It is a great theoretical innovation of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and a great achievement of scientific socialism to put forward and elaborate the Chinese modernization theory in general. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader emphasized that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has continued to advance on the existing basis, constantly achieved innovative breakthroughs in theory and practice, and successfully promoted and expanded Chinese modernization. We further deepen our understanding of the connotation and essence of Chinese-style modernization, generalize the China characteristics, essential requirements and major principles of Chinese-style modernization, and initially construct the theoretical system of Chinese-style modernization. In the new era and new journey, with the deepening of modernization practice, Chinese modernization theory will inevitably be enriched and developed.
Chinese modernization theory is based on the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s long-term practice.
As the core feature of modern civilization, modernization is a comprehensive development process including economy, politics, culture, society and science and technology. In the literature of western scholars, it is called "Westernization" or "Europeanization" at first, emphasizing its geographical and cultural characteristics, and later called "modernization". Some scholars believe that this change is only a rhetorical change on the surface, but in essence it is a re-understanding of the trend of world modernization. The concept of "modernization" was called "westernization" when it first appeared in China, but it was summarized as "westernization" in practice. This feature of understanding and practice has a profound historical background, which is the embodiment of China’s faithlessness to its own civilization and blind obedience to western civilization under the condition that it became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society after modern times. Some scholars have suggested that the Chinese people can put forward the category of "modernization" later to replace the previous "westernization" and "westernization", which is an improvement of national consciousness in the understanding and pursuit of modernization and an ideological "consciousness".
It is the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s hard exploration that really promotes the scientific understanding of Chinese modernization in historical practice. At the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1945, Comrade Mao Zedong clearly pointed out: "The task of the working class in China is not only to fight for the establishment of a new-democratic country, but also to fight for the industrialization and agricultural modernization of China." After the founding of New China, our Party has repeatedly stressed the need to realize the "four modernizations". Comrade Zhou Enlai put forward in his government work report at the first National People’s Congress held in 1954: "If we don’t build a strong modern industry, modern agriculture, modern transportation and modern national defense, we can’t get rid of backwardness and poverty, and our revolution can’t achieve its goal." At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping made strategic arrangements for China’s modernization and put forward the strategic concept of "three steps", that is, to solve the problem of people’s food and clothing by the end of the 1980s, to make people’s lives well-off by the end of the 20th century, and to basically realize modernization by the middle of the 21st century. The 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has formulated a new "three-step" strategy when the first goal of the "three-step" strategy has been solved and the second goal is about to be realized, and it is proposed to basically realize modernization by the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in the middle of the 21st century. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed "The goal of "two hundred years" is to build a well-off society in an all-round way when the Communist Party of China (CPC) is 100 years old and to build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious socialist modern country when New China is 100 years old. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made a new top-level design for promoting China’s socialist modernization in the new era, and put forward a strategic arrangement of building a socialist modernization power in the middle of this century in two steps. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly outlined the overall goal of China’s development by 2035, and described the grand blueprint for building a socialist modernization power in an all-round way and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have continuously promoted the theoretical and practical exploration of Chinese-style modernization, initially established a theoretical system of Chinese-style modernization, and made Chinese-style modernization clearer, more scientific and more feasible.
Promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way with Chinese modernization stems from the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s initial mission and is one of the central tasks of the Party in the new era. For more than a hundred years, all the struggles, sacrifices and creations that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the people of China in unity can be summed up in one theme: realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Looking back at history, the main tasks of the party during the new-democratic revolution period are to oppose imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, strive for national independence and people’s liberation, and create fundamental social conditions for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; During the period of socialist revolution and construction, the party’s main tasks are to realize the transformation from new democracy to socialism, carry out socialist revolution, promote socialist construction, and lay a fundamental political premise and institutional foundation for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; In the new era of reform, opening-up and socialist modernization, the main tasks of the Party are to continue to explore the correct road of building socialism in China, liberate and develop social productive forces, make the people get rid of poverty and get rich as soon as possible, and provide new and energetic institutional guarantee and material conditions for rapid development for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. The main task of the Party is to realize the first century-long struggle goal, start a new journey to realize the second century-long struggle goal, and continue to advance towards the grand goal of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Report to the 20th CPC National Congress of the Party put forward that "China’s development has a more solid material foundation, a more perfect system guarantee,Realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process. ""From now on, the central task of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is to unite and lead the people of all ethnic groups in the country to build a socialist modernization power in an all-round way, realize the goal of the second century, and comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese modernization. "
Chinese-style modernization theory is a major theoretical innovation based on China’s national conditions and China’s reality. It is a pioneering theory based on a profound summary of our party’s long-term historical exploration of modernization and the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete reality and Chinese excellent traditional culture, which is of great significance for guiding China’s modernization practice.
China Characteristics, Essential Requirements and Major Principles of Chinese Modernization
Chinese-style modernization, deeply rooted in Chinese excellent traditional culture, embodies the advanced essence of scientific socialism, draws on and absorbs all outstanding achievements of human civilization, represents the development direction of human civilization progress, and shows a new picture different from the western modernization model, which is a brand-new form of human civilization. Chinese-style modernization is of great innovation and profound significance for the development of world modernization theory and practice.
General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "A country’s modernization should not only follow the general law of modernization, but also conform to its own reality and have its own characteristics. Chinese-style modernization not only has the common characteristics of modernization in all countries, but also has distinctive characteristics based on its own national conditions. " As far as the methodology of promoting Chinese modernization is concerned, we should persist in understanding and grasping the essence and characteristics of Chinese modernization from the unification of the universal law of human modernization process and the characteristics of China stipulated by China’s national conditions.
There are some common characteristics in the process of human modernization. For example, scientific and technological innovation drives the industrial revolution to support economic and social development, and forms a great liberation and historic promotion to social productive forces; Institutional innovation drives social change; The internationalization of the division of labor and the globalization of the market promote the process of civilization and form the mutual linkage and interaction between modernization and globalization; Wait a minute. The process of human modernization is always reflected in the historical practice of different countries and nationalities, and modernization is the unity of universality and particularity.
In the unification of universality and particularity, Chinese modernization has distinct China characteristics. The first is the modernization with a huge population. China’s population of more than 1.4 billion has stepped into modernization as a whole, exceeding the total population of developed countries, which will greatly change the world map of modernization. This is the largest modernization in human history, and it is also the most difficult modernization. The second is the modernization of common prosperity for all people. Chinese-style modernization insists on development for the people, development depends on the people, and the fruits of development are shared by the people. It insists on realizing the people’s longing for a better life as the starting point and the end result of modernization, and strives to safeguard and promote social fairness and justice, promote the common prosperity of all people, and resolutely prevent polarization, breaking the myth that "modernization equals westernization". Third, the modernization of material civilization and spiritual civilization. Chinese-style modernization should be rich in material wealth, spiritual wealth, self-confidence and self-improvement in ideology and culture, which requires cultivating and promoting socialist core values, developing advanced socialist culture and being more progressive and advanced in history. Fourth, the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Chinese modernization not only emphasizes the harmonious coexistence between man and nature, but also emphasizes the implementation of the new development concept, respect for nature, adaptation to nature and protection of nature, and adheres to the policy of giving priority to conservation, protection and natural restoration, which is more active. Fifth, take the road of peaceful development for modernization. Chinese modernization not only adheres to the openness of civilization process, but also adheres to the concept of building a community of human destiny.It is emphasized that we should always hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win, seek our own development while firmly safeguarding world peace and development, and better safeguard world peace and development through our own development, instead of taking the old road of some countries realizing modernization through war, colonization and plunder, which is more peaceful in development.
As far as the essential requirements of Chinese modernization are concerned, the Party’s Report to the 20th CPC National Congress can be summarized as: adhering to the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s leadership, adhering to Socialism with Chinese characteristics, achieving high-quality development, developing people’s democracy in the whole process, enriching people’s spiritual world, achieving common prosperity for all people, promoting harmonious coexistence between man and nature, promoting the construction of a community of human destiny and creating a new form of human civilization. This profoundly reflects that Chinese-style modernization is a brand-new form of human civilization, which contains unique world outlook, values, historical outlook, civilization outlook, democratic outlook, ecological outlook, etc., which expands the path choice of developing countries towards modernization and is a major innovation in the theory and practice of world modernization.
As far as the major principles that must be firmly grasped in building a socialist modern country in an all-round way are concerned, Report to the 20th CPC National Congress of the Party put forward five major principles, which defined the leadership core, line system, fundamental purpose, development motive force and mental state of building a socialist modern country. We must uphold and strengthen the Party’s overall leadership, ensure the correct direction of China’s socialist modernization, adhere to the Socialism with Chinese characteristics Road, always put the development of the country and the nation on the basis of our own strength, adhere to the people-centered development ideology, make the achievements of modernization more fair to all people, persist in deepening reform and opening up, constantly enhance the motivation and vitality of socialist modernization, persist in carrying forward the spirit of struggle, and open up a new world for career development by relying on tenacious struggle.
Deeply analyze the challenges faced by promoting Chinese modernization
General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out that "promoting Chinese modernization is an unprecedented pioneering undertaking, and it is bound to encounter all kinds of predictable and unpredictable risk challenges, difficulties and even stormy waves". As far as the challenges faced by economic and social development in the new development stage are concerned, they are highlighted in the following aspects.
First, the phased objectives, requirements and constraints of economic and social development have undergone profound changes, and it is urgent to change the mode of economic development. The new development stage is the stage of building a socialist modern country in an all-round way and marching towards the goal of the second century. Entering a new stage of development, China has built a well-off society in an all-round way, and its economic and social development has reached a new level, and it is also facing new development goals. At the same time as the historical changes in the target requirements, the constraint function has also undergone systematic changes, including changes in the domestic and international economic situation, changes in the characteristics of demand and supply, and so on, which have put forward urgent requirements for transforming the mode of economic development. Taking the goal of "double carbon" as an example, China has made a solemn commitment to the world, striving to achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Realizing carbon neutrality in peak carbon dioxide emissions is an inevitable choice to solve the outstanding problems of resource and environment constraints, and the task is very arduous, which can never be easily achieved. Emission reduction is highly related to GDP growth, industrialization progress, urbanization, energy structure and macroeconomic cost. If we do not change the mode of economic development, it will be difficult to alleviate the contradictions. We must unswervingly follow the development path of ecological priority, green and low carbon, promote quality change, efficiency change and power change, and realize green and low carbon transformation and development as soon as possible.
Second, from the experience and lessons of international economic development, we must accelerate the high-quality economic development. International experience shows that the key for a country to enter the high-income stage from the middle-income stage lies in the fundamental transformation of economic development from quantitative expansion to qualitative improvement. According to the World Bank study, of the 101 middle-income economies in the world in 1960, only 13 had entered the ranks of high-income countries by 2008, and the rest had been hovering in the middle-income stage for a long time. The basic reason is that the above fundamental changes have not been realized. Report to the 20th CPC National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the overall goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035, including the per capita GDP reaching a new level and reaching the level of moderately developed countries. At present, the position of China’s industry in the global industrial chain and value chain is generally at the low end, and the contribution rate of science and technology to economic growth is not high. At the same time, there is still a big gap between China’s total factor productivity and developed countries. To gradually catch up with the level of developed countries, the total factor productivity will be improved at a faster speed. From the reality at this stage, it is difficult to achieve this goal if we follow the traditional mode of production and do not accelerate the development of high quality.
Thirdly, the international economic structure and the process of economic globalization are complicated and changeable, which brings a series of challenges to China’s economic development. In recent years, economic globalization has met with counter-current, unilateralism and protectionism have obviously increased, the recovery of the world economy is weak, local conflicts and turmoil are frequent, the century epidemic has a far-reaching impact, global problems have intensified, and the world has entered a new period of turbulent change. Since China’s reform and opening up, the kinetic energy of the circular model of "two ends are outside, big in and big out" has obviously weakened. At the same time, the position of China’s economy in the world economy has changed significantly, and the proportion of GDP in the world GDP has increased from about 1.8% at the beginning of reform and opening up to about 18% in 2022. On the one hand, China’s economy is more competitive, but on the other hand, the complementarity between China and the developed economies such as the United States, the European Union and Japan is weakened and the competition is intensified; On the one hand, China’s influence on the world economy is expanding, but on the other hand, it is affected by the instability of the world economy, especially the impact of systemic risks in developed economies such as the United States.
On the whole, we must scientifically analyze the opportunities and challenges facing the new development stage. First of all, the connotations of opportunities and challenges have changed. Opportunities are more strategic and plastic, while challenges are more complex and overall. Secondly, the relationship between opportunities and challenges has changed. Our judgment is that crises and opportunities coexist, crises are organic, and crises can turn around. Challenges are unprecedented, and opportunities are unprecedented if we deal with them well. Thirdly, China’s development has entered a period in which strategic opportunities and risk challenges coexist and uncertain and unpredictable factors increase, and various "black swan" and "grey rhinoceros" incidents may occur at any time. We must enhance our sense of hardship, adhere to the bottom line thinking, be prepared for danger in times of peace and prepare for a rainy day, and prepare for a major test of high winds, high waves and even stormy waves. This is a problem that we must attach great importance to in promoting and expanding Chinese modernization.
Promoting Chinese modernization with high-quality development
Promoting Chinese modernization is a systematic project, which requires overall consideration, systematic planning and overall promotion, and correctly handles a series of major relationships such as top-level design and practical exploration, strategy and tactics, integrity and innovation, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, self-reliance and self-improvement and opening up. It should be noted that development is the top priority of the party in governing and rejuvenating the country, and high-quality development is the top priority of building a socialist modern country in an all-round way. Only by adhering to the theme of promoting high-quality development, insisting on quality first and efficiency first, and promoting quality change, efficiency change and power change of economic development, can China’s economic strength, scientific and technological strength and comprehensive national strength continue to grow and build a socialist modernization power in an all-round way.
What is high-quality development? High-quality development is a development that can well meet the people’s growing needs for a better life. Macroscopically, high-quality development is to promote the development of benign interaction between supply and demand and tend to be balanced; On the micro level, high-quality development is the development supported by new kinetic energy with the continuous improvement of total factor productivity; Structurally, high-quality development is the coordinated development between urban and rural areas, regions and industries; In terms of risk prevention, high-quality development is a steady, safe and resilient development; In terms of opening to the outside world, high-quality development is the internal and external linkage development that leads high-level opening to the outside world with institutional opening. High-quality development is not only the essential requirement of Chinese modernization, but also the path choice to promote Chinese modernization.
To promote Chinese modernization with high-quality development, we must adhere to the new development concept. The new development concept clarifies the guiding principles of China’s modernization. The new development concept has answered the important theoretical and practical questions of "what kind of development and how to achieve it" in China in a new historical position, and provided scientific guidance for promoting Chinese modernization with high-quality development. Among them, innovative development focuses on solving the problem of development motivation, coordinated development focuses on solving the problem of unbalanced development, green development focuses on solving the problem of harmony between man and nature, open development focuses on solving the problem of internal and external linkage of development, and shared development focuses on solving social fairness and justice. The development concept is strategic, programmatic and leading, and it is the forerunner of development practice. Without changing the concept, the development mode cannot be changed. But the idea can’t stay in the idea, but must be implemented in practice. We should implement the new development concept completely, accurately and comprehensively, pay attention to grasping the new development concept from the fundamental purpose, problem orientation and sense of urgency, speed up the construction of a modern economic system, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, comprehensively deepen reform, plant new advantages in development, run the new development concept through the whole development process and all fields, and constantly promote the development of Chinese modernization.
To promote Chinese modernization with high-quality development, we must build a modern economic system. A strong country must have a strong economic system. The modern economic system is an organic whole composed of the interrelations and internal relations of all links, levels and fields of social and economic activities. Building a modern economic system is an inevitable requirement to promote high-quality development and comprehensively improve the overall competitiveness of the economy. Only by forming a modern economic system can we better conform to the trend of modernization and win the initiative of international competition, and also provide strong support for modernization in other fields. We should handle the relationship between reality and reality in industrial development, the balance between urban and rural development and regional development, the relationship between all-round opening-up and independent development, adhere to integrated construction and promotion, build an industrial system led by innovation and coordinated development, build a unified, open, competitive and orderly market system, build an income distribution system that reflects efficiency and promotes fairness, and build an urban and rural regional development system that demonstrates advantages and coordination. We will build a resource-saving and environment-friendly green development system, build a multi-balanced, safe and efficient all-round opening system, build an economic system that gives full play to the role of the market and better plays the role of the government, and achieve an effective market mechanism, dynamic micro-subjects, and moderate macro-control.
To promote Chinese modernization with high-quality development, we must speed up the construction of a new development pattern. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader stressed: "To promote Chinese modernization, we must adhere to independence, self-reliance, the development of the country and the nation on the basis of our own strength, and firmly hold the destiny of China’s development and progress in our own hands. It is necessary to speed up the construction of a new development pattern, realize internal recycling, and rely on China’s ultra-large-scale market advantage to attract global resource elements and enhance the linkage effect of two resources in the domestic and international markets. " To build a new development pattern, we should take expanding domestic demand as the strategic basis, deepening supply-side structural reform as the strategic main line, innovation-driven as the strategic support, high-level opening as the strategic premise, and striving for progress while maintaining stability as the strategic policy to better promote modernization. Specifically, first, it is necessary to better coordinate the expansion of domestic demand and deepen the structural reform of the supply side, and enhance the motivation and reliability of the domestic macro-cycle. The key to building a new development pattern is to realize the unimpeded economic cycle. Implementing the strategy of expanding domestic demand and deepening the supply-side structural reform are intrinsically consistent, both of which are aimed at unblocking the domestic cycle and achieving higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable and safer development. It is necessary to accurately grasp the effective combination point, cultivate a complete domestic demand system, lead and create new demand with innovation-driven and high-quality supply, thus forming a higher level of dynamic balance between supply and demand and forming a virtuous circle of the national economy. Second, it is necessary to speed up the pace of self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology and solve the "bottleneck" of foreign countries.problem We should adhere to the integration of educational development, scientific and technological innovation and personnel training to form a virtuous circle; Adhere to the integrated design of original innovation, integrated innovation and open innovation to achieve effective integration; Adhere to the integrated deployment of innovation chain, industrial chain and talent chain to promote deep integration. The third is to speed up the construction of a modern industrial system and consolidate the industrial foundation of the new development pattern. It is necessary to conform to the development law and historical trend of global industrial system and industrial chain supply chain, focus on the real economy, grasp the evolution law of industrial structure, solidly promote new industrialization, accelerate the construction of manufacturing power, quality power, network power, digital China, etc., coordinate and promote the process of informationization, networking and intelligence, and build a modern industrial system that is self-controllable, safe, reliable and competitive. Fourth, it is necessary to comprehensively promote the coordinated development of urban and rural areas and regions, improve the coverage of the domestic grand cycle, and smooth the urban and rural economic cycle. Only by realizing the coordinated development of urban and rural areas and regions can the space of domestic large-scale circulation be broader and the color be more adequate. It is necessary to coordinate and promote rural revitalization and new urbanization, promote the deep integration of regional coordinated development strategy, regional major strategy and main functional area strategy, form a unified national market, and smooth the domestic cycle. The fifth is to further deepen reform and opening up and enhance the motivation and vitality of the great cycle at home and abroad. It is necessary to deepen the reform of factor marketization, build a high-standard market system, and create a market-oriented, rule-of-law and international first-class business environment; Improve the modern fiscal and taxation financial system, improve the modern budget system, optimize the tax structure, and improve the fiscal transfer payment system.Improve the ability of macroeconomic governance; Promote high-level opening to the outside world, raise the standard of international trade and investment rules, steadily expand institutional opening of rules, regulations, management and standards, and enhance the right to speak in the international cycle.
In a word, Chinese-style modernization is the broad road to building a strong country and national rejuvenation. Chinese modernization has promoted the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and entered an irreversible historical process. Today, the world has undergone a great change in the past century, and the evolution is accelerating. China’s development is facing new strategic opportunities, strategic tasks, strategic stages, strategic requirements and strategic environment. The risks and challenges to be dealt with, and the contradictions and problems to be solved are more complicated than before. In the new era and new journey, we should strengthen Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s road self-confidence, theoretical self-confidence, institutional self-confidence and cultural self-confidence, adhere to high-quality development, take a good road of Chinese modernization, comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese modernization, constantly create new development miracles, and make new and greater contributions to our own development and the benefit of the world.
(Author Liu Wei is the former president of China Renmin University Source: Economic Daily)