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.