The Four Modernizations (simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; pinyin: Sì gè xiàndàihuà) are industrial modernization, agricultural modernization , national defense modernization , and scientific and technological modernization.[1]
The first National People's Congress held in 1954 clearly stated for the first time the task of realizing the four modernizations of industry, agriculture, transportation and national defense . The first meeting of the People's Congress put forward the grand goal of "four modernizations" and announced that the task of adjusting the national economy has basically been completed. The main task of developing the national economy in the future is to build our country into a powerful socialist country with modern agriculture , modern industry , modern national defense and modern science and technology within a not too long historical period.[2]
Basic information
The four modernizations are the national strategic goals proposed by the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China from the 1950s to the 1960s. At the first meeting of the Third National People's Congress in December 1964 , Zhou Enlai proposed for the first time in the government work report based on Mao Zedong's suggestion that within the 20th century, China should be built into a country with modern agriculture, modern industry, and modern national defense. A socialist powerhouse with modern science and technology, and the "two-step" vision of realizing the four modernization goals.
The first step is to use 15 years to establish an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system, so that China's industry can generally approach the world's advanced level;
The second step is to strive to make China's industry take the lead in the world by the end of the 20th century, and fully realize the modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense and science and technology.
On December 6, 1979, during talks with Japanese Prime Minister Masahiro Ohira , Deng Xiaoping quantified the four modernizations as, by the end of the twentieth century, striving for a per capita GDP of US$1,000 and achieving a moderately prosperous level. Deng Xiaoping called this goal "the four modernizations of Chinese style", that is, "a moderately prosperous family".
The four modernizations are based on the understanding of the word " modernization ", and modernization mainly refers to a phenomenon of social and cultural changes since modern times, and its meaning is relatively broad. In the economic sense, it is basically equivalent to industrialization and capitalization , emphasizing the separation of time and space, the formation of currency and the establishment of expert systems , as well as the establishment of trust mechanisms behind these mechanisms. And as people reflect on the disadvantages of modernization, the view that equates modernization with development and progress is problematic. There are inherent disadvantages in modernization, such as over-exploitation of environmental resources, excessive dominance of capital over labor, and so on. Based on this, the emergence of post-modern theory, and the scientific development concept that emphasizes sustainable development were put forward.
Historical Development
From the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to 1954, Mao Zedong and other leaders of the Communist Party of China gradually put forward the idea of realizing "modernized industry, modernized agriculture, modernized transportation and modernized national defense". Later, the strategic goal of "modernization" was gradually established. On February 27, 1957, Mao Zedong said in his speech "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People" and "Build China into a socialist country with modern industry, modern agriculture, and modern science and culture."
March 1957: On the 12th, Mao Zedong said in his speech at the National Propaganda Work Conference of the Communist Party of China: "We will definitely build a socialist country with modern industry, modern agriculture and modern scientific culture."
From December 1959 to February 1960, Mao Zedong When reading the "Textbook of Political Economy" of the Soviet Union, it said: "Building socialism originally required industrial modernization, agricultural modernization, and scientific and cultural modernization, and now it must also include national defense modernization." From this, Mao Zedong put forward the "four modernizations" for the first time.
In mid-February 1960, when Zhou Enlai was reading the Soviet Union's "Textbook of Political Economy", he changed the name of "science and culture modernization" to "science and technology modernization".
On January 29, 1963, Zhou Enlai said at the Shanghai Science and Technology Work Conference,
"Our country's scientific foundation in the past was very poor. We want to realize agricultural modernization, industrial modernization, national defense modernization, and science and technology modernization, and build our motherland into a society. The key to building a strong country with socialism lies in realizing the modernization of science and technology.”
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Work Conference held from September 6 to September 27 of the same year proposed a two-step process:
“The first step is to establish an independent and relatively complete industrial system. and the national economic system, so that China's industry is generally close to the world's advanced level; the second step is to make China's industry take the lead in the world and fully realize the modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense and science and technology."
Held from November 17th to December 3rd of the same year The Fourth Session of the Second National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China called on the people of the whole country to "strive hard, rely on self-reliance, and strive to build our country into a powerful socialist country with modern agriculture, modern industry, modern national defense and modern science and technology." On August 6, 1963, Bo Yibo talked at the meeting of heads of various ministries and commissions. The main content was,
"It was originally planned to start the third five-year plan in 1963, but now it will not be carried out. It will start in 1966. The three-year plan will start in 1966. Adjustment, focusing on enriching, consolidating, improving, filling and supplementing, and becoming a dragon."
Since the third five-year plan could not be introduced in 1963, the goals of the third five-year plan were "four Modernization" was announced. In December 1964, Mao Zedong , Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, stated when revising the "Report on the Work of the Government" made by Premier Zhou Enlai of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on behalf of the State Council at the first meeting of the Third National People's Congress :
"We must break the rules, Adopt advanced technology as far as possible, and build our country into a socialist modernized power within a not too long historical period."
From December 20, 1964 to January 4, 1965, the third session of the National People's Congress A meeting was held at which Zhou Enlai announced to the people of the whole country the task of realizing the "four modernizations":
The main task of developing the national economy in the future is, generally speaking, to build our country into a powerful socialist country with modern agriculture, modern industry, modern national defense and modern science and technology in a not too long historical period, catching up with and surpass the world advanced level. In order to realize this great historical task, starting from the third five-year plan, my country's national economic development can be considered in two steps: the first step is to establish an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system; the second step , realize the modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense and science and technology in an all-round way, so that our country's economy will be at the forefront of the world.
In January 1975, at the first session of the Fourth National People's Congress , Zhou Enlai followed Mao Zedong 's instructions and reiterated in the "Government Work Report" the first session of the Third National People's Congress " Government Work Report". "The two-step strategy to realize the four modernizations in an all-round way."
Zhou Enlai announced in the "Government Work Report":
"Starting from the third five-year plan, the development of my country's national economy can be envisioned in two steps: the first step is to take fifteen years, that is, in 1980 In the past, an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system should be established; the second step is to fully realize the modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology within this century, so that our national economy can be at the forefront of the world."
On May 31, 1989, when Deng Xiaoping wanted to change the leadership and form a promising leadership group to carry out reforms, he mentioned:
"Our comrades in the Politburo, the Standing Committee of the Politburo, and the Secretariat are all in charge of major affairs. When considering any issue, we must focus on the long-term and the overall situation. ... The people are basically satisfied with our collective. It is because we carried out reform and opening up, put forward the four modernization routes, and have really achieved real results....It is impossible to close the door. It is impossible for China to return to the closed era of the past. That closed method also caused Disasters, such as the "Cultural Revolution".
In that state, it is impossible for the economy to develop, people's lives to improve, and national power to increase. The world is developing rapidly and changing every day, especially science and technology. Difficult to catch up.