[Editor’s Note] In October this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a report at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, detailing how he will lead the CCP to realize its vision of governing the country, indicating that the central task of the CCP in the future is to “unite and lead the The Chinese people will comprehensively build a modern and powerful socialist country, achieve the second centenary goal, and comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization.”
It may not be easy to understand the 20th National Congress report, which is more than 30,000 words in length, but it is the most direct document for understanding the strategic intentions and governance planning of the Chinese Communist Party in the coming period.
Why does the CCP, which takes Marxism as its theoretical banner, actively promote the Sinicization of the ideological field?
What is the long-term firm confidence shown by the CCP, and what is the difference between the "Chinese-style modernization" officially explained in the report and Western modernization?
How does the CCP understand Xi Jinping's "great changes unseen in a century", and what changes will China, which is at the center of the changes, bring to the world structure?
This series of articles revolves around these questions.
(Series Ten of Ten)
Together with my colleagues, I published an article titled "Leading China——Ten Challenges Xi Jinping Must Face" during the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the end of 2012, giving imagination and expectations for the "new era" opened by Xi Jinping.
Rereading this article after the 20th Congress, I can't help but sigh that the development of history never disappoints.
Looking back at "Ten Challenges" ten years later
The "Ten Challenges" hopes that the CCP will become a "ruling party with a revolutionary spirit" and "build a political structure that provides power constraints for China, and actively accept supervision and constraints from inside and outside the system."
It pointed out that "official corruption is the most serious problem in Chinese politics at present... Anti-corruption is the main contradiction of this era", "Reconstructing a fair distribution of wealth is the key to the CCP's ability to continue as a true socialist party and maintain a The primary prerequisite for the party to be in power", "It is the responsibility and obligation of the CCP as the sole ruling party to let the people share the fruits of economic development and continuously improve the people's material life", "In deepening the transformation of the economic structure, we must establish the dominant position of people" , "It is necessary to establish a new set of international outlook, (its) core is "development"", "reconstruct the international order based on Western values and power structures".
These expectations are consistent with Xi Jinping’s subsequent comprehensive anti-corruption campaign, emphasis on strict party governance, common prosperity, strengthening the people-centered development idea, restricting the disorderly expansion of capital, promoting the rule of law according to the constitution, the construction of the “Belt and Road” and the destiny of mankind. The community believes that the CCP is both a Marxist ruling party and a Marxist revolutionary party, and it puts forward the requirement of "self-revolution" for party building, and clearly promotes the construction of a fair and reasonable international order in international affairs.
"Ten Challenges" believes that Xi Jinping's "first challenge is how to develop the socialist values of the Communist Party of China". ", put "Chinese" in the main position, and proposed "Chinese-style modernization" at the 20th National Congress, all of which gave us positive responses.
The conclusion of the article is: "Xi Jinping will serve as a symbol of the soul of this everlasting great nation. In the last mile of this rise, with a thunderous momentum, he will inherit the past and usher in the future, overcome all difficulties, and achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." China's achievements today It shows that the hope of ten years ago is gradually being realized.
My colleague published another article in 2014: "Xi Jinping is Waking Up China", evaluating the changes that have occurred in his tenure for more than a year.
The article reads: "Anti-corruption is only a superficial manifestation of the new Central Committee led by Xi Jinping that can most directly reflect the political achievements. Behind it, a huge wheel loaded with a grand blueprint is rolling forward. This is called... The grand blueprint for the second reform cannot be fully reflected by the word "reform", and the scope and depth it contains even exceed the original imagination of the outside world. Xi not only wants to completely break the existing mode of officialdom operation formed during the period of great economic development, but also establish A set of officials and a brand-new officialdom model in line with modernized national governance capabilities; what should be noticed is that Xi Jinping is quietly leading a revolution to reform the theoretical and legal basis of the CCP’s governance, including Marx (Krex) Lenin (Ning) The old communist idea of communism.” The article concluded: Xi Jinping “is shouldering the historical mission of fully awakening the lion (of China). He will usher in a new era of his own.”
The social system cannot be "dehumanized"
Ten years may seem like a long time, but it can also be very short.
Everyone must know what kind of leader Xi Jinping is after ten years in power, but no one can paint a panorama, because he is still leading China on a magnificent road of revival, and history will judge him appropriately in the future.
Some people think that modern society should not be defined by someone, which is a misunderstanding of the system.
The system does not become important after being depersonalized, it creates value only when it cooperates with people, and people, especially great people, play a decisive role.
People not only play a role in the system, but also promote the system to keep pace with the times. Only when people properly understand how people affect the system can the system be considered valuable.
Mao Zedong established the new China, Napoleon created the glory of France, Stalin turned the Soviet Union into an empire, and Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up changed China's modernization trajectory. These are the eras defined by great men.
Of course, Xi Jinping is also a figure who determines the times we live in.
Some people do not accept it psychologically, thinking that this is the rule of man. They have misunderstood the relationship between man and system.
Denying the initiative of people in different historical stages, thinking that the system is objective and autonomous, this kind of thinking actually violates the laws of society, history, and human development.
Xi Jinping proposed at the Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: "Let the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources and better play the role of the government", "uphold and improve the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities", Many people think that the addition of the government to the former is retrogression, while the latter has not been noticed at all, and the official media has never said much about it.
At that time, I believed that "the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities" blew up all the dams of reform, and called it the "fifth modernization" in popular terms, because it made the thoughts of governing the country accessible.
Before that, Xi Jinping delivered the "Speech at the National Propaganda and Ideological Work Conference" (819 Speech), and the outside world's interpretation of it was also very mixed. ’, perhaps only the inertial understanding in the ideological field has the vitality of being ‘dead but not rigid’.” Many people, including officials in charge of propaganda within the system, wondered how to adapt to Xi Jinping’s realistic approach in the ideological field and propaganda work. The attitude is quite unaccustomed, but these are the prefaces of Xi Jinping's socialist modernization thought that is in line with China's reality.
In his speech at the centennial celebration of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping proposed to "combine Marxism with excellent traditional Chinese culture."
The "two combinations" strengthened that socialist thought is no longer an imported product, but an organic continuation of traditional Chinese thought, "Chinese" socialism, and Marxism that has been modernized in China.
Xi Jinping is using a scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts to open the box that has imprisoned traditional thinking for more than a hundred years, so that his governance system can be firmly built on the confidence of history and culture, so that "Chinese-style modernization" has confidence and historical support.
This is a judgment after a hundred years of practice, and it is also a judgment that requires a firm path and theoretical self-confidence.
Xi Jinping has developed and perfected the CCP’s tradition of seeking truth from facts.
He believes that only by truly promoting the "combination of the two" can "correctly answer the major questions raised by the times and practice."
"Excellent Chinese traditional culture" is China's "concrete reality", but in the past strict ideological discourse, it used to be a red line that people did not want to touch but vaguely existed. Xi Jinping put it in a more suitable place.
Since the Chinese Communist Party wants to "form a theory that is loved, recognized, and owned by the people," it must thoroughly sinicize Marxism and socialist thought, and must not continue to adopt a shy and ambiguous attitude toward traditional thinking in order to include "excellent traditions." Only when the "concrete reality" of culture is its main body, can it "become a powerful ideological weapon to guide the people to understand the world and change the world."
Xi Jinping's most praised achievement is the establishment of a scientific "governance" system. In popular terms, he has solved problems and explained why the government is important and what the people pursue.
Many people mentioned anti-corruption, military reform, rule of law, organizational and decision-making mechanism reform, establishment of a supervisory system, new development concepts, supply-side structural reform, double cycle, strict party governance, and professionalization of officials, etc.
After Xi Jinping took office, he sent college students to thousands of villages and villages for training at the grassroots level. A large number of young cadres who have experienced poverty alleviation, local economic reform, and infrastructure construction have gradually become professional cadres. Stable and sustainable development is guaranteed.
People feel most deeply about people-centered reforms, including the continuous promotion of "two guarantees and three guarantees" - no worries about food, no worries about clothing, education, medical care, and housing guarantees, and the immediate strengthening of "two guarantees" after the victory in the battle against poverty. Social mobilization for common prosperity.
Take the centralized procurement of medical supplies as an example. As a result, medical costs have dropped significantly, more medical services have been popularized, the industry has been developed, and systemic corruption has been prevented. Professional and scientific system and mechanism.
In the economic field, Xi Jinping has promoted more ambitious changes, among which the supply-side structural reform and the dual cycle guided by the "new development concept" are undoubtedly the most far-reaching.
Western economics emphasizes that demand triggers changes in the economic structure. Schumpeter's "creative destruction" is the theory of high-quality development in the West and economic innovation led by enterprises. It uses enterprise innovation to reconstruct the industry paradigm, and demand is the source of power.
In contrast, the CCP believes that economic development is ultimately driven by supply, and in the long run it is supply that creates demand. This is a subversive view.
Xi Jinping examines demand from the perspective of supply. Entrepreneurship is still the driving force to stimulate corporate vitality and creativity, but innovation is the first driving force for supply-side structural reforms. The economy meets and creates demand with high-quality and effective supply.
Xi Jinping believes that China's huge market and internal demand are an effective way to resolve external economic shocks and stabilize the momentum of economic development, while "supply-side structural reform is the fundamental solution to high-quality development."
For deepening supply-side structural reforms, Xi Jinping focused on elements such as talents, technology, and innovation, and the efficiency of resource allocation, with the aim of improving total factor productivity, which is a key starting point for sustainable development.
When dealing with the organic combination of demand and supply, Xi Jinping adheres to socialist values and new development concepts, emphasizing sustainable and effective demand, consumption is supported by legal income, and investment requires a reasonable return. Outdated production capacity and products cannot be formed, resulting in waste of resources.
Effective supply through structural reforms can better adapt to changes in the demand structure.
Xi Jinping believes that China's ultra-large-scale market is the backing for the high-quality development of China's economy. From the earliest labor advantage, to the formation of manufacturing industries, to the purchasing power of the middle class today, it has played a positive role one after another.
The dual cycles proposed by Xi Jinping, combined with supply-side structural reforms, have begun to stimulate the energy of the Chinese market at a higher level.
Compared with the European and American economies that once dominated the world for a hundred years, the Chinese market based on huge data and the entire industrial chain can demonstrate how competitive it is full of expectations.
Xi Jinping obviously knows it, and knows how to use it to achieve his goals.
Recently, the export of electric vehicles has made China the second largest car exporter in the world. The high-speed railway built by China has been tested in Indonesia. The large aircraft made in China has begun to operate. China’s space station is full of six people. These achievements have provided a guarantee for the double cycle. .
Navigating the Great Change Requires a Competent Helmsman
Xi Jinping may be regarded as the first leader of a major country to grasp the "big change". He used dialectical materialism to examine changes in the world's current situation, and proposed a countermeasure of double cycles, which at the same time proved that he is a master of change.
The "big change" is caused by the interaction between China and the world. The dual cycle can not only promote the development of China, but also develop the world. The two organically combine politics and economy. It is a strategic arrangement that combines both offense and defense and integrates internal and external.
Xi Jinping knows that shocks caused by changes are unavoidable. Today, there are already storms and clouds, and in the future there will be thunder and lightning.
Some people think that China should hide its strength and bide its time. In fact, they hope that China will make a fortune in silence. This kind of thinking is unrealistic.
But Xi Jinping did not respond in a radical way, but actively strived for the greatest common divisor in international relations.
After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping visited Russia for the first time. China and Russia are now good partners against external provocations.
Whether it is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the expansion of the BRICS, or the "Belt and Road", ASEAN 10+1, China-EU cooperation, etc., it has all proved that without a helmsman with foresight and advanced deployment capabilities, "the world will undergo a major change that has not been seen in a century." It is difficult to move forward.
It is no exaggeration to say that Xi Jinping has built another international order based on peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom in parallel with developed countries.
Emerging countries and developing countries are in name only in the international power game, but the rise of China, coupled with China's diplomatic thinking and consistent words and deeds, let this group see their roles clearly, and opened their own era, voice and strength have fundamentally changed.
The dominance of the United States has long been vain, and the hegemony of the West is going to be wiped out.
The United States and Australia are now paying more attention to the Solomon Islands with a population of more than 700,000. Isn't it because of China?
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clarifies that China "firmly pursues a mutually beneficial and win-win strategy of opening up, and continues to provide new opportunities for the world with China's new development" and that it must "better benefit the people of all countries."
Xi Jinping knows very well that China cannot be independent on the road of development, and he has not violated the Chinese people's idea of great harmony that is good for the world.
When he declared in his report that "the Chinese people are willing to join hands with the people of the world to create a better future for mankind", isn't this an echo of "common prosperity"?
The history of China in the past 100 years cannot be separated from the Communist Party of China, and the rise and fall of the country are closely related to the Communist Party of China.
The growth of the CCP has contributed to the development of China, the reform of the CCP is the reform of China, and the rise of China is also the rise of the CCP.
During the revolutionary period, the CCP’s victory relied on its strong leadership, and the reform and opening up it promoted released the country’s huge economic energy.
Xi Jinping leads the CCP’s continuous reform, adheres to strict governance of the party, and self-revolution, in order to continue to govern, jump out of the cycle of history, and make the world peaceful, the country peaceful and the people safe.
The previous leaders of the CCP all took the mission of enabling the Chinese people to live a happy life and rejuvenate the nation. In this sense, they are all great statesmen.
The Chinese Communist Party is undergoing a process of rebirth, which cannot be accomplished overnight.
Xi Jinping puts the focus of his work on party building, because he understands the relationship between the CCP, state governance, and Chinese-style modernization.
This is an aboveboard task. He has dedicated himself with the heart of "success does not have to be mine, success must be mine", and he is naturally worthy of our respect.
Some people once thought that the monopoly of power by politicians and political parties was an ominous omen. Then, has Western democracy, which takes turns taking turns, solved the problems of the people?
The Chinese seek truth from facts. As long as the CCP adheres to this principle, those unfounded assumptions must be tested in practice, otherwise they are worthless.
Xi Jinping is not an ideological believer, let alone an imperial overlord.
He is a typical Chinese politician. He has a strong sense of family and country, seeks truth from facts, loves the land and people deeply, has the world in mind, and is brave to take responsibility.
I put forward at the end of "Ten Challenges": "We earnestly hope that Xi Jinping can be deeply expected, demand himself as a great statesman, and repay the opportunity given to him by history."
I think practice has proved that Xi Jinping has lived up to the heavy responsibility entrusted by history.
"Deconstructing the Top 20" series of articles:
Deconstruct the 20th National Congress.
1｜Why should we read the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and deconstruct the 20th National Congress.
2｜From the structure of the report to sort out the overall context and deconstruct the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
3｜The Sinicization and Deconstruction of the Chinese Communist Party's Ideology at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
4｜Understanding how the Chinese Communist Party has been in power for a long time and deconstructed the 20th National Congress.
5｜What is the new development concept and new development pattern deconstruction of the 20th Congress.
Six｜Comparative deconstruction of the two modernizations at the 20th Congress.
7｜Chinese-style modernization: deconstruction of spirit, society, nature, and peace at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Eight｜The "big change" in China's diplomacy deconstructs the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Nine｜One country, two systems is a significant advantage of Chinese-style modernization Deconstruction of the 20th National Congress.
10｜Xi Jinping Lives Up to Historic Responsibilities