001, Jiang Zemin pointed out in his speech to the 80" Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC that: “Marxism is the fundamental guiding ide- ology of the Party and the country and a common theoretical basis for the unity of the people of all ethnic groups. The basic principles of Marxism should be adhered to at any time, otherwise we will wander from the course and even lose our cause due to the loss of right theoretical foundation and

ideological soul. “This is why we must always uphold the basic tenets of Marxism.”

Second, the development and enrichment of Marxism

To carry out theoretical innovation, we must constantly enrich and de- velop Marxism on the basis of new practice. Why should we do that? It is because although the theory is gray, the tree of life is evergreen. Practice is always moving forward without limit. Thus, theory should also develop together with practice. And the innovation also has no limits. Jiang Zemin pointed out that Marxism is the science of development. It believes that the nature, society and people’s thinking is always in constant movement,

change and development. It does not recognize any ultimate condition and

ultimate truth in the world. This requires that we should combine the basic principles of Marxism with the reality of socialist modernization and the reform and opening up as well as the new developments and changes of the times and world situation, and enrich and develop Marxism in the practice of Marxism. If we ignore the historical conditions and the changes of reality and adhere to certain individual conclusions and concrete action programs made by classical Marxist writers under specific historical conditions and specific situations, we will be unable to go forward smoothly and even make mistakes due to divorcing from the actual situation. This is why we should always oppose the dogmatic approach to Marxism.

In the report to the 16 National Congress of the CPC, Jiang Zemin fur- ther pointed out: “We will surpass our predecessors, and future generations will certainly surpass us. This is an inexorable law governing social ad- vancement. We must adapt ourselves to the progress of practice and test all things in practice. We must conscientiously free our minds from the shack- les of the outdated notions, practices and systems, from the erroneous and dogmatic interpretations of Marxism and from the fetters of subjectivism and subdued and subversive metaphysics.””°

On this point, we must be firm and never allow vagueness.

The historical process of China’s reform and opening up is a process of always adhering to the basic tenets of Marxism and constantly emancipat- ing the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, make in- novations in a pioneering spirit and being pragmatic.”°

Therefore, in the report to the 16" National Congress of the CPC, Jiang Zemin solemnly demanded from the entire party: “While upholding the ba- sic tenets of Marxism, we must add new chapters of theory to it. While car- rying forward the revolutionary tradition, we must acquire new experience. We should be good at seeking unity in thinking through the emancipation of our minds and guiding our new practice with the developing Marxism.”

Guiding the new practice with the developing Marxism faced with the new century, new stage and new situation, requires us to guide our new practice with the scientific outlook on development. The scientific outlook on development is consistent with the Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of “Three Represents”. It reflects the new requirements of the developments and changes of contemporary world and contemporary China for the work of the Party and the country. It is a powerful theoretical weapon to promote comprehensive and coordinated sustainable development of Chinese econ- omy and society, strengthen and improve the Party construction. It is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the whole Party and the people. It is a major strategic thought that should be adhered to for a long time in the socialist construction with Chinese characteristics.

Development Stages of Socialism and the Strategies to Develop Socialism in the Theory of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

The theory of the primary stage of socialism

First, the formation and development of the theory of the primary stage of socialism

Regardless of both the revolution and socialist construction, we must proceed from the basic national conditions of our country. As early as dur- ing the democratic revolution, Mao Zedong pointed out: “Understanding China’s national conditions is the fundamental basis for grasping all the questions of Chinese revolution.”!

The basic national conditions not only refer to the general national con- ditions of China, such as our country having a long history, a vast territory and a huge population. More importantly, it refers to the real nature of the Chinese society and the stage of historical development in which it is de- veloping. In his speech at the meeting celebrating the 70" anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin pointed out: “when recognizing China’s national conditions, the most important thing is to recognize all the favorable and unfavorable realistic factors that have a significant impact on the Chinese revolution and construction, especially _the nature of Chinese society and the stage of development it is in, under- Stand their major social contradictions, their development and changes.”

Selected Works of Mao Zedong, 2™ edition, vol.2, p.633. CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the 7* National Congress”, p.1634.

In designing the path of Chinese revolution, why did the Communist Party of China aim to launch a new-democratic revolution and not directly engage in the socialist revolution? This was determined by the nature the country, i.e. its semi-colonial and semi-feudal old society.

The New Democratic Revolution led by the Communist Party of China was able gain victory, because the first generation of the central collective leadership with Mao Zedong as the core accurately grasped that our country

was still a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, correctly analyzed the —

basic national conditions, so as to correctly solve the basic issues of new Democratic revolution, i.e. its goal, nature, motive forces and its future prospects and so on. In the current stage when we are building socialism in China, there is also the question of how to understand the basic national conditions of the country. China is in and will be in the early stage of so- cialism, for a long time in the future which is the scientific judgment of the Communist Party of China and Deng Xiaoping, which was evaluated on the basic national conditions of contemporary China.

This judgment provides a scientific theoretical basis for the Chinese Communist Party to put forward the correct basic line and basic program of the CPC for this stage. The theory of the primary stage of socialism has gone through a long process of practice and cognition.

The founders of Marxism have put forward the basic ideas regarding the future development stages of human society. In the Critique of the Gotha Program, Marx divided the future communism into the first stage and the higher stages of communism according its degree of maturity. Lenin re- ferred to these two stages as socialism and communism. Lenin further elab- orated on the development stages of socialism.

After the victory of the October Revolution, Lenin pointed out that in economically backward Russia, only “primary form of socialism” could be built, and cannot immediately build the “advanced socialism.” This con- tains the concept that a socialist society should from a low level to higher one and from incomplete to a more complete development stage. The im- plementation of the “New Economic Policy” was based on this concept. But Lenin has mainly answered the question of how Russia would transit to socialism, and was not yet able to elucidate on the future development stages of the socialist system. After the death of Lenin, when Stalin led the Soviet people in the process of socialist construction, his evaluations and practice on the development stages of socialism, has gone beyond the real-

ity. Shortly after the establishment of the socialist system in 1936, Stalin proposed that the Soviet Union had already entered the stage of completing

socialist construction and gradually transiting to communism.

After the end of the World War II, after a period of economic reconstruc- tion, in 1952 he had announced that the Party’s main task was to transit from socialism to communism. Stalin’s successors also overestimated the development stages of socialismy in the Soviet Union. Eastern European so- cialist countries and the Soviet Union have shared similar views, basically that they had entered the stage of “developed socialist society.”

China’s cognition regarding the development stages of socialism has also experienced a tortuous development process. After the socialist transforma- tion was basically completed in 1956, Mao Zedong believed that China’s socialist system had just been established and had not yet been fully com- pleted and needed a process of further consolidation. Due to the hasty and early entry into socialism, we didn’t accumulate enough experience to en- able us to have a very clear understanding on the issues of social develop- ment. Throughout the “Great Leap Forward” and the People’s Commune Movement in 1958, there had occurred a blind optimism of targeting “the realization of communism in our country, which is no longer a distant fu- ture”, and thus made a serious and erroneous estimation on the develop- ment stages of socialism.

Although later Mao Zedong and others, when trying to correct the mis- takes of the “Great Leap Forward”, held good discussions on the stage of the development of socialism in China, and pointed to the confusion re- garding the difference between socialism and communism, criticized the viewpoints of denying the law of value and equivalent Exchange in the economic life, but in general, the prevalent “left” tendency could not be corrected.

As Deng Xiaoping pointed out: As early as the second half of 1957 we began to make “Left” mistakes. To put it briefly, we pursued a closed-door policy in foreign affairs and took class struggle as the central task at home. No attempt was made to expand the productive forces, and the policies we formulated were too ambitious for the primary stage of socialism.”?

After the 3" Plenary Session of the Party, after the comparison of our both positive and negative experiences, the Chinese Communist Party has gradually made a scientific conclusion that China is in and will be in the primary stage of socialism.

The resolution “On The Historical Issues of The Party since the found-

ing of the People’s Republic of China adopted by the 6" Plenary Session of the 11* CPC Central Committee in 1981, pointed out that “of course, our socialist) system will have to undergo a long process of development be- fore it can be perfected,” and made another clear statement as “our socialist

Selected Works of Deng Xiaopi iti g Xiaoping, Ist Edition, Vol. 3, p.269 and https://archive. tam/Selected WorksOfDeng Xiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt. : or

54

system is still in its early phase of development” our socialist system is still in its early phase of development”.

The CC report to 12 CPC National Congress in 1982 once again pointed out: “China’s socialist society is still at an early stage of development.” And on the eve of the thirteenth Chinese Communist Party Congress in 1987, Deng Xiaoping emphasized: “The 13" National Party Congress will explain what stage China is in: the primary stage of socialism. Socialism itself is the first stage of communism, and here in China we are still in the primary stage of socialism—that is, the underdeveloped stage. In everything we do we must proceed from this reality, and all planning must be consis-

tent with it.

The 13 National Congress of the CPC systematically expounded the theory of the primary stage of socialism, clearly defined the meanings of the primary stage of socialism, clarified the main contradictions in the primary stage and the way to solve it, and put forward the mode of party work in the primary stage of socialism, elucidation of this basic line in this Congress marks the formation of the theory of the primary stage of socialism.

The 15" Party Congress once again expounded on the issues of primary stage of socialism, Party Congress further systematically summed up the 9 characteristics of the primary stage of socialism, and for the first time elaborated the basic sub-stages of the primary stage of socialism, thus our cognition on the issue has reached a new height.

When the 16° National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2002, put forward the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way, it has emphasizes that: “We must be aware that China is in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time to come. The well-off life we are leading is still at a low level; it is not all-inclusive and is very uneven”, and added that “we need to work hard over a long period of time to consolidate and uplift our current well-off standard of living.”

The 17° National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2007 has analyzed a series of new characteristics of the development of our country since entering the new century. It has pointed out that this is the concrete manifestation of the basic national conditions in the new stage of the new

century.

The Congress emphasized the unremitting efforts of Chinese people

since the founding of new China, especially since the reform and open-

ing up, and added: China has scored achievements in development that — have captured world attention, and experienced far-reaching changes in the productive forces and the relations of production, as well as in the eco- nomic base and the superstructure. However, the basic reality that China is still in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time to come has not changed, nor has Chinese society’s principal contradic- tion—the one between the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and.the low level of social production. The current features of de- velopment in China are a concrete manifestation of that basic reality at this new stage in the new century. Stressing recognition of the basic reality is not meant to belittle ourselves, wallow in backwardness, or encourage unrealistic pursuit of quick results. Rather, such recognition will serve as the basis of our endeavor to advance reform and plan for development. We must always remain sober-minded, base our efforts on the most significant reality that China is in the primary stage of socialism, scientifically analyze the new opportunities and challenges arising from China’s full involvement in economic globalization, fully understand the new situation and tasks in | China’s advance toward an industrialized, information-based, urbanized | market-oriented and internationalized country, have a good grasp of thie new issues and problems we face in development, follow more conscien- tiously the path of scientific development, and strive to open up a broader vista for developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

HON

AeA EN

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It is just due to the basic understanding of the basic conditions of social- ism and the correct grasp of the basic conditions of socialism, we have succeeded in blazing a new trial of building socialism with Chinese charac- teristics, and have made remarkable achievements.

The basic line and basic program of the primary stage of socialism

Second, the scientific connotations and the main features of primary stage of socialism

The theory of primary stage of socialism includes two meanings: firstly. China is already a socialist society, must adhere to and stick to the path of socialism; secondly, China’s socialist society is still in the primary stage, it has not fundamentally got rid of poverty and in an undeveloped state an must proceed from the actual conditions of this primary stage, and not at- tempt to go beyond it. The meaning of the former layer refers to the social nature of the primary stage, and the latter meaning points to the degree of development of our socialist society.

When analyzing the basic national conditions of our country, we must first be certain that the basic elements of socialism have already been achieved: the basic dominant position of socialist public ownership and the basic system of socialism have been established. The people’s democratic dictatorship as the state system has been established and the guiding posi- lion of Marxism in the superstructure of the society has been established.

It is due to these basic achievements that have made the Chinese people stand up, so that China could attain the status of a socialist country among the community of world nations and have established the prerequisites for completing realizing socialist modernization in the mid of this century.

At the same time, we must also see that the level of productive forc- es in our country still lags far behind the developed capitalist countries. Thus, building the material and technical base necessary for building the advanced socialism must go through a long historical period.

To fully and correctly understand the concept of the primary stage of socialism, we must first fully grasp the meaning of these above two aspects.

and grasping the 8 Chinese characters of

Only by correctly recognizing “socialism” and “primary stage”, we can unify and grasp the basic national

conditions, which means unifying the nature of the socialist society in our country with its degree of development.

If we cannot grasp the current social nature of our country, it will be im-

possible to make a correct analysis of the basic characteristics, major con- tradictions, fundamental tasks and development orientation of society, and it will be impossible to formulate the correct path, basic line, basic program and policies. Failure to correctly understand the current stage of develop- ment of society, it may appear that we may take a working path which goes beyond the stage or may passively fall behind the situation, which will lead us wrong measures and decision. The basic characteristics of the primary stage of socialism, if summed up in a single sentence is “underdeveloped stage of socialism”. The 13 Party Congress in 1987 has summarized the basic characteristics of the primary stage of socialism in China from the aspects of population structure, industrial development level, regional development differences and level of scientific education and cultural development. The 15 Congress of the CPC has further systematically summed up the 9 characteristics of the primary stage of socialism: (1) This stage is to gradually transcend the underdeveloped state, and the historical stage within which the basic realization of socialist moderniza- tion will be achieved, which is its general overall characteristics.

(2) This historical stage is in which a significant proportion of popula- tion involves in agricultural production, mainly relying on manual labor,

and which will gradually be transformed into non-agricultural populati

and urban population becomes the majority, a stage w modern agriculture and service industry, an industrialized country.

hich will lead us toa

(3) This is a historical stage, wherein the natural economy and semi-nat- ural economy accounts for a large proportion, and will be gradually trans- formed into a highly developed market economy.

(4) This is a historical stage, wherein we have a large proportion of il- literate and semi-illiterate population, which lack education of science and culture is backward, which will be gradually transformed into a relativel advanced level of science and technology, education and culture ed

(5) This is a historical stage, wherein the poor population accounted a nee ah sr wherein people’s living standards are relatively low. which will be gradually transformed into a state th ill achieve remarkable prosperity. Shey yee

(6) This is a historical stage, wherein the regional economic and cultural development levels are quite uneven, wherein through the development achieved in the primary stage, the gaps will be gradually narrowed.

(7) This is a historical stage, wherein we will through reform practice and exploration, establish and improve a more mature and dynamic social- ist market economic system, socialist democratic political system and other aspects of the socialist system.

(8) At this stage, the broad masses of people will be able to firmly estab- lish the common ideals of building socialism with Chinese characteristic strive for self-improvement, forge ahead, hard work, diligence and creati ity, and strive to build spiritual civilization and achieve to realize peers nated development of the two civilizations, energetically promote spirit i civilization while advancing material civilization. _

(9) This stage is a historical stage wherein we will gradually narrow the . Rolie the world s advanced level and achieve the great rejuvenation of a te eae on the basis of socialism. These 9 aspects fully embody € procedural characteristics of the historical i Dace orical development of the primary

In the process of the development of the primary stage of socialism, it is pcsay to go through a number of specific sub-stages of development. which demonstrates distinct qualities.

. 17 National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in 2007 ae a pee analysis and made a new generalization which in-

aspects of the sub-phasal status of the pri i

tered into the new century. Pipiesagee ne ina gat

a 2 the current situation, economic strength is significantly enhanced

N : e the overall level of productive forces is not high, independent jiigvac capability is not strong, the status of long-term structural contradictions

still exist and extensive economic growth mode has not fundamentally transcended.

(2) In the current situation, the initial establishment level of socialist market economic system is achieved, while institutional mechanisms that hinder the development still exist, the reform is faced with deep-seated con- tradictions and problems. ;

(3) In the current situation, in general people’s living standards have achieved a well-off level, while the widening trend of gap regarding the income distribution gap widening trend has not fundamentally reversed, there is a considerable number of urban and rural poor and low-income population in China we need to undertake comprehensive efforts to regulate and optimize the interests of all quarters of the society.

(4) In the current situation, we have made significant achievements in coordinated development, while the agricultural base is still weak, the situ- ation of rural development has not changed. We are faced with the arduous tasks of narrowing development gap between the city and rural areas, be- tween regions and strike a coordinated economic and social development.

(5) In the current situation, the building of socialist democratic politics is developing continuously and our basic strategy of governing the country according to law is carried out. At the same time, the requirements of de- mocracy and legal system construction and expansion of people’s democ- racy and economic and social development are not fully met, the reform of political system needs to be deepened.

(6) In the current situation, the socialist culture has achieved more pros- perous level, and the people’s spiritual and cultural demands are becoming more and more vigorous. We see obvious enhancement of independence, selectivity, diversity and difference in people’s ideological activities, which brings forward higher requirements for the development of advanced so- cialist culture by us.

(7) In the current situation, our society has become evidently more dy- namic, but profound changes have taken place in the structure of society, in the way society is organized and in the pattern of social interests, and many new issues have emerged in social development and management.

(8) In the current situation, China is opening wider to the outside world, but international competition is becoming increasingly acute, pressure in the form of the economic and scientific dominance of developed countries will continue for a long time to come, both predictable and unpredictable

risks are increasing, and the need to balance domestic development and

opening to the outside world is greater than ever. .

At present, the phasal status characteristics of China’s development giv- en above are the concrete presentation of the basic national conditions of the primary stage of socialism in the sub-stage when China has entered into the new century.

' Only by firmly grasping the great historical stage of the primary stage of socialism and seriously analyzing the specific characteristics of the sub- stages in different periods, can we accurately judge the mainstream and direction of our country’s social development and formulate the correct de- velopment strategies and policies.

Third, the long-term nature of the primary stage of socialism

That, China is in the primary stage of socialism, is not conclusion based | on general principles, but a scientific conclusion drawn from the concrete realities of China. i i

The 13 CPC National Congress pointed out: “the primary stage social- ism” does not refer that generally to the initial stage that any country should pass through when proceeding towards socialism “but refers specifically to the backwardness of our country with relatively backward productive forces, and with an the underdeveloped commodity economy, it is certain stage of development that our socialism is bound to go through.”

China’s socialism must go through a long-term primary stage.

Firstly, this truth is determined by the historical premises of our entry into socialism.

The main historical premise of China’s entering socialism is the econom- ic and cultural backwardness attached to the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society of China.

The concrete historical conditions of the modern world and China have determined that China’s bourgeoisie would not lead the democratic revolu- tion to victory, thus China would not be able to realize industrialization, economic modernization and marketization under capitalism. The only Way out for China was to reject capitalist path and strive for the goal of socialism, through new democracy under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. These have historically imposed China to establish a so- Cialist system whence the full development of capitalism was not there. However, this does not mean that China should pass through the stage of full development of capitalism, but at the same time this does not mean that _we are allowed to by-pass beyond the stage wherein the great development of productive forces and full development of the commodity economy is

Se reerenenneeneenmeeneetenrenneneneceeeaer

. eee Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since

me 13" National Congress” (Vol. I), p.12, Beijing, People’s Publishing House, 1991.

achieved. Socialism is based on the highly advanced productive forces, and industrialization based on high degree of socialization of production, which is accompanied by the full development of the commodity economy, in order to fully demonstrate its superiority over capitalism. When China has entered the socialism building, it was far behind the developed capitalist countries in terms of the level of development of productive forces, in terms of the socialization of production, marketization and economic modern- ization. All these determines that, our country must use a whole historical

stage under socialism conditions to realize the socialization of production, .

marketization and modernization of the economy and industrialization—all of which were realized under capitalism conditions in many other coun- tries—in order to establish and develop socialism it needs to develop the basis regarding the level of productive forces.

Secondly, when evaluating the realities of our national situation, China has not exceeded the primary stage of socialism.

Although after 50 plus years of socialist construction, especially with the rapid development we have achieved after the 3 Plenary Session of the 11" Central Committee of the CPC, China has undergone profound changes, productivity has been a huge development, our cause has made great prog- ress, comprehensive national strength of China is greatly enhanced and the people’s living standards in general have reached a well-off level.

However, in general, the level of productive forces in China is not high yet, our socialist system is not perfect, the socialist economic system is not yet mature, the socialist democracy and the legal system is not sound enough, the backward situation of education regarding science and tech- nology, and cultural level has not been fundamentally changed, the sphere of societal construction and social management are also faced with many new issues. The major social contradiction between people’s ever growing material and cultural needs and the backward social production did not yet enter a new situation.

Thirdly, and finally, the characteristics of the times and the general inter- national environment we are surrounded with determines that the socialist modernization drive of China have to go through a relatively long primary stage. Advance and mature socialism requires that we should continue to develop and improve our material and technical foundation, as well as sci- entific and technological progress.

In today’s world, the productive forces of the developed countries is highly advanced, and looking at the world-wide environment we see that scientific and technological revolution has developed rapidly. Surrounded with this context, in the process of modernization, in addition to the con-

z g

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informationization to meet the challenges of the new scientific and tech- nological revolution surrounding our country, which means that China’s comparative comprehensive national strength is under a great pressure of foreign competition. All these determine that China must go through a long primary stage to develop into a more advanced and mature socialism. In short, our country is still in and will be in the early stages of socialism for a long time to come.

To achieve modernization, to build our country into a prosperous, demo- cratic, civilized and harmonious socialist country, there is still a long way to go, till the middle of the 21* century in order to basically realize modern- ization, from 1956 into the socialist society. The primary stage of the work takes at least a hundred years. In,1992, Deng Xiaoping pointed out in his speech in the south tour: We have been building socialism for only a few decades and are still in the primary stage. It will take a very long historical period to consolidate and develop the socialist system, and it will require persistent struggle by many generations, a dozen or even several dozens. We can never rest on our oars.’

Capitalism has consummated centuries to modernize itself. Only by seiz- ing the opportunities and utilizing them successfully so as to speed up the development, it is possible to achieve this magnificent vision of achieving socialist modernization in 2049.

Recognizing the long-term nature of the primary stage of socialism will help us to keep a clear mind and avoid us from making “left” or right mis- takes, in our thinking and actions, and raise our consciousness of upholding the party’s basic line and basic program, thus will promote the socialist modernization drive.

The basic line and basic program of the primary stage of socialism

First, the main social contradictions in the primary stage of socialism

One of the core issues of the theory of the primary stage of socialism is the correct judgment of the major social contradiction, which is the objec- tive basis for formulating the basic line of the Party in the primary stage of socialism.

6 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, First edition, Vol.3, pp.379-380 and https://archive. org/stream/Selected WorksOfDeng Xiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt

ventional historical task of industrialization, China is also faced with the

After the socialist transformation in our country was basically completed in 1956, the 8 National Congress of the Party in 1956 pointed out: The contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in our country sae basically been resolved. The history of the class exploitation system whic had lasted for thousands of years has basically ended. “The principal con- tradiction within the country is no longer the contradiction between the pro- letariat and the bourgeoisie but the one resulted from the need of the people for rapid economic and cultural development which fell short of their re- quirements. The chief task confronting the entire nation is to concentrate. all efforts on developing the productive forces, change our country from an underdeveloped agricultural country to an advanced industrial country e soon as possible, and gradually meet the people’s growing economic an cultural needs.”

The 8" Congress of our Party’s judgment on the major social contradic- tion of China was basically correct, and in line with China’s national condi- tions, but due to variety of subjective and objective reasons, we failed to stick to this correct understanding and judgment.

The failure of expansion of the “anti-rightist” struggle in 1957 was, theo- retically speaking, a reflection of rejecting the correct analysis we a made regarding major social contradiction and meant that we regarde tt € contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie as ae main social contradiction of our society, which led to the rise of the “left” thoughts.

In 1962, the class contradiction was further emphasized as the main con- tradiction and extended to be the main contradiction throughout the whole period socialism, and the line of “taking class struggle as the key Hink was put forward, leading to the occurrence of the “Cultural Revolution” which caused serious setback in our socialist cause.

The 3" Plenary Session of the 11" Central Committee of the CPC dect- sively corrected the erroneous judgments regarding the main contadicuon and the erroneous line of “taking class struggle as the key link , and shifted the focus of the work of the party and the state to the socialist moderniza-

tion drive.

In 1979, in his important speech “Adhere to the Four Cardinal Principles,” Deng Xiaoping clearly answered the main contradictions at this stage: As for the question of what is the principal contradiction in the current . riod—what is the main issue or central task confronting the Party and ie people in the current period—actually this question was answered by e decision of the 3“ Plenary Session of the 11" Central Committee to shift the

7 CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the Founding of PRC” (Vol. IX), pp.341-342, Beijing, Central Literature Publishing House, 1994.

focus of our work to socialist modernization. The level of our productive forces is very low and is far from meeting the needs of our people and coun-

try. This is the principal contradiction in the current period, and to resolve it is our central task.’

' “The resolution on The Historical Issues of The Party since The Founding of The People’s Republic of China, decided at the 6" Plenary Session of the 11 Central Committee CPC, in 1981 further pointed out that after the socialist transformation was basically completed, the main contradiction to be solved by our country was that “between the ever growing material and cultural needs of the people and the backward social production.”

The 13" Party Congress in 1987 more comprehensively expounded and affirmed the theory of the primary stage of socialism and pointed out that the main contradiction throughout the primary stage of socialism in our country was that “between the ever growing material and cultural needs of the people and the backward social production.”

But as a result of international and domestic factors, class contradictions and class struggle in China will continue to exist within a certain range, and may also intensify, under certain conditions. We must have a clear under- standing of this issue, and take the correct attitude and methods to solve it. But the main contradiction of society is “between the ever growing mate- rial and cultural needs of the people and the backward social production.” This main contradiction runs through the whole process of socialism in our country and demonstrates itself in the various aspects of social life, which determines that we must take economic construction as the center, all the work of the Party must obey and serve this central task.

Deng Xiaoping has always stressed the importance of this idea, by say- ing “even if there is a large-scale invasion by foreign enemies, we must not shake and change our judgment regarding the main contradictions and central task, nothing should interfere the determination of our party’s con- centration over the cause of socialist modernization, must not repeat the mistake we have made regarding the 8" Party Congress judgment, shake the central task work center and turn back to error of “taking class struggle as the key link”.

The 16" National Congress of the Communist Party of China stressed that in the stage of building a well-off society in an all-round way, it is nec- essary to adhere to the economic development work as the central task and solve the problems regarding the development. It emphasized: we should promote social progress, and continuously improve people’s living stan- dards, and ensure that people share the fruits of development, by firmly focusing on the task of economic development. Only by firmly grasping the main contradictions and central task of the primary stage of socialism and concentrating on the development of productive forces can we fundamen- tally change the backwardness of our country and continuously meet the people’s growing material and cultural needs.

Second, the formation and content of the basic line of the of the primary stage of socialism

The basic line, also known as the general line, is the description of the. general goals and tasks of the CPC for a certain historical stage and the pathways and roads set to achieve this goal. The basic line of the primary stage of socialism was established on summing up the past experience and lessons, and was gradually formed in the course of reform and opening up and the practice of socialist modernization.

In the eve of the 3 Plenary Session of the 11° CPC Central Committee in 1978, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that the realization of the four mod- ernizations should be understood as a great revolution. We should carry out comprehensive and major reforms in the economic front and at the same time reform the relations of production and adjust the superstructures so that they can serve the base.

The 3 Plenary Session of the 11" Central Committee decided to shift the focus of Party and state work to economic construction and made the great

decisions of reform and opening up.

Evaluating the doubting thoughts in the society towards the viability of socialist system after certain failures, and in order to control the erroneous thought of negating the Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping put forward the Four Cardinal Principles: adhere to the socialist path, adhere to the peo- ple’s democratic dictatorship, adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, adhere to our guiding ideology of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. In 1980, Deng Xiaoping pointed out in his speech at the 5" Plenary Session of the 11 CPC Central Committee that the political line of our Party at this stage is to engage in four modernizations.

In 1981, in the 6" Plenary Session of the 11" Central Committee estab- lished the goal of building our country into a socialist country with modern

agriculture, modern industry, modern defense and modern science and tech- _ nology, with a high degree of democracy and a high degree of civilization.

By 1982 the 12" National Congress of the Party has proposed the Party task as “one center, two basic points” which was a further summarization

of the above concept. At this Congress, Deng Xiaoping for the first tim

put forward “follow a path of our own, and build socialism with Chinese

characteristics” as an important proposition. In 1986, as suggested by Deng

Xiaoping, the 6" Plenary Session of the 12 CPC Central Committ d fined the overall comprehensive layout of China’s socialist re ani ‘s task, that is, “take economic construction as the central task apeits ee ingly carry out economic reform, unswervingly carry out political fe - strengthen the construction of spiritual civilization.” reer

On the eve of the 13% CPC National C ; tote on Xiaoping made it further clear: gress held in 1987, Deng

It : our basic line to carry out socialist modernization. If we are to do so and to make China a prosperous and developed country, we must, first

follow the policies of reform and openi pening up, and to the Four Cardinal Principles.”® ae aes

While systematically expounding the theory of the primary stage of eAlsins the Party’s 13" CPC National Congress formally fanitered th party s basic line in the primary stage of socialism: “In the initial sta e se socialism, our party’s basic line of building socialism with Chinese a acteristics is: “To lead and unite the people of all ethnic groups acros the country, taking economic construction as the central task uphold the : Cardinal Principles, persist in reform and opening up, see that people of ite whole country will rise to do hard pioneering work and bring ie a ; rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, thus we will strive to build our co a into a prosperous, democratic and civilized modern socialist country. m0 i

i the 4% Plenary Session of the 13" CPC Central Committee, the third generation of the central collective leadership, with Jiang Zemin if its

core leader, has gradually put forward th j : WG e *yqe socialist harmonious society. major strategic task of building a

ee oe sen

ae report of the 16" National Congress of the Communist Party of 4 ina combined the task of building a socialist harmonious society, with € important goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way.

pote ne 2 CPC National Congress in 2002, the Party Central om is with Hu Jintao as veto Secretary made further cognitive a eae eg the 6" Plenary Session of the 16 CPC Central mitce e an of “harmonious society” and “prosperity and advanced a ee efined as the goal of socialist modernization. All these ics a r celts practice and exploration, our party’s cognition re- Sapa ao of the struggle has gradually deepened, it has attained a . prehensive understanding on how to achieve the overall cause of

Cialism with Chinese characteristics and how to combine various related

Selected Works of Deng Xiaopi iti g Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.248 and https: i tream/Selected WorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/Deng03 eats pores

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( ) n [ ip rtant Litera ure since

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tasks as organic unity to achieve our goals. The party’s basic line, deeply summarizes the Party’s goals, fundamental ways to follow and fundamental guarantees to achieve the goals, defines the leadership tasks and reliance on the fundamental principles of the socialist primary stage and the basic principle of achieving it. Firstly, the phrase “to build China into a prosperous, democratic, Civi- lized and harmonious socialist modern country”, which is the party’s goal in the primary stage of socialism, embodies the requirements of the com- prehensively advanced socialist society. ,

Prosperity is the goal and requirement regarding the economic field; de- mocracy is the goal and requirement of the political field; civilization is the goal and requirement in the field of ideology and culture; lastly “harmoni- ous” refers to the goal and requirement of the societal sphere.

The goals of prosperous, democratic, civilized and harmonious are in fact linked with the acts of the of economic construction, political construc- tion, cultural construction and construction of unity and cohesiveness in the society, i.e. social construction.

Secondly, “one center, two basic points”, which is the party’s basic line refers to the most important content we must bear in mind and practice, in order achieve the goal of socialist modernization goals.

Taking “economic construction as the focus” aims to answer the funda- mental task of socialism, embodies the essential requirement: the develop-

ment of productive forces. “Adhere to the Four Cardinal Principles” is one of the two basic points,

which is our political guarantee, when we are struggling for the liberation and the development of productive forces, it also embodies the require- ments of the basic socialist system. “Adhere to reform and opening up” is another basic point, aims to an- swer the question of how to deal with external conditions, when developing Chinese socialism, it also embodies the essential requirement of the libera- tion of productive forces. As explained above “one center” and “two basic points” concept is an indivisible whole.

China’s economic construction is based on the Four Cardinal Principles as its political guarantee, reform and opening up as a powerful driving force;

reform and opening up, to further the liberation and development of pro ductive forces, the consolidation and development of the socialist syste! for the purpose of the Four Cardinal Principles, To ensure that reform ani opening up and economic construction in the right direction, but also fr the new practice continue to draw new experience to enrich and develo

If we give up the economic construction as our central task, all the de- velopment and progress of socialist society will lose its material basis: and if we give up both adhering to Four Cardinal Principles and the fefonin and opening up principle, economic construction will lose both its key soul and its high vitality. °

“One center, two basic points” embodies the strategic layout of China’s construction of socialist modernization, and reveals the objective laws and development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Thirdly, “leading and uniting the people of all nationalities” refers to the leadership of Party and also motive social force we rely in order to achieve the goal of socialist modernization.

The Communist Party of China is the core of leadership of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The people of all ethnic groups in the whole country are the forces we depend when fighting for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Fourthly, “self-reliance and arduous pioneering” are the fine traditions of the Chinese Communist Party and the fundamental foothold and basic guideline for realizing our goals in the primary stage of socialism. As Deng Xiaoping had emphasized: “we must work hard and with a pioneering spir- it. This spirit is essential if we are to achieve the four modernizations. The fact that China is poor, has weak economic foundations and is backward in education, science and culture means that we have to go through a hard struggle.”!!

The basic line of the party in the primary stage of socialism embodies the requirements of the nature of socialism, reflects the fundamental law of development of socialism in China, and determines the path of develop- ment of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Therefore, we must with no _ vacillation uphold the principles of the party’s basic line. Deng Xiaoping emphasized: “We should adhere to the basic line for a hundred years, with ee That is the only way to win the trust and support of the

Adhering to the party’s basic line, the key is to adhere to taking the eco- Hontic construction as the focus unwaveringly. Taking economic construc- tion as the focus has summed our bitter lesson of the past, when we took lass struggle as the key link” which has caused major setbacks in the

socialist construction task.

aie Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p.257. elected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3 i i . Vol.3, pp.370-371 and https://archive. g/stream/SelectedWorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt. ree:

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We can only consolidate and improve our socialist system and maintain social harmony; if we can be able to withstand the pressure of hegemonism and power politics, and safeguard China’s sovereignty and independence against foreign pressures and if we can be able to maintain people s living standards and to strengthen the socialist system. Sovereignty and indepen- dence; in order to fundamentally get rid of the backward situation, among

the world’s modern forest.

In short, whether to adhere to the economic construction: as the focus, . decides the success or failure of China’s socialist modernization, related to the future of socialism and the fate of our great cause.

Therefore, we must always take economic construction as the focus, all the other work spheres must obey and serve this central task, and all the other work spheres should not separate from this focus, and we should see that nothing should interfere and frustrate our central task.

Adhering to the party’s basic line means we must unite the two: reform and opening up policy and adhering to the Four Cardinal Principles.

The Four Cardinal Principles reflect the ideals and the cause pursued by our country. It is the political foundation of our party and the political guarantee for China’s survival and development. It also plays key role as the political guarantee of the reform and opening up policy and the mod- ernization goal. Reform and opening up is the path we follow so as to inject energy and vitality into China’s development and progress. Thus the Four Cardinal Principles and reform and opening up, the two are mutually linked and interdependent.

If we ignore the Four Cardinal Principles and talk about reform and open- ing up, the latter will inevitably lose its correct political orientation, it will never proceed smoothly. Reversely if we ignore the reform and opening up and talk about the Four Cardinal Principles, the latter will not be able to in- novate and advance with the times, will become a rigid doctrine. Adhering to the two basic points, i.e. the Four Cardinal Principles, adhering to the reform and opening—must obey and serve the central task of economic construction. Unswervingly upholding the basic line of the party suited to the primary stage of socialism, i.e. the economic construction as the center and the Four Cardinal Principles, and reform and opening up as the two ba- sic points is the great practice, regarding the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which constitutes the most valuable experience of

the CPC since 1978.

Third, the basic program of the primary stage of socialism

The basic program of the Chinese Communist Party throughout the pri- mary stage of socialism is the concretization of the basic line of the Party. The corrective re-establishment of the party’s ideological line in 1978 has provided the necessary ideological premise for the development of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The establishment of the basic theory of the “primary stage of socialism”, the formulation of the basic line of “one center and two basic points” has laid the theoretical basis for CPC’s practice. The new basic line of the Party was also gradually developed.

In 1991, Jiang Zemin made a speech on the 70° anniversary of the found- ing of the Communist Party of China, which summed up the experience of reform and opening up practiced for more than 10 years, he defined the contemporary historical mission of the Chinese Communist Party and the basic economic, political views required in implementing the basic line, expounded on the basic content of culture to be constructed in the new era, and other basic policies that should be followed in the construction of socialism. In this speech, Jiang Zemin has made profound analysis and discussion, and laid the foundation of the basic program of the Party in the primary stage of socialism.

Deng Xiaoping’s important speeches he made in an inspection tour to the South in 1992 and the report of the 14" Party Congress, have provided di- rect theoretical contributions for the formation of the Party’s basic program.

Several Plenum meeting resolutions’ explanations by the Central Committee of the 14 National Congress between 1992-97 and in particu- lar, Jiang Zemin’s contributions on the twelve major issues of China’s so- cialist modernization construction goal have further clarified China’s path of economic system reform, and the basic goals and basic policies of social development strategy, construction of spiritual civilization and the issue of party building in the era, all have laid the foundation for the further forma- tion of the basic program.

On the basis of above achievements, the 15" Party Congress formulated the basic program of the Party in the primary stage of socialism, and thus defined the requirements of the basic line in the primary stage of socialism. The 17° Party Congress has further enriched the content of the basic program: “the construction of a socialist economy with Chinese charac- teristics is to develop an advanced market economy under the conditions

_ Of socialism, to continuously liberate and develop productive forces, to

achieve sound, sustainable and rapid economic development, and to ensure

that people share the fruits of reform and development. That the political

construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics is based on the 3 pillars: party leadership, people assuming as masters of their own destiny

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and the managing of state affairs, and the rule according to law of law, the development of socialist democratic politics, the realization of social sta- bility, clean and efficient government clean and efficient, and creation of a fully enlivened political situation wherein the people of all ethnic groups enjoy harmony. The construction of the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics should be guided by Marxism, with the aim of cultivating citizens with ide- als, good morals, and culturally advanced and having discipline conscious- ness. We should promote Chinese culture and build the common spiritual home for the Chinese nation, promote an advanced public socialist culture with the essentials of modern conduct, world-oriented, future-oriented. We should build a socialist core value system, and promote the great develop- ment and prosperity of the socialist culture.

Building a harmonious socialist society means to follow the principles of democracy and the rule of law, social fairness and justice, honesty and fra- ternity, vigor and vitality, stability and order. Building a harmonious social- ist also means seeking for harmony between man and nature and following the policy of all the people building and sharing a harmonious socialist society, we will spare no effort to solve the most specific problems of the utmost and immediate concern to the people and strive to create a situation in which all people do their best, find their proper places in society and live together in harmony, so as to provide a favorable social environment for development.

To achieve the tasks of the basic stage of socialism, the basic program must correctly understand and deal with the dialectical relationship between the party’s maximum and minimum programs.

The socialist construction that we carrying out today is, in the final analy- sis, in order to create conditions for the realization of communism, i.e. our maximum program, and the two are dialectically unified throughout the his- torical process of communist movement. The program of building social- ism with Chinese characteristics is the minimum program of the Chinese Communist Party at this current stage. This minimum program and the maxi- mum program of realizing communism form an organic unity and indivisible.

The maximum program sets the direction for the formulation of the mini- mum program, and the minimum program creates the conditions for the achievement of the maximum program.

The unity of the two, embodies the unity of ideals and reality, the unity of direction and the path, the unity of purpose and process, the unity of con- tinuous development and development stage, also the unity of revolution- ary spirit and scientific attitude.

This requires that we should not only talk about the party’s minimum program, and forget the party’s maximum program, and should not only talk about the party’s maximum program, while ignoring the party’s mini- mum program.

‘ While firmly establishing the lofty ideal of communism, we should es- tablish a firm conviction of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. In his speech at the meeting celebrating the 80" anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin pointed out: “All comrades in the Party should set up a lofty communist ideal, fortify their conviction and spur themselves on by holding to high ideological and moral standards. More importantly, they should make unremitting efforts in a down-to-earth manner to realize the Party’s basic program for the current stage and put their heart into each single piece of work now. To care about the immedi- ate interests only while forgetting the lofty ideal will result in the loss of direction of progress. But to talk big about the lofty ideal without doing any practical work will get one divorced from reality.”

upon ening RAN

Throughout the primary stage of socialism, we must adhere to the uni- ty of minimum program and maximum program, unswervingly imple- ment the basic line and basic program of the party suited to the primary stage of socialism, and push forward the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Development strategies to deepen the primary stage of socialism

First, the “three-step” development strategy

The realization of socialist modernization is the long-cherished inspi- ration of the Chinese Communists and the Chinese people. Mao Zedong as the core figure of the first generation of the central collective leader- ship of the party has repeatedly put forward the grand idea of building our “four modernization tasks” till the end of the 20" century. However, due to the lack of consistent understanding of major issues such as the historical stage, major contradictions and fundamental tasks of our country’s social- ism and how to build it, China’s socialist modernization has undergone through a tortuous process. With the ending of the “Cultural Revolution”, Deng Xiaoping has seriously considered how to proceed from China’s na- tional conditions so as to achieve socialist modernization. In September 1978, when Deng Xiaoping met a group of guests from the Japanese press,

13. Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol.3, p.293 and http://www.china-un.ch/eng/zgbd/ smwx/t85789.htm.

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According to Deng Xiaoping’s suggestions, in the same year in October,

i ina’s “ ization” Is to be he gave a new explanation of China’s “four modernization” goa , fe ‘ the Party’s 13% Congress agreed on the “three-step” strategic conception.

achieved by the end of the 20" century.

He said: “At the end of this century, even if we will achieve our goals of four modernizations, and build a well-off society, our level will not reach that of Japan”. During this period Deng Xiaoping’s visits to the United States, Japan and other countries, had also deepened his understanding of modernization. .

In March 1979, Deng Xiaoping pointed out in his speech at the forum meeting regarding the theoretical work of the party: Now, in our national construction, we must likewise act in accordance with our own situation

and find a Chinese path to modernization.””*

In October the same year, Deng Xiaoping put forward a new point of view at the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. He said: By the political task, we are referring to the four modernizations. We used to have the ambitious goal of realizing the four modernizations by the end of the century. Later we changed the goal the ‘Chinese-style” modernizations, in- tending to lower the standard a little.”'

In January 1980, Deng Xiaoping divided the coming 20 years into the two decades, initially proposed two steps concept to achieve well-off soci-

ety level.

The 12% Party Congress has formally proposed the two-step strategy concept based on his idea. The first step was to use the first 10 years to double the GNP (gross national product) by constant prices in order to solve the people’s food and clothing problem. By the end of the twentieth century, the gross national product (GDP) would be quadrupled (with the constant prices of 1980) so that people’s living standards will reach a well-off level.

The first step, from 1981 to 1990, will be the realization of doubling gross national product of the year 1980, so as to solve the people’s food and clothing problems. The second step, from 1991 to the end of the 20" century, further doubling the gross national product so that people’s living standards will reach a well-off level. The third step, in the 50 years to the middle-of the 21% century, per capita GDP would reach the level of moder- ately developed countries, wherein people living standards will be more af- fluent, and the socialist modernization will be basically realized then, move forward on this basis.

According to Deng Xiaoping’s three-step approach, targeting the basic re- alization of modernization in 2049, China through its effort according to three five-year plan periods, the 2000 goals were achieved in 1995, ahead of time.

In March 1996, in order to link the second-step and the third-step well, the State Council promulgated the “Ninth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and Outline for Long-term Target for the Year 2010.”

In 1997, the strategic goals for the third step, further defined third stage: in the first decade of the 21* century, we will realization the doubling of the gross national product of the 2000, and achieve a well-off life which is more affluent for people, and achieve the formation of a relatively com- plete socialist market economic system. After 10 years of efforts, between 2010-2021 till 100" anniversary of the founding of the CPC, we will a more developed national economy and more perfect socialist systems in all as- pects. And in 29 years till the mid-21* century, by the 100" anniversary of anniversary of the founding of the PRC, modernization will be basically realized and we will “build a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, civilized socialist country. This definition has made the “three- step” strategy and its steps more specific and clear.

The “three-step” strategy was put forward by the central leading col- lective of the Party on the basis of summing up the historical experiences of the development of modernization at home and abroad. And has been a profound embodiment of the characteristics of China’s national conditions and characteristics of times and the correct reflection regarding the objec- tive law of modernization.

The above development strategy which has started from the realities of the primary stage of socialism has reflected the unity of ideal and seeking truth from facts; considered the economic development and improving peo- ple’s living standards as a unity, adhering to the economic development and the realization of the socialist character in gradual steps as another unity.

By the end of the 20" century to achieve quadrupling the GNP, and then move forward the strategic goal that was defined as follows, by Deng Xiaoping: “As The first step Quadrupling the GNP will be a significant achievement... It will provide a new starting point from which, in another 30 to 50 years, we shall approach the level of the developed countries. I am talking about production and living standards.””'®

In April 1987, when he met with the Spanish guests, Deng Xiaoping for the first time, proposed a new development strategy which included three steps to achieve modernization.

14 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p. 163, and https://archive.org/ stream/Selected WorksOfDengXiaoping Vol. 1/Deng02_djvu.txt.

15 Ibid. 16 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.79 and https://archive.org/

stream/Selected WorksOfDeng Xiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt.

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• The rights of the people to participate and to develop as equals are

adequately protected. The rule of law for the country, the government, and society is basically in place. Institutions in all fields are further Tapas the modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance is base cally achieved. :

Building a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, civilized socialist country, ie. the goals of socialist modernization and adhering to comprehensive and coordinated development of economy and society, and guiding the whole party and the people in building of socialism with Chinese characteristics, has defined the program of action. ; The 19" Party Congress in 2017 led by Xi Jinping further clarified the above strategy as follows: The period between 2017 and 2020 will be decisive in finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We must follow the requirements on building this society set out at our 16", 17%, and 18" National Congresses, act in response to the evolution of the principal con- tradiction in Chinese society, and promote coordinated economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological advancement. We must show firm resolve in implementing the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the strategy on developing a quality workforce, the innovation- driven development strategy, the rural vitalization strategy, the coordinated regional development strategy, the sustainable development strategy, and the military-civilian integration strategy. We must focus on priorities, ad- dress inadequacies, and shore up points of weakness. In this regard, I want to stress that we must take tough steps to forestall and defuse major risks, carry out targeted poverty alleviation, and prevent and control pollution, so that the moderately prosperous society we build earns the people’s approval

and stands the test of time. The period between the 19" and the 20% National Congress is the period in which the timeframes of the two centenary goals converge. In this pe-

riod, not only must we finish building a moderately prosperous society in

s and achieve the first centenary goal; we must also build on this enary goal

‘ Social etiquette and civility are significantly enhanced. China’s cultur- al soft power has grown much stronger; Chinese culture has greater appeal.

• People are leading more comfortable lives, and the size of the mid-

dle-income group has grown considerably. Disparities in urban-rural de- velopment, in development between regions, and in living standards are significantly reduced; equitable access to basic public services is basically ensured; and solid progress has béen made toward prosperity for everyone.

. A modern social governance system has basically taken shape, and society is full of vitality, harmonious, and orderly.

¥ There is a fundamental improvement in the environment; the goal of building a Beautiful China is basically attained.

In the second stage from 2035 to the middle of the 21* century, we will building on having basically achieved modernization, work hard for a far- ther 15 years and develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and

74 beautiful. By the end of this stage, the following goals will have been met:

‘ ; ; ; : New heights are reached in every dimension of material, political, cul- tural and ethical, social, and ecological advancement.

tae Bs ats

Modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance is achieved.

all respect achievement to embark on a new journey toward the second cent

of fully building a modern socialist country. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the international and domestic

environments and the conditions for China’s development, we have drawn up a two-stage development plan for the period from 2020 to the middle of

Ras China has become a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence.

• Common prosperity for everyone is basically achieved.
• The Chinese people enjoy happier, safer, and healthier lives.

The Chinese nation will become a proud and active member of the com-

this century. munity of nations.

In the first stage from 2020 to 2035, we will build on the foundation cre- ated by the moderately prosperous society with a further 15 years of hard © work to see that socialist modernization is basically realized. The vision is that by the end of this stage, the following goals will have been met:

• China’s economic and technological strength has increased significant:

ly. China has become a global leader in innovation.

Second, the goal of building a moderately prosperous society

Through the concerted efforts of the whole party and the people of all thnic groups across the country, by the end of the 20 century, China has chieved the first two goals of the “three-step” strategy of modernization and the people’s living standard has reached a well-off level in general This marked a new milestone in the history of the Chinese nation. j

After the people’s living standards have reached the well-off level, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 15" CPC, Central Committee in 2000, has pro- posed that China will enter a new stage of building a well-off society in an all-round way and accelerate the socialist modernization.

The 16 National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2002, put forward the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round (com- prehensive) way in the first 20 years of the new century. The 17 National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2007, put forward new and higher requirements on the basis of the goal of building a well-off society as compared to the 16" National Congress of the CPC.

How to understand the different terms in the Party documents, such as: low-level well-off, well-off society, and the term of the well-off society in an all-round way. Low-level well-off means that we have just entered the threshold of comprehensively well-off society, also means that we have solve the basic needs of survival, but we are also far away from comprehen- sively well-off (not comprehensive).

Still not comprehensive (all-round) well-off level mainly refers that the currently achieved well-off level includes a moderate level of material civi- lization, but it does not include comprehensive levels of spiritual civili- zation, political civilization, ecological environment, sustainable develop- ment due to lack of enough attention. The development being quite uneven, means we have just entered the threshold of comprehensively well-off so- ciety but the national income distribution among the population is unbal- anced, which also means there is a huge gap between urban and rural areas, between the eastern and western regions, and means that there is a widening gap, between different income groups and widening gap of economic de- velopment of people as well as living standards of people.

The goal and requirements of building a well-off society in an all-round

way are as the following:

- Enhancing the mode of coordinated development, and strive to achieve -

sound and rapid economic development. Changing the mode of development, making significant progress in opti mizing the economic structure, improve efficie and natural sources, protect the environment on the basis of quadruplin, the per capita GDP between 2000-2020. The socialist market econo system becomes more perfect. The ability of independent innovation | proves significantly, and the contribution rate of scientific and technol cal progress to economic growth rises sharply and China enters amon; ranks of innovative countries. Residents’ consumption level enco steady increase, the formation of coordinated growth pattern of thre lars: consumption, investment, export driven growth pattern. Coordi

ney, reduce waste of human

and interactive development mechanism of urban and rural areas among

different dea Significant progress will be made in the construction of

_ new socialist countryside. The proportion of urba: i illi ew n popul eee : population will increase

- Expanding socialist democrac { y and better protect people’s ri interests and improve social equity. iii nai

Citizens’ political participation will be enhanced in an orderly manner. The basic strategy of governing the country in accordance with the iaw will be deepened, the rights of the people to participate and to develo as equals will be adequately protected. The rule of law for the count : the government, and society is basically in place. Institutions in all fields are further improved; the modernization of China’s system and capaci eae Gaines achieved. Grassroots democracy ee perfect. The ability of the go i i i i i “eee 2 eet vernment to provide basic public services will

- Strengthening cultural construction, the civilizati

: vilization quality of th

population will be improved significantly. ee i

The socialist core value system will enj oy a strong popular support, and the good virtues of people and morality will ascend to a higher eck

A public cultural service system covering the whole society will be basi cally established, the establishment of cultural industry encounters a si nif icantly increase in its proportion in comparison to total national eee The international competitiveness regarding accessing to more rich sultagel products will be significantly enhanced to meet the needs of the people °

- Accelerating the development of social i

. undertakings, and _

sively improve people’s lives. gs, and comprehen

Modern national education system will be more perfect, lifelong educa- on system will be basically formed, the education level of all people and innovative personnel training level will be improved significantly. Social mployment pattern becomes more adequate. The social security system os all the urban and rural residents will be basically established fe everyone enjoys basic living standards and social security.

easonable and equitable distribution of income will be basically formed size of the middle-income group has grown considerably and becomes oes the ultimate elimination of poverty is basically achieved ryone enjoys basic medical and health servi i a ee ania ices. Social management

he above goals will be achieved by 2021.

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- The concept of ecological civilization across the whole society will be firmly established, the construction of ecological civilization encounters remarkable progress. The basic form of energy conservation and protection of the ecological environment of the industrial structure, growth, consump- tion patterns will be formed. Cire the proportion of renewable energy increases significantly. The discharge of pollutants in the main will be effectively controlled, the quality of the ecological environment will be significantly improved. Sustainable devel- opment capacity is increasing. By 2020, when we will achieved the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way, our long history of civilization and the developing social- ist country will encounter the following: industrialization will be basically realized, the comprehensive national strength is significantly enhanced, the overall size of the domestic market will rank in the forefront of the world, the whole people will achieve a higher degree of affluence, the quality of life has been improved and the ecological environment has been improved. Thus China will become a country with more full democratic rights and higher moral quality and spiritual pursuits. It has become a more perfect

a more dynamic and stable society. China will become more

system and to other nations of the

open to the outside world, will have more affinity world, and China will make greater contributions to human civilization.

Building a well-off society in an all-round way is the necessary stage we must pass through realizing the strategic goal of socialist modernization in three-steps. It is an important strategy for the new stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The goal of this struggle is in line with China’s ba- sic national conditions and the law of modernization, in line with the aspira- tions of the broad masses of the people, leads us in our efforts to continue to move forward in the new century, points to our direction.

Promoting a sound and rapid economic development

First, taking the path of new industrialization

Industrialization is the basis and premise of modernization, highly de- What kind

of path should be followed as the path to industrialization is a major issue

veloped industrial society is the main symbol of modernization.

facing our country. The 16" National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) 1 2002, pointed out that it should adhere to industrialization combined informatization, promote the informationization of industries, and bla: a new path of industrialization with high technological content, virtue

ular economy ascends to a larger scale, .

economic efficiency, low resource consumption, less environmental pollu- tion and improvement of qualified human resource advantages. This ss the major strategic decisions made by the Party Central Conimities to enable China achieve a well-off society in an all-round way and aecelerie the advancement of socialist modernization in the new stage of development

eens of feats the new path to industrialization, is the right choice evaluating the realities of both China and the world’s sci alee yaaa S science and techno-

Since the 1990s, the world economic and technological development has undergone tremendous advances: firstly, the new scientific and technologi- cal revolution has developed by leaps and bounds, high-tech, es eciall the extensive application of information technology, has becouse : se driving force for economic and social development, and men’s Seung activities and social has begun to enter the era of information and autom : tion. Secondly, economic globalization has encountered in-depth ieee: ment, the world’s economic and trade development and capital sees a ee transfer movement has imposed to speed up the economies eu a open and interdependence among countries has in-

On ce other hand, in the above defined context of globalization, we cannot close our doors when engage in the industrialization efforts, and a a follow the traditional Western path of colonialist industrializa- ee we need to strictly engage in informationization. In the above xt, we cannot achieve the industrialization with i . . « Out to industrialization. peices

After the founding of new China, especially since the reform and open- ing up, China s economy has made great achievements, China saw rapid progress of industrialization.

But in the past few decades, China’s economic development has relied too much to expand the scale of investment and focused on increasing in- vestments on material economy, this means an extensive economic eek this mode of development has caused excessive waste of resources Nie mental pollution, expansion of urban and rural gap, thus we have said hu : price for economic development. The contradictions regarding energy. ko Sources, environment has become more and more acute and sinsustiinable

a This pala us to change the mode of economic growth, take the path of few industrialization, mainly by saving from the consumption of material Tesources and mainly rely on scientific and technological progress improve € quality of workers, management innovation, shift from ddensive devel- ment to intensive one, so as to achieve that we achieve sustainable and

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80

In order to take a new path of industrialization, we must firmly grasp the strategic adjustment task regarding the economic structure, as the main task, promote the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure.

The grand policy of adhering to develop an industrialized, information- based, urbanized, market-oriented and internationalized country, considers the formation of high-tech industries as the guiding sectors, the basic in- dustries and manufacturing sectors as the supporting part, and includes the comprehensive development of the service industry.

High-tech industry is based on the IT-industry as the representative sec- tor of the high-tech development in the emerging industries of the world, which is characterized by high level technological content, jt is an impor- tant driving force for rapid development, regarding the national economy and social life and greatly contributes to economic growth. It is becoming the lifeline of both the whole industry of the national economy, it is also the basic material condition for the further development of modern social productive forces. On the other side, the manufacturing industry is at the center of industrial structure, is the basis and prerequisite for accelerating the realization of national industrialization and modernization. Its development can promote and support the development of other industries of the national economy.

The prosperity and proportion of the service industry in the economic structure is the main feature of economic modernization. The proportion of service industry in the national economy is the main symbol to measure the degree of economic and social development and also the modernization

level of a country. To this end, the 17" National Congress of the Party, said: we will develop

a modern industrial system, integrate IT application with industrialization,

push our large industries to grow stronger, invigorate the equipment manu-

facturing industry, and eliminate outdated production capacities.

We will

Second, the construction of a new socialist countryside

The document titled as “The New Ideas in the Work of Agriculture Countryside and Farmers” embodies the major strategic decision made b China’s central leadership to meet the requirements of the new stage ie economic and social development and realize the grand goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way which is the goal of full socialist mod- ernization, in the new era of reform and opening up.

The problems of agriculture, rural areas and peasants, shortly “the three rural issues has always been the fundamental problem of China during— revolution, construction and reform—the three periods.

Bee sinha of our party’s leadership over revolution, construction and reform works are inseparable from its achievements in resolving the “three rural issues”.

After the reform and opening up, especially since the 16 CPC National Congress in 2002, our Party has adopted a series of measures to solve the problem of “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”, so that agriculture would be strengthened, rural areas to be developed, the benefits of farmers to be increased, and considered the three issues as the important premise of pro- moting economic and social development and maintain social stability.

However, it must be seen that the deep-seated contradictions that restricts the agriculture and rural development has not yet been eliminated, and the long-term mechanism for the sustainable and stable increase of farmers’ , mes ea yet been formed. The lagging situation of rural economic and social development, in comparison to urban region > s has n _ fundamentally. : nr

Solving the problem of “three rural” is still a long-term task. The “three _ tural issues” a term in China to summarize rural issues is the key problem in _ the process of building a well-off society in an all-round way.

Building a moderately prosperous society is the most arduous task when

upgrade new- and high-technology industries and develop information, biotechnology, new materials, aerospace, marine and other industries. We will develop the modern service industry and raise the level of the service sector and its share in the economy. We will step up efforts to improve - basic industries and infrastructure and accelerate development of a modern

comprehensive transport system. We will ensure th ation

Pplied to rural areas. If the peasants are not well-off of the peasants, the well-being of the people of the whole country will not be achieved. There Il be no achievement of modernization of the whole China without the dernization of the countryside.

The virtuous development of the rural economy, building qualified and althy farmer homes, so that farmers live a well-off life is a must to ensure t all people share the fruits of economic and social development and ves to the goal of continuously expanding domestic demand and thus pene sustained, rapid and coordinated development of the national my.

energy industry and a quality and safety of products. We will encourage formation of intern

ally competitive conglomerates.

Since the 16% National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2002, our Party has stressed that it is necessary to solve the problem of “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” as the top priority of the work of the whole party and further stressed a coordinated urban and rural development.

At the 4" Plenary Session of the 16 CPC Central Committee, Hu Jintao :

put forward the important idea of “two trends”, that is, in the initial stage of industrialization, agriculture supports industry and provides accumulation for industrialization being a general trend. But as the second trend, after a degree of industrialization (middle and late stage) is achieved, industry should nurture and support agriculture, urban regions should support rural areas, “we should achieve coordinated development of the industry and agriculture, urban and rural regions. At present, China has generally entered the development stage wherein we should promote agriculture, with the support of urban regions. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 16" CPC Central Committee further proposed that building “a new socialist countryside” is a major historical task in the process of modernization of our country.

In 2006, the CPC Central Committee and State Council co-issued the “Opinions on Promoting the Construction of New Socialist Countryside”, and made a comprehensive plan for coordinating the economic and social development of urban and rural areas and promoting the construction of

new socialist countryside.

The central government put forward the general requirements of con- structing a new socialist countryside, as follows: development of agricul-

tural productive forces, well-off life, rural civilization, clean and tidy vil _

lages, democratic village level management.

The comprehensive development of agricultural productive forces, is the central link in building a socialist new countryside... material basis and key link to achieve other objectives of the whole project. Making “increases in farmers’ income” so that they lead a better life is the central task and the purpose of building a socialist new countryside but also the basic scale to

measure the success of our work.

Township civilization, policy is the reflection of the quality of farmers, which reflects the requirements of spiritual civilization in rural regions. We

should boost spiritual civilization and accelerating the development of ed cation and culture in rural areas to cultivate “new-type” farmers.

Clean and tidy villages policy aims to achieve the harmonious deve ment of man and the environment which will meet long-term requirem but also a symbol of building a modern civil society in rural areas W! means boosting harmony, caring for the lives of farmers, improving bi and strengthening social administration in the countryside.

Improving grass-roots democracy is the political guarantee of building _a socialist new countryside means showing respect for and maintenance of _ the peasant masses’ political rights. We should boost grass-roots democracy _ in the countryside and imprové transparency in village affairs. We should fully exert the leading core function of the grass-root party organization to provide solid political and organizational guarantee for the construction of anew socialist countryside. °

The dbove policies form an organic whole, which summarizes the basic connotation and requirements of building a socialist new countryside, the policies have not only sketched out the prospects for the longed pleasant picture for a modern countryside, but also put forward the systematic ideas to solve the “three rural” problem:

Building a socialist new countryside, has been a systematic project, so as to actively promote the coordinated development of urban and rural areas to be carried out under the premise of orderly, planned and gradual methods

In order to strengthen the basic status of agriculture, take the path of ag- ricultural modernization with Chinese characteristics, the establishment of labor to promote agriculture, to urban long-term mechanism with the town- ship, has the formed a new pattern of integration and coordination of urban and rural economic and social development. |

We should adhere to promoting the development of modern agriculture take the prosperity of the rural economy as a primary task, strengthen the construction rural infrastructures, improve rural markets and agricultural service system.

We should increase supports to agricultural development, enforce the protection of arable farming land plots strictly, increase agricultural invest- ments, promote the progress of agricultural science and technology, com- prehensively enhance the agricultural production capacity.

We should take increasing of farmers’ income as the core task, promote € development of township enterprises in rural areas, strengthen hie coun- level economies, explore and establish diverse channels for shifting the mployment of farmers in non-farming occupations, which is one funda- ental problem to solve for increasing farmers’ incomes, employment. We i0uld vigorously increase targeted efforts for poverty alleviation by i: ural development. We should deepen the comprehensive reform in rural S and promote the reform and innovation of the rural financial system | should adhere to the policy of improve the basic management system A al areas, stabilize and improve the contract based land use relationship ecordance with the principle of voluntary compensation in accordance the law, improve the land transfer and management rights contract

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market. We should explore for more effective forms

i.e. promote the develo operative associations and organi ization of agriculture and also pr prises. All of which can play an important ro in modern value chains, by providing technica

We should also promote the development of leading ent pt defines leading enterprises as important

f modern agriculture and key to in-

areas. Leading enterprises conce components of the industrial system o dustrialized operations in agriculture.

We should cultivate culturally developed, science and o that hundreds of millions of Chinese farmers can

ly, new type of farmers, s

pment of professional and specialized farmers’ co- zations in order to support the industrial- omote the development of leading enter- le in helping farmers operate | training and information.

of collective economy,

erprises in rural

technology friend-

fully play their role in building a new socialist countryside.

Third, improve the ability of independent innovation, building an innovative nation

Tn tive force for the prosperity of a count of the Party Central Committee, has eva world and the historical stage of our country promote independent innovation, building C

This has been a major strategic decisio

the strategy of rejuvenating the country through s

the strategy of strengthening th novative country has become an o international competitiveness. In today encing an evolution from industrial soci

ety. Scientific and technological innovation has

force of national development, and will finall

competitiveness of a country. In the new roun nological competition, developed countries are using th

advantages to maximize their interests.

If developing countries can improve their ab have the opportunity and initiative to develop

further widen the development gap wi

If development is our highest priority,

nology in a strategic position, accelerate the pac drive China’s productive forces furt

tion, build an innovative country,

forward to achieve a qualitative leap in order to grasp the o tion and enhance our initiative to pus

the fierce international competi development.

yd

ovation is the soul of a nation’s progress, and an inexhaustible mo- ry. Hu Jintao as the general secretary luated the development trend of the , made a far-sighted judgment to hina into an innovative country.

n made by our Party to adopt

cience and education and

e country through talents. Building an in- bjective requirement to improve Chinese ’s world, human society is experi- iety to knowledge economy soci-

become the core driving etermine the international

d of global science and tech- eir technological

ilities to innovate, they may better. Otherwise, they will ith the developed countries.

we should put science and tee

e of independent inno’

pportuniti

Building an innovation-oriented country is a major step in imple ; the scientific concept of development and building a well-off menting elround way. It is an urgent requirement to solve the outstandi sen dictions and problems facing China’s current development ng contra-

Only by vigorously promoting scientific and technological progre d innovation, only enhancing our ability of independent innovation oe : mote China's economic growth mode from resoutce-denendent m ie innovation-driven mode, can we continue to maintain stable id oer tainable economic growth. is

The strategic decision to build an i i a an innovative country has not o significant step forward but also a realistic step. = Be

is based on the scientific analysis of China’s basic national conditions 4 comprehensive judgment on the strategic requirements of China, but also aims to launch the full potential of China’s superiority as being . SO- an ee aeeoe of socialism should be given full play. China which already has a good basis of economic and i ei | technological should utilize this basis by independent innovation strategy. oe

eae there is still a big gap between China’s current overall level of i ie Eeicenes with the world’s advanced level, although China’s verall level of science and technolo é erall gy, possess many holes or weak points which hinder its economic and soci ie ocial development i the achievements made sinc i i tes e the founding of new Chi i i the reform and openin i i Seen enae g up, with the establishment of a sociali alist market eco- nomic system, and after we have achi i

eved sustained and rapid i

and social development: China’ i a emcioe

s total number of scientific and i

technologi- a ee sere and the total number of R & D personnel in the oe nt of the world, has significantly increas

ed, we have formed lati

complete research discipline s i eee é ystem regarding natural sciences, th ih some important areas of research oe and development biliti i ae pment capabilities China g the ranks of world’s advanced i oo countries. All these have 4 an important foundation and presents favorable conditions for buildi ina as an innovative country. =

B ortve ee tite we should focus to science and technological ‘Ue peeeaias s rategy, try to achieve a substantial increase in sci- an gical innovation, strive to have an increasingly str Mpetitive advantage against our competitors. ae

pPrsent, a world’s leading innovative countries are the United y : ce fe ee and so on. The common characteristics of these coun- bes gies ution of innovative industries, scientific and technological o their output is more than 70% of the total. And their R & D

85

86

investment expenditures are generally more than 2% of their GDPs; their foreign dependency indicators regarding independent innovation capabil- ity, their dependency to external technology are usually less than 30%.

In building an innovative country, starting from the reality of our coun- .

try, the core task is to enhance the ability of independent innovation as a strategic basis for the development of science and technology. We should follow a path of independent innovation with Chinese characteristics, in order to promote the development of science and technology by leaps and bounds. In order to enhance China’s ability of independent innovation as a na- tional strategy, China aims to stimulate the whole nation’s innovative spirit, cultivate high-level innovative talents, form an institutional mecha-

nism conducive to independent innovation, vigorously promote theoreti-

cal innovation, system innovation, scientific and technological innovation,

and constantly consolidate and promote the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The 12% Five-Year Plan of China emphasized the following: “we should change the development mode and strive to create a scientific development pattern” “and as the focus of accelerating the transformation of the econom- ic development pattern, the building of resource saving and environment- friendly society is a key factor. Obviously, the green economic growth is of extraordinary importance in forming a resource saving and environment- friendly society, and is an inevitable choice in coping with increasingly se- tious resource and environmental constraints. In pursuit of a green growth, endeavors on enhancing the sense of environmental crisis, accelerating en- ergy saving and emission reduction, and constructing an energy-saving and environment-friendly production pattern are urgently needed.” The ability of independent innovation is the core of a nation’s interna- tional competitiveness and the fundamental way to realize the goal of build- ing an innovative country.

The practice of science and technology development in the world shows that, in order to enhance our initiative and grasp opportuniti

international competition, the only way to success can be having a strong

independent innovation capability.

Especially in the key areas of our national economic lifeline and in the key areas of our national economic security, and in core technology velopment areas, and in the areas of key technology we cannot buy fr outside, therefore China must rely on independent innovation.

es in the fierce _

In all our works regarding science and technology, i.e. according to the guideline for scientific and technological work in order to improve our abilities of home-grown, independent innovation, firstly, we should focus to master a number of core technologies, targetly plan to produce a num- ber of independent intellectual property rights which belong to us, create a number of internationally competitive enterprises, thus reach a substantial increase in national competitiveness.

In order to promote the path of independent innovation with Chinese char- acteristics, we must adhere to the above guideline (guideline for scientific and technological work) which focuses “home-grown innovation, leapfrog ad- vancement in key areas, supportive development and leading fot the future”.

Independent home-grown innovation, means to enhance the national in- novation capacity, means to strengthen the indigenous innovation capacity. integrated innovation and means in our technological innovation efforts we should adopt the policy of digestion and assimilation in technological in- novation instead of copying and imitating.

Focusing on leapfrog advancement in key areas means we should insist on doing something wrong, choose such innovation areas where we have a certain degree of foundation and advantages, and strike a good balance when choosing key areas of innovation, i.e. strike a good balance between the needs of people’s livelihood and key national security areas and link them appropriately. It means we should concentrate our efforts, to make breakthroughs in some major areas and achieve leapfrog development.

Focusing on supportive development means we should start from the re- alities of our urgent problems that needs to be solved in order to support the sustained and coordinated economic and social development. And in order to ae the sustained and coordinated economic and social development we should strive to make breakthroughs in the area: a s of key technol and common technologies. : ae

Leading the future, means to look forward with long term vision, strive 10 advance deployment of cutting-edge technologies and promote baste sci- entific and technological research, create new market demand, foster the development of the new industries, so as to lead the future economic and cial development.

This guideline of focusing on “home-grown innovation, leapfrog ad- ancement in key areas, supportive development and leading for the future” a summarization of the practical experiences of developing of science d technology in China for more than half a century. It is an important Olce for the future of our country and related to our cause of great reju- oo of the Chinese nation. We must stick to this guideline through the Ole process of the development of science and technology in China.

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At the beginning of 2006, the State Council formulated “the Outline of the National Medium- and Long-term Science and Technology Development Plan”, and put forward the major strategic task of bringing China into the ranks of innovative countries of the world within 15 years.

The overall goal of building an innovation-oriented country includes the -

following goals:

By 2020, our capability of independent and indigenous innovation will be significantly enhanced, the ability of our science and technological ba- sis to promote economic and social development and to safeguard national security will be significantly enhanced, it will be able to provide a strong support for building an overall well-to-do society. By 2020, the compre- hensive strength of basic science and cutting-edge technology research will be significantly enhanced, and a batch of scientific and technological achievements that will have a significant impact in the world arena will be achieved, thus we will enter among the ranks of innovative countries, and all these will lay the foundation for becoming a world scientific and tech- nological power by the middle of the 21* century.

Accelerating the construction of national innovation system is an im- portant task for building an innovative country. The national innovation system in China an institutional system led by the government which gives full play to the market’s role in the allocation of scientific and technologi- cal resources, this institutional system includes various innovation entities which are closely linked and effectively interact with each other. To further deepen the reform of science and technology system, we should give full play to the role of enterprises in technological innovation, give full play to the backbone of national scientific research institutions and give full play to leading the role of these scientific research institutions, give full play to the role of universities and fully use their research basis.

To this end, we must strive to build a technology innovation system

with enterprises as the main pillar of the system, build a market orientated

_ world-class scientists and leading scientists in the sphere of science and

technology, we should focus on cultivating front-line creative talents, so that innovative spirit and wisdom of the whole society will blossom vigor- ously, thus China will have. numerous innovative talents, who are capable in all aspects.

Fourth, co-ordinated and balanced regional development

China covers a vast geographical land wherein its regions are faced with unbalanced development. Since the reform and opening up, the eastern central and western regions have made great progress. However due to the gaps regarding, the level of economic development in the easieih central and western regions has been widening due to the differences in their re- spective foundations, i.e. their historical basis of social and economic de- velopment, natural geographical environment, their histories and cultures and the speed of economic development levels are quite different. These gaps demonstrate a widening trend. On China to co-ordinate regional de- velopment, and narrowing the development gap between regions has be- come a critical problem that cannot be ignored. It is not only related to the overall situation of our modernization task, but also the stability of society and the long-term stability of the country. Our party has always attached importance to regional coordinated development. Mao Zedong in the fa- mous “On the Ten Major Relations,” urged to care for the development a: between Eastern and Western regions among major issues. is

During the reform and opening up era, in 1980s Deng Xiaoping put for- ward the idea of “two-step sequential strategy to achieve an overall bal- anced development” : the first step would be to let the eastern coastal areas a first me help in speeding up the opening up, in the next step after eastern regions becomes rich, they will vigorously support th of the western regions. fas i

_ The third generation of the central collective leadership, with Jiang

Zemin as its core, at the turn of the century (2000), put forward the strategy

inplementing the western development as a priority, following Deng

ee S concept of “two-step sequential strategy to achieve an over-

alanced development”, he declared: At the current stage, we should

system , we should combine production, teaching and research, scientific research and research by higher education institutions. We should also com- bine military and civilian research for innovation. Achieving the establish-

ment of a comprehensive system of scientific and technological innovation will provide a major guarantee in building China as an innovative country. Creating a contingent of innovative S & T talents is the key in buildt an innovative country.

We must adhere to the strategic thinking that human resources are primary forces and regard training innovative talents as an important tegic measure in building an innovative nation. We must strive to ¢

udy and formulate overall plan for west development. We should have ng term strategic thinking for west development. Through hard work of veral generations, until mid of 21“ century when China basically realize odernization, a new West will be built. This new West is of economic OSperity, progressed society, national unity, beautiful mountains and riv- S, and happy lives.

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In the new century, evaluating the current situation of China’s region- al development and with the vision of comprehensively promoting the requirements of modernization, Hu Jintao as the general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC, put forward the coordinated regional de- velopment strategy as follows: We should give high priority to large-scale. development of the western regions, fully revitalize old industrial bases in northeast China, work vigorously to promote the rise of the central regions, and support the eastern region in taking the lead in development. Encourage reasonable division of labor, we should promote distinctive, complemen- tary advantages of regional industrial structure, and promote common de-

velopment of all regions. The 17% Party Congress in 2007 further discussed the idea and advo- cated the coordinated regional development: We should promote balanced development among regions and improve the pattern of land development. To narrow the gap in development among regions, we must work to en- sure their equal access to basic public services and guide a rational flow of factors of production between regions. Following the general strategy for regional development, we will continue to carry out large-scale devel- opment of the western region, rejuvenate northeast China and other old sndustrial bases in an all-round way, boost the development of the central region and support the eastern region in taking the lead in development. We will strengthen land planning, improve policies for regional develop-

ment and adjust the geographical distribution of economic operations in

accordance with the requirement to form development priority zones. In we will work _

form a number of close-knit economic

rims and belts that will provide a strong impetus to the development of — ve full consideration to

supporting development of the central and western regions and encourage

compliance with the laws governing the market economy, beyond administrative divisions to

other areas. In locating major projects, we must g1

the eastern region to help them develop. We will give more support to th development of old revolutionary base areas, ethnic autonomous areas, bor der areas and poverty-stricken areas. We will help transform the economle of areas where natural resources Area in Tianjin play a major role in reform, opening up and independ innovation. Taking a path of urbanization with Chinese characteristics, will promote balanced development of large, medium-sized and smal ies and towns on the principle of balancing urban and rural develop ensuring rational distribution, saving land, providing a full range of tions and getting larger cities to help smaller ones. Focusing on incre the overall carrying capacity of cities, we will form city clusters wit cities as the core so that they can boost development in other areas come new poles of economic growth.

are exhausted. We will have the special economic zones, the Pudong New Area in Shanghai and the Binhai New

ifth, building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society

The Fifth Plenary Session of the 16 CPC Central Committee, in 2005 “put forward the goal of building a resource-saving and iivimormene cic fe ly society relying on the scientific development concept and relying on e concept of building a socialist harmonious society. The concept we build : a socialist harmonious society, has been a new leap in our party’s sade standing of the law of socialist modernization. It is a major measure to ay ordinate the harmonious development of man and nature and promot ee realization of sustainable development. - eas

Resource-saving society, refers to the efficient use of energy resources

in production process, to save the way to consumpti a J mption as the characteristics of the community. * , fundamental

Resource-saving society does not only reflect the transformation of eco- nomic growth mode, but also a new model of social development, it requir that, in all spheres of production, circulation, consumption and a all i oe of economic and social development, we should save energy ae and improve the efficient use of energy resources as the core, with energy sav- ing, water saving, materials saving, land, and suggests ee utili- zation of resources as the focus, with the smallest possible consumption of resources, access to the greatest possible economic and social benefits, so to promote the sustainable development of socio-economic structure —

Environment-friendly society, advocates the harmonious development of man and nature, through the harmonious development of man and natur Specifically, it is a kind of harmony between man and nature as the sal takes an evaluation of carrying capacity of ecological environment - the basis of respecting the laws of nature as the core, it takes supporting reen technology as the driving force, and takes protection of eam priority. Environment-friendly society concept. .

For an environment-friendly society we should develop an orderly and tional division of functional areas, promote an cio pens cul re and ecological civilization understanding , we should promote fhe dinated development of economy, society, and the environment -

uilding a resource-saving and environment-friendly society is one major re- ment of realizing our goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way.

uilding a well-off society in an all-round way not only includes the s of €conomic construction, political construction, cultural construc- ae construction, but also the construction of ecological civilization, € whole society will embark on the path of civilized development

ch includes develo i pment of production development i le and a virtuous ecology. pee eg ie rs ie

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We must see that it is remarkably difficult to meet the requirements of the resource-saving and environment-friendly society which will be the mark

of the well-off society in an all-round way.

In the future, as the total economy continues to expand and the popula- : tion continues to increase, the demand for energy resources will grow great- ly, the amount of pollutants will continue to increase, pressures on ecologi- cal environment will further increase, environmental problems will become prominent. People’s demands for environmental quality is constantly in- creasing, with the continuous improvement of material quality of their life.

In the process of building a well-off society in an all-round way, we must pay more attention to the conservation of resources and effectively protect the environment. At the same time, we should take effective measures to achieve the effective control of the main pollutant discharge and improve the quality of the ecological environment while we try achieving — targets such as gross domestic product. We should build a new concept o GDP which includes, ecological standards.

Building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society is one ma- jor requirement of implementing the strategy of sustainable development. China is a country with a large population and which faces shortage of natural resources. Since the reform and opening up, China’s economic and social development has made remarkable achievements.

However, since our economic growth was mainly based on high con- sumption, high pollution, i.e, the traditional development model, which pe caused relatively high environmental pollution and ecological damage, dl e contradiction between the environment and development has peaione creasingly prominent. The relative shortage of resources, fragile ecologica environment, limitedness in the carrying capacity of environment, all ee 3 have gradually become a major issue negatively affecting the sels lop- ment. At present, China is in a stage wherein industrialization and urbaniza- tion has accelerated thus faces a lot of resources and environmental pres- sures. It is impossible to have a sustainable economic growth by utilizing excess resources and sacrificing the environment.

The history of human development has shown that the development

and survival of human civilization is closely related to the resources and environment. Resource conditions, especially the deterioration of the ecological env ronment will not only undermine people’s living conditions, but may eve lead to the demise of human civilization. If we do not attach impor saving resources and protecting the environment, we may make mistak

that will be difficult to correct in the future.

__ We should adhere to the government policy of energy and resource conser- vation and ecological environmental protection which relates to the vital in- terests of the people and the survival and development of the Chinese nation.

The 17" Party Congress further emphasized the need to build a resource- saving and environment-friendly society put these tasks to a prominent po- sition in our industrialization and modernization strategy, and include every unit and every family in the implementation of these tasks.

The report said: we must adopt an enlightened approach to develop- ment that results in expanded production, a better life and sound ecological and environmental conditions, and build a resource-conserving and envi- ronment-friendly society that coordinates growth rate with the economic structure, quality and efficiency,’and harmonizes economic growth with the population, resources and the environment, so that our people will live and work under sound ecological and environmental conditions and our economy and society will develop in a sustainable way,

We should improve the laws and policies that are conducive to save en- ergy resources and protect the ecological environment, and speed up the formation of a mechanism for sustainable development. Implementation of energy-saving emission reduction responsibility system.

We should develop and promote advanced technologies for conserva- tion, substitution, recycling and pollution control, develop clean and renew- able energy utilization, promote the protection of land and water resources, build a scientific and rational energy resources utilization system and im- prove energy efficiency.

We should develop an environment protection industry, increase invest- ments for energy conservation and environmental protection, focusing on strengthening water, air, soil pollution prevention and control, thus improve urban and rural living environment.

We should strengthen water conservancy, forestry, grassland protection, strengthen desertification control, promote ecological restoration.

We should strengthen capacity building to fight against climate change, and make active contribution to the protection of global climate.

_ Inshort, we must profoundly understand the importance of strengthening ‘nergy conservation and ecological and environmental protection, with a spirit of being responsible to the state, to the nation and to the next genera- ns, and earnestly put the building of a resource-saving and environment- friendly society in a prominent position in the strategy of industrialization and modernization so that we can better promote all-round, coordinated, stainable economic and social development.

Fundamental Task of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

The fundamental task of socialism is to liberate and develop productive forces

First, the conception of the fundamental task of socialism and its basis

1. The fundamental task of socialism

Marxist classic writers have always attached great importance to the role of productive forces in social development. They have held that productive forces are the decisive force for the development of human society and held _that the superiority of a social system depends on whether productive forces meet the requirements of the continuous development of productive forces, _which one key measure to recognize the superiority of a social system. In he Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels made it clear that once the roletariat seizes power, all measures should be taken to “increase the total

of productive forces as rapidly as possible.””!

This scientific prediction of future socialism includes the idea that the ‘undamental task of socialism is to develop the productive forces. After the tory of Russia’s October Revolution, Lenin repeatedly stressed that to ate an economic system superior to capitalism and to enhancing the la- f productivity is the “fundamental task” of the Soviet Union. The Soviet ime “either ends up in peril or surpasses the economies of the advanced ions,”

Selected Works of Marx and Engels, 2" edition, vol. 1, p.293. Selected Works of Lenin, Vol. 23, p. 271.

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2. Why is it established as the fundamental task of socialism to liberate

i initi i he fundamental task of social- Obviously, an initial understanding that the i ead ont eure

ism is to develop the productive forces is already included but implicitly into the thoughts of Marxist classical writers.

Since the founding of the New China, Mao Zedong eee sn : eral times that the fundamental task of the socialist society ies to fhe the productive forces and the economy. He stated that a gece es storming class struggle of the masses had gone away with the ae i of the socialist system and our task was to launch the cultura ee on and technology revolution and fight against the nature. In a i in the 8 CPC National Congress when the main contradiction ) : gates - ist society was analyzed and it was pointed out that the main task : a : e people was to bring together all the strength to develop the ae a uc- tive forces, realize the national industrialization and gradua fans ie ple’s growing material and cultural needs. This sateen re) ea oping the productive forces, however, was replaced by He c = : : ae as a guiding principle”, due to the exacerbation of the left-c evia as ; in the Party’s guiding ideology, which devastated the socialist construction.

Since the reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping, on the basis Su oe 5 practical experience and the Marxist thoughts, further deve cis is Marxist thoughts on productivity development and clearly aes a the current China was still in the primary stage a socialism an - ‘ € —— “primary task”, “first task” and “fundamental task” was to — i hi velop the productive forces. He emphasized that the most vi ae of the socialist stage was to develop the productive forces, or the g _— importance was attached to the development of productive Hee an ing to Marxism. We say that socialism is the primary stage ol eure a According to Marxism, communist society is based on apes abu. a : Only when there is material abundance can the principle io a ae a society—that is, from each according to his ability, to each accor co his needs”—be applied. Socialism is the first stage of perpen a requires that social productive forces develop at a high level an wna material wealth of society be greatly enriched. Therefore, the mos

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mental task in the socialist stage is to develop the productive forces.

• . |

Therefore, it is the fundamental idea of Marxism that the fund task of socialism is to liberate and develop the productive forces.

os . a

this occasion when Deng Xiaoping explicitly proposed this fundamen task of socialism for the first time in the socialist development history.

The reasons can be summarized as follows.

First of all, this fundamental task is the fundamental manifestation of the superiority of socialism. The largest and most fundamental superiority of socialism is that socialism can better liberate and develop the productive forces than capitalism. In the capitalist society, the contradiction between the private ownership of means of production and the socialized produc- tion makes the capitalism the fetter of the productivity development; while in the socialist society, the private ownership of means of production is eliminated, which can provide a better and more favorable environment for the productivity liberation and development. As Deng Xiaoping pointed out, “The superiority of the socialist system is demonstrated, in the final analysis, by faster and greater development of those forces than under the capitalist system. As they develop, the people’s material and cultural life will constantly improve.”

Since our socialist system is built on the basis of the backward economy and culture in the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, it is a long histori- cal development process to improve the relatively more backward produc- tive forces, economic and cultural development and people’s material and cultural standards compared with the developed capitalist countries. The establishment of the socialist system in our country provides the possibility to greatly shorten this process which still needs the efforts of several gen- erations of our people. Only by vigorously developing the social productive forces can the “potential” superiority of the socialist system become an ac- tual one and the solid material foundation for the victory over the capitalist system be created.

Secondly, it is determined by the historical mission of socialism, that is, to create the material basis for communism. Communism is the inevitable trend of the socialist development as well as the advanced stage of social- sm. The transition from the socialist society to the communist society re- luires a variety of conditions which can generally be summed up in the two Spects: material and humans. The material condition refers to the highly leveloped social productive forces, the abundant social material wealth, on this basis the gradual elimination of various social differences and work according to ability and distribution according to demand; the luman condition refers to human’s own free and comprehensive develop- nt with the labor not only a means of livelihood but also the first need ife. Among these conditions, the highly developed productive forces he most basic one and is thus the material basis for the realization of

Oia a eee . aye 3 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 1* edition, Volume 3, p. 63.

other conditions. Without the highly developed productive forces nor the abundant material wealth, the realization of the communist ideal will be an empty talk. Therefore, in order to realize the transition to communism, we need to create a series of necessary material and spiritual conditions, and

the most fundamental is to create the highly developed social productive ©

forces. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “A Communist society is one in which there is no exploitation of man by man, there is great material abundance and the principle of from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs is applied. It is impossible to apply that principle without overwhelm- ing material wealth. In order to realize communism, we have to accomplish the tasks set in the socialist stage. They are legion, but the fundamental one is to develop the productive forces so as to demonstrate the superiority of socialism over capitalism and provide the material basis for communism.”

Thirdly, it is the essential condition for the socialist consolidation and development. Human history has proved that a new social system is supe- rior to the old one, because, in the final analysis, the former can create a higher labor productivity than the latter; the former can overcome the latter and be well-established, because, in the final analysis, the former is more conducive to the productivity development and can better meet the material

and cultural needs of the masses of people.

It should be noticed as well that there still exists a considerable gap be- tween the socialist country and capitalist country in the productivity devel- opment, since the socialist system is established in countries with relatively backward economy and culture. This situation not only makes the socialist countries in a disadvantageous position in the competition with the capi- talist countries, but also provides the excuse and material conditions for the capitalist to attempt to subvert and destroy the socialist system. The evolution of the socialist countries in eastern Europe and the disintegration

of the first socialist state of the Soviet Union demonstrate that socialist es will find it impossible to realize the consolidation, development and final victory if they fail to develop their productive forces or catch up with and surpass capitalism in terms of the economy, technology and labor it clear that “the social- ist political system and economic system cannot be fully consolidated, nor guaranteed under the dictatorship of the proletariat

countri

productivity. In this regard, Deng Xiaoping made

the national security when the modernization is not launched, the science and technology am

social productive forces remain backward, and the national strength an the people’s material and cultural life remain at a low level. To build Chin into a modern socialist power we should more effectively consolidate 0!

5 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 1* Edition, Vol.3. p.137.

socialist system and cope with the aggression and subversion of foreign _ powers and ensure that we are gradually creating the material conditions and advance toward the great ideal of communism.”

Tf China wants to withstand the pressure of hegemonism and power politics and to uphold the socialist system, it is crucial for us to achieve rapid economic growth and to carry out our development.”

In Fe world where socialism and capitalism coexist and compete fierce y, the development of productive forces in socialist countries deter- mines the fate of socialism and the future of mankind.

Second, the liberation and development of productive forces is the inherent requirement of the essence of socialism

1. The scientific c i : . onnotation and characteristi Jak es of th socialism e essence of

After the 3" Plenary Session of the 11" CPC Central Committee, Den Xiaoping summed up the historical lessons that we had been talkin oa socialism in an abstract way disregarding the productive forces se man years and treating something uncharacteristic of the socialist nature ee _ fettering the development of the productive forces as “socialist principles” and defending it tenaciously but something conducive to the develo ee of productive forces under the socialist conditions as “something ca alist” and opposing it. After the in-depth thinking, he provided a new caeaie tion of the socialist nature, which deepened the understanding of aa He made a new scientific judgment about the essence of socialism: “The ce of socialism is liberation and development of the productive foros

isa ai ala and polarization, and the ultimate achievement

Deng Xiaoping’s new theoretical generalization of the socialist nature a us, starting from the fundamental question of “what socialism is a ras to build it”, to deeply understand the fundamental task of social- m0 lat iS, liberating and developing the productive forces, and to realiz that it is the intrinsic demand of the socialist nature. , :

a ie early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping first proposed the concept of the es- ce 0 Socialism when he expounded on the issue how to demonstrate the Periority of the socialist system. He pointed out: “Socialism” is a good a but if we fail to have a correct understanding of it and adopt correct Icies for establishing it, we will not be able to demonstrate its essence.”9

Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p.86 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3 ? 356 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, 373. Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p3 13.

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_key part of the socialist nature, which happened in the history of scientific socialism for the first time and was a major development of Marxism. It is well-known that Marxist classical writers have always stressed the decisive role of productivity in social development, and treated social production as the basis for the existence and development of human society and the fundamental force pronioting social development, and the adaptation to the productivity development as:an essential measure of the advanced social system. Based on this essential standard, Marxist classical writers made a scientific analysis of the capitalist system and pointed out that the capitalist system in essence has become a hinder to the development of productive forces, and therefore is doomed to be replaced by the socialist system. The root cause for this replacement is that the socialist system can adapt to and promote the development of productive forces. Deng Xiaoping, based on the basic views of Marxism and the profound summary of the historical experience of socialist construction, clearly put forward -the scientific con- cept of the socialist nature for the first time, and treated the liberation and development of productive forces as the essential prescription of socialism, which is undoubtedly a significant development of scientific socialism.

According to him, the development of productive forces comes ne for socialism, because only in this way can the superiority of socialism ecome prominent. The key to judge whether the socialist economic policy is right lies in whether the productivity is developed and people s income increas- es. He described the production development and income aes . the overriding criterion, which was in fact the core content of the socialis ee ture. He also made a profound analysis of the thought that is ee le with the socialist nature, such as the poverty, slow development, ega itari- anism, polarization, and lack of democracy, which are not characteristics

of socialism. | To develop productivity and increasing people’s livelihood and ultimate- ly achieving common prosperity of all. This is the fundamental requirement of socialism. In September 1986, when he replied to a US reporter S report on the relationship between the China’s slogan of “To get Tich 1s glorious and socialism or communism, Deng Xiaoping commented: “Wealth ina socialist society belongs to the people. To get rich in a socialist cea means prosperity for the entire people. The principles of sopialist are: first, development of production and second is common prosperity.

This passage can be seen the prototype of Deng Xiaoping’s ideas on the essence of socialism. In December 1990, Deng Xiaoping once Sen commented on the issue of common prosperity and pointed out: ng the very beginning of the reform we have been emphasizing the nee f or seeking common prosperity; that will surely be the central es a me Socialism does not mean allowing a few people to grow ric a) ile : overwhelming majority live in poverty. No, that’s not socialism. The a est superiority of socialism is that it enables alle people to prosper, a common prosperity is the essence of socialism.

On the basis of a comprehensive summary of the historical experiengs in socialist practice and the fresh experience in reform and opening up, a Xiaoping clearly put forward the famous statement on the socialist nature in the speech made in his 1992 visit to the South. Deng Xiaoping’s new generalization regarding the essence of socialism

nature is rich in its connotations.

Treating the liberation and development of the productive forces as the essential prescription of socialism fully affirms the great role of socialist system in promoting the productivity development, on the one hand; on the other hand, it shows that socialism can liberate and develop the productive forces only when it makes constant reforms. According to the historical experience in China’s socialist construction, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that the establishment of socialist system could not guarantee the natural promotion and development of productive forces, since facts show that it takes time to perfect the socialist system and to give a full play to its su- periority. In particular, when the socialist system was established in our country, it was greatly influenced by the Soviet Union, which made it de- fective and disadvantageous. As a result, the development of productive forces in our country was seriously fettered and the superiority of social- ism was damped. To change this situation, we must deepen the political and economic system reform. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “Revolution Means the emancipation of the productive forces, and so does reform. The erthrow of the reactionary rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat- pitalism helped release the productive forces of the Chinese people. This $ revolution, so revolution means the emancipation of the productive ces. After the basic socialist system has been established, it is neces- to fundamentally change the economic structure that has hampered the velopment of the productive forces and to establish a vigorous socialist nomic structure that will promote their development. This is reform, so orm also means the emancipation of the productive forces. In the past,

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First of all, it profoundly reveals that the socialist nature is is ee - liberating productive forces and developing productive eee 7 the socialism exists and develops and superior over the capita hae . Xiaoping stressed the liberation and development of productive rorces @&

10 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.172 and https://archive. of,

iaopi 03. djvu.txt. tream/ Selected WorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/Deng Es ae iD select Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.364 and https://archive.or

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the productive forces. The liberation and development of the productive __ forces must be based on the premise and condition that we should adhere to the socialist path for common prosperity, so that we can truly liberate and _ develop the productive forces.”

we only stressed expansion of the productive forces under aaa out mentioning the need to liberate them through reform. T eee see was incomplete. Both the liberation and the expansion of t sate i Ni forces are essential.”'? According to him, the reform must be a : condition of productive forces, which requires us to establish the eS i - system and economic system that can fully liberate and develop productive forces under the premise of adhering to the socialist basic system so as to fully reflect the essential requirements of socialism.

Deng Xiaoping emphasized: “Economic development must lead to the _ path of common prosperity and always see that polarization is avoided.’

Departing from the fundamental goal, productive forces can neither be truly liberated nor be rapidly developed; our ideal for being a great power Secondly, the fundamental goal of eliminating exploitation ie aoa frill vanish tuto nauoht and wodemivaien all ea ization and achieving the common prosperity was revealed . t e oe of liberating and developing the productive forces. While exp ae at socialism is, Deng Xiaoping repeatedly stressed that the greatest a i age of socialism was the common prosperity, something that embodies t 4 sO- cialist nature. In this new generalization about the socialist nature, cs Xiaoping includes the elimination of exploitation and each anc : ‘ realization of common prosperity as the fundamental goal of the pd nature, which links it with the liberation and development of pro mee forces and thus further reveals the socialist nature in the light of ase ) productive forces and relations of production. If the liberation and ik op- ment of productive forces reflect the nature and superiority oy ee . promoting the development of productive forces, then the elimina = 8 exploitation and polarization and the achievement of ages ss be ty reflect the essential requirements of socialism in relations of pro ss ion, because eliminating exploitation and polarization, and Re ac mek common prosperity exists only in the socialist relations of pro wee: the same time, this also reflects the socialist nature in both ie poe “ velopment goal and the value goal and also shows the essentia di — between the socialist society and the society ruled by the exploiting class,

in regard to the goal of developing productive forces. Deng Xiaoping’s generalization of the essence of socialism has very dis- tinct characteristics.

Secondly, this new generalization has corrected the erroneous tendency in the past that the nature and Superiority of socialism is only embodied in the relation of production with the development of productive forces neglected. Deng Xiaoping profoundly revealed that the essential require- ment, fundamental task and historical mission of socialism were to liberate and develop the productive forces, which was more important especially in the primary stage of socialism. He also pointed out that after the establish- ment of the socialist basic system, the productive forces should be further liberated through reforms, in order to give full play to the superiority of socialism and promote the rapid development of productive forces. It also emphasizes that the liberation and development of productive forces must adhere to the fundamental goal of which the realization can only be based on the former. Considering the low-level productive forces and the primary stage of socialism in China, we have to be soberly aware that we have to go through a long period of constantly liberating and developing the produc- tive forces before achieving the socialist social development goal. It is thus repeated by Deng Xiaoping that we must insist on the economic construc- tion as the center and whether it is conducive to the development of produc- tive forces, to the enhancement of the comprehensive national strength of the socialist country, and to the improvement of the people’s living standard as the standard for the correctness of the work or policy. From this, we can clearly see that Deng Xiaoping stressed the liberation and development of the productive forces because it can help achieve the fundamental goal of eliminating exploitation and polarization and finally achieving common rosperity, create the material basis for communism, and realize the full and ree development of humans, which is the fundamental value goal he and Chinese communists have always insisted on.

First of all, Deng Xiaoping’s new generalization of the socialist a reveals the inherent consistency and dialectical relationship eee o essential requirements, the fundamental task and the social eee ee goals of socialism. To eliminate exploitation and polarization, an a ie ally achieve common prosperity is the fundamental goal of the oe de velopment, while the liberation and development of productive ss s premise and foundation of this goal. Without the development o x i tive forces, the fundamental goal cannot be achieved; the pai oO a ing this fundamental goal is in fact the process of liberating and dev : _ ; | Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.149 and https://archive.org/

12 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.370. am/ Selected WorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/Deng03__djvu.txt,

103

104

2. Liberating and developing productive forces is the fundamental task of socialism with Chinese characteristics

First of all, the historical premise of socialism in China and the charac- teristics of the times determine that we must vigorously liberate and de- velop the productive forces, and realize the socialist modernization as soon as possible. The socialism was established in China under the historical premise that the old China was a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country with very backward economy and culture and had not experienced the stage of full development of capitalist economy. It thus followed that the socialist countries like China would inevitably fall behind the developed capital- ist countries in productive forces and science and technology for a long historical period. Besides, in the process of building socialism, China also faces the challenges of the times which include, on the one hand, those from the traditional industrial revolution which had been completed in de- veloped capitalist countries from the middle 1700s to the middle 1900s, and on the other hand, the others from the new scientific and technological revolution. This requires us to vigorously develop and improve the science and technology and focus on developing productive forces and carrying out modernization in double efforts, so as to narrow the gap with the developed capitalist countries and enhance our comprehensive national strength as soon as possible. Only in this way can we fully demonstrate the superiority of our socialist system and improve our position in the world.

Secondly, the resolution of various social contradictions and problems : the primary stage of socialism depends on the continuous development “ liberation of productive forces. In addition to the main contradiction—the conflict between the growing material and cultural needs of the people and the backward social production, quite a number of other social contradic- tions and problems also exist in the primary stage of socialism in our ou try, including such contradictions as that among the state, the collective an the individual workers, between the central and local, different local places, and various departments, and between workers and peasants, urban and fu-

ral. and mental labor and manual labor; and such problems as the huge a unequal difference in people’s possession of means of production and dl eir income, and in particular the uneven regional economic development, since

there is still a considerable number of poverty-stricken areas and popu oO 5

tion. These contradictions and problems can be essentially attributed t : low-level productive forces in China and thus be solved only through t continuous development and liberation of productive forces.

1. The scientific c i : . onnotation and characteristi Jak es of th socialism e essence of

After the 3" Plenary Session of the 11" CPC Central Committee, Den Xiaoping summed up the historical lessons that we had been talkin oa socialism in an abstract way disregarding the productive forces se man years and treating something uncharacteristic of the socialist nature ee _ fettering the development of the productive forces as “socialist principles” and defending it tenaciously but something conducive to the develo ee of productive forces under the socialist conditions as “something ca alist” and opposing it. After the in-depth thinking, he provided a new caeaie tion of the socialist nature, which deepened the understanding of aa He made a new scientific judgment about the essence of socialism: “The ce of socialism is liberation and development of the productive foros

isa ai ala and polarization, and the ultimate achievement

Deng Xiaoping’s new theoretical generalization of the socialist nature a us, starting from the fundamental question of “what socialism is a ras to build it”, to deeply understand the fundamental task of social- m0 lat iS, liberating and developing the productive forces, and to realiz that it is the intrinsic demand of the socialist nature. , :

a ie early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping first proposed the concept of the es- ce 0 Socialism when he expounded on the issue how to demonstrate the Periority of the socialist system. He pointed out: “Socialism” is a good a but if we fail to have a correct understanding of it and adopt correct Icies for establishing it, we will not be able to demonstrate its essence.”9

Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p.86 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3 ? 356 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, 373. Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p3 13.

99

_key part of the socialist nature, which happened in the history of scientific socialism for the first time and was a major development of Marxism. It is well-known that Marxist classical writers have always stressed the decisive role of productivity in social development, and treated social production as the basis for the existence and development of human society and the fundamental force pronioting social development, and the adaptation to the productivity development as:an essential measure of the advanced social system. Based on this essential standard, Marxist classical writers made a scientific analysis of the capitalist system and pointed out that the capitalist system in essence has become a hinder to the development of productive forces, and therefore is doomed to be replaced by the socialist system. The root cause for this replacement is that the socialist system can adapt to and promote the development of productive forces. Deng Xiaoping, based on the basic views of Marxism and the profound summary of the historical experience of socialist construction, clearly put forward -the scientific con- cept of the socialist nature for the first time, and treated the liberation and development of productive forces as the essential prescription of socialism, which is undoubtedly a significant development of scientific socialism.

According to him, the development of productive forces comes ne for socialism, because only in this way can the superiority of socialism ecome prominent. The key to judge whether the socialist economic policy is right lies in whether the productivity is developed and people s income increas- es. He described the production development and income aes . the overriding criterion, which was in fact the core content of the socialis ee ture. He also made a profound analysis of the thought that is ee le with the socialist nature, such as the poverty, slow development, ega itari- anism, polarization, and lack of democracy, which are not characteristics

of socialism. | To develop productivity and increasing people’s livelihood and ultimate- ly achieving common prosperity of all. This is the fundamental requirement of socialism. In September 1986, when he replied to a US reporter S report on the relationship between the China’s slogan of “To get Tich 1s glorious and socialism or communism, Deng Xiaoping commented: “Wealth ina socialist society belongs to the people. To get rich in a socialist cea means prosperity for the entire people. The principles of sopialist are: first, development of production and second is common prosperity.

This passage can be seen the prototype of Deng Xiaoping’s ideas on the essence of socialism. In December 1990, Deng Xiaoping once Sen commented on the issue of common prosperity and pointed out: ng the very beginning of the reform we have been emphasizing the nee f or seeking common prosperity; that will surely be the central es a me Socialism does not mean allowing a few people to grow ric a) ile : overwhelming majority live in poverty. No, that’s not socialism. The a est superiority of socialism is that it enables alle people to prosper, a common prosperity is the essence of socialism.

On the basis of a comprehensive summary of the historical experiengs in socialist practice and the fresh experience in reform and opening up, a Xiaoping clearly put forward the famous statement on the socialist nature in the speech made in his 1992 visit to the South. Deng Xiaoping’s new generalization regarding the essence of socialism

nature is rich in its connotations.

Treating the liberation and development of the productive forces as the essential prescription of socialism fully affirms the great role of socialist system in promoting the productivity development, on the one hand; on the other hand, it shows that socialism can liberate and develop the productive forces only when it makes constant reforms. According to the historical experience in China’s socialist construction, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that the establishment of socialist system could not guarantee the natural promotion and development of productive forces, since facts show that it takes time to perfect the socialist system and to give a full play to its su- periority. In particular, when the socialist system was established in our country, it was greatly influenced by the Soviet Union, which made it de- fective and disadvantageous. As a result, the development of productive forces in our country was seriously fettered and the superiority of social- ism was damped. To change this situation, we must deepen the political and economic system reform. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “Revolution Means the emancipation of the productive forces, and so does reform. The erthrow of the reactionary rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat- pitalism helped release the productive forces of the Chinese people. This $ revolution, so revolution means the emancipation of the productive ces. After the basic socialist system has been established, it is neces- to fundamentally change the economic structure that has hampered the velopment of the productive forces and to establish a vigorous socialist nomic structure that will promote their development. This is reform, so orm also means the emancipation of the productive forces. In the past,

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First of all, it profoundly reveals that the socialist nature is is ee - liberating productive forces and developing productive eee 7 the socialism exists and develops and superior over the capita hae . Xiaoping stressed the liberation and development of productive rorces @&

10 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.172 and https://archive. of,

iaopi 03. djvu.txt. tream/ Selected WorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/Deng Es ae iD select Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.364 and https://archive.or

stream/Selected WorksOfDengXiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt.

101

102

the productive forces. The liberation and development of the productive __ forces must be based on the premise and condition that we should adhere to the socialist path for common prosperity, so that we can truly liberate and _ develop the productive forces.”

we only stressed expansion of the productive forces under aaa out mentioning the need to liberate them through reform. T eee see was incomplete. Both the liberation and the expansion of t sate i Ni forces are essential.”'? According to him, the reform must be a : condition of productive forces, which requires us to establish the eS i - system and economic system that can fully liberate and develop productive forces under the premise of adhering to the socialist basic system so as to fully reflect the essential requirements of socialism.

Deng Xiaoping emphasized: “Economic development must lead to the _ path of common prosperity and always see that polarization is avoided.’

Departing from the fundamental goal, productive forces can neither be truly liberated nor be rapidly developed; our ideal for being a great power Secondly, the fundamental goal of eliminating exploitation ie aoa frill vanish tuto nauoht and wodemivaien all ea ization and achieving the common prosperity was revealed . t e oe of liberating and developing the productive forces. While exp ae at socialism is, Deng Xiaoping repeatedly stressed that the greatest a i age of socialism was the common prosperity, something that embodies t 4 sO- cialist nature. In this new generalization about the socialist nature, cs Xiaoping includes the elimination of exploitation and each anc : ‘ realization of common prosperity as the fundamental goal of the pd nature, which links it with the liberation and development of pro mee forces and thus further reveals the socialist nature in the light of ase ) productive forces and relations of production. If the liberation and ik op- ment of productive forces reflect the nature and superiority oy ee . promoting the development of productive forces, then the elimina = 8 exploitation and polarization and the achievement of ages ss be ty reflect the essential requirements of socialism in relations of pro ss ion, because eliminating exploitation and polarization, and Re ac mek common prosperity exists only in the socialist relations of pro wee: the same time, this also reflects the socialist nature in both ie poe “ velopment goal and the value goal and also shows the essentia di — between the socialist society and the society ruled by the exploiting class,

in regard to the goal of developing productive forces. Deng Xiaoping’s generalization of the essence of socialism has very dis- tinct characteristics.

Secondly, this new generalization has corrected the erroneous tendency in the past that the nature and Superiority of socialism is only embodied in the relation of production with the development of productive forces neglected. Deng Xiaoping profoundly revealed that the essential require- ment, fundamental task and historical mission of socialism were to liberate and develop the productive forces, which was more important especially in the primary stage of socialism. He also pointed out that after the establish- ment of the socialist basic system, the productive forces should be further liberated through reforms, in order to give full play to the superiority of socialism and promote the rapid development of productive forces. It also emphasizes that the liberation and development of productive forces must adhere to the fundamental goal of which the realization can only be based on the former. Considering the low-level productive forces and the primary stage of socialism in China, we have to be soberly aware that we have to go through a long period of constantly liberating and developing the produc- tive forces before achieving the socialist social development goal. It is thus repeated by Deng Xiaoping that we must insist on the economic construc- tion as the center and whether it is conducive to the development of produc- tive forces, to the enhancement of the comprehensive national strength of the socialist country, and to the improvement of the people’s living standard as the standard for the correctness of the work or policy. From this, we can clearly see that Deng Xiaoping stressed the liberation and development of the productive forces because it can help achieve the fundamental goal of eliminating exploitation and polarization and finally achieving common rosperity, create the material basis for communism, and realize the full and ree development of humans, which is the fundamental value goal he and Chinese communists have always insisted on.

First of all, Deng Xiaoping’s new generalization of the socialist a reveals the inherent consistency and dialectical relationship eee o essential requirements, the fundamental task and the social eee ee goals of socialism. To eliminate exploitation and polarization, an a ie ally achieve common prosperity is the fundamental goal of the oe de velopment, while the liberation and development of productive ss s premise and foundation of this goal. Without the development o x i tive forces, the fundamental goal cannot be achieved; the pai oO a ing this fundamental goal is in fact the process of liberating and dev : _ ; | Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.149 and https://archive.org/

12 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.370. am/ Selected WorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/Deng03__djvu.txt,

103

104

2. Liberating and developing productive forces is the fundamental task of socialism with Chinese characteristics

First of all, the historical premise of socialism in China and the charac- teristics of the times determine that we must vigorously liberate and de- velop the productive forces, and realize the socialist modernization as soon as possible. The socialism was established in China under the historical premise that the old China was a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country with very backward economy and culture and had not experienced the stage of full development of capitalist economy. It thus followed that the socialist countries like China would inevitably fall behind the developed capital- ist countries in productive forces and science and technology for a long historical period. Besides, in the process of building socialism, China also faces the challenges of the times which include, on the one hand, those from the traditional industrial revolution which had been completed in de- veloped capitalist countries from the middle 1700s to the middle 1900s, and on the other hand, the others from the new scientific and technological revolution. This requires us to vigorously develop and improve the science and technology and focus on developing productive forces and carrying out modernization in double efforts, so as to narrow the gap with the developed capitalist countries and enhance our comprehensive national strength as soon as possible. Only in this way can we fully demonstrate the superiority of our socialist system and improve our position in the world.

Secondly, the resolution of various social contradictions and problems : the primary stage of socialism depends on the continuous development “ liberation of productive forces. In addition to the main contradiction—the conflict between the growing material and cultural needs of the people and the backward social production, quite a number of other social contradic- tions and problems also exist in the primary stage of socialism in our ou try, including such contradictions as that among the state, the collective an the individual workers, between the central and local, different local places, and various departments, and between workers and peasants, urban and fu-

ral. and mental labor and manual labor; and such problems as the huge a unequal difference in people’s possession of means of production and dl eir income, and in particular the uneven regional economic development, since

there is still a considerable number of poverty-stricken areas and popu oO 5

tion. These contradictions and problems can be essentially attributed t : low-level productive forces in China and thus be solved only through t continuous development and liberation of productive forces.

Thirdly, the construction of a high degree of the socialist democratic pol:

itics and spiritual civilization, the fundamental requirement for the - tion of socialist modernization, also depends on the development a eration of productive forces. However, it is in need of a solid materia! 0

_and certain economic conditions. At present, the democratic politics and _ spiritual civilization in our country have not reached the height required by socialism, with some imperfect or weak points, which can be fundamen- tally attributed to the low-level productive forces and backward economy and culture in this stage in China. It can thus be said that the construction of democratic.politics and'spiritual civilization in our country still has a long way to go, and in order to create conditions for it, we should definitely take developing productive forces as the most fundamental task.

Finally, the international and domestic situation China faces also requires us to vigorously develop and liberate the productive forces. Judging from the international situation, the opposition against hegemonism for world peace is inseparable from the development of productive forces. International competition in any era is based on strength. Whoever falls behind is to be beaten. Whether China can withstand the pressure of power politics, adhere to the socialist system, and play a greater role in international affairs, main- ly depends on whether China can achieve the best development, realize our development strategy and strengthen our material base. Judging from the domestic situation, the adherence to the “One Country, Two Systems” and the peaceful reunification of China are inseparable from the development and liberation of productive forces. Deng Xiaoping once said that Taiwan’s return to the motherland and the reunification of the motherland, require us, in the final analysis, to do our own things well. We should be superior 105 to Taiwan not only in the political and economic system but also in the economic development, since only when the economy is developed can we make difference in the realization of the national reunification.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces in promoting and advancing the development of productive forces

First, science and technology are primary productive forces

1. The scientific proposition of “science and technology is the primary roductive force”

In today’s world, science and technology play a decisive role in the de- elopment of productive forces, so in order to liberate and develop pro- uctive forces in China, we must gain a profound understanding of Deng laoping’s thought that “science and technology is the primary productive rces”, and vigorously promote the development of science and technol-

106

Later, he stressed that the economy with a faster growth must rely on _science and technology and education. We should promote science, since _it brings us hope. This famous statement enriches and develops the theory _ of Marxism on science and technology and productive forces, reveals the primary role of science and technology in contemporary productivity de- velopment and social arid economic development, and is of epoch-making theoretical and practical significance.

By examining the development history of human society, especially the great role of modern science and technology in the transformation from the handicraft industry to the modern industry and in the development of capi- talism, Marx made an analysis of the science and technology as a whole, He argued that science and technology is part of the productive forces and. that it is a powerful force in the productivity and social development. The Communist Party of China has always attached importance to the position and role of science and technology in the national Seaaea and: Soci 2. The connotations of “science and technology is the primary productive development, and enriched and developed the theory that science and tech- | forces” | nology is the productive forces in the relevant practice. In 1953 when the New China began its first five-year plan, Mao Zedong proposed that we should learn advanced science and technology and then apply it to the con- struction of our country. In 1956, Zhou Enlai, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, put forward the slogan of “marching to science”.

First of all, the role of science and technology in the national economic growth has been gradually lifted to the first place. In the early 1900s when the world just entered the modefn science and technology development stage, the economic growth mainly depended on the input of manpower, material and capital, about 20% of which came from science and technol- ogy. After the WWII, the knowledge and information played an increasing role in economic development, while mineral resources and cheap labor force played a decreasing role in it. According to the world bank, scien- tific and technological progress contributed 49% on average to the national economic growth in developed countries between 1950 and 1970, and the proportion rose to 60-80% in 1980s, due to the thriving development of the emerging new technology industries. In other words, about 2/3 of the national economic growth in today’s developed countries is achieved by science and technology.

In early 1958, Mao Zedong proposed the technological revolution, and required that the Party’s work should focus on the technological revolu- tion which was suspended later due to the development of “leftist thought. After the 3“ Plenary Session of the 11" CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping explicitly proposed that “science and technology is the primary productive forces”, considering the huge driving effect of the rapid devel- opment of world science and technology on the productive forces. This statement was later revised by Jiang Zemin to “science and technology is the primary productive forces and the centralized embodiment and main symbol of the advanced productive forces”, and then complemented by Hu Jintao’s important statement that science and technology “is the revolution- ary force promoting the progress of human civilization”, which has become an important part of the socialist theory with Chinese characteristics.

Secondly, science and technology has been penetrated into various ele- ments of modern productive forces system. In ancient times, the production development, the increase of labor productivity and the economic growth depended on the manual labor. In modern times, this situation underwent some changes. In modern productive forces system, the science is applied into the production or technological process, penetrated into other various elements of the productive forces, and can be transformed into the actual direct productive forces. Human beings have entered an era of relying more n knowledge, intelligence and science and technology, in which science ind technology can greatly improve the knowledge content and added value f products. The workers’ scientific and cultural quality today has become n important symbol of measuring the level of productivity development. \ccording to statistics, in the primary stage of mechanization, the propor- on of manual labor and intellectual labor consumption in production was pout 9:1; in the medium stage of mechanization, the ratio changed to 3:2; he highly automated and intelligent phase, the ratio reversed to 1:9. It be seen how important science and technology is in productive forces elopment in today’s society.

Deng Xiaoping attached great importance to the status and role of devel- oping science and technology in socialist construction. He pointed out that modern science and technology was undergoing a great revolution, which was manifested not only in individual scientific theory, production technol- ogy, and the progress and reform in the general sense, but also in almost every field of science and technology, the emergence of new leaps and a se ries of emerging science and technology that had and would be coming up

Evaluating the new trend of scientific and technological revolution and : the rapid development of productive forces across the world, Deng x further pointed out in September 1988: “Marx said that science and tee nology are part of the productive forces. Facts show that he was nent In opinion, science and technology are a primary productive force.

14 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 1st edition, Vol.3, p.274 and https://archive.org/ stream/Selected WorksOfDengXiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.tst.

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_ education, put science and technology and education in an important place _ of economic and social development, strengthen the national scientific and technological strength and its capability of being transformed to the actual productive forces, improve the scientific and cultural quality of the whole nation, carry out the economic construction by relying on the scientific and

k mo Thirdly, modern science and technology makes se ae ae : ai nd scienti lopment of social produc , Scie odern and scientific. In the deve a and technology combines the elements of ee jes ani ees be i i transformation of the potentia : management is the key to the the ! : rae Hee into the actual one. The extensive combination of science and

technology with economy makes management an aye mere eater i i ement is science, knowledge, roductive forces. Production manag ne eames Science, technology, and management are called the three “ portant factors of modern economic development.

Finally, the role of high-tech in knowledge sears = Oa ay ne i knowledge and depends air Knowledge economy is based on pea i inati ledge and information. ket, dissemination and use of know os it reilechual resources and intangible assets as the first element, high-tech in

technological progress ‘and the improvement of workers’ quality, and ac-

_celerate the realization of the national prosperity and strength. The basic

meaning of the strategy of reinvigorating the country through human re- source management is that: talents should be regarded as the key factor in promoting the great cause of building socialism with Chinese character- istics, and as a result, we are supposed to build a large-scale, reasonably- structured and high-quality team of talents that is made up of hundreds of millions of high-quality workers, tens of millions of special talents and a large number of top-notch creative talents, so as to create a new situation

dustry as the pillar, and high-tech products and new stars ener i io i d objects. Therefore, the develop- h information as the main consume a industrialization of high-tech is the fundamental way to promot ing the rapid development of productive forces.

3. The enrichment and development of the thought that “science and technology is the primary productive force” in the new period

Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao inherited and developed ee 108 thought that “science and technology is the primary eager) In the light of the science and technology progress and new situ

social development, they complemented that science conan ardns ‘ - i i but also the centralized emboaime ly the primary productive forces hea ste of advanced productive forces, and that aa | room i ion 1 isive factors for the deve rogress and innovation is the decisiv Seana forces. They emphasized that in asa : ans avant i f the world science and tecnnolog from the rapid development o een i ledge economy, what mattere rapid emergence of know antag i i the nature of science, mainly here to innovation. Innovation, ch streaail se inly through education. ents who can grow and develop main twasel i level of national education are science and technology and the ie doa i rehensive national strength an important symbol of the compreh is BE a coma ial civilizati e flywheels for ea ocial civilization, and two indispensa - eats Therefore, the CPC Central Committee has successive) Pa i jence an j ting the country through science ward the strategy of rejuvena ae tion and the strategy of reinvigorating the country through human resours

management. | wit The basic meaning of the strategy of rejuvenating atic 2 ia science and education is to fully implement the idea a ia : technology is the primary productive forces”, adhere to

that great talents appear successively and everybody is let to display his talents fully and to transform our country from one with a great population into one with a large number of talents.

Second, the development of advanced productive forces is the fundamental mission and fundamental undertaking of our party as a ruling party

1. The development of human society is the historical process in which

advanced productive forces continuously replace the backward productive

109 forces

The development of human society is the historical process in which advanced productive forces continuously replace the backward productive forces. The struggle of the Communist Party of China is the historical pro- cess in which the advanced productive forces is continuously liberated and developed. Our Party has always followed the objective law of social and historical development and taken the liberation and development of China’s advanced productive forces as its fundamental mission, making great con- tributions to the development of China’s advanced productive forces. The Party’s historical experience has repeatedly proved that our cause prospers hen the development direction of advanced productive forces is repre- nted, but it suffers from turns and twists when we go against it.

The history of human development is first of all the development process productive forces. If the human society is to develop, we must constantly lace the backward productive forces with the advanced, which is the W of productive forces and of social development. Advanced productive Ces reflects the achievement and height of the latest science and technol- gy and plays a decisive role in promoting social development. Dating back the history, we can find that the changes and reforms of social system med from the emergence of advanced productive forces, that is, the old

110

wecemernint

social system and social relations become the shackles of advanced produc- —

tive forces, so a new relation of production is needed to correspond to the development requirements of advanced productive forces.

“In acquiring new productive forces men change their mode of produc- tion: and in changing their mode of production, in changing the way of

* * : 3915 fn

earning their living, they change all their social relations.”!

The “new productive forces” Marx mentioned hereby is precisely the advanced productive forces. The continuous acquisition and Aevelopiict of advanced productive forces, will lead to the change of the “mode of pro- duction”. The change of "the way of earning their living” eventually leads to the change of "social relations" and the establishment of a new social system. "The hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam- mill society with the industrial capitalist.”'®

Advanced social system and relation of production represent the onward direction and development level of advanced productive forces.

2. Always representing the development requirements of China's ad-

vanced productive forces . Always representing the development requirements of and vigorously promoting the development of China’s advanced productive forces is the fundamental embodiment and requirements of the CPC's standing at the forefront of the times and keeping the advanced nature as well as the funda- mental mission and responsibilities of the CPC as the ruling party.

The statement that always representing the development requirements of and promoting the development of China’s advanced productive forces is the fundamental requirements and path of the CPC’s keeping the advanced nature as the ruling party is decided by the law of the human society devel- opment, that of the socialist construction, and the ruling law of the on nist party. The CPC’s advanced nature is essentially reflected in its a ility to represent the development requirements of China's advanced productive

forces and promote its development.

Since its establishment, the CPC has been representing the develop : uirements of advanced productive forces in China. It is the vanguard 0

req the Chinese working class who is the representative of modern advance

productive force be conducive to the continuous development of productive forces, cially the advanced productive forces, in order to truly reflect aan the vanguard of the working class and represent the fundamental inte of the working class and the Chinese people. 15 Complete Works of Marx and Engels, Chinese Ist edition, Vol.4, p.144, Beijing.

People’s Publishing House, 1958. 16 Ibid.

esp

s. Therefore, all policies and guidelines of the Party must

The new democratic revolution led by the CPC aimed to abolish the priv- ilege of imperialism in China, eliminate the exploitation and oppression by the landlord class and the bureaucratic bourgeoisie, change the feudal comprador relations of production and the decadent superstructure rising over such an economic base,’ establish a new political system at the core of the people's democratic dictatorship, and fundamentally liberate the fet- tered productive forces. After the founding of the New China, the CPC, as the ruling party, need lead the masses of the people to seek the road and way of developing advanced productive forces. To this end, our Party carried out the socialist transformation on agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist in- dustry and commerce, established the socialist relations of production, and further perfected the socialist superstructure on such economic base so as to continue to liberate and develop the advanced productive forces in China. After the 3 Plenary Session of the 11 CPC Central Committee, China carried out reform and opening up to further liberate and develop advanced productive forces. In a word, the revolution, construction and reform led by the CPC all aim to promote the liberation and development of advanced productive forces in China.

3. Promoting the development of advanced productive forces in China

The development of advanced productive forces is closely related to the continuous improvement of the relations of production and the superstruc- ture. To promote the development of advanced productive forces in China, we should make sure that its development requirements are reflected in all aspects of relations of production and the superstructure. Therefore, we must unswervingly adhere to the reform, improve the socialist relations of production and superstructure, and pave a broader way for the liberation and development of productive forces.

Man is the most active factor in productive forces. To develop advanced productive forces, we must give full play to the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of all people, constantly improve the ideological and moral quali- ties and scientific and cultural qualities of workers, peasants, intellectuals, ther laboring masses, and all other people, and constantly improve their bor skills and creativity. It reflects the efforts and fundamental shift of the ling party in the development of advanced productive forces, different m the behaviors and practices of the exploiting class who contempt and the people. Besides, we should actively build a social environment that ects talents and encourages entrepreneurship, form a good mechanism talents to stand out and display their talents fully, create a new situa- in which talents come forth in large numbers and their enthusiasm and tivity can be given a full play, and provide a strong guarantee for the tm and opening up and modernization construction.

11]

112

The development of advanced productive forces also bk us to vigorously promote the scientific and technological progress an eee tion and strive to achieve the leapfrog development of productive she Advanced productive forces is something armed with Zw eea a Natl a technology. The rapid development of science and seamen a e world today has brought great impetus to the productive forces and the ania development of human society, and its importance for the ee a social development has never been so prominent. The future a : : an technological development will still give rise to new major sas a party must grasp this objective trend sensitively, always pay attention to the ee bination of the superiority of our socialist system with the mastery, appli- cation and development of advanced science and technology, vigorously promote the scientific and technological progress and sabia hee ously transform and improve the national economy with advance ee and technology, in an effort to achieve the leapfrog development . aa S productive forces. This is also the important responsibility a t : ar as the representative of the development requirements of China's advance

productive forces.

Development is the overriding issue in order to promote the comprehensive development of society

First, development is the overriding issue, and the first priority in governing and rejuvenating the country

Development is the overriding issue

On the basis of profoundly summarizing historical experiences and les- sons and accurately grasping the theme of the present era, Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “Development is the overriding issue, absolute principle”, “development is the key to solve all the problems of China’”®,

Development is the overriding issue. To take the development of produc- tive forces as the fundamental task of socialism is the fundamental view of the scientific socialism and the inevitable requirement of consolidating and developing the socialist system. Whether socialism can consolidate and de- velop itself and reflect its superiority in the contest with capitalism funda- mentally relies on whether its productive forces can develop in a faster and better way than that of capitalism does. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “To give full play to the superiority of socialism means, in the final analysis, it is necessary to make arduous efforts to develop social productive forces and gradually improve and enhance people's material and spiritual life.”"°

Only when the productive forces are developed can people’s living stan- dards be improved and the social stability be achieved, which will create material conditions for the construction of the socialist democratic politics, spiritual civilization and harmonious society and fundamentally consoli- date the socialist system. Only the socialist development can make those who do not believe in socialism gradually have faith in it and those who do so firmly believe it.

That development is the overriding issue is a profound summary of the historical experience and lessons of the socialist construction. In the 20 years before the reform and opening up, the socialist modernization did not go well, an important reason for which is that the development of produc- tive forces was not realistically taken as the fundamental task of socialist construction in a long time. Deng Xiaoping pointed out that if shortcomings

113

With the human society undergoing profound changes and develo : the theme of the times, the global competition in the economic ithe a : comprehensive national strength is unprecedentedly intense. ae i Cc ee try nor nation can stand aloof in front of this global competition. : a : repeatedly shown that seizing the opportunity to accelerate ae ne a the backward countries and nations may realize the new leap fe) : ment and walk in the forefront of the times; without seizing eal oe ie opportunities, the originally strong countries and nations ee ea : laggards of the times. Whether we can seize new opportunities : a problems and achieve new development is a major test of our bath a erning capability as well as of our national eonesion and ee I root of China’s invincible position and the CPC S historical pau = for the country, the nation and the people to cling to the aie a opportunity period and make an effective use of it, and to strive to ae initiative in this large-scare competition to develop and expand our

existed after the founding of the New China, then we might have neglected developing productive forces to some extent. According to him, neither the long-term economic stagnation nor the long-term low-level living standard of the people can not be called socialism. Socialism is not an empty talk and it cannot be built on the low-level productive forces and poverty for a long ime. To develop the socialism, we must take economic construction as the nter and vigorously develop the social productive forces. We have to rely Our own development in face of all problems, which is the most impor- { conclusion after our Party's scientific analysis of the lessons learned m the socialist construction at home and abroad.

Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 1st edition, Volume 3, p.377 and https://archive. stream/SelectedWorksOfDengXiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt. _Ibid., p.265. _ Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p. 251 and https://archive.org/ m/Selected WorksOfDengXiaoping Vol. 1/Deng02_djvu.txt.

114

That development is the overriding issue is the reflection he require- ment of the theme of the times. Peace and development are the two main

themes of the world today, and the global strategic issues. As a socialist

country, developing the worl

the world peace is. C aeanly of the world and the Asia-Pacific region. By the time China

is developed, the forces of peace that restrict the war paneaat oe hanced. Besides the world peace, the resolution of the ly ae ee is in need of China’s development. China is the largest a ae courtly in the world with 1/5 of the world's population. Its ae aoe | not only China itself but es oe world ele i ae a ae : momentum o ina's econo ‘ eee ak of 1.3 billion but also bring enormous ran ee on countries. As the economic globalization deepens, China A ss a becoming a new driving force of the world economic aye us : respect, China's development is of global strategic significance.

To better adhere to the strategic thought that development Is over- ould establish and implement the people-oriented, com- d sustainable scientific outlook on development, the experience in the reform and opening up,

d peace forces. The more developed China is, the more

riding issue, we sh prehensive, coordinated an which is the generalization of the urgent requirement of advancing t well-off society, and the requirement of a characteristics. In order to realize the grand b society in an all-round be ss ea gereet ialism with Chinese characteristics, ts development and promote the comprehensive, ¢

and sustainable social development.

2. Development is the first priority of the party in governing and rejuve-

nating the country

In the process of leading the

characteristics, the Party faces : and urgent tasks, but the primary and most important task is to develop

iori i ing and fe is the first priority of the party in governing ; ee i e Party’s historical mission and

China was gradually reduced to 4

juvenating the country is pee by th ibilities. After the Opium War, : na and semi-feudal society in which the society ae ie the government was overwhelmed with the enduring Hee ee long-standing debility, and the people were plunged into an a ss ca Under the CPC’s leadership and after the arduous and heroic s ae Chinese people, China finally realized the national liberation a

China maintains peace and stability and is an important factor in —

hina’s development is beneficial to the peace

he comprehensive construction of a dvancing socialism with Chinese lueprint of building a well-off _ ontinuing development of, t adhere to the concept of oordinated

whole nation to build socialism with Chinese many problems and all kinds of important

on the socialist path. However, due to the enduring impoverishment and long-standing debility, China began to build socialism on the basis of the backward economy and culture. Until now, the most prominent problem facing us today is still the backward economy and culture and the main contradiction of the-Chinese society is and will be the conflict between the people’s growing material and cultural needs and the backward social pro- duction for a long period to come. This decides that the CPC, as the ruling party and the vanguard of the Chinese working class, Chinese people and Chinese nation, must always take development as the first priority at any time in the great course of leading the people of all ethnic groups in China _ in developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and striving to achieve the national rejuvenation.

Whether the CPC can solve the problem of development in the process of leading people in modernizing China, a great developing country with backward economy and culture, directly decides whether the people are for or against and the cause rises or falls. The party, as the ruling party that represents the fundamental interests of the people of China, must always cling to this first priority in governing and rejuvenating the country—de- velopment, and adhere to its advanced nature and give a full play to the superiority of the socialist system by developing the advanced productive forces and advanced culture and realizing the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, so as to promote the all-round social progress and development of human beings. Clinging to the first priority, we can thoroughly understand the aspirations and fundamental interests of the people, grasp the nature of the socialist modernization, so as to con- ‘stantly consolidate the ruling status of the Party and constantly meet the requirements of enforcing the country and enriching the people.

Whether the CPC can solve the problem of development in such a great developing country like China is directly related to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the future and fate of socialism. The CPC’s ruling sta- tus was chosen by the people, fundamentally because it can lead China to the national prosperity and people’s wealth and the rejuvenation of China. Only by grasping this first priority can the Party realize its historical mis- on in the new stage of the new century. Development plays an inevitable le both in achieving the grand goal of building a well-off society in a mprehensive way, further improving people’s material and cultural life, hancing China’s comprehensive national strength and realizing the great juvenation of the Chinese nation, and in realizing the complete reunifica- n of the motherland and promoting the lofty cause of world peace and evelopment. Only by taking the development as the theme can we thor- ghly understand the aspirations of the people, continuously consolidate id develop the mass base of the Party’s ruling status, push forward the

bbs,

Seremaceeine

116

een

to be guaranteed and improved; there must be quite a number of unstable factors underlying in the society where the wealth is extremely deficient, let alone the real social harmony. The mansion of the socialist harmonious society is by no means built on poverty. At any time, we should insist on - economic construction as the center in a steadfast way and concentrate on how to develop the economy.

socialist cause with Chinese characteristics, and create more advanced pro- ductive forces than capitalism through the efforts of several, more than ten or even dozens of generations, so that the people can enjoy more practical benefits and socialism can better display its own superiority.

Second, taking development as the key in solving all kinds of problems

1. Taking development as the key in solving all kinds of problems is an

‘ali eee To solve the problems in advancement with the methods of development important experience gained in the process of our socialist modernization

is a profound summary of the experience in the socialist construction in our _ country. At the beginning of the New China, socialism was constructed at an economically poor and culturally blank background. For decades, the people's living standard has been marching towards a higher level of the well-off society, for which the cantinuous advancement of the socialist modernization can account. At present, with the continuous progress of the society, the people have put forward higher demands on the economic and social development, and a series of new challenges have appeared in the economic and social development process, which require us to take them seriously and make efforts to solve them. In a word, to solve these problems in advancement, in the final analysis, depends on the continuous develop- ment of the socialist society.

practice

Development is the overriding issue and the key in solving all kinds of problems in China. To solve problems occurring in advancement with de- velopment methods is an important experience gained in the process of our socialist modernization practice.

Since the reform and opening up for more than 30 years, the Party's lines, guidelines and policies have gained the support of the masses of the people, we have gone through the international and domestic waves, and our inter- national status and influence has been constantly improving, to which the key is that we firmly grasp the theme of development. Practice has proved that development plays an indispensible role in enhancing the comprehen- sive national strength, constantly improving people's living standards and achieving the “three-step” strategic goal of national development; in con- solidating and improving the socialist system and strengthening the cohe- sion and vitality of socialism with Chinese characteristics; in maintaining social stability, promoting social harmony, and achieving the long-term peace and order of the state; in enhancing the international competitiveness to have the initiative in hands in the international contest; and in accom- plishing the reunification of the motherland and the great cause of the reju- venation of the Chinese nation. Only by focusing on the construction and development can we calmly deal with the difficulties and aaa ~ firmly have the initiative in hands. The prosperity of the country an a wealth of the people is in the final analysis the issue of economic strength, so is the international competition. Without a strong economy, how “| we participate in the international competition, without the Pari : productive forces, how can socialism overcome capitalism. Only when the economy has greatly developed, the economic strength Bnd eee national strength have greatly increased, and the people's livelihood Be : gradually improved can the country gain the long-term peace and order. our back be straightened, our words in the international community carry weight, and socialism be better tomorrow. The continuous manage: of social productive forces is not only the base of the improving Ne standard of the people but also the material base of building a socla : harmonious society. Without development, the people’s life will be difficul

Solving the problems in advancement with the methods of development requires us to cling to the economic construction as the center, adhere to the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory and “Three Represents”, and im- plement the scientific outlook on development. According to the scientific outlook on development, we should adhere to the development as the first priority, the people-oriented development as the core, the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development as the basic requirements, and making overall plans and taking all factors into consideration as the fun- damental approach. In accordance with the requirements in making overall plans about the urban and rural development, the regional development, economic and social development, the harmonious development of man _ and nature, and domestic development and opening up to the outside world, _we should make efforts to learn about the development laws, innovate the _ development concept, transform the development mode, solve development _ difficulties, and promote the cause of socialist modernization. In addition, we should better implement the strategy of revitalizing the country through cience and education, the strategy of reinvigorating the country through uman resource management, and the strategy of sustainable development, iccelerate the strategic economic restructuring, build an innovation-driven country by speeding the improvement of the capability of independent in- ovation, accelerate the building of a resource-saving and environment- iendly society, continuously enhance the economic strength, scientific and echnological strength, and comprehensive national strength, and enhance

17

and risk-resistance, so as to lay a solid

the international competitiveness f socialism with Chinese characteristics.

foundation for the development o

2. Concentrating on the construction and development

Concentrating on the construction and development is to be absorbed in: the socialist modernization and the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In his speech at the 30" anniversary of the 34 Plenary Session of the 11" CPC Central Committee, Hu Jintao pointed out.that as long as we unswervingly promote reform and opening up and follow. the socialist path with Chinese characteristics, we will absolutely be able to

achieve the set magnificent blueprint and goals.

Since the reform and opening up for more than 30 years, China’s eco- nomic and social development has displayed an unprecedentedly good situ- ation. We not only withstood the test of the drastic changes of the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, successfully responded to a series of serious challenges from natural disasters, but also promoted the rapid development of the socialist cause in China, the enhancement of the comprehensive na- tional strength, the constant improvement of people’s material and cultural life, and the flourishing of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics. All of these achievements can be mainly attributed to our adherence to the economic construction as the center of the work. peace and development are still the themes of the t and cooperation has become an ir- is in the midst of great chang-

118

masmcnnaen

In the 21* century, times, and seeking peace, developmen resistible trend of the times. The world today es and adjustments, such as the irreversi deepening development of advancement of the science an be seen that the world is still very re still exist, local conflicts and hot issues arise, ance exacerbates, the gap between ditional security threats and non-traditional security and world peace and development face m Confronted with this situation, riod at the beginning solve China’s problems in the economic an ously enhance the comprehensive nat

and improve people’s material and cul “Three-step” development strategy in the middle 2000s. Whether we ©

seize this opportunity to accelerate development decides whether a coun or a nation can win the initiative and advantage. To this end, we mus swervingly promote the reform and opening up, take the socialist path Chinese characteristics, cling to the economic construction as the ce!

d social development, contin

tural life, in an effort to achieve

ble world multi-polarization, the the economic globalization, and the accelerating d technology revolution. However, it should stless. Hegemonism and power politics the global economic imbal-

the north and the south is widening, tra-__ threats are intertwined, _

any difficulties and challenges. we must seize this strategic opportunity pe of the new century to accelerate our own development.

ional strength of the socialist China

a seis to concentrate on the construction and development. Only i anes ve pa cr strengthen the ability of the state to fea 7 realize the grand blueprint of buildi jall-to dae uilding a well-off society i ton dee ie only in this way can the great rejuvenation of the nee qau uilt on a solid foundation and the great cause of sociali i Chinese characteristics be increasingly prosperous aii

F * » . set . the construction and development requires us to deal with cone ti ip between the economic construction and the development — ee i a good way in the process of developing socialism with ae ne nine We should firmly grasp the fundamental task of so iberating and developing the i i ani productive forces, since the d - Gee cb socialist undertakings must be based on the Peete i ialist productive forces. Without the development of producti 4 _ : socialist cause will definitely fail. In any case, we must wo a . . ; y q ape esa construction and promote the better and nee of the social productive forces, in i | , in order t tion for the further development of socialism ere

ed to achieve scientific development, harmonious evelopment, peaceful development, and promote the comprehensive development of society

1. To achieve scientific devel i a eee evelopment, harmonious development and 119

The r th : se OU ok 7" CPC National Congress stresses that efforts should t iuable. and ee people-oriented, comprehensive, coordinated, sus- a eee : eee to realize the organic unity of differ- D iety, and to fe te : e harmonious development of all members of the a Gs nfoaanee ae : out ne peaceful development of the country through that we must adh e world’s peace and vice versa, and clearly points out and peaceful Pent y wich development, harmonious development emnization of our country. , which is the basic way to realize socialist mod-

Adheri jenti ee ae Ra development requires the economic and social ollow the objective laws of soci 4 cial and human develop- ‘ 4 the eae development between man and nature mei ae See as of ss ae so that a people-oriented all-round sustainable development can b i - = e achieved, which in es-

• aati dead sound and rapid economic and social devcianhien

ee : ne development means to uphold the concepts

s of fairness and justice, democr 5 Lim ; acy and rule of law, h an ili a f a = oe vitality, stability and order, harmony between ath d , So that we can coordinate economic development with social

economic and social development. However, the basic national condition that our country is still in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time to come has not changed, neither does the major social contradiction between people’s ever-growing material and cultural needs and the backward social production. It is known that the initial stage of our socialism will last a long period of time and have different characteristics in different periods of development. The current characteristics show that China has entered a crucial period of development and reform, with promi- nent social contradictions. With profound changes in the economic system, social structure, pattern of interests, and ideology and concepts, it faces tremendous pressures on population, resources and environment on the one hand, and great potentials for development on the other hand. Therefore, in order to seize the unprecedented opportunities, cope with the hitherto unknown challenges, and solve the contradictions and problems that will emerge, we should stick to the path of scientific, harmonious and peaceful development.

te social development while achieving economic de- l-round way, realize the organic unity of all undertakings, unite all the members of the society, esis aes harmony and stability, and let all the people share the fruits o a ee development. Upholding peaceful development means pasar een : to peace, development and cooperation, strive to the realize the lop

h the maintenance of the world’s peace and vice

ment of our country throug ea versa, and work with other nations together to promote the building of a

harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.

Scientific, harmonious and peaceful development embody the wee cal materialism’s thinking on the dominant position of the masses - eovle and reflect the fundamental interests and common wishes of the Eaciiinea majority of them. These development principles = ™ i i depending on the people, and the deas of developing for the people, ding an a development shared by the people. Scientific development ~~ be people-oriented and aim at achieving ieee ee Eee : : i to set the all-round develop- inable development, which requires us ; ) see the people as the fundamental goal and to continuously meet their

growing material and cultural needs so that the fruits of development can

be shared by all.

The goal of harmonious development is to achieve the organic unity of

= all undertakings, and the unity and harmony of all members of the commu-

nity, which requires us to comprehensively promote baa spurge , . . . e i tion of socialism according to cal, cultural and social construc ‘al te iali i i haracteristics, and to solve the p layout of socialism with Chinese c ee i i st practical and that people concerning the interests that are mo een irectly related to, so as to bring a concerned about and most direc Oo ee ’s abili h find the proper place and realize of the people’s ability, make eac ee i i of peaceful development, as p monious coexistence of all. The essence : of China’s national development strategy and the gers aes a rei irs, 1 intai 1d peace through seli-develo foreign affairs, is to maintain wor gh mee i ice of developing socialism wit vice versa. In the great practice o man isti i have always cherished the valu peace acteristics, the Chinese people ch . highly. Therefore, while concentrating on building the country, hy favorable surroundings and international environment as an impo ternal condition for safeguarding the country’s development.

Scientific, harmonious and peaceful development are enone based on our national conditions of being at the initial stage : - ae they are in line with the features of our current eae gree : ae at promoting the sound and rapid economic and social deve . a the founding of New China, especially since the Ase rem we have made remarkable achievements that attract worldw1

development, promo | velopment, make progress in an al

Sticking to scientific, harmonious and peaceful development reflects the Party’s profound insight and accurate understanding of the theme of the times and the development tendency of contemporary China and the world. It is a wise choice which complies with the trend of the times. After World War II, mankind has made unprecedented achievements in econom- ic growth. However, due to the excessive emphasis on economic growth, 121 various problems emerge in the world development. As a result, people have been constantly reflecting on and deepening their understanding of the development ideas. In the meantime, under the background of econom- ic globalization, the interdependence of all countries has been deepened. Therefore, only by creating a peaceful environment can all the countries develop themselves, and only by strengthening exchanges and expanding cooperation can they achieve common development. After summing up ex- periences of the world’s development, drawing lessons from the theoretical results of human development, and accurately grasping the trend of world development, the Party puts forward the scientific, harmonious and peace- ful development, which conforms to the trend of the times, concurs with the theme of the times, and demonstrates the foresight and the great breadth of sion of the CPC.

Scientific development, harmonious development, and peaceful devel- ment are intrinsically unified: scientific development is the foundation, ithout which economic development cannot be realized, and harmonious d peaceful development will lose its backing; harmonious development the goal. Scientific and peaceful development aim to create better condi- ms to improve the people’s livelihood and promote social fairness and Stice, so that all the people can share the fruits of reform and development.

122

Meanwhile, harmonious development also provides conditions for scien- tific and peaceful development, peaceful development is the guarantee. Without a peaceful international environment, mutual benefit and win-win result, scientific and harmonious development will also be affected. The “three developments” and beneficial to each other, form an organic whole in the great practice of comprehensively implementing the scientific outlook on development and building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and becomes the funda- mental guarantee for realizing the grand goal of socialist modernization. Therefore, people of all ethnic groups across the country must closely rally around the CPC, accept the leadership of the Party, work together, and forge ahead in unity, in order to achieve scientific development, harmonious de- velopment and peaceful development.

2. To comprehensively promote economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization construction: Five constructions

The report of the 17" CPC National Congress, which systematically

elaborates some important issues such as promoting economic, political, ecological civilization construction in an all-round way,

cultural, social and developing socialism with

is the political declaration and guideline for Chinese characteristics and building an overall well-to-do society in the new era. In the construction of the socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics, the coordinated promotion of economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization construction is the essential requirement of the development of socialist society and the main task of comprehen-

sively promoting modernization.

First of all, adhering to the coordinated promotion of economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization construction is determined by the basic contradiction of socialism, i.e. the contradiction between the relations of production and the productive forces, or in other words, between the superstructure and the economic base, which is mainly manifested in the incompatibility of them. In particular, at a stage where economic develop- ment is backward, the rapid changes in productivity can easily lead to its incompatibility with the relations of production, which is mainly manifest- ed in political, cultural, the economic construction. Actually, above five constructions will open the way for tive forces and create conditions for the all-roun

in China.

Secondly, upholding the coordinated promotion of economic, politics cultural, social and ecological civilization construction is determined the major contradiction our country is facing at the present stage. Maj

the development of produe- d development of sociali

, having different focuses but are closely linked with ©

social and ecological civilization’s lagging behind coordinating the relations among the |

contradiction, as the concentrated expression of social development at a certain stage, plays a dominant and decisive role in the development of the society at that time. In the primary stage of socialism, the main con- tradiction of our country is that between people’s even erowine material and cultural needs andthe backward social production. Whether this con tradiction can be correttly understood and whether the focus of work a fundamental tasks are set aceordingly determines the future and destiny of socialism. However, the material and cultural needs of the broad ce of the people are manifested in many aspects, including not only material but also spiritual and development needs. Therefore, to meet these needs, we must coordinate and promote the economic, political, cultural social & d ecological civilization construction. "

Thirdly, adhering to the coordinated promotion of economic, political cultural, social and ecological civilization construction is also a een drawn from past experiences and lessons, which reflects the deepening of the Party’s understanding of the laws of the construction of socialism it Chinese characteristics. In terms of the ways to achieve modernization, al- though we can learn a great deal from countries first embark on the path to modernization, China, as a populous nation that develops quite late, faces not only a special historical background but also enormous oreacures on population, resources and environment. What’s more, there are significant differences between China and other countries in the objectives ae re quirements and ways of development. As a result, if we simply ae tie: nation’s experience, with the focus on economic development only. lackin guarantee and support from political, cultural and social development i

will not onl i . : ide. y pay a heavy price, but may also ruin the achievements already

In order to adhere to the coordinated development of economic, political cultural, social and ecological civilization construction, we must = wided by the scientific outlook on development, which is the fndieental uid ing ideology of and the essential way and method for building an cul

well-to-do society. In fact, the basic requirement of the scientific outlook

on development is to achieve comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable evelopment, which is an important manifestation of realizing the cause of ocialism with Chinese characteristics from an overall perspective, reflect- ing our Party’s profound understanding of the laws of the socialist mod- p iton, and revealing the ways to implement the scientific outlook on eve opment in all aspects. By thoroughly implementing the outlook, we 4 coordinate all links in and all aspects of the construction of modennira: n and comprehensively promote socialist economic, political, cultural ocial and ecological civilization construction. —s

123

Insisting on the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable eee ment, which is gradually formed and deepened in our eicle ey ae of the laws of socialist modernization in accordance with the eee 0 Marxism, is a necessity in our economic and social nua iee ‘ c a. sic Marxists believe that the ideal society in the future is one es ie ly developed social productive forces and spiritual life, Way people she harmony with each other and with nature. Since compre Sung seein nated and sustainable development emphasize the syoaiewe! ae ZI nation not only among all aspects of economic and social deve see , but also between man and man, man and society, and man and nature, 1 con- forms to the basic view of Marxism on the development of human society.

In addition, there are rich connotations in comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development: “comprehensive” means that pilaeliat: should be comprehensive and integrate, including fie ane e velopment, but also development in other aspects; tia as si that development should be coordinated and balanced, with a ae _ links adapted to and beneficial to each other; sustainable Hoe a ° development should be lasting and continuous, ensuring not only cures development, but also long-term one. To uphold pare aan ers coor - - ed and sustainable development, we should correctly handle the major rela- tions in the construction of modernization such as that between con and social development, between urban and rural development, ee : development of the eastern, central and western regions, aera e ie opment of man and nature, between domestic development a cara i and among reform, development and stability; coordinate and handle “ the major issues in economic and social development such as ee - and investment, supply and demand, the speed, structure, quality an bi ficiency of development, the full play of the oun of eeu » technology and advantages in human resources, the market mec ;

: vical

and macroeconomic regulation and control; and see economic, political,

cultural, social and ecological civilization construction and the alle development of human beings as an interconnected, mutually beneficia

and indivisible process.

i hasizes the comprehensive, CO- The 17" CPC National Congress emp hensive:

e they reflect

ordinated and sustainable development, and regards them as quirements of the scientific outlook on development, becaus Oe ee the objective requirements of China’s economic and social nes u at this stage. On the one hand, after the long-term developmen : ee accumulated a solid material and technological foundation and = : greater achievements in promoting comprehensive, coordinated eae : tainable development. On the other hand, problems such as the ae = velopment of urban and rural areas, the uncoordinated economic an:

evelopment, and the incompatibility among economic development, popu- ation, resources and environment, have become more prominent. However, he basic requirements of the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development provide new ideas to solve the problems, and point out the right direction for China’s economic and social development. Therefore, only by actively advancing comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, can we better release various constraints on the development of our country, promote the development and ensure the realization of the strategic goal of the development.

To achieve comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, we must, based on the overall layout of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics, adhere to the economic construction as the center, constant- ly promote economic development and all-round social progress, and cor- rectly understand that economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization, in the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, is a mutually reinforcing organic unity. Without economic construction, which provides the material basis for political, cultural and social con- struction, the construction in other fields will lack material foundations. Therefore, we should guarantee the central role of the economic construc- tion, understand the strategic significance of accelerating economic devel- opment, and unswervingly promote the sound and rapid development of the national economy. Without political construction, which provides political security for economic, cultural and social construction, it will be impossible to fully arouse the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of the masses, create an environment that is protected by a sound legal system, and guarantee the smooth construction in other fields.

We should stick to the socialist political development path with Chinese characteristics, uphold the organic unity of the leadership of the Party, people as the masters of the country and the rule of law, adhere to and perfect the fundamental systems of socialism with Chinese characteris- cs, deepen the reform of the political system, and constantly promote its self-improvement and development. Without cultural construction, which provides ideological guarantee, spiritual motivation, cultural environment and intellectual support for economic, political and social construction, there will be no common ideals and beliefs and moral norms, and the high- Spirited and pioneering mainstream spirit will not be formed, providing no essential spiritual support for the construction in other fields. Therefore, € must consolidate the ideological guidance of Marxism, adhere to the evelopment of an advanced socialist culture that is modern, international, dvanced, national, scientific and popular, uphold the principle of “three loseness”, strive to establish a socialist core value system, consolidate the ainstream opinions, promote reform and innovation of forms, methods

125

and mechanisms, push forward the great prosperity and development of socialist culture, create a new upsurge of socialist cultural construction, and

enhance the national soft power.

Without social construction, which provides favorable social conditions . for economic, political and cultural construction, a favorable social envi-’ ronment for promoting the construction in other fields will not be formed. Therefore, we must speed up the social construction that focuses on im- proving people’s livelihood, promote social fairness and justice, improve social management, stimulate social creation and build a more harmonious society. The ecological civilization construction, which is the foundation of the civilized system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, embodies the strategic concept of the all-round development of socialism, has inher- ent unity with socialism with Chinese characteristics, and makes its overall layout more systematic and better. Therefore, we must firmly establish the concept of ecological civilization, green economy and seeking develop- ment under strict constraints, make resource conservation the basic national policy, develop a recycling economy, and adhere to the path of civilized de- velopment featuring growing production, affluent life and sound ecological environment, so as to realize the unity of speed, structure and quality, and the coordination of economic growth, population, resources and environ- ment, and to build a resource-saving and environment-friendly well-to-do 126 society. In short, according to the requirements of the overall layout, we should take the socialist economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization construction as a unified task, a unified undertaking and a uni- fied goal, develop socialist market economy, democracy, advanced culture, and harmonious society vigorously, and promote the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics comprehensively.

Main Ways of Developing of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

Reform is an important driving force of socialism in China

First, the socialist society is a constantly changing society

The development of human society is a constant process from low-level ——~ forms to the advanced forms. The basic force that drives this process is always the contradiction between productive forces and production rela tions, economic base and the superstructures. Pushed by these soinanic. tions, human society is always in a movement of change. Constant chan and development, advance links replacing the backward ones, is the al law of human social development. es

Socialist society is one of the existing social forms of human beings. It _is the result of the movement of the basic social contradiction. The ce i force to decide and promote the development of socialist society is still ii contradiction between productive forces and relations of production Hy Come foundation and superstructure. Therefore, like any other SaGic: ies, the socialist society is also a society that needs constant reform and fol- Ws the social development law that the advanced replaces the backward 4 . He oe PA ee for the leaders and builders of the socialist cause to os es a ail to realize it, regard socialism as a society that is con- an. - and consciously replace the backward with the advanced, o oe ay lose its vitality and vigor, its superiority may fail to be given y and it may even perish.

i |

]

Deng Xiaoping is the chief designer of China’s reform and opening up he face of the austere problems includ-

and socialist modernization. In t ing the slow development of social productive forces after the end of the “Cyltural Revolution”, the basic necessities of life, the backwardness of sci- ence and technology and education, the prevailing bureaucratism and patri- archal style, and the various doubts of the people on socialism, he, made the earliest initiative of reform. After his return to leadership post for the third time, Deng Xiaoping made it clear that the realization of the four modern- izations is “a great revolution in which China’s economic and technological backwardness will be overcome and the dictatorship of the proletariat fur- ther consolidated. Since its goal is to transform the present backward state of our productive forces, it inevitably entails many changes in the relations of production, the superstructure and the forms of management in industrial and agricultural enterprises, as well as changes in the state administration over these enterprises so as to meet the needs of modern large-scale produc- _ Therefore, it is essential to carry out major reforms in the various of the economy with respect to their structure and organization ong-term interests of the whole nation

we cannot overcome the present

eee and es of the socialist superstructure that is incompat economic base. This is what we call th ialist re i call the socialist reform. If a ee s an out such a'reform, we will suffocate the inherent Vitality of so and seriously hamper the superiority of socialism.’

Second, reform is the self-improvement and development of socialism

a : a society of self-improvement and development. The re and impetus of socialist self-improv t and devel are rooted in the inherent sti i ea he Mie pulation of socialism, The national

digi : system of

pole s being masters of the country, the relations of production oo M4 a oe the value of realizing common prosperity and the social objective of obtaining all-round develo ve ( pment of the people have fi tally eliminated the possibility of i eae enennsiS class exploitation and cl i and have ensured the equality of i ieee ai among all nationalities, all class ) : es a po Moreover, they also determined that the ruling communist ae st iis for and does not seek for any special interests wre the - cates ee of the majority of the people. Thus, the communist n transcend the historical limitations of i Party all private clas d thei political parties, and treat the self-im ered a -Improvement and development of social-

O ticing . ee of eee ahead with determination, the wide oo 129

€ future and the broad mind of accepti i cea _ epeeeirainat aetet : cepting good advices; those i eneficial to the people will b which are outdated and agai igen: Pera whic gainst the people will be abandoned; i are imperfect, immature will be i cs maa erfect, perfected and improved wi The ability to draw on adv i ae antages and avoid disadvant e old and inhale the new is i i Sn an er a manifestation of the superiori i periority of the social- t system, and also the inherent root for the socialist to maintain Se ibaan

itality.

ocial; A, 2 : — aie sae most progressive society in the history of China S ent conforms to the objective law istori

, of historical devel

presents the onward direction i eae of social develo i . n of pment and accords with th awe sear a aspirations of the overwhelming majority of the - AS a result, it has the strong sup i port of the people. With 4 he ple. With the ardu-

. 4 ploration and unremitting efforts of the Party and the people of all

should consciously adjust and reform the part of the socialist relation: | a eroups in China for more than half a century, China has made uu should consciou ements widely appreciated in th i i iti 1 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, pp.135-136 and https://archi tual civilization construction d aN a5 me fecal fee org/stream/Selected WorksO fDengXiaopingVol. 1/Deng02_djvu.txt t great social changes and a iy Seen isa oe . . eat . i¥ ra! | re : | : 2 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p.150 and https://archive.¢ Socialist system. aera ami saa

stream/SelectedWorksOfDeng Xiaoping Vol. 1/Deng02_djvu.txt. ‘ 3 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.266 and https://archive.©!

stream/ Selected WorksOfDeng Xiaoping Vol.3/Den g03_djvu.txt.

tion.. branches as well as to their technology. The | hinge on these reforms, without which backwardness of our production technology and management.”

He also said: “Now the economic management work in China is over 128 staffing with overlapping levels, complex procedures, and extremely low efficiency, which are usually hided by the political empty talks. It shall not be attributed to any comrade’s fault but our failure to propose the reform in the past. “However, if we do not carry out the reform now, our cause of modernization and the cause of socialism will be ruined.” those 20 years—particularly the lessons

t us that we could not proceed unless d social

The experience gained during of the “cultural revolution”—taugh we carried out reform and formulated new political, economic an

policies.’

Since the 4" Plenary Session of the 13" Central Committee of the Party,

Jiang Zemin further pointed out:

“Based on our national conditions, we have summed up our practic experiences and based on the realistic level of social productive force China and the objective requirements for further development of them

elected i i Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol. 1, p. 68, Beijing, People’s Publishing House, 2006.

However, compared with the development history of the capitalist soci- ety which is hundreds of years, the history of China’s socialist construction which is only more than half a century is not long after all. Regardless of the fast development of China reflected in that there is significant increase in social productivity and comprehensive national strength and the people’s : life has reached the well-off level in general, there is still a long way to go in industrialization and modernization. In terms of economic system, man- agement system, democratic legislative system and ideological and ‘moral aspects, there is a considerable distance from the construction target that we should achieve. In the aspects including productivity development, science and technology progress and improvement of living standard, there 1s stilla big gap from those of the western developed countries. China’s socialism is still not fully developed, and is still in the primary stage of socialist devel- opment. It still needs constant self-improvement and development.

Reform is the fundamental way of the socialist self-improvement and development. In the stage of socialist development, there will be no way out in the face of the emerging new situations and new problems if we do not carry out reform and institutional innovation. Therefore, “in all his- torical stages of a socialist society, it is necessary to continue to promote the self-improvement and development of the socialist system in a timely manner through reforms in accordance with the requirements of economic and social development so that the socialist system will be full of vigor and vitality. All comrades in the entire Party absolutely must unify thoughts, raise understanding and firmly implement the policy of socialist reform and

development.”

Third, the reform and opening is China’s second revolution

Reform is not a tinkering and kind of minor improvement. The essence of the reform is to fundamentally change the various concrete systems that hinder the development of productive forces and social progress so as to meet the needs of socialist modernization. Deng Xiaoping made it clear that “reform is the second revolution in China.”° First of all, reform is the second revolution in China, as opposed to the

new democratic revolution. The new democratic revolution led by the Party turned a semi-colonial and semi-feudal old China into a new socialist

China. After winning the revolution, the socialist transformation of agricul- ture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce was successfully re-

alized, and the socialist economic foundation was established. It is the firs great revolution of China in the real sense since modern times. The aim 0 the reform lead by the Party is to fundamentally change the specific systeti

5 Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol. 3, p.274. 6 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.113.

management methods and ideas that are not adapted to the development of productive forces and social progress, and turn a relatively backward socialist China into a prosperous, democratic and civilized socialist modern China. “The reform, like China’s past revolutions, is also aimed at remov- ing the obstacles to the development of social productive forces and lifting China out of poverty and backwardness.”

Secondly, reform is the second revolution in China, starting from liberat- ing the productive forces and removing the obstacles to the development of productive forces. The so-called liberation of productive forces refers to the development of productive forces by relieving the shackles of productive forces. In the past, we had always believed that the revolution was the lib- _ eration of productivity. We also believed that there were only the problems of developing productive forces and there were no problems of liberating productive forces under the socialist conditions. All these are one-sided understanding. Revolution is to liberate the productive forces and reform _ is also to liberate the productive forces. In this sense, reform can also be called revolution.

Thirdly, reform is the second revolution in China, which is in the sense of the profundity and universality of reform. Seen from the scope of reform, China’s reform is a comprehensive reform, including the economic basis and the superstructure, the economic system and the system of politics, cul- _ ture and other aspects, the system level and the ideological level. From the depth of reform, it is the fundamental transformation of the old system and old ideas, the innovation of the system and the adjustment of the interests that lead to the profound changes of the society. In this sense, the reform leads to a new revolution.

More than 30 years of reform practice has proved that socialism with Chinese characteristics has always been advancing in the reform. The re- _ form has not only liberated the productive forces, developed the productive forces, enhanced the overall national strength, improved the living standard of the people, promoted the diversification of economic elements, interests, distribution patterns, jobs and ideas, but also laid a solid foundation for the settlement of some major problems in current economic and social develop- ment of China, the sustainable economic and social development of China, and the long-term stability of China.

Fourth, the goals, tasks, principles (policies) and methods of reform

On the basis of summing up the historical experiences and lessons, Deng Xiaoping made a very clear exposition on the object, purpose, principle and method of the reform.

—. Z Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Volume 3, p. 135 and https://archive. Otg/stream/SelectedWorksOfDeng Xiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt.

131

132

foundation, thus making the socialism with Chinese characteristics full of

j he pointed out that there are still many disad. On the subject of reform, he p Die ad dee

vantages in the existing concrete system of the Party and the state and in the various systems of China. Seen from the various systems of the state, there are disadvantages including the lack of clear-cut job responsibility among governments and enterprises, segmentation of trap and block, excessive. control of the government on the enterprises, neglect of commodity pro- duction, value law and market function, equalitarianism, and communing pot; from the perspective of the leadership system and the cadre system of the Party and the state, the main drawbacks include bureaucracy, excessive centralization of power, patriarchal style, life tenure of leading cadres and various privileges. In addition, there are remaining patriarchal concepts and hierarchical concepts in social relations; some inequality of identity in lead- er-member relations and relations with the masses; the weak consciousness of civil rights and obligations; the autocratic style in the field of culture; the recognition of the great importance of science and education to socialism, the rigidity of thought, the serious influence of small producers.

On the principle of reform, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that the reform _was characteristic with the socialist nature. First of all, the reform should se carried out under the CPC’s leadership, and the Party Central Committee hould mairitain its authority. Secondly, all reform measures should be car- d out under the premise of adhering to socialism. The reform should ad- ere to two important principles: one is taking public ownership as the main body; the other is common prosperity. On the basis of summarizing the pos- itive and negative experiences of the international and domestic socialist development, Jiang Zemin further emphasized two basic conclusions: first, the reform should adhere to socialism. Second, the reform should explore the socialist development path which is in accordance with the actual state.

On the method of reform, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that: first, the re- form should be orderly carried out in steps. Being orderly is to be both bold and prudent. Moreover, experiences should be summed up timely and steady progress should be made. If there is no order, efforts will be made on various interferences encountered. And the reform will not be achieved as a result. Secondly, the reform should be carried out in all aspects in mutual coordination. “We will not carry out the reform of the economic structure without the reform of the political system.”!' The reform in other aspects should also be coordinated. Third, the theory should go before prac- tice. There should be a blueprint before the reform is implemented. Deng Xiaoping’s exposition on the object, purpose, principle and method of the reform provides scientific guiding ideology for the smooth implementation of the reform practice in China.

These drawbacks “hinder or even seriously impede the development of the superiority of socialism, and if we fail to carry out serious reforms, we will hardly be able to meet the urgent needs of our modernization drive and we will have to deviate severely from the masses.”*

However, Deng Xiaoping emphasized particularly: “The socialist system is one thing, and the specific way of building socialism another.”

The system reform is not to change the fundamental socialist system but _ to separate it from the various systems that manifest it.

Regarding the purpose of the reform, Deng Xiaoping pointed out: In the reform of the political structure, our general objectives are the following: (1) to consolidate the socialist system, (2) to develop the socialist produc: tive forces and (3) to expand socialist democracy in order to bring the initia- tive of the people into full play. The chief purpose of mobilizing the peo- ple’s initiative is to develop the productive forces and raise living standards. This in turn will help increase the strength of our socialist country and or solidate the socialist system. In short, “all our reforms have the same ee to clear away the obstacles to the development of the productive forces.

Fifth, reform should seek new breakthroughs

The essence of reform is making institutional innovations. After 30 years of reform and practice, we already have a good foundation for promoting the socialist system innovation. Meanwhile, China’s institutional innova- on has entered a crucial stage, which means continuing to promote the form will be more difficult, and its tasks will be more complex. We must e bold and courageous to make great progress in institutional innovations.

First of all, we should continue to promote the reform of market orien- ion, constantly improve the socialist market economic system, funda- ntally eliminate the institutional obstacles to the development of pro- tive forces, and promote the self-improvement and development of the cialist economic system. According to the development requirements of vanced productive forces, we should deepen the understanding of the

Jiang Zemin further pointed out that the fundamental purpose of the r form is to establish a more mature and stereotyped system adapted to th basic national conditions in the primary stage of socialism, make the duction relations adapt to the development of the productive forces: promote the superstructure to adapt to the development of the econo

8 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p.327. 9 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p.327.

ss Ibid., : }

10 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.134. id., p. 177

193

process and every link of the administration of the country. We should start rom the reality, obtain advancement on the whole, and make gradual and order progress and key breakthrough.

the public ownership as the main body and the common development of economy with different types of iia’ a accelerate the adjustment of the ownership structure; we shou saul the | reform of state-owned enterprises, regulate the corporate aes struc- ture, and form the operation and management mechanism with re a : matching incentive and restraint; we should accelerate the sat 0 pace reform, and promote the marketization of rural economy by ur pea in accordance with the requirements of WTO’s rules, we should e eotively change government functions, regulate the market order and protect intel-

lectual property rights. we should actively and steadily promote the reform of the po- litical system, develop socialist democracy, build socialist see vil zation and promote the self-improvement and development of the pies . political system. The reform of political system is an en Oo : € self-improvement and development of the socialist system. The ¢ ae op- ment of socialist democracy and the construction of socialist politica civi- lization are an important goal of socialist modernization and an important content of the self-improvement and development of the socialist pole system, We should strengthen the system construction of meee emo- cratic politics, realize the institutionalization, standardization a ea ing of socialist democratic politics, consolidate and develop the politica situation of democratic unity, liveliness, stability and harmony. To Pe the reform of political system, we should start from our national pe itions and follow our own political development path rather than completely copy

the western political system model. quirements of the development of social- he cultural system reform according to

the characteristics and laws of socialist spiritual civilization const We should combine deepening reform with the adjustment of structure : the promotion of development, adjust the relationship between aneee - and cultural enterprises, strengthen the construction of cultura i system and the macro management, deepen the internal reform : cu : e enterprises and institutions, and gradually establish the cultura ee ment system and operation mechanism used for mobilizing the enthu a of cultural workers and promoting cultural innovation to create more CoH? petitive works and cultivate more talents. according to the request of the CPR National Congress, rm, all the ideological concepts hind ly broken; all the practices and pro Id be resolutely changed; and all hould be resolutely dismisst d opening up in the wh

basic economic system with

Sixth, correctly dealing the dialectical relationships between reform, development and stability

Reform, development and stability are an organic whole. Their mutual relationship runs through the whole process of socialist modernization, and thus should be attached with close attention and handled seriously.

Development is the goal, which is the concept should be established first- ly when dealing with the relationship among the three parts. “Development _ js the overriding issue”. The key for China to solve all its problems is to rely on its own development. Only continuous development can overcome the difficulties encountered on the way forward; ensure the final realization _ of the peaceful reunification of China; gradually eliminate exploitation and _ polarization, and finally achieve common prosperity; give full play to the _ superiority of the socialist system and create strong material conditions for _ the final victory over capitalism and the transition to communism.

Secondly,

__ Reform is the driving force. To develop, we should carry out reform. _ Only through reform can we overcome the previous influence hindering the development of social productive forces and the improvement of people’s 135 _ living standard, solve the new problems in the process of the development —— _ of productive forces and open up a broad space for the development of pro- _ ductive forces. Reform is an indispensable driving force for development. In turn, only development can ensure that the reform is sustainable and _ deepening and will not be unfinished. Therefore, on the one hand, develop- _ ment cannot be achieved without reform because reform is the driving force _ of development; on the other hand, reform cannot be carried out without development because development is the purpose of reform. The two parts are interrelated and inseparable.

Thirdly, we should meet the re ist market economy and promote t

_ Stability is the prerequisite. Reform and development require a stable so- cial environment. Deng Xiaoping repeatedly pointed out that the key to the development of China is social stability. One is political stability and the other is policy stability. Political stability is a prerequisite and guarantee for 1¢ healthy implementation of reform and development. Without a stable litical situation, the country will be always in turmoil. And it will be un- le to create favorable conditions for the development of productive forces from time and space and provide a stable environment for the improvement the living standards of the people, As a result, any good wish will come nothing and any good plans and programs will be unable to be imple- nted. However, the stable political situation only is not enough, and current policy stability should also be achieved. If the policy changes

Finally, the process of deepening the refo ing development should be resolute sions restraining development shou institutional defects affecting development s We should carry through the spirit of reform an

136

frequently, the result will be the same as that caused by political instability, In view of that China had suffered a lot from the changes of policies in the past, Deng Xiaoping stressed that: in general, we have “four adherences”, including the adherence to the Four F undamental Principles, the adherence to the four modernizations, the adherence to two opening up and the adher- ence to the guideline of implementing reform. And he pointed out: “When we say the policy will not change, we mean the policy as a whole—that no aspect of it will change. If any aspect changes, the others will be affected.”!”

Therefore, in the context of reform and development, we should not only make changes, but also achieve stability. We should organically combine changes and stability and strive to combine depth, breadth and pace of re- form with the stability, coordination and the degree of social acceptance of the reform and development programs to an extreme, thus promoting development through reform in a stable social environment.

The stable social environment is inseparable from the reform and devel- opment. Stability does not mean a stagnant pool of water or standstill. The true stability should be a situation with both centralism and democracy, both discipline and freedom, both unity of will and personal ease of mind and liveliness, just like what Mao Zedong said. In order to create this situ- ation, we should carry out reform to coordinate and straighten out various social relations and achieve the best combination of various relations, vari- ous elements, and various components. At the same time, the stable social environment is realized on the basis of the increasing development of so- cial productive forces and the constant improvement of the living standard of the people. It is impossible to obtain real stability on the basis of the slow development of social productive forces and the low living standard of the people. Therefore, to create and maintain a stable social situation, it is necessary to reform and develop. Only through carrying out reform,

vigorously developing the social productive forces, enhancing the compre- hensive national strength of the country and improving the living standard of the people can the cohesion of the whole society be formed and can the stability of the society be fundamentally guaranteed. Jiang Zemin pointed out that reform, development, stability are like three closely linked strate- gic moves on the checkerboard of China’s modernization construction. The if the three moves are well done and mutually promot:

game will win only ed; if any of them is not well down, the other two moves will be in troubl

and the whole situation will face setback. We should unify the momentui of reform, the speed of development and the degree of social tolerance 1 take the constant improvement of people’s life as an important integral point treating the relationship among reform, development and stability

12 Deng Xiaoping Selected Works, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.218 and https://archive.org/ stream/Selected WorksOfDeng Xiaoping Vol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt.

promote reform and development in social stability and promote social sta- bility through reform and development. —

It is of great significance to correctly understand and deal with the dia- lectical relationship between reform, development and stability. Whether _the dialectical relationship among reform, development and stability can be successfully understood and handled is the key to the success of socialist reform; the correct understanding and handling of the dialectical relation- ship among reform, development and stability can make us better adhere to the direction of progress in practice, reduce mistakes and avoid detours: helps people to cultivate dialectical thinking and set up overall viewpoint: and helps people to establish strategic vision, enhance the ability to snalyae things and grasp rules in the work.

Opening to the outside world is an external condition for the development of socialist society

First, the world today is an open world

To open to the outside world is a basic national policy of our country. Its formulation and implementation are the result of our party’s keen observa- tion and examination of the development trend in the current world. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “The present world is an open world.”? |

No country can obtain development if it isolates itself and turns inward. This scientific judgment profoundly reveals the objective basis of China’s opening to the outside world.

“The current world is an open world”. With the promotion of the so- cialized production, world market, capital and science and technology, the telations among countries, regions and nations are increasingly closer and Stronger, showing the trend of globalization and integration. The trend is Mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Firstly, globalization of the environment, resources and population. In articular, ecological protection and environmental governance have biG: en through national boundaries and become a common concern of the orld. Now, a country will be isolated and punished if it considers and Ives ecological problems only from its own perspective without a global sion and a vision of future and without the intention of cooperation and llaboration.

Selected Works of Deng Xiaopi iti ping. Ist edition, Vol.3, p.64 and https://archive.org/ am/Selected WorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/Deng03_djvu.txt. : :

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country completely isolated with a small population, but is a picture of globalization that the countries, the regions and the nations are mutually communicated and mutually connected. In this picture, it is impossible for any country or any nation to isolate itself. Only by implementing policy of opening to the outside world can the country survive and develop itself. Although many countries and nations should also take economic protection policies conducive to state and national interests in their own development process, protection is not equal to self-seclusion. If the protection is turned into self-seclusion, there will be no future except lagging behind and being vulnerable to attacks.

Secondly, the globalization and integration of economic ee cathy as the 1840s, Marx and Engels pointed out in The Communis a eat that the production and consumption of all countries “Agr aa se le because the bourgeoisie developed the world market. The Ss is ethnic self-sufficiency and self-seclusion in the past were replace ry : inter, dependence of all ethnic groups. At present, this trend is se co) su (1) Production and division of labor become more and more e ioe tong : The socialized production develops into internationalized production; the division of labor goes beyond national boundaries and becomes interna- tional division of labor. (2) Capital and markets are becoming more and more internationalized. The domestic unified market develops a interna- tional unified market; the global capital flows have made the se be- tween economies and markets of various countries unprecedentedly close. (3) With increasing size, capital, technology and pings the tansnatioyg corporations and transnational groups play a leading role in the develop- ment of the world economy.

Thirdly, the internationalization of science and ae) develop and application. The rapid development of science and tec os ogy ei only changes the way of human production and life, but also ¢ ae 7 search and application of science and technology. First, the trans ms of of new inventions and new technologies to the field ener an é becomes faster and faster. And once the transformation is coe, : . ee nology will be immediately promoted and used in the wor : = e international technology. Second, the cooperation and colla se ° : ence and technology research becomes stronger, more socialize oe internationalized. Previously, a major technology invention cou fe _ completed by one or several scientists in the laboratory. But now, : a changed. Major scientific and technological research projects, oe exploration, ocean development, nuclear energy utilization = ~ engineering, are difficult to undertake with huge investment ey red - They cannot be completed by one, a few of or dozens of scientists, s by the manpower, material and financial resources of he co require for worldwide cooperation and coordination. Only ry bate — man resources, material and financial resources of various oe world can something be gained and can certain progress be made.

Second, China’s development is inseparable from the world

The present world is an open world, and “China cannot develop without the world.”'* This conclusion is not only the result of the keen observation _of the world development trend, but also the result of the profound sum- mary of the historical lessons of China’s long stagnation and backwardness.

Before the establishment of capitalist production mode in western coun- tries, China had been at the forefront of world civilization. However, after the western world entered into capitalism, China was gradually behind the times. Especially, after The Opium War, China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, suffering from the humiliation of being butchered. There are many reasons for China’s transition from strong to weak. However, based on careful analysis, we can find that there is an important reason, namely the shift from opening to the outside world to self-seclusion. According to historical records, in the 15" century, China ad been keeping a foothold in the world with the opening to the outside world. However, after the 15% century, especially the establishment of the Qing dynasty, the ruling class gradually closed the door to the outside world d stopped communication and contact with the outside world for main- ining the stability of the regime and for other reasons,.

However, under the condition that the capitalist mode of production has en established and the world market has been formed, self-seclusion be- omes impossible. The force of socialized mass production, market and ital intrinsically demands outward expansion, and no boundaries and hnic boundaries can limit it. If one country chooses self-seclusion rath- than conforming to this power to actively open to the outside world, it not only miss the good opportunity for great development, but also behind and be vulnerable to attacks. In this regard, “we suffered from ation, and so did our forefathers. You might say it was an open policy sort when Zheng He was sent on voyages to the western oceans by peror Cheng Zu of the Ming Dynasty. But the Ming Dynasty began to

Facts have shown that global interaction is becoming more an : obvious. For example, the impact of the Asian financial crisis ey be i economy, the impact of the devaluation of Japan on ee an. ue ic economy, the impact of the Russian financial crisis on t F A omy, the global financial crisis and economic crisis one 2 is sub-prime crisis are all sufficient evidences proving that t eg = tion becomes more and more obvious. Now, what we face is no

Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 1st edition, Vol.3, p.78.

139

140

o the outside world; there is no other way. We cannot continue to keep our

doors closed as we did for more than twenty years. The closure of the past two decades must change.”!°

decline with the death of Emperor Cheng Zu. The following Kang-Qian Flourishing Age of the Qing Dynasty cannot be regarded as open.

In the Qing Dynasty, during the reigns of Kang Xi and Qian Long, there was no open policy to speak of. China remained isolated for more than 300 ears from the middle of the Ming Dynasty to the Opium War, or for nearly 500 years counting from the reign of Kang Xi. As a consequence, the coun- try declined into poverty and ignorance.”

In short, “one of the important reasons why China lagged behind after the industrial revolution in western countries was that, it was closed to the

outside world.’”®

Our forefathers suffered from isolation, and so did us. After ce aaa of new China, “we also want to expand the economic and eee Woes = changes between China and foreign countries, including the ah css! of economic and trade relations with some capitalist countries = ev e introduction of foreign capital, joint ventures and so on. But, wees ia no conditions at that time because an embargo was being imposed on China.

“Adhering to the reform and opening-up is a move which determines the fate of China.” The former General Secretary Hu Jintao pointed out in the report of the 17" CPC National Congress: “the most striking feature of the new era is reform and opening up”. Without reform and opening up, there would be no socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the 21 cen- tury, China should expand its opening to the outside world to absorb and learn from all the advanced things, in order to obtain development, make progress and become prosperous and strong. Self-seclusion causes lagging behind and those who lag behind will be vulnerable to attacks.

Third, opening to the outside world is an indispensable condition for the realization of socialist modernization

We build socialism on the basis of a relatively backward economy and culture. For more than 60 years, although the socialist economic construc- tion has made great achievements, it is still in the primary stage of social- ism. Compared with the world’s advanced level, there is still a consider- able distance. In this way, the modernization construction will inevitably encounter many difficulties. Among them, there are several most prominent difficulties. One is that various systems, especially the economic system, cannot meet the requirements of modern construction. The second is the lack of funds, technology, management personnel and management experi- ence necessary for modern construction. For the former difficulty, we can solve it through system reform. For the second difficulty, it can also be solved through system reform and tapping internal potential. However, it will be difficult to solve them completely depending on our own strength. If we depend on our strength only, our distance from the advanced level f the world will not be reduced, but will be extended because the world conomy and science and technology develop by leaps and bounds. If we epend on ourselves only to slowly understand and solve the problems in construction of modernization, we will never catch up with the pace the world economy and technology. However, if we boldly use the ap- ach adopted by the developed countries in the process of modernization, imely opening up to the outside world, we can both solve some of the ma- difficulties we face in the modernization construction and avoid taking repeated path taken by other countries in many aspects. We will start at gher starting point, narrowing the gap with the world’s advanced level

©on as possible and striving to catch up and surpass the advanced world “| in some areas. Because:

Ibid., p.265. Ibid., p.368.

And later, the Gang of Four branded any attempt at economic relations with other countries as “worshipping things foreign and fawning on tlie or as “national betrayal”, and so sealed China off from the outside world.

“In particular, during the ten-year period when the world coo was developing rapidly, we closed our doors and engaged in the so-ca le “Cyltural Revolution”, the result of which has been a long-term stagnation

and backwardness of the national economy.

“The experience of the past thirty or so years has a. se : | closed-door policy would hinder construction and na se a There could be two kinds of exclusion: one would be directe nae a countries; the other would be directed against China itself, with o gion

or department closing its doors to the others. Both kinds of exclusion would -

be harmful.”!®

The development of China is inseparable from the world.

With sharp observation of the world development ae and the istori Deng Xiaoping put forwar po summary of the historical lessons, ee i i i d 1979, and regarded It a f opening to the outside world in time aroun : ae ital national policy. Since then, he has repeatedly om the necessity and significance of opening to the outside world an : s out: “To expand the productive forces we must carry out reform

15 Ibid., p.90. 7 16 oe Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.64.

iaoping, Ed. 2, vol.2, p.127. 17 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, +V 18 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, lst edition, Vol.3, p.64-65.

141

Firstly, the implementation of the opening to the outside a ae the necessary conditions for us to solve the serious eee ae : the modern construction. The modernization construction — ae bs project. It is not only to achieve the goal of modernization, ut : ‘ is the task of industrialization. There are a lot of things to do wi he i : ficulty. Among them, the most prominent difficulty is the eae a - 0 construction funds. The solution to this problem will undoubte y eat es our own long-term accumulation. But we can also find solutions a i a er- national capital market. This is not only necessary, but also so : — there have been a lot of hot money in the international capita fe e sinc the 1980s. The hot money looks for profitable investment p aces aroun the world. In developed countries, there are only a few of such sere places. However, in developing countries, they are everywhere. ; n ‘ e corresponding profits are also considerable. In particular, cee a i oe ing country with a large population and a vast territory, is an - active ee profitable market. As long as we implement the opening up . eeu mom attract a large number of foreign capitals. These funds, whet . in the on of loans or in the form of sole proprietorship, joint ventures ap eae ventures, can solve the meet the huge fund demand of China’s construction,

Secondly, the implementation of the opening to the outside hein vides us with the conditions for the introduction of advanced peat” nology and advanced equipment. China is a country with relative : ac : ward science and technology, and there is a certain gap between a : scientific and technological level and the advanced level in me nb : . should basically realize modernization in the middle of the on cen ee proaching or reaching the level of the developed countries in the wor : - key is to develop our own science and technology. To sues ene technology, it is necessary to introduce advanced science and tec gy

and production equipment in the world while relying on a om to carry out scientific research and technological innovation. lo a pi goal of catching up or surpassing the advanced level of the ee a vigorously introducing the world advanced science and techno ate fective way proved by the postwar development achievements : mo and Japan. China, as a developing country, should be so. In the past, ab

though we intended to introduce foreign advanced technology eae ment, but there were no such conditions at that time eons was being imposed on us. But now, things are different. =F ae good conditions in this respect. As long as we steadfastly follow Fo / modernization and insist on opening to the outside world, se c in the world are willing to engage in scientific and technologica = : and cooperation with us and are willing to transfer technology an ment to us, which is very conducive to our modernization.

a lot of

Thirdly, the implementation of the opening to the outside world provides conditions for us to learn from and absorb advanced foreign management experience and management methods. Practice has proved that the avail- _ ability of funds, technology and equipment does not mean that the expected productivity and economic benefits can be obtained. In addition to funds, technology and equipment, there also should be corresponding manage- _ ment experiences and management methods. In fact, the gap between China and the developed countries is reflected not only in the funds, technology _and equipment, but also in the lack of management experience and man- agement methods that meet the requirements of modern mass production, Therefore, in the opening to the outside world, we should not only pay attention to the introduction of foreign capital, technology and equipment, but also make great efforts on introducing foreign advanced management experience and management methods. There should be no ideological con- cern on this issue. The advanced management experience and management methods, which meet the requirements of modern production, have no class nature, just like the science and technology. They can be used by both the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. We should not reject them only because they were firstly used by the bourgeoisie.

Fourthly, opening to the outside world is an important condition for us to learn the world information and grasp the pulse of the world, We are now facing fierce international market competition in the information age. In addition to the competition of funds, technology and equipment, there is also information competition which is more important. In the situation of economic globalization, whoever has rich, accurate and timely information will be able to accurately judge the objective trend of world political and economic development and thus will be active in the development and re- main invincible fierce market competition. On the contrary, those without rich, accurate and timely information will be eliminated.

Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “A closed-door policy would be greatly to our disadvantage; we would not even have quick access to information. People say that information is important, right? It certainly is. If an admin- trator has no access to information, it’s as if he was purblind and hard of aring and had a stuffed nose.””!

Our experience shows that China cannot rebuild itself behind closed ors and that it cannot develop in isolation from the rest of the world pecially when world’s technological revolution is booming.”?

The implementation of the opening to the outside world allows us to

derstand and master the world information in a timely manner and thus ich up with the world.

2

Deng Xiaoping Selected Works, Ist edition, Vol.3, pp.306-307. bid., p. 290.

143

outside world starting from the establishment of special economic zone, the opening of the coastal cities, the establishment of Hainan Special Economic Zone to the opening of Shanghai Pudong new area has formed a compre- hensive, multi-level and wide-ranging pattern of opening to the world

mentation of the opening to the outside world is also n for us to carry out socialist market economy system dernization construction is connected with

i ic develop- iali tem. The experience of economic cialist market economy sys ee in the past few decades has proved that there are many eesti a lanned economy system. These disadvantages are not con ne . eae development and modernization. vase pee Ba = i i i i iona 0 inevi tory. It is conducive to the ra the inevitable choice of his asian t economy also has its own . f resources. But, the marke themiore how to give full play to the advantages of the pie atk ro i hortage of market economy 1s a p tha system and avoid the s Lae ieee i i of the construction e studied and solved in the process ae economy system. We used to implement the planned economy a i ie ast for a long term. After the establishment of the socialist ee et . * . . . ee system, there must be a variety of ‘ocani . its oe a i lems, it is necessary to draw lesson eration. To solve these prob > Scobie godt i rket economy construction, a experiences of western ma ne i i ic system to manag iences of using the market econom ae and avoid the repeated emergence of the sect . ae ue market economic system. In the face of problems, - = . ee a ies to solve the problem, thus deve from the western countries : 144 omy and modernization more quickly and smoothly. To achieve ns, should carry out the opening to the outside world. At the same ae - the wave of world economic globalization, better carry out ne i in the increasingly fierce marke exchange with other countries, Wi me ; tion in ite world, develop ourselves and expand ourselves, it is necessary (0 _

ith i i les. integrate with the world in accordance with international customs and ru

i i orld. That is to say, it is necessary to carry out the opening to the outside wFifthly, the impler the necessary conditior construction. The socialist mo

_ First, the opening to, the outside is the comprehensive opening to the outside world.

Deng Xiaoping once pointed out that: there are still some people who have not made clear the opening to the outside world. They think that our opening is only to the western developed countries. In fact, our opening is to three aspects. The first is the western developed countries from which we absorb foreign capital and introduce technology. The second is the Soviet Union and the eastern European countries. Even though state-to-state rela- tions are not normal, exchanges can go on, for instance, in commercial transactions, technology and even in joint ventures and technical innova- tions, like innovations in the 156 projects. They have a part to play in all these respects. The third region is the developing countries of the Third World, each of which has its special characteristics and strengths and offers enormous potentialities. Hence, opening to the outside world involves three regions (One is the developed countries in the West, second Soviet Union and the East European countries, third developing countries), not just one region.” 145

Second, the opening to the outside world is multi-level and in steps.

China’s opening to the outside world is carried out gradually in stages. The initial stage of China’s opening to the outside world is marked by the establishment of special economic zones. In April 1979, Deng Xiaoping put forward at the Central Working Conference that: a piece of land could set aside as the special zone. However, he then said that kind of special zone was “the special economic zone”, and was not a special political zone. In May 1980, the Party Central Committee and the State Council, on the initiative of Deng Xiaoping, formally named the special zone as “special economic zone”, and then decided to set up four special economic nes including Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen. On the basis of the initial success of the four special economic zones including Shenzhen, luhai, Xiamen and Shantou, the central government has taken a series important steps to make the opening up develop from point to line and m line to surface after carefully summarizing experiences and highly irming achievements. In 1984, the Central Committee of the Party and State Council decided, on the proposal of Deng Xiaoping, to open 14 astal ports and make them fully play the role of central city in economic struction, so as to promote the economic construction of the mainland

As Deng Xiaoping said: “In short, if we want sean to eine —_ i evem 2 i itali hould not hesitate to draw on the acn ot ority over capitalism, we s OS ae cioca ae ther countries, including all cultures and to learn from 0 recente. i i thods of operation and techniques ¢ list countries, all advanced me ind . eee that reflect the laws governing modern socialized productio

Fourth, improve and develop an all-round, multi-tiered and wide-raning opening-up pattern

as repeatedly pointed out that invi gorating the ~ de is not a short-term policy, but a 10) hange within at least 50 to 70 year e to be open and bee China’s opening t

Deng Xiaoping h economy and opening to the outs! i ill not ¢ term policy. The policy wi short, opening-up is necessary. We must continu more open. Under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping,

See Deng Xiaoping anthology, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.98-99.

23 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.373.

146

etentanennnt

the economic construction of the whole country. ae ae ae Central Government set up the economic ue area in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the gale Fujian and the Circum-Bohai Sea Region. Then, the Jinan City : - ng Province, the Shaoguan City, the Heyuan City and the Meiz eae Guangdong Province were included into the economic open aie = ont the policy of open coastal city is pate apie ree ee th nee i vince was set as special economic z Peet ee zone in China. In April 1990, the SC eeraeuEenS: the Party and the State Council decided to develop the Pu = see He In this way, the pattern of China’s coastal opening to me wee e its " “ preliminarily formed. In 1992, with Deng Xiaoping’s Sout er T Bes 14 CPC National Congress as an important symbol, China S ee : e outside world entered a comprehensive implementation eee a : - ginning of 1992, the opening to the outside world expanded sa § to the mainland, and has launched a series of new initiatives ss ee a E along river, opening-up along border, and inland open. By t : ae “ December 1995, a multi-level, multi-form and Leap Sapaalag se i opening to the outside world was basically formed, as ; hes and counties, 222 open ports and an area of more than 500,0 ee He meters. In 2007, China’s total import and export trade eee ae : trillion, a 104-fold increase from the $ 20.64 billion in 1978, showing

great results of opening to the outside world. Third, China’s opening to the outside world is wide-ranging.

China’s opening to the outside world is not pai tate multi-level, but also wide-ranging. The so-called Makin ps : sie g refers to that the opening covers fields including science " use ee culture, education, sports, health in addition to economic he ; Seal tries of the world have their own advantages and mabe ie ae 7 Particularly, the western pany ie Salonga acme a ha ience and achieved many historical resu Saar mae of development. Thus, there are many things for r oe lessons from and introduce in terms of socialist modernization an ane market economy system construction. Among the wide-ranging op

i i a the outside world, the opening to the economic, technological and cultural

fields is the focus.

Now, China has basically established its comprehensive, mult wide-ranging and characteristic pattern of opening to as sk me with remarkable results. The open economy of the coasta es a i velops rapidly, and the open cities along the Yangtze oe eke ie to drive the economic development of the Yangtze River eee nomic development of the open cities and towns along the border

accelerated obviously, and the inland open cities have promoted and driven the economic development of the hinterland. Through opening to the out- side, China has absorbed and made use of a large number of foreign capital construction funds and introduced advanced technology and management experience. In this way, China has vigorously promoted the adjustment and _ upgrading of industrial ‘structure, provided new jobs, increased the national _ financial income, and obtained rapid development of foreign economic and _ trade. In the process of opening to the outside world, the import and export _ trade expands unceasingly, and the flow and exchange of production fac- _ tors increase gradually. And the service trade has further developed on the _ basis of strengthening international relations in the field of production and circulation. A variety of international economic and technical cooperation modes have been widely adopted, with rich successful experiences of inter- national exchange and cooperation. Practice has proved that opening to the outside world has promoted the development of social productive forces, strengthened the comprehensive national strength and international com- petitiveness, and promoted the process of establishing the socialist market economy system in China.

Fifth, the new situation of the opening-up

After a long period of negotiation, China formally joined the World Trade Organization in December 2001. The accession to WTO is the need of China’s economic development and reform and Opening up. And it is also conducive to the development of the world economy at the same time. The accession to WTO will help expand China’s opening to the outside world, win a better international environment for China, promote the strategic ad- justment of economic system reform and economic structure, and enhance the vitality and international competitiveness of China’s economy. Thus, it is in general accord with the fundamental interests and long-term interests of China. We must adapt to the new situation of economic globalization and accession to WTO, implement the method of combining “going out” and “brining in”, participate in international economic and technological coop- ration and competition in a larger scope, wider areas and at a higher level, make full use of the international market and the mainland market, optimize ¢ allocation of resources, widen the space for development, and promote development and reform with opening to the outside world.

We should further expand the trade of goods and services. We should plement market diversification strategy, give play to our comparative ad- antage, consolidate the traditional market, expand the emerging market, d strive to expand exports. We should adhere to win through high quality d improve the competitiveness of export goods and services. We should timize the import structure, and solemnly introduce advanced technology d key equipment. We should deepen the reform of economic and trade

147

rom

hilosophy, the development of anything has two kinds of factors: internal actor and external factor. Internal factor is the internal basis of the exis- nce, change and development of things, and external cause is the external condition of the existence, change and development of things. The nature and development direction of things is mainly determined by the internal ontradiction of things, namely internal factor. Although the external con- adiction of things, namely ‘external factor, plays a role in the nature and velopment direction of things, this role takes effect only with internal ctor. Therefore, the internal factor is basis, and the external factor is the ndition. The external factor acts through the internal factor. This is the dialectics of the existence, change and development of things, and is the

rect way to deal with the internal and external relations in the develop- ment of things.

system, promote the diversification of foreign trade bodies, and improv = relevant tax system and trade financing mechanism.

We should further attract foreign direct investment and essere qual. ity and level of utilization of foreign capital. We implemen nee ee a “bringing in” and “going out” to improve the level of SPEHInS ee ONS) ae “t ing in” is to gradually promote the opening of tie serve world. a and long-term foreign investment in a variety of ways, tor, be t . e use of foreign capital with the domestic economic structure oe me and the reorganization and transformation of state-owned en- F 4 ses, and encourage transnational corporations to invest in agriculture, auras and high-tech industries. We vigorously pannereane talents of all kinds, improve the investment environment, ae of awe treatment for foreign investment, and improve the tr nant investnent policies. “Going out” is to encourage and support the ex te the expdit of various enterprises with comparative advantages, prone P tone d services, form a group of competitive transnationa corpora ae brands, and actively participate in regional economic exchang- es and cooperation. i The “bringing in” and the “going ee are oa ae eal zo the aul tually reinforcing aspects of our gui Sam vidl) pointed out: “bringin le ree eer vjoild and must be turned at the same time.””°

Sixth, correctly understand and deal with the relationship between open ing to the outside world and independence and self-reliance

Independence and self-reliance are the sae cata oa e inciple of independence refers in has always adhered to. The princip _ handles all domestic affairs independently and ee oS sai be i ; inci f self-reliance refers to nal interference; the principle o a ee i i d strengthen itself. However, its own strength to build, develop an oe i i d self-reliance is not blind e dence is not a self-seclusion an ne ee i i d self-reliance is not to advo emphasis on independence an fo to i i i t to raise the opening the sion and isolated construction, bu ee i fore, in the process of socialis anew and higher level. Therefore, Nheee i is always a problem, namely and reform and opening up, there is a net rectly deal with the relationship between opening to the outside independent and self-reliance. . . How to correctly deal with the relationship between opene side world and independent and self-reliance is how to eee . ni relationship between internal and external factors. In the v

_ In the process of socialist modernization and reform and opening up, independence and self-reliance are internal factors and are the internal basis etermining the nature and direction of socialist modernization. Opening o the outside world, absorbing and drawing lessons from all outstanding chievements and advanced experience from abroad is the external cause, and is an important external condition for the socialist modernization con- struction. The integration of independence, self-reliance and Opening to the

utside world is the correct way to deal with the relationship between them.

149 China is an eastern country with backward economy and culture. The ——~

socialist modernization carried out in such a big country should seek for- ign aid and introduce foreign capital, science and technology, advanced anagement experiences and management methods, which is valuable ex- ience obtained from the long-term historical development and is also ommon practice of many modernized countries. We must realize that the elopment and progress of China cannot be separated from the civilized ievements of various countries in the world. We should actively learn apply civilization results created by any social system as long as they Progressive and excellent. However, we also should have a clear un- standing that such learning and application must always be based on ependence and self-reliance. The experience and lessons of more than hundred years of the modern history of China proves that the ability to ‘ith national affairs independently is a major problem for the survival country and the nation. If the country’s affairs are interfered by others he country needs to take its cue from other countries, the country and tion will be unable to survive and develop. To develop, we must firstly n our own strength. It is unrealistic notion and extremely dangerous on the assistance of others and expect others to help us. Particularly, § country like China develops on the basis of the assistance of other €s, it will be unable to develop itself. Moreover, it will even lose the

25 Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol. 3, p. 457.

and resistance, and provide a solid and reliable action basis for the bold liseovery and trial of people, the acceleration of the reform and the striving or the further development of the national economy every few years.

right of independence, which will further threaten its survival and its nas tion. Therefore, Deng Xiaoping said: “China’s affairs should be a accord ing to China’s specific conditions and by the Chinese seu eg Ves, Independence and self-reliance have always been and will always be their

basic stand.”””° Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “However, it isn’t easy to get oe and : advanced technology from the developed countries. There are i some people around who are wedded to the ideas of the old-line colonialists; they are reluctant to see the poor countries develop, and attempt to throttle them. Therefore, while pursuing the policy of opening to the outside world, we must stick to the principle of relying mainly on our own efforts, a principle consistently advocated by Chairman Mao Zedong since the is our People’s Republic. We must seek outside help on the basis of self-reliance, depending mainly on our own hard work.’””?’

We need to be open to the outside world. We cherish our friendship and on with other countries and peoples. However, we need the spirit of independence more deeply and value our hard-won independence more | deeply. No foreign country should expect China to be its vassal we anything that is damaging to China’s own interests. In short, while a a to the opening to the outside world, economic cooperation, the ee : 150 eign capital and drawing lessons from foreign experiences, we oe always keep a clear mind. We must not forget to put the sovereignty and oi of the country in the first place. We must not abandon the Usa of the rights and interests of the country and the people. We must not allow any- thing decadent and harmful to the people to spread freely.

“Three Favorables” is the outcome of Deng Xiaoping’s insistence on mancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts in the practice of build- ing socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is the result of the analysis and summary of various new problems, new situations and new experi- ces appearing in the course of socialist modernization construction and eform and opening up in a timely manner. It has experienced a three-step eveloping and deepening process starting from the establishment of prac- tical standards to the establishment of productivity standards and to the ‘establishment of the “Three Favorables” criterion. This process has always reflected the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts of the Party, and embodies Marxism’s epistemology principle of integrate subject with object, recognition and practice.

In 1978, the 3% Plenary Session of the 17° Central Committee of the Party established the ideological line of the Party, resolutely suspended the wrong route “taking class struggle as the central task”, realized the shift of the Party’s work focus to economic construction; and established the funda- mental task of realizing the four modernizations. To develop the productive forces and realize the four modernizations, the Central Committee formu- 15] lated a series of policy measures, including reform and opening up. In the —— tural level, the household contract responsibility system which was initiat- d by farmers was affirmed, and popularized in the whole country. And the people’s communes which had been implemented for several decades were abolished. In the city level, the previous form of ownership which was quite simple was changed, and the structure with public ownership as the main body and with the existence of individuals, private and “ foreign-invested” enterprises and other economic elements was implemented to encourage the development of individual economy, private economy and “foreign- invested” enterprises together with state-owned and collective economy der fair competition; in the country level, open cities, economic develop- ent zones and special economic zones were set up from the coast to the rder areas to serve as a window for absorbing foreign capital, technology, anagement experience and management talents. All these measures have hieved very obvious results in practice and are proved to be conducive to € cause of socialism and in line with the four basic principles. However, ce the impact of traditional concepts and traditional thinking are hard be eliminated immediately and reform is a new cause, it is inevitable to € certain problems and make mistakes. Moreover, since reform affects —- ae 3. ' Sted interests, some people did not understand some new things or new a eeiaa ee a ae p-405-406 and proaches in the reform, and always used the old thinking, old experience

Adhere to the idea of “Three Favorables”

First, the first proposal of the idea of “Three Favorables”

“Three Favorables”, namely “whether it is conducive to the deve of the productive forces of the socialist society, whether it is con uci y : enhancing the comprehensive national strength of the socialist cone whether it is conducive to raising the standard of living of the peop i the standard for judging the gains and losses of our reform and Agr forts. It clarifies the vague and wrong understanding of people en . tice of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, dispel the ‘ tion, concern and worry of people when they encounter different opin

152

and old approaches to evaluate new situations and understand new prob- lems. They feel concern about these new things and new approaches. Some people even used the past ultra-left approaches, traditional thinking and “dogmatic thinking” to blame the new things. Especially, whenever they met difficulties and setbacks in the reform, they would think that reform is not in line with Marxism and is wrong and unsuccessful practice. This puts forward a problem, namely what are the standards for judging the gains and losses of the reform. It is a major problem related to the smooth develop- ment of the reform. On this issue, the whole Party must reach a consensus and put forward a unified and objective standard, otherwise the people will be confused and in a dilemma due to lack of such standard. The lack of a unified and objective standard makes it difficult to take a bold step of re- form and is bound to hinder the development of the productive forces and the realization of the four modernizations.

Faced with this situation, Deng Xiaoping called for bold and courageous attitudes and conduct to be assumed by the revolutionaries and os and he urged all the party and the people throughout the country to “liberate their minds and progress more steadily and even faster than belo’ in carry- ing out the policies of reform and opening to the outside world.

From this, he constantly stressed the importance of developing produc- tivity and achieving the four modernizations, and repeatedly called for us- ing the development of productivity and the realization of the four modern- izations as the standard to weigh the gains and losses of our work.

In September 1978, Deng Xiaoping pointed out in his speech “Hold High The Banner of Mao Zedong Thought and Adhere To the Principle of Seeking Truth from Facts” “ After all, from the historical materialist point of view correct political leadership should result in the growth of the pro- ductive forces and the improvement of the material and cultural life of the

9929

people.

In October 1979, in his “Greetings address to the Fourth Congress of Chinese Literary and Art Workers”, he further pointed out: “strive for the four modernizations. The basic standard for judging all our work is whether

it helps or hinders our effort to modernize.”*°

In May 1980, when meeting with Duval, President of Guinea, he pointed -

out: “According to our experience, in order to build socialism we must - of all develop the productive forces, which is our main task. This is the only way to demonstrate the superiority of socialism. Whether the ae economic policies we are pursuing are correct or not depends, in the 1!

28 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 1st edition, Vol. 3, p.265. 29 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol.2, p.128. 30 Ibid., p.209.

analysis, on whether the productive forces develop and people’s incomes increase. This is the most important criterion. We cannot build socialism

_with just empty talk. The people will not believe it.

In short, our work in all fields should help to build socialism with

_ Chinese characteristics, and it should be judged by the criterion of whether _it contributes to the welfare and happiness of the people and to national _ prosperity.”

The statement in the report of the 17 CPC National Congress means

‘that the whole party has reached a consensus on the understanding of what

should be used as the standard for judging the gains and losses of the re- form, and set productivity as the fundamental standard.

However, the development of things is not always smooth, so is reform as an unprecedented new cause. In China, the cause of reform encountered a severe test. Because some comrades, especially senior leaders, had an excessively one-sided understanding of the standard of productivity and ne- glected other aspects, especially the ideological education work for young students, a political turmoil occurred at the turn of the spring and summer of 1989. At the international level, the reforms of the Soviet Union and eastern European countries diverged from the socialist direction, leading to the collapse of the communist party and the failure of the socialist cause. The political turmoil in China, the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union caused an uproar among Chinese people. Some people threw doubt upon and even denied the Party’s line, principles and policies since the 3% Plenary Session of the 11% Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. They put forward the ques- tion of whether the path was capitalist or socialist. Moreover, they rejected

_ Many approaches approved to be correct by many practices in the course of

reform and opening up and regarded them as the bourgeois liberalization. They thought that it was necessary to make clear whether the path was capi-

he right direction of the reform and carry out reform better and smoother.

But some people’s starting point is more than that. On the one hand, they

t forward the question of whether the path was capitalist or socialist with le aim of criticizing and opposing the reform. They pinned political labels the people, and regarded reform cause as capitalist cause and bourgeois ralization frequently; on the other hand, their discussion on whether the ath was is capitalist or socialist is completely separated from the develop-

Ment of productivity and is empty talk. They ignored the actual situation of

Ibid., p.314, Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.23.

153

154

China’s social development, judged the real life with the abstract, rigid and

. : . . fe

distor ted socialism principles wh ch was typical metaphysics and the a f) 1 flection of the “left” thoughts in the past. if we cannot overcome and break

through such “left” thoughts confining people’s thought, it will be difficult

ontinue reform and opening up cause a be face the danger of being destroyed. For some time, these “left

thoughts were really threatening, making the society — In a aie ous case, Deng Xiaoping published the famous Southern = S, Fees : e sharp criticism of the thoughts opposing reform. He aoe a oe y: Regarding reform and the open policy as means of intro oe capitalism, and seeing the danger of peaceful evolution towards capita ism as coming chiefly from the economic sphere are “Left” tendencies. | And he pointed out: “The reason why some people hesitate _ out the reform and opening up policy and dare not break new abla is, i * sence, that they’re afraid it would mean introducing too se : ne $0 capitalism and, indeed, taking the capitalist path. The s ) i ‘ we x whether the path is capitalist or socialist. The chief stan is or see g that judgment should be whether it promotes the growth o pa uc “ forces in a socialist society, increases the overall strength of the sociali

state and raises living standards.” . : He also made a thought-provoking remark on the question of whether

inistrati ion i italist” or “socialist”: “As for build- the special administrative region Is “capitalist” or “socialist

ing special economic zones, some people disagreed with the idea right from

the start, wondering whether it wou

nite answer: special economic zone

that it is necessary to emancipate the mind, seek truth from

and steady. ) conducting reform and opening to the outside

something should be d : ath. That is the important lesson to € : fave the pioneering spirit, if we’re afraid to take risks, if we paras vie and drive, we cannot break a new path, a good path, or ae ie : Hl new. Who dares claim that he is 100 per cent sure of success and tha

WI taking no risks? No one can ever be 100 per cent sure at the outset that 2934 he is doing is correct. I’ve never been that sure...

iaopi iti 1. 3, p.375. Xiaoping Selected Works , Ist edition, vol. 3, ore . e a Saad https://archive.org/stream/ SelectedWorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3 :

Deng03_djvu.txt.

and the socialist modernization cause .

1d not mean introducing capitalism. The

i i iven these people a defi- I ts in the construction of Shenzhen have given hese pe oe s are socialist, not capitalist.” Of course, as a new cause and a major test, the reform will inevitably encounter re tisks and there will inevitably be different views pee say eae ich i in this situation? Deng Alaop which is normal. What should we do Cae iaopi i a bolder than before in Xiaoping pointed out: “We should be al and have the courage to experi- ment. We must not act like women with bound feet. Once we are sure ‘ one, we should dare to experiment and break a ne a learned from Shenzhen. If we don't

__ Deng Xiaoping also pointed out: “it is quite nature that we have differ- ent views on reform and opening up at the beginning... It was our policy to permit people to do that, which was much better than coercing them. In carrying out the line, principles and policies adopted since the 3% Plenary Session of the 11" Central Committee, we did not resort to compulsion or mass movements. People were allowed to follow the line on a voluntary basis, doing as much or as little as they wished. In this way, others gradually followed suit. It was my idea to discourage contention, so as to have more time for action. Once disputes begin, they complicate matters and waste a lot of time. As a result, nothing is accomplished. Don’t argue; try bold ex- periments and blaze new trails.”

Deng Xiaoping’s speeches, like a giant cyclone, have blown away the _ worries and doubts of the people, strengthened their determination and con- fidence to carry out the reform, and provided a comprehensive scientific standard for the correct evaluation of the reform and the evaluation of the gains and losses of the reform.

According to Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts, when discussing the funda- mental task of socialism, the 14% CPC National Congress took “Three Favorables” standard put forward by Deng Xiaoping as the fundamental standard to judge the gains and losses of the work, and organically com- bined it with the essence of socialism, socialist basic task and the impetus 155 of socialist development to form the basic guideline for the construction of ——— socialism with Chinese characteristics. The 15 CPC National Congress further stressed the importance of “Three Favorables”. Moreover, it pro- moted the standard to an important content of the ideological line of eman- cipating the mind and seeking truth, thus making it a weapon used by the Party and the people in the process of comprehensively pushing forward the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics to the 21* Century.

Second, the most fundamental criteria to measure the success and failure of all our work

The “Three Favorables” criteria is the product of emancipating the mind nd seeking truth from facts, and also a sharp weapon to further emancipate he mind, seek truth from facts and advance our work comprehensively. he correct understanding and grasp of the “Three Favorables” is of great portance for us to enhance confidence in reform and make bold attempts.

9 correctly understand and grasp the “Three Favorables”, it is necessary ) make clear:

Ibid., p.374 and https://archive.org/stream/Selected WorksOfDengXiaopingVol.3/ 203 djvu-txt.

156

First, the “Three Favorables” is objective standard rather than subjective standard. It is in the process of reform and opening up and in the process of socialist modernization construction. It generates and develops on the basis of summing up the experiences and lessons from the pros and cons and op- posing the “left” erroneous tendency and right erroneous tendency. It is.the product of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts.

Fifth, among the “Three Favorables” standard, whether it is conduciv to improve the standard of living of the people is the highest standard The purpose of the communist party is to work for the welfare of the i 1 : And the purpose of socialism and communism is to liberate all eo achieve the common prosperity and the free and comprehensive develo ment of human beings. Therefore, in the process of developing the odie. tive forces and enhancing’ the comprehensive national strength, fered

never forget that our ultimate goal is to improve the living standard of the people and achieve common prosperity.

Second, there is inherent and indivisible relationship between “Three Favorables” standard and socialism. The “Three Favorables” is the funda- mental standard inevitably adopted under the essential requirement of the socialist for measuring the gains and losses of all work, and is the basic manifestation of the superiority of the socialist system. Therefore, when using this standard, we should think of the direction of socialism, the prin- ciple of socialism and how to give full play to the superiority of the socialist system at any moment. The “Three Favorables” will lose its original value and significance as long as it is separated from socialism and the play of the superiority of the socialist system.

Third, among the “Three Favorables”, whether it is conducive to the development of the productive forces of the socialist society, namely the standard of productivity, is the core standard. This standard not only reflects the principle of historical materialism that productivity is the most basic decisive force in the development of human history, but also reflects the principle of Marxism that it is necessary to attach the greatest importance to the development of productive forces and socialism is the development of the productive forces. It is the basis of the other two standards. Without the development of productivity, it is impossible to obtain the enhancement of comprehensive national strength, let alone the improvement of the living _ standard of the people. We should never discuss other standards without the - involvement of the standard of developing productivity.

Fourth, although the productivity standard is the most fundamental stan- dard and the basis of “Three Favorables”, it is not the only standard. The development of productive forces, the enhancement of comprehensive na- tional strength and the improvement of the living standards of the people are closely linked. The enhancement of comprehensive national streng and the improvement of people’s living standard cannot be separated fro the development of productive forces. And the development of producti forces also should be reflected in the enhancement of comprehensive tional strength and the improvement of the living standards of the pe Therefore, it is impossible to enhance the comprehensive national strep and improve the living standards of the people without developing ductive forces, and it is impossible to develop productive forces will enhancing the overall national strength and improving the living stat of the people.

Ultimate Purpose of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

People-oriented principle is the starting point and foothold of developing socialism with Chinese characteristics

First, scientific connotation of people-oriented principle and its concrete manifestations

1. The scientific connotation of people-oriented principle 159

Being “people-oriented”, the fundamental concept of the Party and the ~~ state, is first put forward in The Decisions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Improving the Socialist Market Economic System adopted by the 3" Plenary Session of the 16 Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, stressing the importance of adhering to the people-orientation, establishing a comprehensive, coordinated and sustain- able development concept and promoting the all-round development of the economic society and people. The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Construction of a Socialist Harmonious Society, adopted by the 6" plenary session of the 16 Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, has comprehensively expounded the scien- tific connotation of “people-oriented”, and pointed out that: “We must al- ays regard the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people as the starting point and foundation of all the party and state work, realize, safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the overwhelm- majority of the people and continuously meet the people’s growing ma- tial and cultural needs, we should achieve development for the people and by the people, and ensure that all the people share the fruits of development as to promote all-round development of people.”!

CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the " National Congress”, Vol. HH, p. 651, Beijing, Central Literature Publishing House, 2008.

162

js for the benefit of the people, and the Party always regards the achieving, maintaining and developing the fundamental interests of the majority of the people as the starting point and foothold of all the work of the Party and the state. Except for the interests of the working class and the masses of the people, the Communist Party’of China has no special interests of its own. As early as. they edited the The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels pointed out: “All previous movements were movements of minorities, or in the interests of minorities. The proletarian movement is the indepen- lent movement of the immense majority, in the interests of the immense majority.” Therefore, the Communist Party is not the interest group on behalf of the _ minority or the narrow-minded. All its policies and practical activities must take the fundamental interests of the working class and the masses of the people as their starting point and foothold. The Communist Party of China has summarized this characteristic as “serving the people wholeheartedly” and regarded it as the fundamental purpose of our Party. As Mao Zedong pointed out: “These (army) battalions of ours are wholly dedicated to the liberation of the people and work entirely in the people’s interests.”

2. Sticking to the principle of serving the people wholeheartedly

People-oriented is not only the fundamental value of socialism with Chinese characteristics, but also the fundamental ruling concept of our Party. Therefore, we should adhere to the people-oriented thought, the firs : thing of which is to stick to serving the people wholeheartedly.

Serving the people wholeheartedly is the fundamental purpose of the Communist Party of China. This purpose is determined by the nature of our Party as the vanguard of the Chinese working class and the Chinese people and as the vanguard of the Chinese nation. Under the capitalist conditions, the working class is at the bottom of the society, and their own liberation cannot be solved through the individual struggle of the workers. The indi- vidual struggle of the working class can, at best, make a few individuals into the position of the ruling class, but the status of the working class as a whole cannot be changed. Only through the complete overthrow of the cap- italist system and the liberation of the whole society can the working class finally obtain true liberation. As Marx and Engels pointed out, the prole- tariat could finally liberate itself only by liberating all mankind. Therefore, the working class is the most selfless class in the history of mankind, whose | interest overlaps the development direction of human society and the fun- damental interests of the masses. In order to realize its own interests, the working class must represent the interests of the overwhelming majority of the people at the same time. This law determines that the Communist Party, as the vanguard of the working class, whether as a revolutionary Party or as the Party in power to lead the socialist construction, must serve the interests of the working class at the same time and must serve the broad masses OF the people. This is in sharp contrast to the bourgeois political parties. . the history, some bourgeois political parties, in the revolutionary period 0 overthrowing the feudal autocratic system, shared the same interests of he people to a certain degree and needed the support of the masses, thus, they could to a certain extent represent the interests of the people had played a certain role in promoting the development of history. But fundamentally, as the exploiting class, the bourgeoisie’ interests are based on the eae tion and oppression of the proletariat and other working people, which } fundamentally opposed to the interests of the people. Once the bouge gets its ruling status, it will gradually come to the opposite of the people This class limitation of the bourgeois political parties determine that uf political parties can only serve the minority.

If the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly is lost, the Party will go bad. Serving the people wholeheartedly is not an empty slogan, but a practical action of the Party. It is not only reflected in the Party and state guiding principles and policies, but also in the innumerable outstanding Party members. Only by believing and relying on the masses of the people, serving the people wholeheartedly, and representing the in- terests of the people through its correct theory, route, guidelines and poli- cies, can the Communist Party of China, guided by Marxism, win the great enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of the people in order to push forward _the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Recalling the 90-year history of the Communist Party of China from the date of birth, we can easily see that the Communist Party of China in the moky revolutionary era took up the positions of the fallen and rise to fight ne after another to save the country so that it might survive; while in the ustling construction and reform era, the Communist Party of China exerted | its strength and wisdom for the country’s prosperity and the well-being the people. The Chinese Communist Party has led the Chinese people ) achieve great achievements one after another. For more than 90 years, ecause of the changes in historical conditions, the work and the priority The Communist Party of China, adopting Marxism as the guide t f the Party in different peworcal periods were not the same, but whether tion, makes its basic purpose wholeheartedly serving the people. It aP arty that leads the people’s revolution, or as a Party that leads the sien of the Chinese working class, the vanguard of the Chinese peo lalist construction for the people, the political standpoint of the Chinese and the Chinese nation, and a faithful representative of the interests OL elected Works of Marx and Engels, 2nd Edition, Vol.1, p.283. Going clase and people of China. All the struggle and work of the P: elected Works of Mao Zedong, 2nd Edition, Vol.3, p.1004.

163

164

e interests of the vast majority of people, and takes realizing communism its lofty ideals, therefore, all the theory and struggle of Marxist political arties are committed to realizing the fundamental interests of the major- ity of the people, which is also the most distinctive political position of Marxism. Marx and Engels havé clearly pointed out at the very beginning of the establishment of scientific socialism: The Communists, they have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole.‘

Communist Party, which is on behalf of the fundamental sasha o the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people has never wavere ; ee te purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly has never a ne ese history can be summed up by an important conclusion that e ae Communist Party has won the support of the people because it ies represents the development requirements of China’s advanced ee forces, the advance direction of China’s advanced culture, na un ae tal interests of the Chinese people at large in various historica sie sof revolution, construction and reform, and unremittingly struggle for the re- alization of the fundamental interests of the state and the people through the formulation of correct policies and policies. The Communist Party of China has always been practicing for the purpose of serving the oun For the past 90 years, our Party has won the trust and love of the peop : an has gained the support from the people by its purpose and practice of serving the people.

3. The Party is built for the public and it exercises state power for the people

The basic embodiment of the “People-oriented” refers to that the Party is built for the public and it exercises state power for the ere Being built for the public and exercising state power for the people is the hee tial characteristic of the Communist Party of China, the consistent t me t that our Party has always adhered to in the long-term revolution an be struction and the practical embodiment of the fundamental purpose ov : Communist Party of China’s serving the people wholeheartedly. sss Be for the public is the whole theory, program, route, policy and ee ; : . Party, which should reflect the common interests of the state 2 e : tion, and reflect the common wishes and demands of the whole es: Exercising state power for the people is to say that after the sae ae tained the political power, it will adhere to serving the people whole : edly, and use the state power to make the best interests for the peop oe that the overwhelming majority of the people can fully enjoy the Pe : of social development and the achievements of modern apne _ built for the public shows that our Party is from the people, roote os people, serving the people and representing the interests of the sid oe except for the interests of the people, the Party has no special in — 0 its own. Exercising state power for the people determines that the ; i our Party’s service can only be the largest masses of the people, and can

be a part of the people or a minority.

The fact that the Party is built for the public and it exercises state be for the people is decided by people’s historical principal status, the ime ke i dtaaete ant sae gree adam yee ia: na lang Zemin: On the Three Represents, p.152, Beijing, Central Literature Publishing ing the true qualities of the Marxist political parties. The peng oe “aan - Party distinguishes itself from all other political parties in that it repress |, p.162.

In this regard, the party’s position has always been unwavering and con- sistent. Mao Zedong pointed out: “The Communist Party is a political party which works in the interests of the nation and people and which has abso- utely no private ends to pursue.’

—

In the new historical period, Deng Xiaoping further pointed out: “The _ meaning or task of the Chinese communists, if to speak in broad terms, is only two sentences: serving the people wholeheartedly and taking the inter- _ ests of the people as the highest standard for every party member.”

It is also required that the whole Party should take whether the people are supportive, approving, happy, and willing or not as the starting point and _ the purpose of formulating all policies. Jiang Zemin has repeatedly empha- _ sized: We must always take what reflects the will and interests of the people _as both our starting point and end point in all work we do; we must always take reliance on the wisdom and strength of the people as the basic line of 165, _ work in promoting our cause.’

| 4 4 4 é

_ “Our party always upholds that the interests of the people are above everything. Apart from the interests of the overwhelming majority of the _ people, the party has no special interests of its own. All party work must _ be based on the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, as its highest standard.”

Party General Secretary Hu Jintao also pointed out: “Who do we rep- esent, who do we rely on, and who we are is the key, whether or not we ways stand firmly on the position of the overwhelming majority of the eople is the watershed between the concept of historical materialism and he idealist view of history, as well as the yardstick for judging Marxist itical parties. As a Marxist ruling party, we should always uphold the nciple that the Party was founded for the public good and that it exercises € power for the people. We must always make realizing, safeguarding Selected Works of Marx and Engels, 2nd Edition, Vol.1, p.285.

Selected Works of Mao Zedong, 2nd Edition, Vol.3, p.809.

Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd Edition, Vol.1, p.257, Beijing, People’s lishing House, 1994.

socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Party and the state propose such major tasks as adhering to People-Oriented, realizing scientific develop- ment, building a socialist harmonious society, building new socialist coun- tryside, and building a new and innovative country, in order to conform with the wishes of the people and realize the interests of the people. Except for the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, the Communist Party of China has no special interests of its own, and the whole task and responsibility of the Party is to lead the broad masses to re- alize their own interests. All the work of the Party, after all, is done in order achieve, maintain and develop the fundamental interests of the majority of the people. Adhering to the principle of “people-oriented”, we should up- _ hold that the Party is built for the public and it exercises state power for the _ people, always make it a reality that the government must function by the _ mandate of the people, empathize with the feelings of the people, and work _ for the well-being of the people, always regard the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the people as the highest standard of all work, as the _ basic starting point and the foothold for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

nd developing the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of a

i i ll the work of the Party and coun: he starting point and goal ofa ; the ae a full ae to the enthusiasm of all the people: in developing ante productive forces and advanced socialist culture.

i hina has always regarded the i the Communist Party of Cc the cae ewe most important. Whether in the pen years or in the construction and reform era, the Communist Party of China has

Iways with the noble character of selfless led the people to strive for the a

rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the lofty ideals of communism. At

i ion i ted to the great cause of building saat ee Oe etl task of socialist ae our country is to further emancipate the productive forces, ee forces, and gradually realize socialist modernization, age a reform the aspects and segments in the production rela- = : ry Snore that are not adapted to the development of produc- pereeae eae the Communist Party of China has established the aecopnen as the first task of the Party in governing errae he country. Whether it is conducive to the development ) '

es of the socialist society, whether it is conducive to the en . ~“

file comprehensive national strength of the socialist country, and whether

it is conducive to raising the standard of the living standards of the people

i : _ The Party has led 166 pave become the inspection standard of the Party's work. The Party

i i istics, that is, the national people to build socialism with Chinese characteristics, t :

he lofty ideal and the interests of the most people,

ive for the unity of t t Peo . pines to the consistency of the work of the Party and the realization

the interests of the people, and to maintain the ssrration 3 safe i i ting the all-round dev t le’s rights and interests and promo | 7 eee < as to achieve that the development 1s for the peony a seen ‘relies on the people, and development results are s

the people. _ | The Communist Party of China upholds the Marxist view of a _a adheres to the purpose of serving the people leimnertiees y takes the realization and maintenance of the fundamental in

i ’s theo- vast majority of the people as the fundamental basis of the Party s

i f Ch ry, route guideline, policy and all work. The Communist Party of Cn

itti for is always deeply rooted in the people, and oneal! me fundamental interests of the Chinese people the Chine | | i i ialist revo democratic revolution, the socia : ne aes and Opening up were all done in order to ae 2 a ple’s will and realize the interests of the people. In the practic

people’s cause as

4, The development is for the people and dependent on the people, and the development results are shared by the people

_ That the development is for the people and dependent on the people, and 167 he development results are shared by the people is the most fundamen- —— al requirements and principles of “People-oriented”. In the report of the 7° National Congress of the Communist Party of China, When Hu Jintao spoke of “People-oriented”, he stressed that we should always take achiev- , maintaining and developing the fundamental interests of the people at arge as the starting point and goal of all the work of the Party and the state. “Development for the people, development depending on the people and the development results shared by the people” is a perfect interpretation of starting point and the foothold of the “People-oriented” development of cialism with Chinese characteristics, which reflects directly and vividly realistic requirements of the Party and the state to lead the national ople to build socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Adhering to “People-oriented” is to put solving the people’s vital inter- in the first place. Therefore, in the process of administering the country, Party should fully reflect and represent the wishes of the people, adhere the principle that the development is for the people and dependent on the le, and the development results are shared by the people, and constant- the people get real benefits in the socialist development, and make the € people move steadily towards common prosperity.

9 Pp iterature S: i : “Selection of Important Lite res Literature Research Office: orgs t ee re r ss” ( Ld 3 . ’ ‘tr | Literat u lishi he 16 ational Congre VO p 369, Centra Literature Publishing House. 20

168

Adhering to the principle that the area ae is lean : i intaini ing the fundamenta hieving, maintaining and developing ee at nee as the fundamental starting point and purpose of all the

guidelines and policies of the Party and the state, to measure all decisions

with whether the people are supportive or not, approving or not, pleased or.

not and agree or not, to achieve the purpose of speed ye by pit ieving the interests of the people and 1m needs of the people, achieving t peeetee te ivi le. This requires the Party an ly living standards of the peop cca i the people in all aspects t and safeguard the interests of eget development and in all its work. Economic construction should ae on creating more rich social material wealth, nee ae i i i ivi dards of the people. Political con- le’s life and improving the living standar pl sets should focus on safeguarding the rights and legitimate rights “ interests of the people, and constantly developing socialist SacgoRe ani improving the socialist legal system. Cultural construction should as “ isfyi iri Itural needs of the people, improving the qual- satisfying the spiritual and cu Iso sap saree i iri i le, enriching people’s spiritua ity of spiritual life of the people, eal i iri h of people. Social construct id f enhancing the spiritual strengt : ee inati i hancing the creative vitality ordinating the interests of all parties, en t ive VI ee oil ae and constantly building a harmonious society, in which all the people could do their best and each is in a proper place.

Adhering to that the development relies on the people is to — ‘ subjective status and initiative of the people, closely eer ie me ieve i firmly rely on the masses, an i always believe in the masses, 1B eden i initiati | creativity of the people, to ma the enthusiasm, initiative and crea 20 dom and strength of the whole society, to mobilize and organize the hun dreds of millions of people into the great cause of soci : characteristics. Socialism is an unprecedented great cause, a

ee as '

ously rather difficult to carry out the construction of socialism in a country

illi ively backward productivity. The with more than 1.3 billion people and relatively ba Pro

cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics can only

the wholehearted support of the people. The various policy and work plans

of the Party and the state can be effectively implemented only with the sin

cere support of the people. We shou creativity contained in the people, i of our country will obtain the most wi trength. mout the most profound source of s : _ the enthusiasm of all sectors, unite people of se ee of os ee i i h to the motherland, encour nl contribute prosperity and strengt : i iti terests, comm i iri tect their legitimate rights and in ; preneurial spirit, pro | _ ee i i m and strength o outstanding ones, bring the will, wisdo a into the ae cause, and make it an inexhaustible force for the cont development of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics.

dely and reliable mass foundation a We should also arouse and mobil

alism with Chinese d it is obvi-

Id give full play to the great wisdom and in this way, the reform and construction

In the revolutionary era, the Communist Party of China firmly relied on the people, and achieved the victory of the revolution, and the mass line was the magic weapon of the Party’s victory. In the period of socialist con- struction and Reform and Opening-up, the Party still needs to adhere to the -mass line of coming from thé masses and going to the masses, to firmly es- tablish the.views that the people are the creators of history, we should learn from the people with an open mind, serve the interests of the vast majority of the people, and we should also keep in mind that the power of the cadres is the given by the people, and the responsibility for the Party is consistent with responsibility for the people. We should effectively change the way of thinking and work style, constantly go down deeply to the grassroots, go deep among the masses, go deep into the realities of life, conscientiously do the investigation and research, timely discover and summarize the fresh experience created by the people, and resolutely prevent and overcome for- malism and bureaucratism. We should conscientiously improve the Party’s leadership and methods of leadership, adhere to and improve the system of linking the masses and other various systems, broaden the channels to reflect the social conditions and public opinion, and guarantee the rights of the people to be masters of their own affairs.

Adhering to the principle that the development results are shared by the people is to have the achievement of all aspects of the reform and develop- ment reflected in the continuous improvement of people’s quality of life and health, reflected in the continuous improvement of the ideological and moral quality and scientific and cultural quality of the people, reflected in the full protection of the economic, political, cultural, social and other as- _ pects of the rights and interests of the people, so that the fruits of economic and social development benefits all the people. Adhering to the principle _that the development results are shared by the people is the concrete em- bodiment and ultimate purpose of developing for the people and relying on the people. If the fruits of development are not or are rarely enjoyed by the vast majority of the people, developing for the people will come to naught, and development relying on the people will be without foundation. ‘hroughout the process of Reform and Opening up and modernization, eople must benefit from the noticeable and visible material benefits, which row with the development of the economy, and we should make efforts to lake workers, farmers, intellectuals and other people enjoy the fruits of conomic and social development. We should strive to achieve common rosperity, not the other way round, which is the essence of socialism,

Since the 3 Plenary Session of the 11% Central Committee of the Party, hina has achieved fruitful results in the Reform and Opening up, the people’s lihood in general has reached a well-off level, the income of urban and iral residents has steadily increased, the mass living quality of the people has

been continuously improved, the spiritual and cultural life has Bae more and more colorful, various rights and interests have been ere A aw, and the enthusiasm of the masses of people to join the Reform an ee . = and modernization drive has greatly improved. At the same time, it : s0- berly noticed that with the in-depth development of socialist marke poi, and the profound changes of social structure, different Sane . part ments, different groups and individuals differ in the enjoyment : : 2 So economic and social development, the degree of improvement ) ia and cultural life is also different. Employment, income distribution, social security, medical treatment, children’s schooling, ecological ee ates safe production, social security and other issues have become a issues for the broad masses of the people. If the people S livelihood prob cs are solved effectively, they will not be conducive to the maximum sl snes “ mobilization of the enthusiasm of the masses of the people, oa ect : economic and social development, and finally affect the overall stability Si unity. This requires the Party and the state to start with the pas concer direct and realistic interests of the people, effectively expand emp eee an improve social security, do everything possible to increase emp ae op- portunities and speed up the improvement of the social security - em ee mensurate with the level of economic development, and sien y expen : coverage. Vigorously develop the education, conscientiously : the vi ensuring compulsory education, increase the investment in rura ae _ education, resolutely rectify the phenomenon of arbitrary mtr he be of education, and effectively reduce the burden of education . e oe — Earnestly improve the public health ea see ets : ise aa i edical system, promote the develo ee ee gradually solve the problem of difficult and ie medical treatment of the masses. Vigorously strengthen the const ie “ social security prevention and control system, combat various ee ties according to the law, resolutely safeguard social omane ee _ guarantee the safety of people’s lives and property. Earnest ly do ae of safety production, strictly implement the safety production eu he system, strengthen the supervision over food, medicine, catering ve ao traffic safety, and reverse the frequent occurrence of accidents as i ne sible. Further improve the animal epidemic prevention and a a ue and effectively guarantee the life and health safety of the peop at handle the contradictions among the people and resolutely peace i imate rights and interests of the masses. Implement reasonable ee people without discount, and when the objective conditions are ni me make clear and thorough persuasion and education to guide the “A rectly understand the relationship between individual pen an ne interests, local interests and the interests of the whole, as well as interests and the long-term interests.

Second, adhering to the principal status of the people

1. People are the main body of building socialism with Chinese characteristics

Adhering to People-oriented, is to uphold and respect the main status of the people. In contemporary China, the people are the main body of build- ing. socialism with Chinese -characteristics, and socialism with Chinese characteristics is the cause of the people. Only by adhering to People- Oriented, fully giving play to the role of the people in building socialism

with Chinese characteristics, can the cause of socialism with Chinese char- acteristics flourish.

The practical activity of the people is the real motive force of the histori- cal development, and it is the material wealth and spiritual wealth created by the people that provide the motive power for the constant change and progress of the society. From the beginning, Marxism believed that all hu- man history should start from the individual with life, the production of consumption goods is the “first historical activity” of human being, and the “basic condition” of all history. Only from the production practice can we solve the fog of social development, and the main body of production practice-people, is the main body of social development. The development direction of social history represents the intention and wishes of the over- whelming majority of the people, and only the social historical activities that represent the interests of the masses can be successful. Marxism has always emphasized and fully affirmed the dominant position of the people. Marx has pointed out clearly in his book The Holy Family: “history is noth- ing but the activity of man pursuing his aims... Together with the thorough-

ness of the historical action, the size of the mass whose action it is, will therefore increase.”!°

__ Lenin also repeatedly stressed: “It is the majority of the people who de-

de the historical outcome,”"' “the great majority, whose energy and initia- ve plays crucial role in creating socialism.”'

he theory and practice of scientific socialism have fully proved that the tory of the revolution and construction can only be achieved by adhering people’s principal status in them.

Complete Works of Marx and Engels, First Chinese edition, Volume 2, p.104, Beijing, le’s Publishing House, 1957.

Complete Works of Lenin, 2nd Chinese Edition, Vol.43, p.92, Beijing, People’s shing House, 1987.

Complete Works of Lenin, 2nd Chinese Edition, Vol.33, p.53, Beijing, People’s shing House, 1985.

171

e starting point and destination to consider all problems, and fully em-

body the principal status of the people in the new stage of the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The Communist Party of China has always believed in the decisive role f ite eople, and the leaders of the past dynasties also have unique a S naton on the subject of the people. The first lala ts 0 oe seat leadership of the Party with Mao Zedong as the a ae _ = , iti i iters’ attention to the people, but also made ited the traditional Marxist writers’ a ; aanaels interpretation of the role of the people in the eee revolu- a and construction based on the reality of the Chinese seen ion au ivi d the image of the people tion. Mao Zedong once vividly compare : : cor in the Seventh Party Congress’s closing speech, The Foolish Old we saying that people was the “root” of the Chinese ee stress- ing that without the decisive role of the people, ae ee ees i i d the struggle again the war of resistance against Japan, an e i -democratic revolution either, ionaries and could not have won the new tae true. Because all the revolutionary struggles led by the Chinese Communist Party is in line with the wishes of the people and ie to the | trend of the historical development of China, we can organize an a the people, fully exert their principal status, and make the socialist new China finally stand in the east of the world.

After the 3° Plenary Session of the 11" Central Committee of - . i iod of new Reform and Opening up an China has entered a new perio | an pee i i jalist modernization. Under eriod of the construction of socia er Ee 172 nal conditions, our Party has oe Lanna bes ave on inci e. Our Pa of the principal status of the peop .O yP Sea i i j Iding socialism, but also | ot only the practice subject of bui , SOK aes : ene) ne ae Acanenn results, its principal gee is all eee _ ildi iali ing the perio i f building socialism and during Doe ed d guide the people to exer ion” i t the masses and gui p Revolution”, we did not respect the | eo cise the main role in promoting social nani asa tee hs wile he _ i i from the socialist track. Il of the people and deviated > SOC! ate ee tangible benefits and tangible interests, and the meee : socialist ownership was not reflected at all. After the inp ee - the socialist market economy, the people ieee eet peices “ i ili tribute to the so tential and ability, and can better con — ae the correct economic operation raaaela ei ie ete va lo i i improvement and w : will feel and experience the enormous ae t of socialist market economy. . brought by the developmen 1 ny cot pol jaopi he people, subject of socialism, ij Xiaoping advocated that t cde itality i iali ket economy, and we shou : vitality into the socialist mar ane t labor, respect the masses, Closely edge, respect talent, respec pes A ie ea ” Wi tions and demands of the peop! “Three Favorables” with the aspira ; oe rtive or not”, “whether people ag) take “whether people are suppo 2 : “whether people are happy or not”, and “whether people say yes

The third generation of the central leadership of the Party, with Jiang Zemin as the core, deepened and expanded the theory of Marxism on the rincipal status of the people, standing at the new historical height and en- dowing the people with more distinctive characteristics of the times and more profound ideological connotation. We should organically combine the historical materialism view of the people’s principal status with the Party’s onstruction theory, scientifically recognize the internal relations between the principal status of the people and the fundamental purpose of the Party, onstantly strengthen and improve the Party’s construction, improve the arty’s ability of ant-corrosion and risk- resisting, ensure the effectiveness, irection and correctness of the Party leadership, and lay a solid leader- hip foundation for the people to gain more and better interests after de- oting themselves to the cause of the socialist construction with Chinese characteristics. As Jiang Zemin said: “Our party must always represent the _ fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people, eans that in its theory, line, program, principles, policies and all its work, must persevere in taking the fundamental interests of the people as its farting point and objective, give full expression to the people’s enthusiasm, initiative and creativity, and enable the people to constantly obtain tangible 173

conomic, political and cultural benefits on the basis of social development nd progress.”!3

This has developed Deng Xiaoping’s theory of the socialist goal of achieving common prosperity finally”. With the improvement of the over- lI quality of the people and the relatively comprehensive development, the eople can play their main role and accelerate the realization of socialist odernization in China. Attaching importance to the combination of the tincipal status of the people and the promotion of the quality of the people id the all-round development of the people illustrates our Party’s precise p and profound understanding of the people’s principal status, and en-

s the people with a more comprehensive connotation under the new orical conditions.

€ report of the Seventeenth National Congress of the Communist Party ina clearly pointed out that only by resolutely safeguarding the princi- tatus of the people, can we thoroughly carry out the scientific outlook evelopment and achieve a new victory in building a well-off society n all-round way. The people are the main body of the development of alist market economy, the main body of advancing the advanced social- ulture, the main body of accelerating the social construction, the main

elected Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol.3, p.279,

- pias > ie ia to build socialism with Chinese characteris

y should also pay comprehensive attention to f i

tering, sup- porting the social development of our count idi nes ry, guiding and encouraging th people to play their creativity, which is the idi i aris i 5 general guiding principle of th Party in the work of giving full initi ee r play to the people's initiative. Thereft especting the status of the people and givi oe he _ res giving full play to the people's ini _tiative have made a high demand for i ae the leadership and organizati pacity of the Party itself. Therefore, we mu oe ae - Ther : st comprehensively pr the new great project. of building the Party with the spirit of ee

lepeteey his Hie Party with the latest achievements of Marxism

gthen the Party's construction at the

1 grass-roots level, d in the Party s democratic construction, strengthen the Party's ruling abilit : “eee soa the Party's style of work and improve the Party ai res' sense of self-discipline and corruption-resistin im this ; g. Only in th we guarantee the full play of the people's initiative. : kai

body of improving the socialist democratic politics, and also the strong backing and main support of our complete motherland unification and the new great project of building the Party. We must adhere to the people-ori- ented, firmly carry out the basic purpose of serving the people wholeheart- edly, and contribute all the struggle and work to the people finally. th Chinese characteristics is the cause of all dented huge historical project. The d the great victory of the socialist

In a word, socialism wi Chinese people, and it is an unprece Communist Party of China has achieve cause with Chinese characteristics precisely because of its giving full play

to the main role of the people. Adhering to the principal status of the people is the fundamental guarantee of the continuous development of socialism

with Chinese characteristics.

2. Give full play to the people's initiative iented and respect the main status of the people,

the most fundamental is to give full play to the people's initiative, which is the primary condition for building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The report of the Seventeenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China stressed that we should respect the status of the people and give full play to the people's initiative. On the one hand, all the Party's struggle

and work are for the benefit of the people, and at any time and in any cir-

174 oumstance, the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the and we should adhere to the prin-

people should be put at the top priority, ciple of developing for the people and by the people, and the development results are shared by the people; On the other hand, the tasks proposed by our Party depend on the hard work of the masses. This requires that we closely contact the masses, fully mobilize the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of the people, maximize the wisdom and strength of the whole society, mobilize and organize the millions of people into the great cause of

socialism with Chinese characteristics.

To adhere to the people-or In short, to give full play to the people's initiative is the inevitable re-

ee ss ee oe of building socialism with Chinese character

not only the objective basis and stren

cs gth source of our economi political, cultural and social construction, b ia , but also the experi development for many i ieee years. From the perspective of s i i ence, there are two basic reasons fi Somali Opens » the or the success of our Reform and i up: one is that the masses of the a people fully play the role of the princi status, and the other is that the Pa oe

tty has fully played a leadi

correct leadership of the Party and th i ae e practice of the people togeth termine the economic and social de a eae ) velopment and the pro f politi culture in our country for the Sh Ee _cultur past 30 years. The series of guideli policies formulated by our Party si ee I y since the 3 Plenary Session of th eli a ei of the Communist Party of China have been proved , but this series of correct guidelines and polici _of thin air, but are formed b ene eer ota pete

y our Party's insistence on combini i

nets of Marxism with the i ae enet practice of hundreds of millions of ice of | eople, and 4 oo on respecting the initiative of the masses and atic ‘ ‘eietcd S aes experience of the people. Deng Xiaoping ne entioned this point. He said: "It was the i He said: peasants who invented the aes hah responsibility system with remuneration linked to out- 4 saa of the | ideas in rural reform came from people at the grass . We processed them and rai ideli Bo congo raised them to the level of guidelines for the

175

Social development is dependent on the people. It is the wisdom and creation of millions of people fighting in their posts that has made variet- ies of civilization in human history. History is not the creation of some of some heroic characters, but the product of the life practice of the peop The Communist Party of China deeply understands the essence of historica materialism, and always believes that the fundamental task of socialism to develop, that the development is for the people, that development nee people's initiative spirit, and that give full play to people’s initiative 11 | great practice of Reform and Opening up and socialist modernizatio the construction of the great cause of socialism with Chinese charac tics, the leadership of the Party and the play of the people's initiativ closely related and inseparable. While constantly mobilizing the jnitiat

Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.382

176

epmemmmoncrn

“If the Central Committee made any contribution in this respect, it

by laying down the correct policy of invigorating the domestic 9915

was only economy.

Summing up the experience of Reform and Opening up, pani not | only see the role of the Party, but also the role of the people. The ae of the 17" National Congress of the Communist Party of China A ) took the respect for the people's initiative spirit and strengthening and improving —

the leadership of the Party as the successful experience of the Reform and Opening up, which was a deep revelation of the successful experience of

the Reform and Opening up in our country.

In the new period, fully mobilizing the masses of the people to give full play to their pioneering spirit should be reflected in various fields.

First of all, we should combine respecting the people's initiative with the leadership of the Party, which should be reflected in the conseucy of socialist democratic politics. We should realize me new pt — emancipation, continue to focus on improving the Party's ie of wor ‘ promote the reform of the political system. To strengthen and improve the

lationship between 's style of work and to ensure the flesh and blood re Saeeaes necessary requirement to respect and bring 34 Plenary Session of the

11% Central Committee of the Party, the Party's style of work a ee gen- erally good through our strengthening our own construction. the same time, we should clearly see that there are still some negative phenomena the relations between the Party and the masses in the Party. For some Party organizations and Party cadres, an ae “ : severe problems in the form of formalism and bureaucracy, falsification,

the Party and the people is the into play the initiative of the people. Since the

and problems affecting

exaggeration, autocratic, slack attitude and so on. If these propens and develop, the leading cadres of our Party members will not be a hear the voices of the masses and respect the practice and creation of th

masses, which will certainly undermine the relationship between the Party

the masses and the relationship between the masses and the ek “ ening the enthusiasm of the people to join the reform and usin ‘ ‘ to mention respecting the people's initiative. In the new ee | point, if our Party is to seize the new victory of Reform and nee and socialist modernization, we must insist on building the eee Or public, govern for the people, widely spread truth and irre : from the masses with an open mind, understand the wishes : ee in depth, widely collect the wisdom of the masses, make ae work for the demands of the reality and the masses, not from t . from our own head; We should unswervingly develop socialist “ politics, effectively guarantee the right of the people to be the mast

15 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.238.

their own affairs, maximize the enthusiasm of the masses to innovate, make full release of the creativity of the whole society, and make the innova- jon achievements constantly emerge, so as to make socialism with Chinese characteristics more colorful, attractive and appealing.

_ Secondly, we should combine respecting people's initiative with the Party's leadership in the construction of socialist market economy, and coritinue to establish and improve the exploration and implementation of ocialist market economic system. The socialist market economy system, as a major innovation of the Party on Marxism, its establishment and de- velopment itself embodies the unity of the people's initiative spirit and the eadership of the Party, and its further improvement depends on our com- ining respecting the people's initiative with strengthening and improving the Party's leadership. The "Decision of the CPC Central Committee and _the Central Government on Several Issues Concerning the Establishment _of a Socialist Market Economy" passed by the 3“ Plenary Session of the 14" Central Committee of the Party in 1993, explicitly stated: "we must _tespect the pioneering spirit of the masses and attach importance to the vital interests of the masses. We must sum up the new experiences created by the _masses, respect the will of the masses, guide the enthusiasm of the masses vell, so that they can play their role.”!®

While respecting the principal status of the people and giving full play o their pioneering spirit, we must attach great importance to the advanced ature of the Communist Party members, give full play to the exemplary ole of the Communist Party members, strengthen the correct guidance over € masses, and achieve the unity of advanced nature and mass character f the party.

Only by ensuring that the Party can correctly combine maintaining the cor- ectness of its leadership and the people's initiative through the Party build- ig, can socialist market economy system be continuously full of vitality in € combined force of the people's initiative and the Party's vanguard role.

hirdly, we should combine respecting the people's initiative with the ership of the Party in the construction of socialist advanced culture, ere to the "Double Hundred" policy, form a good environment to en- tage innovation and encourage exploration, and create good conditions tespecting and giving full play to the people's initiative. The "Double dred" policy, the basic guideline of our Party's guiding scientific and tural development, embodies the Party's ideological line of emancipat- the mind and seeking truth from facts. Its essence is to effectively pro- People's freedom of academic exploration and artistic creation, and

CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since the ional Congress” (Vol. I ), p.522.

177

Soomceaneomn me)

3. To achieve, maintain and develop the fundamental interests of the ma-

“4: ich is consistent wit embody the law of socialist cultural development, whic Fey of the peosle

respecting and developing the people's initiative spirit. Since the 3“ Plenary Session of the 11 Central Committee of the Party, our Party has correcte the "left" mistakes, restored and developed the "Double Tease a and greatly promoted the development of the socialist culture : ines characteristics. With the development of our society, the trend of social consciousness diversification constantly presents itself, and the develop ment of modern communication science and technology, especially the emergence of the internet, makes the diversity of social ee quickly and conveniently expressed and disseminated. Under t e guidance of Marxism, we must conform to the historical trend of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, more consciously and actively carrying out the "Double Hundred" policy and promoting the ideological emancipation, cultural development and academic prosperity.

Finally, we should combine respecting the people's initiative with the leadership of the Party in the construction of a socialist harmonise ety, thoroughly implement the scientific concept of development and pro- mote the development of a harmonious society as soon as possible. Since the Reform and Opening up, China's society has developed fen development trends in economic composition, organization form, ie Oy: ment mode, interest subject and distribution pattern, which is not only in 178 tine with the objective law of economic and social pa aonaer a oo -. brings challenges to social harmony. Especially in the key stage _ : ie 8 reform and development, because of the deepening of reform an t ee justment of interest pattern, our social contradictions will further highlig itself, therefore, how to promote social harmony has become an — problem to be solved. The promotion of social harmony is not to ne : diversification of interests, but to balance the various ata Ea LL the people can do their best and play their proper roles. We oe - er combining respecting people's initiative with the leadership of the - that all the creative desire for social progress can be respected, the — energy can be supported, the creative ability can be exerted, the — achievements could be affirmed, and all aspects of the initiative in ‘ bilized to the maximum extent, so that all the people can do their A play their proper roles, which has important significance for the realizatic of social integration and the promotion of social harmony.

The Communist Party of China comes from the people and roots in the people, and all the struggle and work of the Party is for the benefit of the people. Achieving, maintaining and developing the fundamental interests of the majority of the people is the starting point and ultimate goal of all the work of the Party and the state, the fundamental purpose of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the fundamental requirement of People-oriented.

_ The interests of the most people are decisive factors for the development of the Party and the national cause. Serving the people wholeheartedly, es- ablishing the Party for the public and ruling for the people is the funda- mental difference between our Party and all the exploiting class parties. The Communist Party of China leads the people's revolution, construction nd reform in order to liberate and develop the productive forces. The Party latform adopted by the First National Congress of the Party affirms that ur Party strives for the complete liberation of all mankind. The Seventh National Congress of the Party explicitly included "serving the Chinese eople wholeheartedly" into the Party constitution and made it to the height f "the Party's sole purpose". Since then, the Party constitution adopted by he various congresses of the Party has adhered to this purpose, and stipu- 179 ated that the Communist Party of China is a faithful representative of the ——— nterests of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups. Such words as "rep- esenting the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the hinese people" and "representing the fundamental interests of the over- helming majority of the Chinese people" are not only written in the Party onstitution of the Chinese Communist Party, but also in the practice of the arty for decades. All the struggle of the Communist Party of China is in the nal analysis for the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of € people. Therefore, all the work of the Party must be based on the funda- tal interests of the overwhelming majority of the people. At any time, € must adhere to the unity of respect for the law of social development id respect for the historical principal status of the people, adhere to the of striving for the lofty ideal and the seeking the interests of the ma- ity of the people, and adhere to the unity of all the work of the Party and realization of the interests of the people. In the process of the construc- Of the great socialist cause with Chinese characteristics, the interests € majority of the people are always related to the overall situation of Communist Party of China, to the overall development of the national mic and political culture, and always related to the unity of the people ll ethnic groups and the overall social stability of the whole country. by truly taking the interests of the most people fully into account, can

In conclusion, to promote the construction of a well-off society in ‘“ prehensive way and realize the sound development of economy, 5 politics and culture, we must fully give play to the neni : people under the premise of strengthening the Party's leaders 7 : : struction, and guarantee a steady flow of vitality and vigor for t conduct of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics.

psolidate the ruling position. The Party should attach great importance t d safeguard the most realistic, most important and immediate ae . f the people, So as to enable workers, peasants, intellectuals and other ue i to enjoy the fruits of economic and social development. The Party Fol resolutely safeguard the ownership of the working class an serio , o sider and take into account the interests of other strata ahd ae id

we win the hearts of the people, withstand trials, overcome difficulties, and achieve the ultimate victory of socialist construction.

In contemporary China, with the deepening of Reform and Openin up and the development of socialist market economy, there inevitably ap peared a diversity of the material interests and different requirements 0 interests. How to deal with the interests of all aspects of the people an solve the various interest conflicts of the society is the fundamental task for the Communist Party of China to face in the long run. In the practice of dealing with social interests and contradictions, our Party has summed up and adhered to the following basic principles:

First, the fundamental standpoint is the fundamental interests of the over- whelming majority of the Chinese people. This is the inevitable require- ment of the Party to serve the basic purpose of serving the people under th condition of being in power. In order to truly represent the fundamental in- terests of the overwhelming majority of the people, our Party must focus on dealing with three relationships. The first is to correctly handle the relation ship between the diversification of interests and the fundamental interest. In the formulation and implementation of the Party's policy, the basic focus is to represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, correctly reflect and balance the interests of different classes 189 and different aspects of the interests of the masses, so that the entire people —— are in the direction of common prosperity. The second is to correctly handle the relationship between local and global interests, consciously give greater importance to the overall situation, and the local obeys to the whole. The third is to correctly handle the relationship between the current interests and long-term interests. Reforms have benefited the vast majority of people, but have also temporarily affected certain groups’ interests, which is difficult to avoid. Therefore, in the process of reform, we should pay attention to the sufferings of the masses of the people, help them overcome the temporary difficulties, combine caring for the masses with the correct understanding of the reform, correctly unify and combine the current interests with the long-term interests, and promote the reform unswervingly.

Second, properly handle and balance the interests of different classes different aspects of the interests of the masses. At present, China is in critical period of reform and the key period of the development of mode ization, the social economic components, the diversification of econ interests, the diversification of people’s way of life and the diversific of employment positions and forms of employment make the various ests and contradictions complicated. As the ruling Party, the policy ¢ Communist Party of China should fully reflect and manifest the int of various aspects, and win the support of the masses of the society | maximum extent, so as to better strengthen the ruling social foundat

Third, to effectively solve the practical problems of the interests of th ople.-Caring for the masses and representing the interests of the ee is by no means an empty slogan and must be implemented very concret iy to solve the practical problems of mass production and life. The Pa ; : mands that cadres at all levels must treat and deal with the iesios ae ward or reported by the people with enthusiasm, and must not be indifferent the masses or even treat the masses harshly. We should go to the aa difficult places, go to the place where the masses have the most opini fe and go to places where the work is needed to be done to work hadwit the cadres and the masses there to solve problems, resolve contradi A and get the ball rolling. Besides, we should care for the masses, es : ally the sufferings of the difficult masses, seek benefit for the cn oe yo = a especially for the difficult people, because fares st di icult at present and need help most. F i hould be paid to those who have fanaa Aenean their work and life, putting their affairs on the agenda and focusin os 81 ention on the solutions to ensure that their basic livelihood is ae ~~ In particular, the practical problems encountered by such td as laid-off workers, the rural poor and the urban poor must be effectively addressed.

Promoting the comprehensive development of people

First, promoting the comprehensive development of humans is the essence of Marxism in the construction of a new socialist society

j ccheving the overall and comprehensive development of men is the ndamental and highest social ideal and value goal of Marxism

ae aning of Marxism on socialism and communist society has E ofmentineit fe aicdid Tales ar eye e

ion of all- i

essential feature that distinguishes ee aa a nance early wor, communism is a movement, whose Die ss saci is the return” to the human essence, positively , private property, and striving for complete and comprehensive pment of men in the new social system. In Capital, Marx once again

182

demonstrated the importance of rebuilding the individual ownership on the basis of abolishing the bourgeois private ownership, and apt that the social system after capitalism would bring great space and ena oa tions to human development. Marx and Engels’ vision and out ook for the future communist society also showed their great concern on the issue of hu- man development, and believed that communist society was a a of th free people, in which “the free development of everyone is the condition for the free development of all human beings”. There, the class has comple disappeared, there are no three differences, labor is not to maintain the live- lihood, but the first need of life, and people in the free and conscious labor process also developed themselves. Compared with capitalism, communism makes people no longer dependent on the matter, but emancipated from the shackles of the private ownership of the productive materials. People are able to obtain freedom under the social system of the productive materials, to work

for the development and freedom, to carry out production and to live. All the _

characteristics of the communist society show the ultimate concern for hu- man beings, whether the highly developed productive forces, the abnormal

advanced economic, political, social system, or the prosperity and diversity of cultural life, are for the ultimate value goal of “human”. In this sense, the _ realization of all-round development of man Is the most fundamental and

highest social ideal and value goal of Marxism.

2. Promoting the all-round development of people is the fundamental

value goal of socialism with Chinese characteristics

For decades, whether in the revolutionary years have kept taking up the work of the former generation in pursuit of the ul timate realization of great material wealth, huge improvement of the spi

tual realm and the lofty communist ideal of the free

historical process and only on the basis of full and highly development 0

the socialist society can it be achieved. Socialist society is the primary form

of communism, and China is still and for a long time will still be in the pri

mary stage of socialism. Therefore, we should base ourselves on the reality

that our country is and will be in the early stage of socialism, and a tingly struggle to realize the basic program of the Party at the preset 4 The all-round development of human beings ts not only a historical p : with different levels of realization in different stages of deve also a value goal that should be pursued in the socialist society “ 5 realized in the communist society. Therefore, in the process of deve socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should always promens round development of people as the fundamental value goal 0 socialism with Chinese characteristics.

or in the construction and reform era, generations of the members of Communist Party of China

and comprehensive development of everyone. But the realization of communism is a very long

As early as 1978, Deng Xiaoping made it clear that our schools in China ‘are places for the training of competent personnel for socialist construc- jon. Are there qualitative standards for such training? Yes, there are. They were stated by Comrade Mao Zedong: We should enable everyone who eceives an education to develop morally, intellectually and physically and

become a worker possessed of both socialist consciousness and a general education,”!” :

Since then, new generations of people with lofty ideals, moral integ- ity, good education and a strong sense of discipline have become the basic _ standard for the Party and the state to cultivate comprehensively-developed socialist new generations. When we entered the 21* century, Jiang Zemin _ solemnly proclaimed in his speech to celebrate the 80" anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, “We firmly believe in the basic principle of Marxism concerning the inevitability of human society towards -communism.”Communism can only be achieved on the basis of fully de- _ veloped and highly developed socialist society. Communism will be a soci- ety in which material wealth is greatly enriched and abundant, the spiritual _realm of the people is greatly enhanced, and everyone will enjoy all-round _free and full development.”"*

“All undertakings to build socialism with Chinese characteristics, and n fact, everything that we do should aim not just at meeting people’s im- mediate material and cultural needs, but also at improving the qualities of the people or achieving their all-round development. This is the essential equirement of Marxism regarding the building of a new socialist society. We will constantly advance the all-round development of human beings

ased on a higher level of the material and spiritual civilization of the so- lalist society.”’'?

‘Shortly thereafter, in the report of the 16 National Congress of the -ommunist Party of China, the comprehensive development of human be- ings was identified as one of the important goals of building a well-off so- ty in an all-round way. In October 2007, on the 17° National Congress of Party, Hu Jintao again stressed the need to promote the all-round devel- ment of people in his expounding of the scientific development concept. in is the decisive force in the productive forces. in the great process of Iding socialism with Chinese characteristics, we constantly improve the lity and ability of all aspects of the people, and promote the all-round lopment of people, which is the meaning of emancipating the produc- > forces and developing productive forces. Eliminating exploitation and ization is to achieve the ultimate common prosperity, while liberating

Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd edition, Vol. 2, p.103. Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Vol.3, p.293. ‘lbid., p.294 and http://www.china.org.cn/e-speech/a.htm.

183

us social shackles is to create the necessary social ous hensive development of human beings. — a hasis and putting the promotion the comprehensive developmen oO ae ane h Communist Party of China’s programmatic document or ieee highlight the Party leaders’ fundamental value of building so- ma

cialism with Chinese characteristics. . Second, to achieve the comprehensive development of people isa long-term gradual process

deepening of the understanding of socialism, we also clearly see that one of the root causes of the failure of the Soviet socialist system is “only produc- tive forces but no men’s development”, which means they only attached importance to the development of the productive forces and the economy, but neglect the interests of thé people and the realization of their richness, and they ignored and even denied that man is the ultimate purpose of the socialist society. They put the emphasis on man as the” bourgeois human nature”, which made it difficult for the people to feel the superiority of so- cialism and made it difficult to get the true support of the people. Because of this, our Party especially emphasizes and advocates that on the basis of _ the development of socialist material civilization and spiritual civilization, _ we should constantly promote the all-round development of people. The in- dicators used to measure the effectiveness of socialist construction include not only economic, political, cultural and social factors, but also the human development factors, but also the human development factors, thus and so- cialism should fully display its fundamental superiority over capitalism, _ that is, a socialist society is a real people-oriented society, Attaching great importance to the all-round development of people is the essential require- ment of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Both relying on the people as the main body of socialist construction, and highlighting the importance of improving the comprehensive quality of the people are the basic experi-

ence and root that allow the construction of socialism with Chinese charac- 185 _ teristics to continuously achieve success. js

people from vario tions for the compre

Second, to achieve the comprehensive development of people isa long-term gradual process

1. The ultimate purpose and mission of socialism is to create social conditions for the realization of men's all-round comprehensive development

Today, the development of socialism is far beyond the oe a founders of Marxism. However, no matter how the concrete ao 2 ocialism changes, the fundamental purpose and mission of eae change, with the fundamental purpose of socialism being the Saline the comprehensive development of men penne tal purpose and mission of socialist system to create aL. -round development of man. Because of our past serious ake ja ae of the fundamental purpose and mission of oe the superiority of socialism cannot be truly se ei rootat and Opening up, because of the neglect of the sae p sane 184 forces, China deviated from the fundamental task of so - is and

socialism in our country a poor socialism, which was una) 0 ee

iority of socialism. The Soviet Union attached great impo : soa ait : f productivity and developed into a superpower next to the ae rena the superiority of its socialist ee reales i i mpts people to ask the follow! - a ne Saas mission of socialism? “ os seas cacialieid really rely on to show the world that it is more ad-

vanced and superior than capitalism?

On the basis of summarizing the historical and practical experience of socialist construction, we realize that the fundamental purpose and mis- sion of the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics is to cre- ate social conditions for the all-round development of human beings. This requires us to resolutely carry out the Scientific Outlook on Development, work hard to build socialist market economy, socialist democratic politics, socialist advanced culture and harmonious socialist society, at the same time to vigorously promote material civilization, political civilization, spir- tual civilization, ecological civilization and improve people’s livelihood, should insist on that everything is relied on the people and everything

for the people, achieving the mutual promotion of social development

and human development, and creating the conditions for the realization of man freedom and comprehensive development. If we ignore or deny that fundamental purpose and mission of socialism is to create conditions the all-round development of human beings, we will deviate from the €ntial requirements of Marxism on the construction of a new socialist iety and cannot truly and fully display the superiority of socialism.

With the deepening of our Party’s understanding of es ead - ee sm, the understanding OF acentfe. We recognize not only that i ism i i nd sc : pees er ee : bea the productive forces, apes ea i itati iminate polarization, and u eI mi ae paren omen ane ie Gvelonnad of product Ae ate Fae of the common prosperity are ee b = ditions for the all-round development of people, because int e ee of lib ting and developing productive forces and gradually going to tie Bes prosperity, people will gradually get more er moe prehensive development. This is the essential ne as ne se cialist society and the most fundamental superiority or soc :

186

2. Creating the social conditions for the all-round development of human beings is a historical process

The realization of the all-round development of man isa long-term and gradual process, which will be bound by the conditions of social economy, politics and culture, and cannot go beyond the specific stage of economic and social development. The level of economic, political and cultural de- velopment is a historical process that improves gradually, so the creation of the social conditions for all-round development is a historical process that progresses step by step, and the degree of human’s all-round development is also a historical process that improves gradually. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people are committed to the great cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. In this great historical process, we need to create conditions of all aspects and strive to

promote the all-round development of people.

First of all, we should provide a solid material foundation for the com- prehensive development of human through the construction of socialist material civilization. Material production is the basic condition to realize the comprehensive development of man. Only through the development of social productive forces can the talents and potentials of human beings be brought into full play to create a comprehensive and rich relationship be- tween man and the object world, to realize the universal possession of the natural and social relations by the members of the society, and to make man- kind move from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. Achieving common prosperity is the essential requirement of socialism, and ue the growing material and cultural needs of the people is the fundamenta goal of social and economic development. we should enable the whole na- tion to live a well-off life and move forward to a higher level constantly by means of economic construction. With the deepening and development of the Reform and Opening up and the modernization construction, we are 2 provide the society with increasingly rich material products and more an more perfect material facilities, to constantly improve people’s con of eating, wearing, living, traveling, using and medical and health, * 116 constantly improve the quality of people’s life. We should establish an be prove the social security system to ensure that the people live and wor - peace and contentment, and get social assistance when they are in trouble

Secondly, the construction of socialist political civilization provides strong political guarantee for the comprehensive development of huma: The construction of democratic legal system is not only an important cone tion and guarantee for developing economy, building socialist ae, lization and realizing socialist modernization, but also an important con of socialist modernization construction. The fact that people are the mas of their own is the essential feature of socialism. Under the leadership

the Communist Party of China, we should continue to promote the reform of the political system, further expand the socialist democracy, improve the socialist legal system, and build socialist democratic politics with Chinese characteristics, constantly enhancing the vitality and vigor of the Party and the state. We should adhere to the general plan of ruling the country by law, maintain and safeguard the democratic rights of the people in accordance with the law, and constantly improve the ability and level of people’s par- ticipation in political affairs. We should adhere to the regular, lasting and vivid publicity and education of observing the rules and the law, constantly improve the consciousness of all citizens to abide by the rules and the law, oppose the acts of extreme democratization and anarchy, and dare to com- bat the phenomenon of the violation of the Party discipline and the state laws in order to maintain the normal social order and good social environ- ment, and ensure the smooth progress of the Reform and Opening up and the modernization construction. What’s more, we ought to give full play to the subjective initiative and great creative spirit of the people to ensure that the people manage their own affairs in accordance with the law and realize their own wishes and interests. We must ensure that the people fully ex- ercise their democratic elections, democratic decision-making, democratic management and democratic supervision, so that the people can really be the masters with power and status, and can be in a good mood and in high spirits. In this way, people’s senses of mastership and pride are boosted and they could better devote themselves to the great cause of Reform and Opening up and modernization in our country.

Thirdly, the construction of socialist spiritual civilization provides in- tellectual guarantee and spiritual motivation for the comprehensive de- velopment of human. The superiority of socialism not only lies in that it can greatly liberate and develop the social productive forces, create a high material civilization, but also in that it can create a high spiritual civili- zation and ensure the all-round progress of society. Under the guidance of Marxism, we should vigorously strengthen the construction of socialist _ Spiritual civilization, actively absorb the outstanding achievements of hu- _man civilization and the essence of our traditional culture, and with rich Spiritual civilization construction results, we are to constantly meet peo- ple’s growing demand for spiritual and cultural life, and to realize the com- prehensive development of people’s ideological and spiritual life. Through he construction of socialist core value system and the construction of civic norality, the ideological and moral quality of the people is constantly im- toved, providing a strong spiritual impetus for the socialist construction nd the all-round development of our country. Through the implementation f the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, ie scientific and cultural qualities of the people are constantly enhanced,

187

188

providing a strong intellectual support for the socialist construction and the all-round development of the people in our country.

Finally, to promote the all-round development of human beings, we must

also strive to achieve harmony between people and the natural world, and strive to build ecological civilization. Man comes from nature, and is the :

product of the evolution of the material world. Man not only confirms him- self in the transformation of nature, but also develops himself in the trans- formation of nature. Human development is inseparable from the nature, only in harmony with the nature can human society continue to catia otherwise, the failure to respect the natural must result in natura retalia- tion. Therefore, we should firmly adhere to the guidance of the Scientific Outlook on Development, adhere to the path of production development, subsistence and ecological civilization, build a resource-efficient and en- vironment-friendly society, achieve the unification of the speed, structural quality and benefits and the coordination of economic goatee? st the population resource environment, enable the people to work ani ‘ in a good ecological environment, and achieve sustainable economic an

social development.

Economic System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

Establishment and perfection of the socialist market economic system

First, establishing the socialist market economic system

At a certain stage of social and economic development, resources would ~~ always become scarce compared to people’s needs which requires the sci- entific and rational allocation of limited and relatively scarce resources, and the production of the most suitable products and services so as to gain maximum benefits with the least resource consumption. Under the condi- tions of socialized large-scale production, there are mainly two modes of resource allocation: planned allocation and market allocation. The market economy, where resources are allocated through the market, first appears in the era of free-competition capitalism, based on the private ownership the means of production, and the resources are allocated entirely by the nvisible hand”, that is, the spontaneous regulation of the market, resulting the anarchy of the entire social production as well as the promotion of nomic development. Marx and Engels criticize this mode of allocation d points out that social labor and means of production are not reasonably anged and effectively utilized, and serious economic crisis may occur. r this reason, Marx and Engels have elucidated on the inevitability of the arket economy being replaced by a planned one.

fter the October Revolution, military communism was practiced and

Commodity-currency relations were canceled in Russia, which seri- 

YY weakened the economy of the country. Then Lenin realized that it a policy mistake and resolutely suspended the practice. Instead, he

SAARI Ronan

economic system as the institutional attributes closely linked with the social system. Therefore, instead of breaking through the general framework of the planned economy, we merely strengthened the market regulation theo- etically and practically, but failed to achieve desired results.

implemented a new economic policy and resumed the vsti A cont modities. After his death, the Soviet Union gradually esta is e ; ighly centralized planned economic system, which played an ee ro ae the historical conditions. For example, it enabled the Soviet ae © rap- idly realize socialist industrialization and secured the snc ea tig economic crisis in the 1930s. The socialist countries later conclu . that planned economy, which was superior to the market economy, as ormed to Marxism to the largest extent, and followed the example of the Soviet

Union one after another.

‘After the 3 Plenary, Session of the 11% Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Deng Xiaoping led the Chinese Communist Party to sum up historic experiences. He pointed out that China must devel- p while-adhering to the basic socialist system and must make fundamental hanges to the original economic system. He said: “To develop the produc- After completing the socialist transformation, our country also gradually ive forces, the reform of the economic system is the only way forward,”! established a highly centralized planned economic system, pei: on the Soviet experience in many ways. But more importantly, we foun te pa | to solve the severe political and economic problems confronting : e found- ing of New China to adopt such an economic system. Firstly, a the low level of productive forces, the weak national economic eas and few modern industries in our country, the implementation of this system facilitated the direct participation of the state in economy and the oo of the public economy, which further consolidated the regime. re y, in the context of the domestic economic dislocation and the big gap between us and the developed countries in the west, it was an effective al i bilize the economy and maximize the industrial accumulation. Thir ie is 190 system was suitable for coordinating the various social asa ‘- curred in the macro-economy, because it could integrate resource : oca' ee and social coordination, which would maintaina high level a emp _ and satisfy the most basic living needs of the people, as we as a eo the accumulation and concentration of funds for the industrialization.

As a result, after 1978, China entered a new period of reform and open- ng up, with the market regulation’ mechanism playing a greater role, the price control over most commodities being gradually relaxed, the range under direct management of the plan gradually narrowed and the scope of market regulation continuously expanded. The practice of reform and opening up proved that when the market played a more important role, the economic vitality would be stronger and the development more rapid. The progress and achievements of the economic reform provided a practical basis for the formation and development of the socialist market economic theory. By summing up practical experience in the continuous exploration since the reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping creatively put forward 19] the theory of the socialist market economy and achieved major innovations ——— in the socialist economic theory, which point out the direction for China’s economic reform, and laid the foundation for our transformation from a highly centralized planned economy to the socialist market economy, and the establishment of a socialist market economic system. The highly centralized planned economy we adopted played 4 a tant positive role at the time: by centralizing manpower, materia ante nancial resources, the construction of key national pr jects Ne ae ao and the material foundation of socialism was established rapidly. a - with the completion of the initial tasks of socialism, the conn sion of the economy, and the increasingly complicated poate i the drawbacks of this economic system gradually became a ho der to promote the development of the socialist economy, a <a ist countries, including China, had carried out economic reforms _ middle of the 20" century and explored the relationship panty ? and the market. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, based on the a - backward production of commodities in our country, Mao Ze a a pointed out that it was necessary to develop commodity i dat make use of the rule and the law of value, which laid the foun a‘ the formation of our theory of socialist market economy. ayes. time, we failed to break through the traditional concept, and conside

The setting up of the socialist market economic system and Deng

iaoping’s theory on the development of the socialist market economy ent through four stages.

The first stage: from 1978 to 1983, the thought of planned economy sup- lemented by the market regulation was put forward. After the 3" Plenary ion of the 11" CPC Central Committee, more and more scholars in the retical circles agreed that there was an objective monetary commodity tionship in the socialist economy, and the law of value played a role only in circulation but also in the production. In 1979, Deng Xiaoping tly pointed out: “It is wrong to maintain that a market economy exists in capitalist society and that there is only “capitalist” market economy. y can’t we develop a market economy under socialism? Developing a ket economy does not mean practising capitalism. While maintaining inned economy as the mainstay of our economic system, we are also

ected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 1st edition, Vol. 3, p. 138.

Before the convening of the 13" CPC National Congress in 1987, Deng jaoping conducted a more in-depth discussion on the relationship between planning and market. He pointed out: “Planning and market are both means of developing the productive forces. So long as they serve that purpose, we should make use of them. If they serve socialism they are socialist; if they serve capitalism they aré capitalist.’

introducing a market economy. But it is a socialist market economy... We cannot say that market economy exists only under capitalism... We can surely develop it under socialism.”

This realization broke the traditional rigid concept that only planned economy can be practiced in socialism, and actual ly linked the market econ omy with socialism. The Resolution on Some Historical Issues of the Party Since the Founding of the PRC passed in 1981 by the 6 Plenary Session of the 11° CPC Central Committee formally proposed the system of planned economy supplemented by market regulation”, which was also affirmed by the 12" CPC National Congress. Although this proposal still insisted that the overall framework of the planned economy remain unchanged and the market regulation is only supplementary, it provided a realistic basis for the market to play a regulatory role and opened the way for the development of the socialist market economy.

The second stage: from 1984 to 1987, a planned commodity economic _ theory was proposed. In the Decisions on the Economic System Reform the CPC Central Committee passed in the 3"! Plenary Session of the 12 CPC Central Committee in 1984, the Party made it clear that the social- ist economy was a planned commodity economy based on public we ship. From practical experience, we gradually realized that the commod- ity economy was an insurmountable stage of the socialist economy, : planned economy and the commodity economy were compatible, and the planning and market could be combined. Under the guidance of the theory of planned commodity economy, from the end of 1984, we have shift the focus of economic restructuring from rural areas to cities wil obvious market orientation, such as reducing the proportion of mandatory plans, expanding the scope of market regulation, increasing the a of enterprises, and implementing double-track price system. Best . practice of reform, Deng Xiaoping further elaborated his view on the ret tionship between planning and market. In the meeting with a ice 0 US entrepreneurs in 1985, he pointed out: “There 1s no fundamen : tradiction between socialism and a market economy. The problem 1s how develop the productive forces more effectively. We used to have a o economy, but our experience over the years has proved that eh a planned economy hampers the development of the productive orce’ certain extent. If we combine a planned economy with a market eco! we shall be in a better position to liberate the productive forces an up economic growth.”° :

Therefore, the 13 CPC National Congress defined the new system of socialist planned commodity economy as one of internal unity between planning and market, emphasizing that both of them were new economic operating mechanisms that covered the whole society, with the market con- trolled by the state and business guided by the market in general, which was Close to the idea of a market economy under state’s macro-economic regulation.

The third stage: from 1987 to 1992, the theory of socialist commodity economy was put forward. The 13 CPC National Congress held in 1987 further developed the theory of a planned commodity economy. It clearly pointed out that the difference between the socialist and capitalist com- modity economy lay not in the number of markets and planning. Instead, the socialist commodity economy should be an internal unified system of planning and market, which should cover the whole society, with the or- ganic integration of them. The socialist market system included not only the commodity market, but also factor markets such as capital and labor market. Therefore, in order to carry out the economic system reform, it was necessary to establish the economic operation mode of “market con- trolled by the state, and the business guided by the market”. During this period, Deng Xiaoping further elaborated on the relationship between clalism and the market economy. In December 1990, Deng Xiaoping proposed: “We must understand theoretically that the difference between apitalism and socialism is not a market economy as opposed to a planned onomy. Socialism has regulation by market forces, and capitalism has ntrol through planning.”® In early 1991, Deng Xiaoping further pointed “Don’t think that any planned economy is socialist and any market jomy is capitalist. That’s not the way things are. In fact, planning and lation by the market are both means of controlling economic activity, the market can also serve socialism.”

hese assertions of Deng Xiaoping clearly defined the attributes of the ket economy, thus lifting the bondage between socialism and the mar- conomy and laying the theoretical foundation for the ultimate goal of blishing a socialist market economic system in China.

Second, the basic characteristics of the socialist market economic system

Although both planning and market are means of economic regulation, which do not belong to either “socialism” or “capitalism” in essence, they can play different regulatory roles in different social systems. Capitalist market economy refers to the market economy under the capitalist system, while socialist market economy refers to one under the socialist system. The latter, first of all, has the general characteristics of market economy, such as enterprises with clear ownership rights and strict budget constraints operating independently and assuming sole responsibility for their own profits and losses; free and fair market competition; prices determined by arket supply and demand being, flexible; the market being open; the and vernment mainly using economic instruments to regulate the economy; otherwise it cannot be called a market economy. In terms of the operational rules, there is no substantive difference between the socialist and the capi- talist market economy. As Deng Xiaoping said, the socialist market econo- my is similar to a capitalist one in method.’

This argument fundamentally negated the traditional cone of setting socialism and the market economy in opposition. The 14% CPC National Congress made it clear that the goal of China’s economic restructuring is to establish a socialist market economy. Therefore, it was necessary to guaran tee the market’s fundamental regulatory role in the allocation of resources — under macroeconomic control, so that economic activities would follow the law of value and adapt to changes in the supply-demand relationship, In 1994, the 3 Plenary Session of the 14" CPC Central Committee made the : Decisions on Several Issues Concerning the Establishment of a Socialist — Market Economic System by the CPC Central Committee, which compre- hensively and systematically expounded the basic framework and oe plan for establishing a socialist market economy. In 1997, the 15 : National Congress further confirmed that “to build a socialist economy with Chinese characteristics means to develop a market economy under th conditions of socialism and continuously liberate and develop aS i tive forces.” In 2002, the 16 CPC National Congress reiterated: “to . ere to the reform direction of the socialist market economy and to me € market to play a fundamental role in the allocation of resources under iL macro-control of the state.” In order to further improve the socialist mar economic system, the 3“ Plenary Session of the 1G* CPC Central oi ; held in 2003 discussed some major issues concerning the improve the socialist market economic system and made the Decisions on : evel Issues Concerning the Perfection of the Socialist Market pees: by In 2007, to reach the goal of economic development in the new his period, the 17" CPC National Congress proposed the major progres: made in perfecting the socialist market economic system.

Therefore, we can absolutely learn the experience of market operation

and management from developed countries in the world in order to develop our market economy.

In the theoretical innovation of the socialist market economy, Deng Xiaoping separates market economy from the capitalist system, and regards it as a means and mode of resource allocation on the one hand; on the other and, he emphasizes that we must integrate the market economy with the ba- ic socialist system, by pointing out that: “It is right to implement the policy f opening up, to combine the planned economy with the market economy, and to carry out a series of structural reforms.

Does this run counter to the principles of socialism? No, because in the irse of reform we shall make sure of two things: one is that the public sec- of the economy is always predominant; the other is that in developing the nomy we seek common prosperity, always trying to avoid polarization.”

other words, apart from the general features of the market economy, list market economy also has its own features.

stly, in terms of the ownership structure, we adopt the basic eco- ¢ system that takes public ownership as primary with other ownership S developing in tandem. All forms of ownership in conformity with Three Favorables” can and should be used to serve socialism; enter- 8 of different ownership can also voluntarily practice various forms of

©, Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 2nd Edition, Volume 2, p. 236. lected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist Edition, Vol.3, p.149.

ama

7 Ibid., p.373.

195

oductive forces, overall national strength and people’s living standards, abling us to survive the international economic and financial turmoil, se- re domestic natural disasters and major epidemics. However, at the same time, some problems also emerge such as unreasonable economic struc- re, unbalanced distribution relations, slow growth of peasants’ incomes, yrominent employment conflicts, increasing pressure on resources and the snvironment, and generally weak economic competitiveness, which are nainly caused by the fact that our country is in the primary stage of social- sm, with an imperfect economic system and many institutional obstacles in development of productive forces. In order to adapt to the international vironment of economic globalization and the accelerating development f science and technology, and the new situation of building a moderately srosperous society in all respects, and to build a sound socialist market sconomic system, the 16" CPC National Congress made a series of major cisions on deepening reform, further opening up and the continuous im- rovement of the socialist market economic system.

rket is open to all kinds of enterprises, and the state.

joint operation; the ma yr enti economy plays a leading role in market competition.

Secondly, in terms of the distribution system, we must adhere : the sys tem of distribution according to work being the main form with t € coexis tence of multiple ways of distribution. We should combine eae a cording to work with that according to productive factors, an pas Variou regulatory means to encourage the excellent, to improve the e icieney4 rationalize the income gap, to prevent polarization and to gradually realiz

common prosperity. Thirdly, in terms of the macro-control, it can combine the current inter- ests with the long-term ones of the people, and the partial interests With the overall ones, and give better play to the strengths of both planning and ther words, the socialist market economy is able to combine the advantages of the basic socialist economic system with that of the market economy, giving full play to the fundamental role of the market economy in the allocation of resources. Meanwhile, through macro-control, it can overcome the blindness, spontaneity and other weaknesses and negative as- pects of the market economy, so that the superiority of the socialist system can be brought into full play, which is also the particulanty of the “7 market economy. As Jiang Zemin said, the term “socialist . the soci ist 196 market economy is the “finishing touch,” and “the so-called crucial point —— is to clarify the nature of our market economy... Our market economy carried out under the socialist system...Our creativity and characteristics

are also reflected here.””° : The socialist market economic theory that the Party has gradually formed and developed during the new period of reform and opening . ‘ very important and innovative. It enriches and develops the basic “ so Marxism and opens the way for opening up new horizons of developme for Marxist economic theory. Third, the improvement efforts to perfect the socialist market economic system : Since the 14% CPC National Congress, which set the goal of the i market economic system reform, significant progress has been ma . bs reform in theory and in practice. The socialist market economic Re : been initially established, the basic economic system that takes pul | ership as primary with diverse other ownership forms developing I : has been established, and the pattern of opening up from all dimens! various levels and in broad fields has basically taken shape. The fe deepening of the reform has greatly promoted the improvemen

10 CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: * Jiang Zemin on Soran ; Characteristics (Special Editorial)”, p.69, Beijing, Central Party Literature >

market. Ino

_In order to implement the strategic plan of building a sound socialist market economy and a more dynamic and open economy as proposed by he 16 CPC National Congress, and to deepen the economic system re- orm and promote the all-round economic and social development, the 3"! enary Session of the 16" CPC Central Committee made the Decisions on several Issues Concerning the Perfection of the Socialist Market Economic stem by the CPC Central Committee, pointing out the direction for the further perfection of the socialist market economic system.

197

The goal of perfecting the socialist market economic system is: to meet e requirements of the balanced urban and rural development, balanced momic and social development, the harmonious development of man and lature, and the overall planning for domestic development and opening up; id to give more play to the market’s role in resource allocation, enhance 1¢ Vitality and competitiveness of enterprises, improve the macro-control, ‘fect the government’s social management and public service functions, provide a strong institutional guarantee for building an overall well- do society. The main tasks include: to improve the basic economic sys- that takes public ownership as primary with diverse other ownership s developing in tandem; to establish a system conducive to the gradual ge of the dual economic structure in urban and rural areas; to form a anism for the coordinated development of regional economy; to estab- unified, open modern market system with orderly competition; to im- € the macro-control, administrative management and economic legal im; to perfect the employment, income distribution and social security

and to establish a mechanism to promote sustainable economic and

development.

xpounded the basic line and basic program of the primary stage of social- sm and clearly put forward the following: “The public ownership as the subject and the diversified ownership economy develop jointly is the basic conomic system in the primary stage of our socialism. The establishment f this system is determined by the nature of socialism and the national onditions. at the primary stage: First, as China is a socialist country, it must dhere to the public ownership as the foundation of the socialist economic ystem. Second, as China is in the primary stage of socialism, we need to evelop a diversified ownership economy under the conditions of public wnership as the main body; third, all forms of ownership that conform to the ‘Three Favorables’ can and should be used to serve socialism.”!!

Guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Thre Represents, we must follow the Party’s basic line, basic program and basic experience, fully implement the spirit of the 16" CPC National Congres , emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts, and advance with the times. We should also adhere to the socialist market economic reform, focus on system construction and innovation, adhere to the respect for the pioneering spirit of the masses, and arouse the enthusiasm of both the central and local authorities. In addition, we must continue to handle the relations of reform, development and stability correctly, promote the reform with a focus and step by step, adhere to overall planning, coordinate various interests in the reform, stick to the people-oriented principle, establish a comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development concept, and promote the all-

_ In the report of 16 CPC Natignal Congress, Jiang Zemin made it clear round development of the economy, society and the people.

that, in order to solve the contradictions and problems in deepening the onomic system reform, we should adhere to and perfect the basic eco- nomic system of taking public ownership as primary with diverse other ownership forms developing in tandem, in accordance with the require- ments of liberating and developing the productive forces. The 17° CPC National Congress also emphasized that it was necessary to uphold and improve the basic economic system, unswervingly consolidate and develop the public economy, encourage, support and guide the development of non- public economy, and adhere to the equal protection of property rights, so as to form a new pattern of fair competition among and the promotion of arious ownership economy.

The 17 CPC National Congress further emphasized: to achieve the goal of economic development in the future, we must make major progress in accelerating the transformation of the mode of economic development and improving the socialist market economic system. We should vigorously promote the strategic restructuring of the economy, pay more attention to improving independent innovation, raising the level of energy conservation and environmental protection, and improving the overall economic quality and international competitiveness, deepen our understanding of the laws governing the socialist market economy, give better play to the basic role of the market in resource allocation, and form a macro-control system condu:

cive to scientific development. Socialist public ownership, in which all or part of the workers possess e means of production under the conditions of socialism, adapts to social- zed mass production, and thus fundamentally eliminates the basic contra- ictions of capitalism and makes way for the further development of social roductive forces. In fact, the primary role of socialist public ownership is etermined by the nature of public ownership and its role in the national conomy, or to be specific, the reason lies in: firstly, the socialist public conomy is compatible with socialized mass production and in line with direction of social development; secondly, the public economy is the damental feature of the socialist system and the economic foundation of lalist society. Only by relying on the power of the public economy that ys a primary role, will the socialist countries have sufficient economic ans to guide the development of the individual, private and foreign in- tment economy toward the direction conducive to socialism; thirdly, the ic economy, being the mainstay of the construction of socialist mod- ization, the main source of state revenue and the major material basis the state’s macro-control, controls the lifeline of the national economy.

Adjustment and perfection of the ownership structure

First, The basic economic system that takes public ownership as primary with diverse other ownership forms developing in tandem

The basic economic system at the initial stage of socialism is, in essen a matter of ownership. The 3% Plenary Session of the 11% CPC Central Committee proposed to reform the production relations and superstructt incompatible with the development of the productive forces, accordi the real situation of our socialist construction, and point out that the public economy was a necessary complement to the socialist econo addition, the 3% Plenary Session of the 14% CPC Central Committee! further point out that we must adhere to the principle of taking the ownership economy as primary with various economic sectors dev in tandem. In 1997, the 15" National Congress of the CPC comprehe:

_CPCCC Party Literature Research Office: “Selection of Important Literature since Sth National Congress” (Vol.1), p.20.

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The ownership form of the means of production cannot be evaluated by referring to the level of social public ownership, but by judging whether it meets the requirements of the development of productive forces, whether it promotes the development of productive forces, and whether it is beneficial to all-round social progress. All forms of ownership, not only the public ownership, regardless of ‘the level of public ownership, are irreplaceable within the range of productivity they can accommodate, and all those con- sistent with the “Three Favorables” can and should be used to serve social- ism. By adopting the basic economic system that takes public ownership as primary with diverse other ownership forms developing in tandem, we can meet the requirements of the development of the productive forces, give full play to the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of the working people; make full use of manpower, material and financial resources and make rational use of means of production; increase employment and raise people’s living standards; improve technology and management level; im- prove social division of labor and develop specialized production; enliven the economy and promote the development of a market economy; and ac- celerate the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people. In conclusion, in the course of the practice, we must, through systematic in- vestigations and studies, take necessary measures to gradually rationalize the proportions and ranges of various economic components in the entire national economy.

modern material and technology, and controls the (eae ang circulation; fourthly, the means of production of socialist pub ; Seti ip longer means of exploitation. Instead, they are used to ieee ? pro- aes i continuously and to meet the growing material and cu tura needs ee eople. Besides, it is not only the economic basis for implementing ae eee of distribution according to work, but ea eae, material guarantee for the realization of the master position sae : i le economically and politically, and the common prosperity ofa L ee of society. In short, upholding the primary role of public owner: ship, and consolidating and amas ees ae hae rinciple of Marxism, een for ce ownership restructuring, and the basic

symbol of our socialist market economy.

However, only when public ownership meets - pee ed ne ee i its status be reflected and its role be lopment of productive forces, can 1 . teat into pone play. Therefore, we cannot ae the swe i i ip wi ferring to the productive forces, of public ownership without re i os blindly seek to expand the scope and nates ad of ee : i level and requirements of the development OF ~ ownership regardless of the I ae i It is known to all that socialism in of Sans i i i backward productive © i i -feudal society, with very a semi-colonial and semi-feu : | | forces (modern industry accounting for only about Bnce ca : i handicrafts accounting for 7U7). _ and backward agriculture and pple i j ially after the reform and opening up, founding of New China, especia the and opens era of building a moderately prosperou though we have entered a new y poe iety 1 i de remarkable achievements ni society in all respects, having ma nts i level of productive forces a construction, on the whole, our ir i igh, with very low per capita gross of production was not high, Fo oy ae f education and science and tec > ¢ and generally low level o nolo i i i duction was far from moder , Wil he industrial and agricultural pro ‘ aed management and means of economy, and imbalances tilevel development still existed among regions and industries. Ree besides ensuring the primary position of public ownership, we

velop non-public economy in the long run. The 15" CPC National Con

i i ic system incorporated the non-public economy into the basic economic Sy’

Bee : : 7 the primary stage of socialism, making it clear that it was an page: n of China’s socialist market economy, due to its ica Zh i i i loyment and prom V eople’s diverse needs, increasing emp oe ss of the national economy, which deepened the understanding

primary stage of socialism.

possesses

_ Since the 3 Plenary Session of the 11% CPC Central Committee, China has been actively pursuing the development of a diversified economy while maintaining the dominant position of public ownership, with declines in the proportion of the public economy and a rapid development of non-socialist economy. However, on the whole, the primary role of the public economy has not been changed, in tandem with considerable room allocated for the velopment of the non-public sectors of the economy.

Second, unswervingly consolidate and develop the public economy

ublic ownership, the foundation of the socialist economic system, ch is guided by the state, is the basic force to promote economic and so- development and an important guarantee for the realization of the fun- ental interests and the common prosperity of the people. Maintaining dominant position of public ownership, and making sure that the state- ed economy controls the lifeline of the national economy and plays a ing role in economic development, is crucial to giving full play to the tiority of the socialist system, strengthening economic strength, na- al defense strength and national cohesion, and enhancing China’s inter- onal status. Therefore, both the 16" and the 17" CPC National Congress size that we must unswervingly consolidate and develop the public

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present stage, the means of production in our country are owned by the state

on behalf of all the people, in the form of state ownership, so the system is called state-owned economy.

The report of the 15" CPC National Congress clearly pointed out ae ‘ to fully understand the meaning of public economy, whic he aay only the state-owned and collective economy, but also the sae and ‘slledive components of the mixed-ownership paces aim the misunderstanding that the public economy oe pte i state-owned and collective economy and that paige ees than the public ownership, played a primary role, bla ies deenenine for the development of a mixed ownership economy. ee) persia the reform of the economic system, the development re) opens: the diversification of sources of investment an gan eee various forms of mixed ownership economy would continue nie sae ene state-owned and collective components, the mixed Ge whose capital and income belonged to the state and eels. definitely belonged to the UN eae economy: those controlled by the state and the collective sate pu a iene obviously. This mode of Nase ae pa ; - pated te e dominan ae een a the establishment of a ner es See nea i i ership economy would becom ; ee ee at ae components in the entire public econ- omy increasing.

addition, the 15 CPC National Congress also made a sake 7

ion of the dominant position of public ownership, which mainly lie i re public assets dominated the total assets of the society; thee . economy controlled the lifeline of the national economy and play

ich was true for the whole country, c development, which eebtice a

In the public economy, the state-owned economy controls the lifeline of _ the national economy and plays a leading role in economic development, _which is manifested in its ability to control the development direction of the ational economy and economic system, the overall trend of the economic peration and important scarce resources. In the past, due to a lack of un- erstanding of the initial stage of socialism, the scope and proportion of he state-owned economy is so large that it exceeds the level of productive orces and economic socialization. As a result, since the reform and open- ing up, due to the gradual marketization of the economy and some histori- cal and social reasons, a considerable amount of the state-owned economy have lost competitiveness in the market economy. Some state-owned enter- prises have high debt-to-asset ratios, and even become insolvent, gaining low returns and suffering serious losses. If the situation remains unchanged, the state-owned economy will not be able to play its leading role no matter how high the proportion is. Therefore, the dominance and competitiveness of the state-owned economy should be enhanced, the quality of the public economy should be improved so that people can understand the status and tole of the public economy and emphasize its quality rather than quantity and unify the two, instead of simply focusing on its share in the national economy, which provides the theoretical basis and points out the direction for restructuring of the state-owned economy strategically.

In order to give full play to the leading role of the state-owned economy d enhance its control over the economy, we should strategically readjust the layout of the state-owned economy and adhere to the principle of “be- ing flexible and having dos and don’ts”. “having dos and don’ts” means at, on the one hand, the state-owned economy should control a few key eas that determine the lifeline of the national economy and national se- ty, and dominate national defense, natural monopoly industries, and public-benefit industries providing public goods and services; in some portant competitive areas, the state-owned economy should control or

ing role in economi a bu situations in some places or industries could vary. Bes

i i i Topo were dominant in the total social assets not simply in ana eu be e : tion, but mainly in “quality”, that is, in industrial properties, er 7 bon pontien technological content, economies of scale, the prolite : assets, the competitiveness of the market and etc.

i in In order to consolidate and develop the public SOO eae we must give full play to the leading role of - ee ak oe H 1 ip by ople, w | | oe boning the wig people, becau | amount of state-owned capital; on the other hand, state-owned capi- ee oe Higher wae forces, with a higher degre hould gradually be withdrawn from the general competitive industries it is compatible with the highe1 ucti : e tity of el i ip and the basic realization of the equa public ownership an a ee i duction and the direc the ownership of means of pro See on i the means of productio s of production. In other words, ans : Ge ee are no longer means of ce anr ks a see i i kes it possible to at 1l-being of all people, which ma : pain je copncat of the national economy in the whole society.

2

wing the participation of more social investment entities, so that vari- Conomic components can help solve problems in social and economic lopment facing current China. Meanwhile, we should strategically st the layout of the state-owned economy, making sure that it occu- the dominant position in key industries and key areas that determine ifeline of the national economy. In order to enhance the control and

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ompetitiveness y pl he the reform of state-owned enterprises towards the goal of establishing |

a modern enterprise system, change the management mechanism of enter-

prises, and enhance the vitality of enterprises. Meanwhile, we should also.

strengthen the supervision and administration of state-owned assets, pre-. vent the loss of state-owned assets and ensure the preservation and appre-

ciation of them. However, we should never develop state-owned economy

ating or excluding other economic components. Instead, we can rely

by neg nf ks reform, its participation in market competition, transformation of opera-

tional mechanisms, enhancement of its vitality, and the development of its own potential and advantages.

In order to consolidate and develop the public economy unswerving we must also vigorously support and promote the saa es : as col- lective economy, that is, the socialist collective economy, W . refers . the public ownership of the means of production by ae working Pel : As a cooperative economic sector organized by the wor mage ae - on the principle of free will and mutual benefit, it operates in = nden y and assumes sole responsibility for its own profits and eee : a — : ist society, it belongs to socialist economy, because it rea sa : ca be of the laborers in terms of the ownership of means of production

scope of the collective economy, and the direct combination of laborers and — means of production. Besides, it is free from exploitation, with the equal

i i ing a flexible economic form com cooperative relations among laborers. Being

atible to a large scope of productive forces, collective economy 1s real- toed in different forms determined by the development level of productive

forces and other economic conditions, but instead of having a fixed pattern,

. ; : : cee: it may differ in different economic regions, production categories ie ' nomic conditions, and vary according to different degrees of socialization,

modes of distribution, and contents and ways of cooperation.

j - alist DUBE i i important part of the socialist public The collective economy, being an imp en Besides

economy, plays an extremely crucial role in our natio being the main economic oe in io sanneS Ee ion in the industrial, transportation A : ae ‘teen embody the principle of common prosperity, a - absorb the idle funds in the society widely, and plays an neg tant role in the development of production, improving peop a ee , creating a thriving market, stabilizing prices, pee, emp ae . panding commodity exports, increasing public accumu sae oe tax revenue, encouraging and helping the development co) at . collective economy in urban and rural areas, giving play ca pee role of the public economy, consolidating the alliance of hs e ants, and strengthening the people’s democratic dictatorship.

also occupies a lar

of the state-owned economy, we must also actively pro-

ercial areas of cities

_ At present and in the years to come, in the deepening of rural reform, we will continue to focus on stabilizing the “Household Responsibility Contract System”, and perfecting the two-tier operation system with the combination of centralization and decentralization, promoting the integra- tion of trade-industry-agriculture, developing social service system in vari- ous forms actively, gradually improving the strength of collective economy and promoting rural economic development. Since in a few economically developed areas, with the growth of the collective economy, especially the development of township and village enterprises, most of the labor force in the rural areas has turned to non-agricultural industries, and the objec- tive conditions for land scale operation have been in place, based on the voluntary and mutually beneficial principle, we should encourage and pro- mote various forms of cooperation and alliance, adopt different forms and _ carry out moderate-scale management according to the local conditions, so as to meet the needs of scientific farming and socialization of production, _to modernize agricultural production, and to gradually achieve the second leap.

Third, the diversification of public ownership

There are connections and differences between the concept of ownership and the realization of ownership. The former refers to the relations among people in the possession of means of production in the course of production, which includes a wide range of economic relations in people’s ownership, ossession, dominance and use of means of production, while the latter is _the concrete form in which these economic relations are realized, mainly referring to the organization form and mode of operation of assets or capi- _In the socialist market economy, the realization of public ownership can and should be diversified. All the management modes and organizational orms that reflect the law of production should be made fully use of, and fforts should be made to find a realization form of public ownership that an greatly promote the development of productive forces. Public economy an take the form of wholly-owned enterprises, share-holding enterprises, ooperatives, joint-stock cooperative companies and etc., and the modes Operation such as public-owned public-operated, public-owned private- tated, leasing and contract operation. With the deepening of reforms tate-owned and collective economy, the development of a diversified nership economy and the diversification of investors, the realization of lic ownership will certainly be more diversified. In fact, the search and ¢lopment of diversified realization forms according to the nature and of the public-owned enterprises is beneficial to raising and expanding ital funds, strengthening the restriction of property rights, arousing the siasm of the workers, improving the operation efficiency of enter- ¢s and capital, and promoting the development of productivity.

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public ownership, and speed up the restructuring of state-owned economy. In order to adapt to the continuous development of the marketization of econo- my, we should further enhance the vitality of the public economy, vigorously develop the mixed-ownership economy invested by state-owned, collective and non-public capital, realize the diversification of the investors and make

Although the shareholding system, a realization form - sa ess ship, is derived from and has emerged and developed in : : . rie ety, it is a form of capital organization of the modern sae ee i : conducive to the separation of ownership and poner es - ie improvement of the operational efficiency of Et ae a mee can be used both in capitalist and socialist societies. In € seat 7 learn all the advanced organizational forms and maces Raia a enterprises that reflect the law of socialized production rom nee over the world, including the eur eats ee ing system is neither exclusive to sm”, a pened af a shareholding enterprise is determined by oe cae . it is owned by the state and the collective, it 1s obviously pu se ned is conducive to expanding the range of the public aoe! ere . — the dominant position of public ownership. If it is imp = sae i‘ owned enterprises, the enterprises can independently use sie e me capital of all the investors, which will benefit the pent a . om and enterprises, as well as the eka: “ SNiibiied a 7 a ot . ce e that enterprises operate in e W eaneunnend so that self-discipline and self-motivation meus “ be enhanced, and the saa pa ees peer oe) aC i - it can also raise funds throug 2 rcks, - ee the problem of insufficient accumulation aes a pave the way for establishment of large trans-regiona , tr . multi-ownership and trans-national enterprise types.

to implement absolute control or relative control over enterprises needed to be controlled by state-owned capital according to different situations. We _should also improve the mechanism for the flexible and proper flow of the tate-owned capital, further invest it in key industries and key areas that affect the lifeline of national security and the national economy, enhance the domi- ant position of the state-owned economy, and make sure that state-owned _ enterprises in other industries and fields are able to survive in the fair com- petition in the market, through reorganization of assets and structural adjust- ment. In addition, we are supposed to develop large enterprise groups with international competitiveness, continue to invigorate the state-owned small and medium-sized enterprises, deepen the reform on collective enterprises by focusing on clear property rights, and develop various forms of collective economy. The report of the 17" CPC National Congress further proposed that we should deepen the shareholding system reform of state-owned enterprises, perfect the modern enterprise system, optimize the layout and structure of state-owned economy, enhance the vitality, control and influence of the state- owned economy, deepen the reform on monopoly industries should, intro- duce competition mechanisms, strengthen government supervision and social supervision, accelerate the construction of a state-owned capital management budget system, perfect all kinds of state-owned assets management system,

promote collective enterprise reform and develop various forms of collective economy and cooperative economy.

Joint stock cooperative system, a form of public pat ay i na isti joi k and cooperative system, belon the characteristics of joint stoc so i ich i d by and based on the union 0 id tive economy which is feature on ie ‘ : laborers. In this system, besides g g a the union of the capital of the fai i Iso receive corresponding rewar according to work, laborers a ive va i kes it different from the share ind to the shares they hold, which ma rom t ~ the cooperative system. What’s more, employees in gemanges coon Ps i borers but also investors, since they é enterprises are not only la ey i i ts of the laborers and enterp risks and benefits, and the interes Pe 1 ; initiatives of the laborers. ihe a one, which can fully arouse the ini abc must support and encourage the development of the joint stock corr system, strengthen the guidance and constantly draw on the experienc

Fourth, the non-public economy as an important component part of the socialist market economy

The non-public economy in the primary stage of socialism mainly in- udes individual economy, private economy, foreign investment economy, d Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan investment economy.

gradually improve it.

The 3" Plenary Session of the 16" CPC Central ee eer that in order to promote the development of the public ie woe practice various effective realization forms of public nee ae the dominant position of public ownership; give play to the gs

. . . . ion fo state-owned economy, actively promote various effective realizati

ment. In general, it adapts to scattered productive force but can also be €d with socialized mass production. In our country, since the develop- t level of social productive forces is generally not high, for quite a long od of time,the individual economy sector will still exist to make up for insufficient development of modern large-scale production.

207

The private economy is based on the private ownership of the means of production and the wage-labor, with obtaining profits being the purpose of production and operation. In the socialist market economy, the Private economy has a dual nature: on the one hand, it has the general characteris. tics of capitalist private ownership, that is, private ownership and domina.

tion of means of production, and the reliance on wage labor for production and operation; on the other hand, it is produced and developed under the

condition of the dominant position of the socialist public ownership; with a close link between its production and operation activities and the public economy, so it must be carried out within the scope prescribed by the laws of the socialist countries. Meanwhile, its employees, whose basic economic and political rights are protected by relevant state laws, are the masters of the socialist countries. Since the reform and opening up, in our country, private economy has grown from nothing to become an important force in the socialist market economy.

Foreign investment economy and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in- vestment economy refers to the foreign investment and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan investment in the sole proprietors, joint ventures and coop- erative enterprises established by foreign investors and those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in accordance with Chinese laws and regula- tions, most of which are invested by enterprises in capitalist countries and regions. There is no doubt that the capital invested by foreign and overseas capitalists is capitalist in nature. However, the enterprises, operated under the management and regulation of the socialist countries, are closely linked with the socialist economy. They must abide by the laws of our country and accept the guidance, management and supervision of our government. Therefore, the foreign investment economy and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan investment economy in our country do not belong to general capi- talism, but “the capitalism that we can control, the scope of whose activities we can define.” What’s more, the joint-venture and cooperative enterprises, some of which are even controlled by the state and the collective, may also contain the elements of socialist public economy, so they obviously belong to public ownership.

Before the reform and opening up, under the guidance of the thought of -

“keeping large in size and collective in nature”, we always held a restrain and exclusive attitude toward the non-public economy. However, after t reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping, after summing up historical expe ence and analyzing the development stage of socialism in China scient! cally, made it clear that non-public economy should be developed under 1 conditions of guaranteeing the dominant position of public ownership that all kinds of ownership should be developed jointly. In practice, we restored and continuously developed non-public economy after a proc

of understanding it status and role. For example, the 12" CPC National Congress proposed that the individual economy was a necessary comple- ment to the public economy. The 13 CPC National Congress regarded the private economy, foreign investment economy and individual economy to- gether as a necessary and beneficial supplement to the public economy. _ The 14" CPC National Congress put forward the long-term development _ of various ownership systems and further emphasized that this was not an _ expedient measure, but a long-term policy. The 15 CPC National Con gress _ not only established a basic economic system that took the public owner- _ ship economy as primary with diverse other ownership forms developing _ in tandem but also made it clear that “non-public economy is an important part of China’s socialist market economy.” The changes in the Party’s un- derstanding of the status and role of the non-public economy reflect the continuous deepening of its understanding of China’s national conditions and the theory of ownership of Marxism, and show that, with an attitude of seeking truth from facts, it has scientifically summed up the practice since the reform and opening up.

In the primary stage of socialism, adhering to the principle of taking public economy as the primary and developing non-public economy, which is fundamentally determined by the low-level, multi-level and unbalanced development of productive forces in the initial stage, meets the demands of developing the socialist market economy and easing various contradictions in the modernization of our country. Firstly, the development of non-public economy plays an important role in building the microscopic subjects of the socialist market economy, since the precondition for the development of market economy is the diversification of the market subjects and the de- centralization of decision-making, while the single form of public economy is inconsistent with the development of a market economy, because non- public economy can compete with the public economy, which will promote the latter’s development. Secondly, the development of non-public econo- my, especially the introduction of foreign investment economy, can provide not only reference for exploring the realization form of public economy, but also space and opportunities for the development of various realization forms. Thirdly, as a developing country, China will face many difficulties and contradictions in its process of modernization, among which the short- age of funds and the employment pressure will be sticky problems. On the one hand, China needs a huge capital investment in its modernization, which cannot be provided solely by state’s financial capacity; on the other hand, a large number of private capital subjects afford the needed ideal high lue-adding investment; on the one hand, our country is the most populous untry in the world with a large unemployed population and the rapid owth of it; on the other hand, the arrangement and absorption capacity

209

f the government and the public economy is limited, with an enormous oecton ce)

employment pressure and the long-standing and prominent oe i ly of labor resources. Therefore, according to the r ae at Siecle non-public economy will be conducive to arousing aes the people, making full use of social funds, introducing for-

i i f funds for construction. In addition, it eign funds, and making up for lack of fun aera nate:

Reform and perfection of the distribution system of the primary stage of socialism

First, adhering to the distribution according to work as the primary, and a variety of distribution modes in tandem

In the primary stage of socialism, in terms of personal income distri- bution, we must adhere to distribution according to work as the primary, and a variety of distribution modes in tandem, which is determined by the nature of socialism and our national conditions of being at the initial stage. Marxists hold that the mode of production determines that of distribution, and the distribution of consumption data is the result of that of production conditions. In the primary stage of socialism, the implementation of the basic economic system that takes public ownership as primary with diverse other ownership forms developing in tandem determines that we must ad- here to distribution according to work as the primary, and a variety of distri- _ bution modes in tandem. In the socialist distribution system, we can neither negate the coexistence and development of multiple modes of distribution due to our emphasis on the dominant position of distribution according to work, nor can we topple the dominant position of distribution according to _ work due to the coexistence of a variety of distribution modes. 211

is also an effective way to increase employment t and ease employment pressure.

The 16 CPC National Congress once again lean oman a i the private and the indi : of non-public economy such as ies eae caeaeat parts of the socialist market EL ager pee “ i initiati rom all walks o i i sing the initiatives of people important role in fully arou pac edme Mere i i lopment of the productiv : life and speeding up the deve we must ewer encourage, support and ape se eae aie E i he 3 Plenary Session of the the non-public economy. T cheerae i ures to be taken to vigorously p Committee further proposed meas : ae i i lopment of the non-public economy: and actively guide the deve of Lap aaenennser ts i i d policies that restrict the develop and revise laws, regulations an cies tha ee i d eliminate institutional obstacles; CO non-public economy an | ! ae -public capital to be in over market access and allow non P hibited ic utiliti dustries and fields not pro eture, public utilities and other in r i 210 one and fe aulitiont: to make sure that non-public eres are “ ises in terms of investment and fina » taxa- treatment as other enterprises in sree i i de; to support the developm tion, land use and foreign trade; t henna: ium-si es and encourage qualitie small and medium-sized enterpris ne Da

i -public enterprises to operate a

to expand; to require non-pu ee ae ae i d protect the legitim g taxes according to regulations, an git ‘i nee of workers; to improve the service and supervision of non a ae rises. The report of the 17" CPC National Congress oe a | Seale promotion of fair access to the market, nanan : en - . iti ing institutional barriers to promote the nent conditions and breaking insti Meee indivi i dsmall and medium-size of individual and private economy and sm ee Besides, based on the modern property rights system, we sarees a mixed-ownership economy and further set a clear direction tor

ment of public economy.

In the socialist society, distributing personal income according to work, as a basic principle of Marxism, means that: all those who have the abil- ity to work should serve the society, receive the corresponding rewards _ according to their work, and get corresponding personal consumer goods

according to the amount and quality of the labor, with more pay for more _work and vice versa.

_ The principle of distributing individual consumer goods according to work is determined by the objective economic conditions. First of all, the blic ownership of means of production in socialism is a prerequisite for implementation of the distribution according to work, because it en- €s the equality of the laborers in terms of the means of production, which minates the possibility of possessing the labor results of others unpaid ough the possession of means of production, and provides the precondi- n for the principle of distribution according to work. Secondly, in the ialist society, the old mode of division of labor has not yet disappeared, there are major differences in the division of labor. As a means of mak- a living, labor, is the direct reason for the principle of distribution ac- hg to work, because besides recognizing the differences in labor, we d also distribute personal consumer goods according to work, so as ully arouse the enthusiasm of workers and promote the development of

_ depends on whether and to what extent the factors are recognized by the _ society. For the owners of the factors, the only way to guarantee the realiza- tion of their claim is to improve the quality of the factors and to adjust their supply according to the market needs. Therefore, the realization process _ of distribution according to thé factors of production can be streamlined is motivated by releasing the ownership benefits from these production fac- tors, by recognizing the contribution of the production factors, and by aim- ing the optimal allocation of—human and technology other—resources.

linking labor contributions with labor re- d. Finally, the development level of the socialist aaaaee ine i een | condition for the distribution according to work. As the de a shee ; 1 of productive forces is not high, social products are not ee Fa esas goods cannot fully meet people's various needs epumeent Chi it is impossible to implement distribution according .to eat h eae it is obvious that it is necessary for socialist societies ake Cceuton according to work, which is an objective economic:

law that is independent of people’s will.

Second, the distribution according to factors of production is one important distribution principle of the socialist market economy

socialist production by closely

However, recognizing the rationality of distribution according to the fac- tors of production does not mean that the factors—alone—are the sources of value. Actually, the creation of value and the distribution of value are two different issues, because the only source of value is the laborer’s work. It must be acknowledged that the economic basis for the distribution accord- ing to factors of production does not lie in its participation in the creation of value, but in the way value created by labor is distributed, otherwise, the Marxist theory of labor value and surplus value would be negated. In fact, capital, land and other factors of production do not create value, and distribution according to the factors of production is a matter of distribu- tion of the value created by labor, which fundamentally speaking, should meet the needs of production and development, and should be conducive to promoting the development of social productive forces. By recognizing the legitimacy of the distribution according to the factors of production, we can 213 improve the efficiency of using the factors, because only by acknowledging its legitimacy and allowing the owners of the factors to invest directly or indirectly and gain a certain amount of income from the value created by labor, can the production factors—human and technology other—be used effectively and rationally, which will alleviate the shortage of these produc- tion factors of production and improve its efficiency.

Second, the distrib cco. important distribution princip pean There is no fundamental incompatibility between cararieaet pe to work, the distribution principle of socialism, and ot im nodes i I stead, they can work together towards the objec aa - 1 ment of productive forces and realizing common prosperity. th, ee CEC iNtional Congress, explicitly pointed out to: adhere to ‘ seek of distribution according to work as the primary, and eae L istributi des in tandem, and combine the distribution a naar acebation according to factors of production...allow and en- Hee to Ae into consideration factors of eae ee ae i ‘ctribution.” It classified a variety OF (1 ze arene renee factors of production”, and put forward . ee nae of distribution according to work and the distribution accord- age of production”, which was a major development of the ye eae re that the 15° CPC National Congress papi : co cre Neioial Congress further emphasized: “the principle pare fe 16 ccording to the contribution of labor, capital, technology an on a ee d the perfection of the distribution system of distribution accordyas: omen TCT and a variety of distribution modes in tandem. fe) >

ion in i istribution The essence of considering factors of production in income d

ically, sine

is to realize the ownership of the factors of aucun oars of produce” ‘ ; i us fac ion process is the interaction of varlo oo ce ens use value creation are done on the premise ©

th value creation and er a ae and consumption of factors of production. al wal Sie factors of production, any input of the factors oe ee ee ay i fore, considering factors of produ : to claim the benefit. Therefore, , distribution follows the development law of market economy

ion i ket © Distribution according to factors of production in the aaa . which involves factor owners and can improve et a Sas ee istributi be realized through mar chat is a distribution mode that can ae ate realization of the claim for the benefit in regard to the production!

In the socialist market economy, combining distribution according to ork and distribution according to factors of production will be conducive io implementing the principle of the priority of efficiency with due consid- tation to fairness, and beneficial to encouraging a part of the people and a art of the regions to get rich first and eventually achieve common prosper- In the further development of the socialist market economy, with the ustment and perfection of the ownership structure and the development the mixed ownership economy and the factors market, distribution ac- ding to factors of production will become more and more important. refore, under the precondition that distribution according to work plays main role, it is necessary to combine distribution according to work and tribution according to factors of production in order to the develop the lalist market economy, which is a major breakthrough in the Marxist alist distribution theory.

cono

a certain period, we must recognize and allow differences in the level of wealth, which is determined by the economy. Firstly, it is the inevitable result of distribution according to work. Though distribution according to work does not involve any class difference, it recognizes differences in personal talent and work ability. Due to differences in physical strength, intelligence and diligence, workers receive different labor rewards. Even if they receive the same rewards, differences in the level of wealth will still occur due to different degrees of family burdens. Secondly, it is the inevitable result of the implementation of various forms of ownership and multiple modes of distribution, which will also result in greater differences in income among different members of the society. Thirdly, it is also the _ inevitable result of developing the socialist commodity economy, in which "the existence of the law of value and competition will inevitably lead to the survival of the fittest, which is independent of people’s will. Fourthly, it is in full compliance with the law of development. In the development _ process of all things, imbalance is always definite, while balance is relative. Therefore, on the path to realizing common prosperity, uneven develop- ment is inevitable, and it is impossible to realize the same level of prosper- _ ity simultaneously for all. Allowing some areas, some enterprises and indi- _ viduals to get rich first through legitimate business and honest work will set _ an example that will affect their neighbors, and people in other regions and _ other units will follow suit. In this way, the entire national economy will 215 _ continue to develop in a wavy manner and people of all nationalities in the ~~ _ country can get rich fast.

Third, allow a part of the people and a part of the regions get rich first and ultimately achieve common prosperity

In the past, the biggest problem of SS nee a eS Nes ae eae for those who do cutterent peat rack Ik 1978, Deng Xiaoping put forward the new policy of - amounts Oo : ecalitarianien ie. the practice of “eating from the same aia ‘ wing and encouraging some people and some areas 0 Bet big ae a h ik influence and promote the development of the entire rich first w a He emphasized: “In economic policy, I think we should national econo mon and enterprises and some workers and peasants to earn ue aie more benefits sooner than others, in accordance with their mo

ine se ay hard work and greater contributions to society. “J have consistently maintained that some

Later, he pointed out again: id be allowed to prosper before others, al-

cople and some regions shou lows ee with the goal of common prosperity.”"°

is the objective and the most important

© realize common prosperity eps task of Bea ees of the nature of socialism, because the ee on socialism is to develop social productive forces, anuuee ee

: .

i i d cultural life, and realize the commo eople’s growing material an life, " cae : i However, common prosperity 1s not equal to averag g = eae pee idance of egalitarianism, d synchronic affluence. In the past, under the gui anc a e sa rosperity was often understood as realizing an gies : ees me rate, and people preferred to be all poor rather than aitter f

i ther affluence. This kind of thinking of “not worry!e about yreeates a ne-sided focusing to the uneven distribution of income a . ee _ aay lead to the common backwardness and poverty and the

tion of the socialist system. | should not only make sure that enterprises that d those who work honestly get rich first.

i ‘< widened rationally, but also prevent disparity be Te ene and stick to the objective of sane - Allowing and encouraging some people and some sia ks : fi rst through honest labor and legal business, and asking those sie : sat should help others get rich is in line with the objective econo

tions in the primary stage of socialism. . alism, the policy of allowing @ part to get rich first and differences in the s implemented, becat

However, it must be noted that the difference in the level of wealth aused by allowing and encouraging a part of the people and a part of the egions to get rich first is fundamentally different from that between the ich and the poor caused by polarization and the brutal exploitation in the lass society. Firstly, polarization is the product of private ownership and he commodity economy based on private ownership. In the class society, some people get wealthy and become exploiters, while others lose their ans of production and have to be exploited, which will result in poverty d bankruptcy. While in the socialist society, encouraging some people d some areas to get rich first is a major policy aimed at eliminating egali- lanism on the premise of guaranteeing the primary role of public own- hip, and realizing common prosperity is a matter of time, unrelated to S differentiation. Secondly, the purpose of implementing this policy is achieve common prosperity. Getting rich through hard work and abid- _ by law is allowed and encouraged, while people who illegally infringe interests of others and make huge profits by illegal means will be pun- severely. Thirdly, the state will adopt effective measures to regulate sive personal income obtained through legitimate activities in order

Our distribution policy legitimately run their businesses an

In the primary stage of soci eople and a part of the regions first of 6 on the path to common prosperity 1

, Vol.2, p.152.

Oo iaoping, 2nd Edition 12 Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, 4n Vol.3, p.166.

13. Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist Edition,

After the founding of New China, our government attached great im- portance to the social security work and was devoted to the establishment and development of a social security system that included social relief, so- cial insurance, social welfare and social care. After more than 50 years of unremitting efforts, we have made tremendous achievements in the work, ncluding safeguarding people’s basic livelihood, stabilizing social order and.ensuring the smooth progress of economic construction.

to prevent great disparities in personal income. Fourthly, ees mn sures will be taken to carry out anti-poverty work, so that people who ae tricken areas to shake off poverty and

ich first can help the poverty-s Sauk to get rid of poverty as soon as possible, and embark on the path

of common prosperity. While encouraging some people and some regions to sta beak i should be paid attention to preventing polarization. ee : eo pointed out that socialism can prevent polarization. he sa i The oi of socialism is to make all our people prosperous, not to crea’ ad a - If our policies led to polarization, it would mean ee ues ee : new bourgeoisie emerged, it would mean that we hai st a s Be it path.”'* “So long as the public sector plays a predominan 5

economy, polarization can be avoided."

Fourth, the establishment of multi-level social security system

At present, we are confronted with five major challenges in the social ecurity work: firstly, the coverage of urban social security is still not wide enough, with a large number of workers from collective, private and for- eign investment enterprises, free-lancers, individual businesses and migrant workers uncovered; secondly, there are difficulties in raising social security funds; evasion and delay in the payment of premiums is rampant; the ad- justment of local fiscal expenditure structure is inadequate, with great de- pendence on the central government; and some channels for supplementing social security funds have not yet been opened up; thirdly, with the aging of population, requirements on pension and medical insurance become higher, but capital accumulation and safeguarding services are far from satisfac- ory; fourthly, with the acceleration of structural adjustment and the acces- ion to the WTO, some industries in our country are impacted, resulting in increasing unemployment, which exerts unprecedented pressure on unem- loyment insurance; fifthly, since we have just begun to explore the social 217 ecurity in rural areas and small towns, the development of the system in most of the areas is still in its infancy.

Fourth, the establis

i urity refers to the system of distributi nan Reine the state and society through legislation, wt tees the basic living rights of all members of society, aan ss noe have special difficulties in life. Aiming at aati ce is on of labor force, it is also the precondition of the — prog pee _ reproduction. Social security is a huge system, main eae 216 relief, social insurance, social welfare, social care an

of the development of the commodity economy at a cer- . lays a very important role in economic develop- ment and social progress. Firstly, it can maintain ia rosea! ian ievi from worries over their heattn, : of workers by relieving them cit a isabili loyment, and providing necessary ness, death, disability and unemp ing necessey ‘ons i ir chi °s education and vocational training, a tions for their and their children’s e me i i their labor skills and scientific tu they can continuously improve nee i he social and economic reiatio level. Secondly, it can regulate t Soman i i bers, and distributing them to ne funds from the society and its members, an 7 have difficulties in maintaining basic livelihood, which will narrow the &

‘ it

between the rich and the poor and regulate economic relations. Th

ic livelihood ©

ee ‘ ili uaranteeing the basic liveli c

it can maintain social stability Dy 8 lations, which will elim

i justi omic re members of society and adjusting econ: lations, w ee the possible destabilizing factors that may arise 1n this srt 5 it is necessary to reform and perfect the social security syste

i i chant to promote economic restructuring, transform the operating me oe state-owned enterprises and establish a socialist market econom

on and redistribution of

As the product

tain stage, social security p To build an overall well-to-do society and develop a socialist market

conomy, we should establish and perfect the social security system that s in with the level of economic development, which is also a fundamental lan for maintaining social stability and long-term peace and stability of the country. Based on the actual conditions in different places, we should ry to realize the “independence of enterprises and institutions, diversified \ding sources, standardization of the guarantee system and socialization management services”, by adhering to the principle of broad coverage, propriate standards, and the combination of basic insurance and supple-

ntary programs, so as to establish and perfect the social security system Chinese characteristics.

he 3" Plenary Session of the 16 CPC Central Committee put forward € specific measures to speed up the construction of a social security m that fits in with the level of economic development: to improve asic pension insurance system for enterprise employees through inte- fg social pooling and individual accounts, and gradually funding the vidual account; to include urban workers into the basic pension insur-

to establish and improve the provincial pension insurance funds; after

ae ees eee me “WU. 14. Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Ist edition, Vol.3, p.110-111 15 Ibid., p.149.

218

oe Spee radual implement provincial improving ie se ere amon re lement national coordination coordination, oe of the pension; to perfect the unemployment Insurance sites wees ie € the basic livelihood guarantee for laid-off workers ine ci pee nee with unemployment insurance, to continuously, Davai basic medical insurance system for urban workers, carry out improve the reform on health care and drug production and circula the jopedumeae the coverage of basic medical insurance, and improve ae Rai S gseane and multilevel medical security system; to One i cial ue 7 lement worker’s injury and maternity insurance; to actively ane v cnn of social security system of agate nae p lic institutions; to perfect the minimum living allowan y m a ‘dents and determine the standards and methods of the insur- for urban resi ariety of ways including the transfer of part of state-owned ance; to aa to law to enrich the social security fund; to strengthen the ae one ociel insurance funds, and expand the coverage of the collec- collection ) late the supervision of the funds in order to ensure the safety of yeas rage qualified enterprises to set up supplementary Inu them; to ee ies develop commercial pension and medical insurance; programs ae a rimary pension security in rural areas on family basis with to combine the oes and state relief; and to explore the establishment of ee eaeemuith living allowance in rural areas where conditions per- ee Paes 17 CPC National Congress further pointed out that it was Neces- a d the establishment of a social security system covering — co ty | residents, and to ensure people’s basic livelihood, base cla om naa Social assistance and social welfare, with a focus . on social ins ee medical care and minimum living allowance system, basic pension, ted by charity and commercial insurance, to accelerate the “a ee the eal security system, and to further fulfill the basic ate of establishing the social security system.

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