Editorial Department of Economic Daily: Courageously moving forward along the path of Chinese-style modernization - written on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of reform and opening up

Recently, Shenzhen, which has launched the reform and opening up, has taken a comprehensive inventory of the comprehensive reform pilot report card of the construction of a pilot demonstration zone of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Mixed land use for secondary and tertiary industries, intellectual property protection in new fields and new business forms, and cross-border connection of medical services...... In the past three years, there have been 40 "Shenzhen experiences" to the whole country.

At the same time, the "Overall Plan for Promoting High-level Institutional Opening-up in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Comprehensively Aligning with International High-standard Economic and Trade Rules" was officially issued. Shanghai, the birthplace of China's first pilot free trade zone, has taken on a new mission - to build a national institutional opening demonstration zone.

Examined in the historical coordinates of reform and opening up, the development stories of the two cities highlight the great changes that have changed China and affected the world, and are continuing to write a legend in the new era.

The reform and opening up, which began at the end of the 70s of the 20th century, pushed the gears of the destiny of the Chinese nation to fly, went through a magnificent journey, opened up a way forward, and won space for development. From poverty and backwardness to prosperity, from insufficient food and clothing to an all-round well-off, from "standing up" to "getting rich" and "becoming strong", socialist China has explored a vigorous road to modernization and stands tall among the nations of the world with a more high-spirited attitude.

Practice has eloquently proved that reform and opening up is the only way to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, a key move in determining the fate of contemporary China, and the most distinctive banner of our party in the new historical period.

(a)

The Jizheng high-speed railway was put into operation, the Lairong high-speed railway was opened to traffic, and the Lixiang railway was officially opened......

At the end of each year, it is another period of intensive railway opening. People have become Xi to such news. And 45 years ago, this was something that could never have been dreamed of. What kind of urgency has made today's ordinary?

"I feel fast, and it has the meaning of urging people to run. When Deng Xiaoping visited Japan in October 1978, he was asked how he felt about riding the Shinkansen train.

At that time, China's per capita gross national income was only $200. The biggest worry of tens of millions of families is whether they will be able to eat enough, and the biggest worry of the whole country is whether they will be "expelled from the club."

The crisis has opened the door to the emancipation of the mind.

On December 18, 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. The plenum pointed out that "the realization of the four modernizations requires a substantial increase in the productive forces, which will inevitably require a multifaceted change in the relations of production and the superstructure that are incompatible with the development of the productive forces, and a change in all modes of management, activities, and thinking that are not suitable, and thus it will be an extensive and profound revolution." The meeting made the historic decision to shift the focus of the work of the party and the state to economic construction and to carry out reform and opening up.

It's a great turnaround, but it's also a difficult transition. Since then, overcoming obstacles, changing and seeking innovation, weathering the wind and rain, spring and autumn fruits——

An ancient country with a long civilization has embarked on the track of accelerating its modernization and development. The world's second largest economy, the largest industrial country, and the largest trade in goods...... increasing titles on the "business card of China" record the glory we have won by moving forward firmly on the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The people's lives have moved from shortage to abundance, from widespread poverty to all-round well-off, with a heavy sense of gain, happiness and security, and the overall social situation has always remained stable in the profound economic and social changes.

A vast country is striding closer to the center of the world stage. At the beginning, few people could have foreseen the significance of China's reform and opening up to the world. Today, we will promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, work with other countries to build the Belt and Road Initiative, and put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative...... China's plans and actions demonstrate the actions and responsibilities of world peacebuilders, contributors to global development, and defenders of the international order. "Is the awakening lion of the East an opportunity or a challenge to the world?" Over the past 10 years, China's economy has contributed more than 30% of the world's economic growth annually, giving a resounding answer.

A nation that has experienced many vicissitudes of life is ushering in a bright future of great rejuvenation. In modern times, we have gone through too many hardships, made too many sacrifices, and fought too hard. The floodgates of change have been opened, powerful energy has fully burst out, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process, and the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to firmly grasp the thorough spiritual, historical, and development initiative in their own hands.

Exploring the trajectory of development, we can see that the liberation and development of social productive forces, upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, and maintaining the party's advanced nature and purity are respectively related to the all-round development of people, the future of socialism, and the destiny of the ruling party, and point to the same goal -- to comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization. Even though we have endured many twists and turns and encountered all kinds of torrents, we have always been able to face everything with an attitude of reform and opening up, and forge ahead with an indomitable spirit.

These 45 years are a short moment in history, but the impact is significant and far-reaching.

These 45 years have been extended into a thick chapter, drawing a magnificent picture of the times.

Reform and opening up can only be carried out when it is not completed. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that "no matter how difficult the reform is, we must move forward, dare to take responsibility, dare to gnaw hard bones, dare to wade into dangerous waters", and China "will never close the door of opening up by itself"!

All the way through the pass, all the way to break the fence and clear the obstacles, all the way to accumulate momentum. Over the past 10 years, we have overcome a series of major risks and challenges, solved many long-term problems that we wanted to solve but could not solve, and accomplished many major things that we wanted to do but could not do in the past, laying a solid foundation for China's governance and injecting inexhaustible impetus into China's modernization. A tenacious and indomitable political party has created a great cause of continuous inheritance, and created a new great historical time for the Chinese nation in the great time history of mankind.

(b)

Rivers are the road to the sea, and every one of them is being pursued, and every step towards the modernization of national governance is discovering problems and seeking answers.

At the beginning of 2013, for more than 20 days, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and most parts of the Yangtze River Delta were overwhelmed by smog. The study found that the scope of smog almost coincided with the gathering place of heavy chemical industry, and the shortcomings of the extensive economic growth mode were exposed.

At this time, it is not only the economic field that has shortcomings, but also the people's livelihood field, and there is a serious risk that the party's ability to govern will be weakened. The impact of the international financial crisis has not yet dissipated, world economic growth has continued to be sluggish, the dilemma of global governance has become prominent, and regional conflicts, terrorism and extremism are on the rise...... The external environment can be described as complex and severe, and the birth and rise of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation have added more variables and uncertainties.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics is facing real challenges.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics must be revitalized.

China, which regards reform as the spirit of the times, chooses to break through the new historical pass by comprehensively deepening reform, and seeks a more open route for the giant ship Fuxing to break through the waves.

In November 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform. With this as a sign, China's reform and opening up has entered a new realm, with the overall goal of "improving and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity". With 60 specific tasks and 336 reform initiatives covering all aspects, the international community has called it "the most ambitious reform plan" in the world today.

There is a body of governance, and the governance is orderly. The more modern a country is, the higher the level of institutionalization is required. Observing in the context of the "four comprehensive" strategic layout, comprehensively deepening reform is an important practice of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, a sister chapter that goes hand in hand with the comprehensive rule of law, and an inevitable requirement for the party's self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation, and self-improvement. Reform runs throughout, which is both the driving force and cohesion, the method path and the spiritual core.

The advance from "reform" to "comprehensively deepening reform" should not only be carried out in a certain field, but also in all fields, and it is not only necessary to make a fuss about the issue of easy reform, but also to put more emphasis on overcoming difficulties. The metaphors of "hard bones", "deep water areas" and "tough periods" are enough to vividly prove the complexity, sensitivity, and arduousness of promoting reform.

The more arduous the journey, the more we need the power of pilot.

Things are in the four directions, and they must be in the center. Less than two months after the conclusion of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform was established, with General Secretary Xi Jinping personally in charge. This is the first time that our party has set up a leading body dedicated to reform work at the central level, and it was adjusted to the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The party's leadership will run through the whole process of reform, and the reform of the economic, political, cultural, social, ecological civilization and party building systems will be comprehensively promoted.

The more courageous the journey, the more we need the wisdom of co-ordination.

Piecemeal and tinkering is completely impossible, and the only way to move forward is to make a holistic change and a revolutionary reshaping to break down obstacles. From deepening the reform of the Party and state institutions to promoting the reform of the administrative examination and approval system, from the high-standard and high-quality construction of the Xiong'an New Area to the exploration and construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, from the rural land reform to the reform of the property rights system, from further improving the ecological environment supervision system to the full implementation of the "river chief system" and "lake chief system...... A number of major measures related to the national economy and people's livelihood have been introduced and gradually implemented, and the reform has realized the transformation from partial exploration and ice-breaking breakthrough to system integration and comprehensive deepening.

Needless to say, we have embarked on the road of modernization amid backwardness. This kind of identity as a catch-up is especially easy for people to underestimate the advantages, resilience, vitality and potential hidden in the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and it is natural that there will be voices of doubt and even denial.

"We are comprehensively deepening reform, not because the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is not good, but to make it better; we say that we should strengthen the self-confidence of the system, not to rest on our laurels, but to constantly eliminate the shortcomings of the system and mechanism, so that our system is mature and durable. General Secretary Xi's important thesis gave a firm answer to this.

By the end of 2020, a total of 2,485 reform plans had been launched in various fields, and the reform goals and tasks proposed by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China had been completed as scheduled. We have stimulated institutional advantages by comprehensively deepening reforms, accelerated the construction of a complete set of more systematic, scientific, standardized, and effective institutional systems, continuously improved the level of modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and radiated new vitality to the cause of the Party and the country.

(c)

Parallel to the increasing maturity of the system is the strategic plan to promote Chinese-style modernization.

Throughout the history of the world, the West has been the first to explore and enjoy the fruits of modernization, and accordingly it has identified itself as the center of the world and the guide of the direction of human modernization. Many developing countries have also pursued reform or opening up, but when looking for their own development paths, they are often faced with a dilemma -- "dependence" will lose the initiative in development, and "decoupling" will easily fall into poverty for a long time, so there are many precedents for entering the predicament.

China has chosen to follow its own path. From the first day of opening the country to construction, we have vigorously emphasized that the modernization we are engaged in is Chinese-style modernization, and the socialism we are building is socialism with Chinese characteristics. In this way, the banner of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" was held high, bringing together the people of all ethnic groups across the country.

Chinese characteristics determine a completely different path choice. General Secretary Xi Jinping boldly declared, "Chinese-style modernization is the answer we give to the major historical topic of how to awaken the 'sleeping lion' and achieve national rejuvenation, and it is to choose our own path and do our own thing."

With a new vision, Chinese modernization has deepened the understanding of the laws governing the Communist Party, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society, and systematically answered the historical question of how to build modernization in an ancient oriental country like China, which has a large population and a weak foundation, from a new perspective, so that the bright prospects of socialism can be more vividly displayed on the land of China.

The world has thus seen another possibility: a possibility of combining the law of modernization with its own national conditions and the trend of world civilization with its own development and progress. Each country's efforts to independently explore a path to modernization suited to its own national conditions should be fully respected.

On March 19, 2013, President Xi Jinping said in a joint interview with the media of the BRICS countries: "China is a big country, with a large population and complex national conditions, leaders must have an in-depth understanding of the national conditions, understand the people's thoughts and expectations, constantly enhance their work capabilities, have the consciousness of 'walking on thin ice, as if facing the abyss', keep in mind that the interests of the people are above all else, remember that the responsibility is heavier than Mount Tai, dare not slack off at all, dare not be sloppy at all, and must stay up all night in the office. Work diligently. ”

Sincere words, reflecting the original intention, reflect the hardships of governing a country with a huge population.

This is a worldwide conundrum – to date, the world's modernized population is about 1 billion people, less than one-seventh of the world's population. With China's size, no matter how big an achievement is divided by 1.4 billion, it will become very small, and no matter how small a problem is multiplied by 1.4 billion, it will become very large.

This is an exploratory undertaking -- Chinese-style modernization is the modernization of a huge population, the modernization of common prosperity for all the people, the modernization of the harmony between material civilization and spiritual civilization, the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and the modernization of taking the path of peaceful development. All these characteristics must be reflected in the principles and policies, strategies and tactics, policy measures, and work arrangements for the mainland's development, and there are bound to be many brand-new topics waiting to be solved.

There is no precedent to follow, and there is no experience to learn from. Promoting Chinese-style modernization is a systematic project and the biggest politics, how should we plan and act?

"It is necessary to take into account the overall consideration, systematic planning, and overall advancement, and correctly handle a series of major relationships such as top-level design and practical exploration, strategy and tactics, integrity and innovation, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, self-reliance and opening up. "General Secretary Xi Jinping's profound explanation pointed out the direction.

Focus on the big chess game and settle at the key point. Guided by the new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, and the methodology derived from continuous exploration, it is deeply integrated into all aspects of governance. Among them, the dialectical unity of addition and subtraction, giving and gaining, advance and retreat is destined to be a severe test and vivid proof of courage and wisdom, sincerity and responsibility.

(iv)

Looking at the exhibition, the modernization goal we are striving for is within reach——

By 2035, an ancient oriental country with a huge population will enter the ranks of modernization, completely rewriting the world map of human modernization.

By the middle of this century, a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist country will stand majestically in the east of the world.

Born from the past and the present, the future is bred.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) took "persisting in deepening reform and opening up" as a major principle that must be firmly grasped on the way forward, indicating that the fundamental driving force for promoting Chinese-style modernization lies in comprehensively deepening reform.

The just-concluded Central Economic Work Conference regarded "we must persist in relying on reform and opening up to enhance the endogenous driving force of development" as an important regular understanding of doing a good job in economic work in the new era, and declared the firm determination to "promote in-depth reform and high-level opening up in a coordinated manner".

-- Time has passed, and reform has not stopped.

Today's reform is not to raise a tall building from the ground, but to advance at a deeper level from a higher starting point. In particular, we need to firmly grasp the pulse of the development of the times, scientifically understand the new changes and new characteristics of different stages of development, actively respond to the new challenges and new problems brought about by the external environment, strengthen the top-level design, and at the same time, find out the law through "feeling the stones", strive to break down the deep-seated institutional and institutional obstacles, constantly demonstrate the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, continuously enhance the driving force and vitality of socialist modernization, and better transform the advantages of the mainland system into the efficiency of national governance.

——Shiyi, openness does not stop.

Today's opening up is becoming more and more difficult in the face of fierce competition between countries based on their own interests. Only by actively connecting with the international high-standard market rule system, promoting the opening up of rules, regulations, management, standards and other institutions, deeply participating in the global industrial division of labor and cooperation, and making overall use of domestic and international resources, can we continue to expand the development space of Chinese-style modernization.

Time is running out, day and night are counting.

At present, in the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, which has just received the new mission, the "stress test" has been launched. A new institute dedicated to cross-border data flow research has been established, which will benchmark against world-class standards and explore innovations in infrastructure and operation methods.

Chinese modernization has goals, plans, and strategies, and will certainly be realized as scheduled. We will further promote reform and innovation, unswervingly expand opening up, and promote reform and opening up to a new situation on the new journey, and the Chinese Communists will continue to create a great and vivid miracle of high-quality development.

After 45 years, we are extremely proud! (Author: Editorial Department of Economic Daily)