Build a Great Country and Advance National Rejuvenation Through Chinese Modernization

Build a Great Country and Advance National Rejuvenation Through Chinese Modernization*

August 22, 2024

The best way to commemorate Comrade Deng Xiaoping is to carry forward the cause of Chinese socialism he pioneered. We should build on past achievements, strive for new progress, and focus on the central task of building China into a great country and advancing national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

As we drive deeper all-round reform, we must not only uphold fundamental principles, but also break new ground. We must act on the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and concentrate on the overarching goal of improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernizing China’s system and capacity for governance. We should target economic structural reform, coordinate reform in all sectors, remove outdated mindsets and institutional obstacles, and provide powerful impetus and institutional guarantees for advancing Chinese modernization. In upholding fundamental principles while breaking new ground, we should reform what needs to be changed and keep intact what does not. We should further integrate our reforms, prioritize key measures, stress efficacy, and persevere in implementation.

We should advance Chinese modernization on all fronts by focusing on our primary task of high-quality development. We must apply the new development philosophy in full, to the letter, and in all fields, and implement the Five-sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy in a coordinated way. We should build a unified national market and advance new industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization. We should press ahead with rural revitalization across the board, achieve better balance in development between regions, and move faster to modernize our economy. We should reinforce our foundations in education, science and technology, and talent development, increase our strength and self-reliance in science and technology, and foster new quality productive forces suited to local conditions. We should develop an advanced socialist culture, follow a sound development path of increased economic output, higher living standards, and healthy ecosystems, balance material and cultural-ethical progress, and ensure harmony between humanity and nature.

We must put the people first and steadily work towards common prosperity. We must expand whole-process people’s democracy, advance the rule of law, and deliver social fairness in the form of equal rights, equal opportunities, and fair rules for all. This will fully motivate our citizens to create a better future. We should ensure and improve the people’s wellbeing through development. We will improve basic public services, narrow the gaps between urban and rural areas, different regions, and different income levels, and make significant and substantive progress towards common prosperity.

We should expand high-standard opening up, and safeguard China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests. We should pursue a more proactive strategy of opening up, optimize the planning of regional opening up, and steadily expand institutional opening up. We should promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and increase the breadth and depth of Chinese modernization through peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation. We should pursue a holistic approach to national security, coordinate opening up and security, and strengthen our ability to safeguard national security in the process of opening up to the outside world.

We must exercise full and rigorous internal Party governance in order to build a stronger Marxist governing party. We must remember that the Party’s full and rigorous internal governance and its self-reform have no end. As we advance the great new project of strengthening the Party in the new era, we must remain sober-minded and determined to deliver all that this entails. We must reinforce the Party’s political foundations as the prerequisite for all other initiatives targeting Party development. We must improve the systems for full and rigorous internal Party governance and win the tough and protracted battle against corruption. The Party must continue to cleanse, improve, renew and temper itself; it must never betray its nature and mission, and it must remain the strong leadership core in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The people’s military is a great wall of steel safeguarding the Party and the country. We must implement the Party’s philosophy on strengthening the military for the new era, uphold its absolute leadership over the armed forces, and step up governance over the military in all respects. We must make an all-out effort to modernize our national defense and armed forces, achieve the centenary goal of the People’s Liberation Army by 2027, and move faster to build the people’s military into a world-class force. It should improve its strategic capability to defend China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, and fulfill its missions and tasks in the new era.

Complete reunification of our country is a dream long pursued by revolutionaries of the older generations, including Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. It is the common aspiration of all Chinese people, and an irresistible trend. We will continue to fully, faithfully and resolutely implement 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 will support and facilitate Hong Kong and Macao in pursuing greater development by further integrating themselves into the country’s overall development. We must vigorously apply the Party’s overall policy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era, uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and promote peaceful development of cross-Straits relations. We resolutely oppose “Taiwan independence” and stand firm in safeguarding China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Any separatist force or act, and any external interference that sabotages China’s reunification, will be met with an uncompromising response from the Chinese people.

China is a staunch force for upholding world peace. We must always uphold peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, and champion the common values of humanity. We will implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, play an active role in reforming and developing the global governance system, and provide the world with new opportunities as we advance Chinese modernization.

All our endeavors since the 18th CPC National Congress have been designed to fulfill our Party’s original aspiration and founding mission, to carry forward the cause pioneered by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and other veteran revolutionaries, and to uphold and develop Chinese socialism in the new era. As the times progress and our cause develops, we should never disengage from innovation in theory and in practice. Deng Xiaoping once said, “New things should emerge in China every year and every day.” It is the solemn responsibility of today’s Chinese Communists to open up new prospects in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times. On our new journey in the new era, we must break new ground while upholding fundamental principles. We should keep to the path blazed by our forerunners, and at the same time be bold in exploring new frontiers. We should consistently renew our theories and develop our undertakings, and honor our predecessors with new progress and achievements.

At this moment, I am reminded of two statements made by Deng Xiaoping. The first one is: “If we have basically realized modernization by the middle of the next century, we shall have further reason to say that socialism has succeeded.” The second is: “By the middle of the next century, when we approach the level of the developed countries, then there will have been really great changes. At that time the strength of China and its role in the world will be quite different. We shall be able to make greater contributions to mankind.”

Now, we have just about 10 years remaining to achieve our goal of realizing basic modernization, and only around 20 years to reach our goal of building China into a great modern socialist country. Our goals demand that we forge ahead and waste no time. We must uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics, pool the collective strength of our 1.4 billion people, and stay true to our original aspiration and founding mission. Let us strive with determination and in unity to build a great country and advance national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization, and to make new and greater contributions to the noble cause of peace and development for humanity.

* Part of the speech at a meeting to mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)