Xi Jinping: Chinese-style modernization is a broad road to building a powerful country and rejuvenating the nation Xi Jinping | Thought | Nation
Chinese path to modernization is the grand road to building a strong country and rejuvenating the nation
Xi Jinping
The choice of modernization path for a country is determined by many factors such as its historical tradition, social system, development conditions, and external environment. Different national conditions lead to different approaches to modernization. Practice has proven that when a country moves towards modernization, it must not only follow the general laws of modernization, but also conform to its own reality and have its own characteristics. Chinese path to modernization not only has the common characteristics of modernization in all countries, but also has its own distinctive characteristics based on its own national conditions. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly summarized the five aspects of Chinese characteristics of Chinese path to modernization, and profoundly revealed the scientific connotation of Chinese path to modernization. This is not only a theoretical summary, but also a practical requirement, pointing out a broad path for comprehensively building a socialist modernized strong country and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
A broad road does not mean a smooth sailing. It requires arduous efforts to turn the five aspects of Chinese path to modernization into a successful practice and turn distinctive features into unique advantages.
Firstly, modernization with a huge population size. This is a prominent feature of Chinese path to modernization. The task of modernization varies with the size of the population, and its difficulty and complexity also vary. The development path and promotion method must also have their own characteristics. Currently, there are only over 20 countries worldwide that have entered modernization, with a total population of around 1 billion. China's population of over 1.4 billion has entered modernization, surpassing the total population of developed countries, which will greatly change the world map of modernization. This is the largest and most difficult modernization in human history.
A super large population not only provides sufficient human resources and a super large market, but also brings a series of difficulties and challenges. Just solving the food problem for over 1.4 billion people is a significant challenge. There are also issues related to employment, distribution, education, healthcare, housing, elderly care, and childcare, none of which are easy to solve, and each involves an astronomical number of people. When we think about problems, make decisions, and do things, we must first consider the issue of population base, and take into account the actual differences in development levels between urban and rural areas in China. We cannot aim too high or follow the old ways. We must maintain historical patience, adhere to steady progress, gradual progress, and continuous progress.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Tao
Secondly, the modernization of common prosperity for all people. This is the essential feature of Chinese path to modernization, and it is also a significant symbol different from western modernization. The biggest drawback of Western modernization is that it centers on capital rather than the people, pursuing the maximization of capital interests rather than serving the interests of the vast majority, resulting in a large wealth gap and severe polarization. Some developing countries have approached the threshold of developed countries in the process of modernization, but have fallen into the "middle-income trap" and have been stuck in a stagnant state for a long time, even seriously regressing. One important reason is that they have not solved the problems of polarization and class solidification.
Chinese path to modernization insists that development is for the people, development depends on the people, and development achievements are shared by the people. It has made important progress in promoting common prosperity for all people, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, winning the battle against poverty, and lifting nearly 100 million rural poor people out of poverty. Now, we have formed a complete set of ideological concepts, institutional arrangements, and policy measures to promote common prosperity for all people. While promoting high-quality development and doing a good job in expanding the "cake", we should further divide the "cake" and focus on solving livelihood issues such as employment, distribution, education, medical care, housing, elderly care, and childcare. We should build a coordinated and supporting system for the third distribution, standardize the order of income distribution, regulate the mechanism of wealth accumulation, guide and regulate the healthy development of capital in accordance with the law, gradually expand the middle-income group, narrow the income distribution gap, and ensure that the achievements of modernization construction benefit all people more fairly and resolutely prevent polarization. Realizing common prosperity is a long-term task that requires long-term efforts, steadfast commitment to the green mountains, and continuous progress.
Thirdly, modernization that coordinates material civilization and spiritual civilization. It is the lofty pursuit of Chinese path to modernization to be both material and spiritual. Material poverty is not socialism, and spiritual poverty is also not socialism. The early modernization of the West was characterized by both the accumulation of wealth and the loss of faith and the rampant materialism. Today, Western countries are increasingly facing difficulties, one important reason being their inability to curb the greed of capital and solve chronic problems such as materialism inflation and spiritual poverty.
Chinese path to modernization requires both material wealth and spiritual wealth, as well as self-confidence and self-improvement in ideology and culture. We must adhere to two pronged approach and two pronged approach, promote the coordination and mutual promotion of material civilization and spiritual civilization, and ensure that all people always have the ideological foundation of unity and struggle, the proactive spirit of exploration and progress, and the pursuit of healthy and upward values. To meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people, we must build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership, strengthen education on ideals and beliefs, and promote the propaganda and education of the "Four Histories", cultivate and promote socialist core values, develop advanced socialist culture, promote more excellent literary and artistic works, continuously enrich the people's spiritual world, improve the level of civilization of the whole society, and promote comprehensive human development.
Fourthly, the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Respecting nature, conforming to nature, protecting nature, and promoting harmonious coexistence between man and nature are distinctive features of Chinese path to modernization. Since modern times, the modernization of Western countries has mostly gone through a stage of rampant plundering of natural resources and malignant damage to the ecological environment. While creating huge material wealth, it often leads to serious problems such as environmental pollution and resource depletion. China's per capita energy resource endowment is seriously insufficient, and accelerating development faces more energy resource and environmental constraints, which determines that China cannot follow the old path of Western modernization.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi/Photo
Chinese path to modernization adheres to sustainable development, the principle of giving priority to conservation, protection and natural recovery, and unswervingly follows the path of civilized development featuring development in production, prosperity in life and good ecology, opening up broad prospects for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. We must firmly establish and practice the concept that green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets, adhere to the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands, promote ecological priority, conservation and intensification, green and low-carbon development, accelerate the green transformation of development methods, enhance the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems, actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment.
Fifth, modernization that follows the path of peaceful development. Adhering to peaceful development, seeking self-development in the firm maintenance of world peace and development, and better maintaining world peace and development with self-development, and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind are prominent features of Chinese path to modernization. The modernization of Western countries is full of bloody crimes such as war, slave trafficking, colonization, and plunder, bringing deep suffering to the vast developing countries. The Chinese nation has experienced a tragic history of aggression and humiliation by Western powers, and deeply understands the value of peace. It is impossible to repeat the old path of Western countries.
Chinese path to modernization insists on independence and self-reliance, relies on the hard work and innovation of all people to develop and strengthen itself, and achieves national development by stimulating endogenous power and peacefully using external resources. Instead of oppressing other nations and plundering other countries' resources and wealth in any form, it provides support and help to the vast number of developing countries within its capacity. We must always hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and win-win, adhere to the open strategy of mutual benefit and win-win, and continuously provide new opportunities for the world with China's new development. Actively participating in the reform and construction of the global governance system, practicing true multilateralism, promoting the common values of all humanity, promoting the implementation of global development and security initiatives, and striving to make greater contributions to human peace and development.
On the evening of July 28, 2023, the 31st Summer Universiade was grandly opened in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi/Photo
Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening up, we have spent decades completing the industrialization process that developed Western countries have gone through for hundreds of years, creating miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, and opening up broad prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Practice has proved that Chinese path to modernization is feasible and stable, which is the only correct way to build a strong country and revive the nation.
