Opinion: New thought in the new era

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily and China Daily website.

Xi Jinping delivers a report to the 19th CPC National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct 18, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has entered a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, that's an outstanding judgment which differs from previous Party congresses when General Secretary of Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping delivered a report at the opening ceremony of the 19th CPC Congress on Wednesday.

The Six Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1981 described people's increasing material and cultural demands on the one hand and backward productive force on the other as the main contradiction at the initial stage of socialism.

Though China is still at the initial stage of socialism, Chinese people no longer struggle just to meet basic needs. The main contradiction has changed into people's growing needs for a better life with unbalanced and insufficient development, General Secretary Xi said in the report.

The Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era embodies the new ideas, new thinking, and new strategies of the governance philosophy of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core in the new era of development.

Since the 18th CPC Congress in 2012, the Party led by Xi has been committed to realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. And the "two centenary goals" of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020, one year before the Party's 100th anniversary in 2021, and developing China into a "fully modernized, socialist nation" by the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2049, mean the Party has already taken upon itself a great historical responsibility.

To accomplish the goals, the Party has to depend on the strategic layout of the "Four Comprehensives" — comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively advance the rule of law and comprehensively and strictly govern the Party, and carry out the "Five Development Concepts" of innovation, coordination, green, openness and shared development.

Therefore, the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era reflects the governance philosophy of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core, which comprises new ideas, new strategies and new thinking. The thought has become a systematic theory about realizing socialist modernization and national rejuvenation in the new stage and will be the guideline for the Party and nation to achieve its goals.

After the 18th CPC Congress, China entered a new stage of historic transformation and breakthrough, and the Party's goal expanded from building an overall "moderately well-off society" to achieving the "two centenary goals", which will pave the way for the rejuvenation of the nation. Thanks to the historic transformation, China, the world's second largest economy, is shifting from investment- and export-driven to innovation-driven growth.

Stressing fairness and justice, Chinese society wants the wealth gap to be narrowed and more people to share the fruits of social development. And to meet those needs, the government has been improving governance, and deepening people-oriented reform.

Building a moderately well-off society offers strategic basis for China's modernization and national rejuvenation. Comprehensively deepening reform offers strong impetus. The rule of law offers legal guarantee of good, modern governance. And comprehensively strengthening Party governance ensures a steady, strong Party leadership.

But as an emerging major country, China will influence the world order and may face opposition from established powers despite playing a vital role in improving global governance. China is approaching the global center stage as it transforms from a major country to a major power. And Xi's diplomatic philosophy has made clear how China will deal with other countries in order to create a peaceful environment, which is crucial for realizing the dream of national rejuvenation.

China loves peace and takes a defensive policy, but China needs a strong army to defend itself facing complicated challenges. That's why the dream of a strong army is part of the Chinese Dream, which the modernization of the army and national defense play a vital role.

Moreover, the Chinese Dream is also the dream of rejuvenation for all Chinese people including the people in the mainland, as well as compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. And the insistence on the "one country, two systems" and the "1992 Consensus" will be a guarantee for the dream of all Chinese people.

Therefore, the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has clear goals, and the means to meet the "two centenary goals" and the goal of national rejuvenation. As for the means, the strategic layout of the "Four Comprehensives" reflects the profound thinking and top-level design of the Party's central leadership toward socialist modernization and national rejuvenation.

And the complementary strategic basis, strong impetus, legal guarantee, and strong Party leadership constitute a complete, effective system for achieving China's modernization and national rejuvenation. And the "Five Development Concepts" will be important for building a strong country in an all-round way.

Therefore, the thought is people-oriented, highlighted by the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, and conforms to socialism with Chinese characteristics. The report reflects the governance philosophy of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core, which raise the questions of "what kind of modernization and national rejuvenation China should have", and explores ways to achieve the goals of modernization and national rejuvenation.

The author is a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.