Think tank report highlights China's approach to modernization

PARIS -- A report released by Chinese think tanks here on Saturday introduced the process of Chinese modernization and highlighted its global significance.

The report, entitled "Chinese Modernization: the Way Forward," was co-authored by researchers from the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Xinhua Institute, which is a high-end think tank of Xinhua News Agency.

The Chinese people, under the CPC's leadership, have blazed a trail of Chinese modernization, said Fu Hua, president of Xinhua News Agency and also chairman of the academic committee of Xinhua Institute.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, by elaborating on the connotation and essence of Chinese modernization, has contributed major innovations to global modernization theories, Fu said.

Upholding the spirit of "establishing oneself and helping others to establish" and the idea that "the world is one family," China has been sharing development opportunities and building a better future with other countries, a move that benefits the Chinese people and promotes global development as well, which will have a positive and far-reaching impact on the world, Fu said.

Ji Zhengju, vice-director of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, made a speech on the relationship between modernization and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Cultural cooperation should adhere to the spirit of independence, which is not only the primary connotation of the "China-France spirit" summarized by President Xi, but also an important spiritual connotation of Chinese modernization, Ji said.

Cultural exchanges should prioritize mutual learning, which is the main theme of the China-France cultural exchanges as well as an inevitable choice for Chinese modernization to achieve the coordinated development between material and spiritual civilizations, Ji added.

Noting that global development is facing new challenges, Marc Uzan, founder and executive director of the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, called for closer cooperation between France and China to make the international financial system more resilient, equitable and inclusive.

"By aligning efforts with China and with other international partners, we will be able to contribute to shaping a more stable global governance," Uzan concluded.

Remi Mathieu, French sinologist and research director emeritus of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), said the Chinese practice can help the French take a step back from their customary ways of thinking.