Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

A Scientific Theory Answering the Questions of Our Time

The era shapes ideas, and practice is the source of theory. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is a product of our time and the crystallization of the Party’s and the people’s practical experience and collective wisdom. It represents a new leap in the sinicization of Marxism.

The world is currently undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. The deepening development of multipolarity, economic globalization, information technology, and cultural diversity is accelerating changes in the global governance system and international order. Emerging markets and developing countries are rising rapidly, leading to a more balanced international power structure, with the destinies of people around the world more closely connected than ever before. At the same time, the world faces prominent instability and uncertainty, with weak economic growth, rising trends of trade protectionism, isolationism, and populism, widening wealth gaps, regional hotspots flaring up, and the spread of non-traditional security threats like terrorism, cybersecurity issues, major infectious diseases, and climate change. What is happening in the world? What should we do? Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was established and has continuously evolved in the process of understanding global trends, addressing common challenges, and safeguarding the common interests of humanity.

Contemporary China is in the best development period since modern times. Building on the significant achievements since the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening-up, the country has reached a new historical starting point. Overall, the level of social productivity has significantly improved, and national economic strength, scientific and technological power, defense capabilities, comprehensive national strength, and international influence have all risen markedly. We now enjoy development conditions that were previously unimaginable, but we also face unprecedented difficulties and challenges. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was formed and continuously enriched as the Chinese nation achieved a great leap from standing up, to becoming prosperous, to growing strong.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has steadfastly remained at the forefront of the times through revolutionary forging. History and reality have repeatedly shown that it is difficult for a ruling party to carry out social revolution, and even more difficult to conduct self-revolution. Without self-revolution, a party will inevitably be eliminated by history. Along the way, while leading the people in a great social revolution, our Party has constantly undertaken great self-revolution, which is the key to our Party’s continuous victories. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was established and continuously enriched through the Party’s ongoing self-revolution, achieving self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal, and self-advancement.

Scientific socialism has shown strong vitality in 21st-century China. The development of socialism in China has driven the Chinese nation to achieve the most extensive, profound, and greatest social transformation in its history. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, world socialism experienced severe setbacks. Some claimed that the 21st century would end with the failure of socialism and the victory of capitalism, while others predicted that socialist China would also collapse due to the "domino effect." But we stood firm, withstood the impact, and passed the test, with scientific socialism rising in the face of adversity. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was established and continuously enriched through profound reflection on and summary of the theory and practice of scientific socialism, and through tireless exploration and determined advancement in upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Original New Concepts, Ideas, and Strategies for Governing the Country

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is rich in content, covering all areas and aspects, including reform, development, stability, domestic and foreign affairs, national defense, and Party, state, and military governance. It forms a systematic, comprehensive, and logically rigorous theoretical system. The core content of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era consists of "Ten Clarifications" and "Fourteen Adherences."

The "Ten Clarifications" include:

• Clarifying that the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the greatest advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and the Communist Party of China is the highest political leadership force. The entire Party must strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses," bolster the "Four Confidences," and ensure the "Two Upholds."
• Clarifying that the overarching goal of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics is to achieve socialist modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, to build China into a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist country by the middle of the century through a two-step process on the basis of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and to advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-style modernization.
• Clarifying that the principal contradiction in Chinese society in the new era is between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. We must adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, develop whole-process people's democracy, and make more substantive progress in promoting human development and achieving common prosperity for all.
• Clarifying that the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" (economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress), and the strategic layout is the "Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy" (comprehensively building a modern socialist country, deepening reform, governing the country according to the law, and strictly governing the Party).
• Clarifying that the overall goal of deepening reform comprehensively is to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernize China's system and capacity for governance.
• Clarifying that the overall goal of advancing law-based governance comprehensively is to build a socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics and a socialist rule of law country.
• Clarifying the need to uphold and improve the basic socialist economic system, make the market play a decisive role in resource allocation, better play the role of the government, grasp the new development stage, implement the new development philosophy of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing, accelerate the establishment of a new development pattern that focuses on the domestic economy and features positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows, promote high-quality development, and coordinate development and security.
• Clarifying that the Party's goal for strengthening the military in the new era is to build a people's army that obeys the Party's command, can fight and win, and maintains excellent conduct, and to build the people's army into a world-class military.
• Clarifying that China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics serves national rejuvenation and promotes human progress, advances the building of a new type of international relations, and fosters a community with a shared future for mankind.
• Clarifying the strategic policy of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, proposing the general requirements for Party building in the new era, and fully advancing the Party’s political, ideological, organizational, work style, and discipline building, integrating institutional building throughout, deepening the anti-corruption struggle, and implementing the political responsibility of governing the Party and ensuring that the great social revolution is led by the great self-revolution.

The "Ten Clarifications" are the most core and key components of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, forming the "pillars" that support the entire system. Each "clarification" represents an original new idea or viewpoint, reflecting our Party's theoretical thinking and contribution to scientific socialism in the current era.

The 19th National Congress of the CPC proposed and summarized the basic strategy for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the "Fourteen Adherences":

• Upholding Party leadership over all work;
• Upholding a people-centered approach;
• Upholding comprehensive deepening of reform;
• Upholding the new development philosophy;
• Upholding the principle that the people are the masters of the country;
• Upholding law-based governance;
• Upholding the socialist core value system;
• Upholding and improving people's livelihood while ensuring development;
• Upholding harmony between humans and nature;
• Upholding a holistic approach to national security;
• Upholding the Party's absolute leadership over the people's armed forces;
• Upholding the principle of "one country, two systems" and promoting national reunification;
• Upholding the building of a community with a shared future for mankind;
• Upholding full and strict governance over the Party.

The 19th National Congress emphasized the need to fully implement the Party’s basic theories, basic lines, and basic strategies to better lead the development of the Party and the people's cause.

The basic strategy of the "Fourteen Adherences" covers the Party’s leadership, the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" overall layout, the "Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy" strategic layout, national defense and military construction, national security maintenance, and foreign strategy. It is the latest summary of the Party's major principles and guidelines for governing the country and is a "roadmap" and "methodology" for achieving the "Two Centenary Goals" and realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

A Guiding Thought the Party and the Country Must Adhere to for a Long Time

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is deeply rooted in Marxist philosophy, political economy, and scientific socialism. It integrates historical, present, and future perspectives, and spans across reform, development, stability, domestic and foreign affairs, national defense, and Party, state, and military governance. It upholds the legacy of the past while introducing many new ideas, elevating our Party's understanding of the laws of Communist Party governance, socialist construction, and human social development to a new height, and making original contributions.