Qu Qingshan: Gain a Deeper Understanding of the Use of Chinese Modernization to Move toward the Mission and Task of Realizing the Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation

 The 20th Congress has clearly defined the mission and tasks of the CPC in the new journey in the new era. What are they? General Secretary Xi Jinping stated out in his report to the 20th Congress that, “From this day forward, the central task of the CPC will be to lead the Chinese people in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of completing a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization.”

Chinese modernization has created a new form of human civilization. Based on our decades of exploration and practice since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, especially since the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, as well as the new breakthroughs made in theory and practice since the 18th National Party Congress, we have succeeded in advancing and expanding Chinese modernization. Chinese modernization is socialist modernization pursued under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It contains elements that are common to the modernization processes of all countries, but it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context.

Chinese modernization has five Chinese characteristics: It is the modernization of a huge population, the modernization of common prosperity for all, the modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement, the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, and the modernization of peaceful development. China is working to achieve modernization for more than 1.4 billion people, a number larger than the combined population of all developed countries in the world today. This is a task of unparalleled difficulty and complexity; it inevitably means that our pathways of development and methods of advancement will be unique. Achieving common prosperity is a defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and involves a long historical process. Material abundance and cultural-ethical enrichment are fundamental goals of socialist modernization. Material want is not socialism, nor is cultural impoverishment. Humanity and nature make up a community of life. China is committed to sustainable development and to the principles of prioritizing resource conservation and environmental protection and letting nature restore itself. We will protect nature and the environment as we do our own lives. We will continue to pursue a model of sound development featuring improved production, higher living standards, and healthy ecosystems to ensure the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. China will not tread the old path of war, colonization, and plunder taken by some countries. That brutal and blood-stained path of enrichment at the expense of others caused great suffering for the people of developing countries. We will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. Dedicated to peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, we will strive to safeguard world peace and development as we pursue our own development, and we will make greater contributions to world peace and development through our own development.

Chinese modernization has its nine essential requirements: upholding CPC leadership and socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing high-quality development, developing whole-process people’s democracy, enriching the people’s cultural lives, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future, and creating a new form of human advancement. Upholding CPC leadership is the essential requirement for the leadership of Chinese modernization, which is the most fundamental and important requirement that manifests the leadership advantage and serves as political guarantee. Upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics is the essential requirement for the Chinese modernization social system, which manifests the advantages of the system and determines the direction. Pursuing high-quality development is the essential requirement for Chinese modern economic development. Developing whole-process people’s democracy is the essential requirement for Chinese modern political development. Enriching the people’s cultural lives is the essential requirement for Chinese modern cultural development. Achieving common prosperity for all is the essential requirement for Chinese modern social development. Promoting harmony between humanity and nature is the essential requirement for Chinese modern ecological conservation. Building a human community with a shared future is the essential requirement for the external communication of Chinese modernization. Creating a new form of human advancement is the essential requirement for the Chinese modern form of civilization. Chinese modernization is new, not old, in terms of connotation and it is explored and created by China itself based on its national conditions, not by imitating others or copying foreign countries, such as Western countries. In short, the essential requirements of Chinese modernization are about leadership + social system + the five-sphere integrated plan is to promote coordinated economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological advancement + external communication + civilization, which is an effective review of the long-term exploration and practice of China’s socialist modernization, a major innovation of the integration of the system of the Party’s modernization theories , and a major enrichment and development of the world modernization theory.

 The goal of Chinese modernization is to complete a great modern socialist country in all respects. We have adopted a two-step strategic plan: basically realize socialist modernization from 2020 through 2035 and build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful from 2035 through the middle of this century.

The next five years will be crucial for getting our efforts to build a modern socialist country in all respects off to a good start. The main objectives and tasks defined by the 20th Congress for this period are as follows:

§   Make breakthroughs in promoting high-quality economic development; achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology; make major progress in creating a new pattern of development and building a modernized economy

§   Make new strides in reform and opening up; make further progress in modernizing China’s system and capacity for governance; further improve the socialist market economy; put in place new systems for a higher-standard open economy

§   Further enhance the institutions, standards, and procedures of whole-process people’s democracy; improve the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics

§   Enrich the intellectual and cultural lives of our people; enhance the cohesion of the Chinese nation and the appeal of Chinese culture

§   Ensure personal income grows basically in step with economic growth and pay rises in tandem with increases in productivity; ensure much more equitable access to basic public services; develop a better multi-tiered social security system

§   Substantially improve urban and rural living environments; make notable progress in building a Beautiful China

§   Further consolidate national security; fulfill the goals for the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army in 2027; make solid progress in building a Peaceful China

§   Further increase China’s international standing and influence; enable China to play a greater role in global governance

Building a modern socialist country in all respects is a great and arduous endeavor. On the journey ahead, we must firmly adhere to the following five major principles:

1. Upholding and strengthening overall Party leadership. We must resolutely uphold the Party Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership and see that Party leadership is exercised in all aspects and every stage of the endeavors of the Party and the country. This will ensure that our Party always remains the pillar that the Chinese people can lean on in times of difficulty, that our socialist modernization advances along the right path, and that we have the political cohesion and confidence in our development to inspire the people to strive in unity. It will see us forming a mighty force to overcome all difficulties with one heart and one mind.

2. Following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We must continue to pursue economic development as our central task, uphold the Four Cardinal Principles,[1] remain committed to reform and opening up, and stay independent and self-reliant. We must keep to our path and not sway in our commitment. We must not return to the isolation and rigidity of the past, or veer off course by changing our nature or abandoning our system. We must develop our country and our nation with our own strength, and we must maintain a firm grasp on the future of China’s development and progress.

3. Applying a people-centered development philosophy. We must protect the people’s fundamental interests, improve their wellbeing, and work tirelessly to ensure that development is for the people and by the people and that its fruits are shared by the people. We must do a better job of seeing that the gains of modernization benefit all our people fairly.

4. Remaining committed to deepening reform and opening up. We must intensify efforts to advance reform and explore new ground, and we must remain steadfast in expanding opening up. We must work hard to remove deep-seated institutional barriers so as to fully tap into the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics and continuously imbue our socialist modernization endeavors with fresh dynamism and vitality. We must do better in translating our country’s institutional strengths into effective governance.

5. Carrying forward our fighting spirit. We must foster a firmer sense of purpose, fortitude, and self-belief in the whole Party and the Chinese people so that we cannot be swayed by fallacies, deterred by intimidation, or cowed by pressure. We must meet obstacles and difficulties head on, ensure both development and security, and dig deep to surmount the difficulties and challenges on the road ahead. Let us harness our indomitable fighting spirit to open up new horizons for our cause.

[1] The Four Cardinal Principles are keeping to the path of socialism, upholding the people’s democratic dictatorship, upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and upholding Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.

Source from Qu Qingshan, "Gain a Deeper Understanding of the Guiding Principles from the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China", China Discipline Inspection and Supervision Daily, November 3, 2022, p. 5.

Translated by theorychina.com.cn