Chinese-Style Modernization: Building a Strong and Rejuvenated Nation
In a recent speech at the opening ceremony of a seminar on implementing the Chinese-style modernization, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of choosing the right path to modernization based on a country’s historical tradition, social system, development conditions, and external environment. He highlighted that Chinese-style modernization not only follows the general laws of modernization but also has distinct characteristics based on China’s unique national conditions.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China further summarized these distinctive characteristics in five aspects of Chinese-style modernization. These aspects are seen as the key to building a powerful modern socialist country and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Firstly, the modernization of a huge population is a significant feature of Chinese-style modernization. With a population of over 1.4 billion, China’s modernization process is the largest in human history. This presents both opportunities and challenges. While the population provides ample human resources and a large-scale market, it also brings about challenges such as ensuring food security, employment, distribution, education, healthcare, housing, elderly care, and childcare. China must consider the reality of its urban and rural areas with varying levels of development and address the needs of its vast population.
Secondly, Chinese-style modernization prioritizes the common prosperity of all people. Unlike Western modernization, which often prioritizes capital interests, Chinese-style modernization focuses on serving the interests of the majority and reducing inequality. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has made significant progress in promoting the common prosperity of all people. Notably, nearly 100 million rural poor people have been lifted out of poverty. The government aims to address livelihood issues such as employment, distribution, education, healthcare, housing, elderly care, and childcare while promoting high-quality development and ensuring the benefits of modernization are shared equitably.
Thirdly, Chinese-style modernization seeks to develop both material and spiritual civilization. Material wealth alone does not define socialism, just as spiritual poverty does not signify its achievement. Western countries, for instance, face challenges due to their inability to address materialistic desires and spiritual poverty. Chinese-style modernization aims to promote the mutual coordination and mutual promotion of material and spiritual civilization. This includes cultivating socialist core values, advancing socialist culture, and enriching the spiritual world of the people to foster unity, struggle, and the pursuit of healthy and progressive values.
Fourthly, Chinese-style modernization emphasizes the harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Unlike the wanton exploitation of natural resources and ecological destruction seen in early Western modernization, China promotes sustainable development and ecological restoration. With limited per capita energy resources and increasing environmental constraints, China cannot follow the same path as Western countries. Chinese-style modernization prioritizes conservation, protection, and natural restoration, and promotes green, low-carbon, and diversified development. It aims to improve the ecological system’s diversity, stability, and sustainability, promote carbon peak, carbon neutrality, and support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment.
In conclusion, Chinese-style modernization is not a one-size-fits-all approach but prioritizes the unique national conditions of China. It focuses on the modernization of a huge population, common prosperity for all people, material and spiritual civilization, harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and the path of civilized development. As China continues its modernization journey, it will require arduous efforts to transform these distinctive characteristics into successful practice and unique advantages.