—We have comprehensively deepened reform with tremendous political courage. We have carried out critical tasks and enhanced top-level design for reform. We have dared to brave uncharted waters, take on tough problems, navigate potential dangers, and face new issues and challenges. We have broken the shackles of stale thinking, torn down barriers erected by vested interests, and removed institutional obstacles in all areas. This has enabled us to put in place foundational institutional frameworks in all sectors, to achieve historic, systemic, and holistic transformations in many fields, and to complete a new round of reform in Party and state institutions. The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics has become more mature and well-defined, and China’s system and capacity for governance have been further modernized.
—We have pursued a more proactive strategy of opening up. We have worked to build a globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas and accelerated the development of pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port. As a collaborative endeavor, the Belt and Road Initiative has been welcomed by the international community both as a public good and a cooperation platform. China has become a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions, it leads the world in total volume of trade in goods, and it is a major destination for global investment and a leading country in outbound investment. Through these efforts, we have advanced a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth.
—We have kept to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics. We have comprehensively developed whole-process people’s democracy, made all-around progress in improving the institutions, standards, and procedures of our socialist democracy, and advanced socialist consultative democracy by way of extensive participation. We have reinforced the foundations that undergird the people’s running of the country, injected fresh vitality into democracy at the community level, and consolidated and expanded the patriotic united front. We have made new accomplishments in promoting ethnic unity and progress, fully implemented the Party’s basic policy on religious affairs, and provided better protections for human rights. We have intensified efforts to advance socialist rule of law in our country, and a comprehensive framework for law-based governance has taken shape. We have sped up work on developing the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. We have made major progress in reforming the judicial system, thus providing more effective protection for social fairness and justice. These efforts have opened new ground for advancing the rule of law in China.
—We have established and upheld a foundational system for ensuring the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain. The Party’s new theory for the new era has been embraced by the people, the core socialist values are resonating with the public, fine traditional Chinese culture is undergoing creative transformation and development, cultural programs are flourishing, and the online environment has seen continuous improvement. All this has brought overarching and fundamental changes in China’s ideological landscape.
We celebrated the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army, the 40th anniversary of the launch of reform and opening up, the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the global war against fascism, and the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteers’ departure for Korea to resist US aggression and aid Korea. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics were a great success. Our young people are filled with greater optimism and enterprise, and there is a notably stronger sense of cultural confidence and a higher level of morale throughout the Party and the nation.
—We have implemented a people-centered philosophy of development. We have worked continuously to ensure people’s access to childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance, thus bringing about an all-around improvement in people’s lives. China’s life expectancy has reached 78.2 years, its per capita disposable annual income has risen from 16,500 yuan to 35,100 yuan, and more than 13 million urban jobs have been created each year on average over the past 10 years. We have built the largest education, social security, and healthcare systems in the world. These achievements have allowed us to make historic strides in making education universally available, bring 1.04 billion people under the coverage of basic old-age insurance, and ensure basic medical insurance for 95 percent of the population. Timely adjustments have been made to the childbirth policy. More than 42 million housing units in run-down urban areas and more than 24 million dilapidated rural houses have been rebuilt, marking a significant improvement in housing conditions in both urban and rural areas. The number of internet users has reached 1.03 billion. We have ensured a more complete and lasting sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security for our people, and we have made further progress in achieving common prosperity for all.
—We have acted on the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. We have persisted with a holistic and systematic approach to conserving and improving mountain, water, forest, farmland, grassland, and desert ecosystems, and we have ensured stronger ecological conservation and environmental protection across the board, in all regions, and at all times. China’s ecological conservation systems have been improved, the critical battle against pollution has been advanced, and solid progress has been made in promoting green, circular, and low-carbon development. This has led to historic, transformative, and comprehensive changes in ecological and environmental protection and has brought us bluer skies, greener mountains, and cleaner waters.
—We have applied a holistic approach to national security. We have steadily improved the leadership, legal, strategy, and policy systems for national security. We have not yielded any ground on matters of principle, and we have resolutely safeguarded China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests. National security has thus been strengthened on all fronts. We have further improved the social governance system based on collaboration, participation, and shared benefits. We have effectively contained ethnic separatists, religious extremists, and violent terrorists and secured important progress in the campaigns to combat and root out organized crime. We have responded effectively to major natural disasters. The Peaceful China Initiative has entered a new stage.
—We have set the Party’s goal of building a strong military in the new era. We have implemented the Party’s thinking on strengthening the military for the new era, followed the military strategy for the new era, and upheld absolute Party leadership over the people’s armed forces. We held a meeting on military political work in Gutian in 2014 and improved political conduct through rectification initiatives. Having established combat effectiveness as the sole criterion, we have acted with resolve to focus the entire military’s attention on combat readiness. We have coordinated efforts to strengthen military work in all directions and domains and devoted great energy to training under combat conditions. We have carried out bold reforms of national defense and the armed forces, restructuring the military leadership and command systems, the modern armed forces system, and the military policy system. We have moved faster to modernize our national defense and the armed forces and reduced the number of active service personnel by 300,000. With new systems, a new structure, a new configuration, and a new look, the people’s armed forces have become a much more modern and capable fighting force, and the Chinese path to building a strong military is growing ever broader.
—We have fully and faithfully implemented the policy of One Country, Two Systems. We have upheld the policy of One Country, Two Systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy. We have helped Hong Kong enter a new stage in which it has restored order and is set to thrive, and we have seen both Hong Kong and Macao maintain good momentum for long-term stability and development. We have put forward an overall policy framework for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era and facilitated cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation. We have resolutely opposed separatist activities aimed at “Taiwan independence” and foreign interference. We have thus maintained the initiative and the ability to steer in cross-Strait relations.
—We have pursued major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics on all fronts. We have promoted the development of a human community with a shared future and stood firm in protecting international fairness and justice. We have advocated and practiced true multilateralism. We have taken a clear-cut stance against hegemonism and power politics in all their forms, and we have never wavered in our opposition to unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying of any kind. We have improved China’s overall diplomatic agenda and worked actively to build a global network of partnerships and foster a new type of international relations. We have demonstrated China’s sense of duty as a responsible major country, actively participating in the reform and development of the global governance system and engaging in all-around international cooperation in the fight against Covid-19. All this has seen us win widespread international recognition. China’s international influence, appeal, and power to shape have risen markedly.
—We have made significant advances in exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance. Guided by the belief that it takes a good blacksmith to forge good steel, we kicked off our efforts by formulating and implementing the central Party leadership’s eight-point decision on improving conduct. We have put forward and implemented the general requirements for strengthening the Party in the new era. We have set strengthening ourselves politically as the overarching guide for all other initiatives of Party building, and we have made sure that our ideological work is aligned with our institution building efforts. Intraparty political activities have been conducted in earnest, and we have continued to carry out intensive education initiatives. We have formulated and implemented the Party’s organizational line for the new era and placed an emphasis on political commitment in selecting and appointing officials. Political inspections have been strengthened, and a sound system of Party regulations has taken shape. These moves have enabled the entire Party to maintain firm ideals and convictions and have strengthened the Party’s organizational system and tightened discipline and rules.
We have worked ceaselessly to improve Party conduct and enforce Party discipline. We have hammered away at the task of rectifying pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance; opposed privilege-seeking mindsets and practices; and taken strong action to address misconduct and corruption that occur at people’s doorsteps. Thanks to these efforts, unhealthy tendencies that had long gone unchecked have been reversed, and deep-seated problems that had plagued us for years have been remedied.
We have waged a battle against corruption on a scale unprecedented in our history. Driven by a strong sense of mission, we have resolved to “offend a few thousand rather than fail 1.4 billion” and to clear our Party of all its ills. We have taken coordinated steps to see that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to be corrupt, and we have used a combination of measures to “take out tigers,” “swat flies,” and “hunt down foxes,” punishing corrupt officials of all types. We have achieved an overwhelming victory and fully consolidated the gains in our fight against corruption. All this has helped remove serious hidden dangers in the Party, the country, and the military and ensured that the power granted to us by the Party and the people is always exercised in the interests of the people.
Through painstaking efforts, the Party has found a second answer to the question of how to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall. The answer is self-reform. We have significantly boosted the Party’s ability to purify, improve, renew, and excel itself, addressed the problem of lax and weak self-governance in Party organizations at the root, and steadily fostered and developed a political atmosphere of integrity within the Party. By doing so, we have ensured that the Party will never change its nature, its conviction, or its character.
As we fully affirm the remarkable achievements we have made in the cause of the Party and the country, we must not lose sight of the shortcomings in our work and the many difficulties and problems confronting us. They are mainly as follows:
Imbalances and inadequacies in development remain a prominent problem. There are many bottlenecks hindering high-quality development, and China’s capacity for scientific and technological innovation is not yet strong enough. Many major issues need to be resolved in order to guard against financial risks and ensure that food, energy, and industrial and supply chains are secure and reliable.
There are still many tough issues to be addressed in the reform of key areas. Quite a few challenges exist in the ideological domain. There are still wide gaps in development and income distribution between urban and rural areas and between regions. Our people face many difficulties in areas such as employment, education, medical services, childcare, elderly care, and housing. Ecological conservation and environmental protection remain a formidable task.
Some Party members and officials lack a strong sense of responsibility, the capacity to grapple with tough challenges, and the readiness to get down to work. Pointless formalities and bureaucratism remain rather pronounced. Eradicating breeding grounds for corruption is still an arduous task.
We have already put in place a series of measures to deal with these problems, and we must redouble our efforts to see them fully resolved.
Comrades,
The great achievements of the new era have come from the collective dedication and hard work of our Party and our people. Here, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, I express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our Party members, to the people of all ethnic groups, to all other political parties, people’s organizations, and patriotic figures from all sectors of society, to our fellow compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, in Taiwan, and overseas, and to all our friends around the world who have shown understanding and support for China’s modernization drive.
The great transformation over the past 10 years of the new era marks a milestone in the history of the Party, of the People’s Republic of China, of reform and opening up, of the development of socialism, and of the development of the Chinese nation. Over the course of a century of endeavor, the Communist Party of China has tempered itself through revolution and grown stronger. It has grown better at providing political leadership, giving theoretical guidance, organizing the people, and inspiring society, all while maintaining a close bond with the people. Throughout the Party’s history, as the world has undergone profound changes, it has always remained at the forefront of the times. As we have responded to risks and tests at home and abroad, the Party has always remained the backbone of the nation. And as we have upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Party has always remained a strong leadership core.
The Chinese people are more inspired than ever to forge ahead, more resolved than ever to work hard, and more confident than ever of securing success. They are filled with a stronger sense of history and initiative. With full confidence, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people are driving the great transformation of the Chinese nation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong. We have advanced reform, opening up, and socialist modernization and have written a new chapter on the miracles of fast economic growth and long-term social stability. China now has more solid material foundations and stronger institutional underpinnings for pursuing development. The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is now on an irreversible historical course.
Scientific socialism is brimming with renewed vitality in 21st-century China. Chinese modernization offers humanity a new choice for achieving modernization. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese people have provided humanity with more Chinese insight, better Chinese input, and greater Chinese strength to help solve its common challenges and have made new and greater contributions to the noble cause of human peace and development.
II. A New Frontier in Adapting Marxism to the Chinese Context and the Needs of the Times
Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and our country are founded and thrive. Our experience has taught us that, at the fundamental level, we owe the success of our Party and socialism with Chinese characteristics to the fact that Marxism works, particularly when it is adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of our times. The sound theoretical guidance of Marxism is the source from which our Party draws its firm belief and conviction and which enables our Party to seize the historical initiative.
Adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times is a process of seeking, revealing, and applying truth. With new changes and practical demands emerging both in and outside of China since the 18th National Congress, there was an urgent need for us to provide in-depth theoretical and practical answers to a series of epochal questions on the cause of the Party and the country as well as the Party’s governance of China.
With the courage to make theoretical explorations and innovations, our Party has, from an entirely new perspective, deepened its understanding of the laws that underlie governance by a communist party, the development of socialism, and the evolution of human society. It has achieved major theoretical innovations, which are encapsulated in the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The main elements of this theory are summarized in the 10 affirmations, the 14 commitments, and the 13 areas of achievement that were articulated at the 19th National Congress and the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Party Central Committee, all of which we must adhere to over the long term and continue to enrich and develop.
Chinese Communists are keenly aware that only by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture and only by applying dialectical and historical materialism can we provide correct answers to the major questions presented by the times and discovered through practice and can we ensure that Marxism always retains its vigor and vitality.
To uphold and develop Marxism, we must integrate it with China’s specific realities. Taking Marxism as our guide means applying its worldview and methodology to solving problems in China; it does not mean memorizing and reciting its specific conclusions and lines, and still less does it mean treating it as a rigid dogma. We must continue to free our minds, seek truth from facts, move with the times, and take a realistic and pragmatic approach. We must base everything we do on actual conditions and focus on solving real problems arising in our reform, opening up, and socialist modernization endeavors in the new era. We must keep responding to the questions posed by China, by the world, by the people, and by the times; in doing so, we should find the right answers suited to the realities of China and the needs of our day, reach conclusions that are compatible with objective laws, and develop new theories that are in step with the times, so as to provide better guidance for China’s practice.
To uphold and develop Marxism, we must integrate it with China’s fine traditional culture. Only by taking root in the rich historical and cultural soil of the country and the nation can the truth of Marxism flourish here. With a history stretching back to antiquity, China’s fine traditional culture is extensive and profound; it is the crystallization of the wisdom of Chinese civilization. Our traditional culture espouses many important principles and concepts, including pursuing common good for all; regarding the people as the foundation of the state; governing by virtue; discarding the outdated in favor of the new; selecting officials on the basis of merit; promoting harmony between humanity and nature; ceaselessly pursuing self-improvement; embracing the world with virtue; acting in good faith and being friendly to others; and fostering neighborliness. These maxims, which have taken shape over centuries of work and life, reflect the Chinese people’s way of viewing the universe, the world, society, and morality and are highly consistent with the values and propositions of scientific socialism.
We must stay confident in our history and culture, make the past serve the present, and develop the new from the old. We must integrate the essence of Marxism with the best of fine traditional Chinese culture and with the common values that our people intuitively apply in their everyday lives. We should keep endowing Marxist theory with distinctive Chinese features and consolidating the historical basis and public support for adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times. With this, we will ensure that Marxism puts down deep roots in China.
Just as there are no bounds to practice, there is no end to theoretical innovation. It is the solemn historical responsibility of today’s Chinese Communists to continue opening new chapters in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. To keep advancing theoretical innovation on the basis of practical experience, we must, first of all, gain a good command of the worldview and methodology of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and adhere to and make good use of its stances, viewpoints, and methods.
—We must put the people first. People-centeredness is an essential attribute of Marxism. Our Party’s theories are from the people, for the people, and beneficial to the people. The people’s creative practices are the inexhaustible source of our theoretical innovations. Theories that are detached from the people will be feeble and ineffective, and theories that cannot deliver for the people will be stale and lifeless. We must stand firmly with the people, respond to their wishes, respect their creativity, and pool their wisdom to develop theories that they like, accept, and adopt and that become powerful tools guiding them in understanding and changing the world.
—We must maintain self-confidence and stand on our own feet. There has never been an instruction manual or ready-made solution for the Chinese people and the Chinese nation to turn to as they fought to end the great sufferings endured since the advent of modern times and have moved on toward the bright future of rejuvenation. The Party has led the people in independently blazing the path to success over the past century, and the success of Marxism in China has been realized by Chinese Communists through our own endeavors. One point underpinning these successes is that China’s issues must be dealt with by Chinese people in light of the Chinese context. We must remain firm in our conviction in Marxism and socialism with Chinese characteristics and strengthen our confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. With a stronger sense of historical responsibility and creativity, we should make greater contributions to the development of Marxism. We should never act blindly without assessing how conditions have evolved or allow ourselves to become ossified or closed off, nor should we mechanically imitate others or indiscriminately absorb foreign ideas.
—We must uphold fundamental principles and break new ground. We are advancing a great cause that none have attempted before. Only by upholding fundamental principles can we avoid losing our bearings or making catastrophic mistakes. Only by breaking new ground can we meet the call of the day and shape the trends of our times. We should approach Marxism with a respect for science and in the spirit of seeking truth. We must never waver in upholding the basic tenets of Marxism, the overall leadership of the Party, and socialism with Chinese characteristics. We should keep pace with the times and adapt to the evolution of practice. We should approach each and every new thing with great enthusiasm and never stop broadening and deepening our understanding of the world. We must dare to say what has never been said and do what has never been done, and we must use new theory to guide new practice.
—We must adopt a problem-oriented approach. Problems represent the voice of the times. The fundamental task of theory is to respond to problems and provide guidelines for finding solutions. The problems we face today are considerably more complex, and resolving them has become much more difficult. This presents a completely new challenge for theoretical innovation. We must be more conscious of problems, especially new problems that are discovered through practice, deep-seated problems affecting reform, development, and stability, pressing concerns of the people, major issues in the evolving global landscape, and prominent issues we face in Party building. We should keep developing new thinking, new approaches, and new ways to effectively resolve problems.
—We must apply systems thinking. All things are interconnected and interdependent. We must view them with the understanding that they are universally connected, part of a complete system, and constantly evolving if we are to grasp the laws governing their development.
As a major developing country, China is still in the primary stage of socialism and is going through an extensive and profound social transformation. A small move made to advance reform and development or to adjust interests may affect the bigger picture. We should be able to see the present from a historical perspective, look beyond the surface to get to the crux of issues, and properly manage the relationships between overall and local interests, between the present and the future, between macro and micro concerns, between primary and secondary issues, and between the special and the ordinary. We should improve our ability to adopt a strategic perspective and apply a historical, dialectical, and systematic approach to thinking; we should get better at thinking creatively, thinking in terms of the rule of law, and considering worst-case scenarios. By doing so, we can develop a well-conceived approach to planning and advancing the endeavors of the Party and the country on all fronts in a forward-looking and holistic manner.
—We must maintain a global vision. The Communist Party of China is dedicated to pursuing happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. It is also dedicated to human progress and world harmony. We should expand our global vision and develop keen insight into the trends of human development and progress, respond to the general concerns of people of all countries, and play our part in resolving the common issues facing humankind. With an open mind, we should draw inspiration from all of human civilization’s outstanding achievements and work to build an even better world.
