Thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era lights up future road

Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

The whole world is watching the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in hopes of learning the CPC’s future path and finding out where China and the globe will go in the future.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s report to the congress and related discussions all proved that China is committed to a future-oriented development, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The CPC has earned respect from the world by facing the future and taking responsibility. “To put it simply, the CPC is not just a ruling party, it is a party with a mission,” Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, wrote in an article.

“In terms of theory and practical experience, the CPC is a mature ruling party when compared to other political parties in the world,” he added.

Thinking is the soul of a ruling party. The report of the 19th CPC National Congress, by giving shape to thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, has made clear to the world the party’s exploration of and answers to the questions such as what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics will it develop in the new era and how the country will develop it. That is also the reason behind international recognition for the report.

The report not only clarified 8 highlights about socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era, but also listed 14 fundamental principles that underpin the endeavors to uphold and develop it. The incisive, farsighted and innovative elaborations have pushed the zeitgeist of Marxism onto a world stage.

The key to China’s historic changes and achievements during the last five years lies in the guidance of the new thought.

Xi has heralded socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era, said Stephen Perry, chairman of the UK-based 48 Group Club, lauding him as a leader good at absorbing experiences from China’s time-honored history and culture, integrating Marxism with China’s realities.

During the last five years since the 18th National Congress, the CPC has identified the overarching goal of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

It also made clear that the overall plan for building socialism with Chinese characteristics is the five-sphere integrated plan and the overall strategy is a four-pronged comprehensive strategy. The overall goal of deepening reform in every field was clarified as well.

It is because of these theories that China, the largest developing country in the world, has entered the new era of securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and embarking on a journey to fully build a modern socialist China.

There should be no end to exploration or theoretic innovation. Friedrich Engels said in his later years that socialism is not changeless, but rather an ever-changing and evolving society just like any other social systems.

Learning from the ebb and flow of the socialist movements around the globe, and still exploring an ever-changing world, the CPC has gained important enlightenment that socialism has always been advancing through revolutions.
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Xi’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era is another giant leap forward for adapting Marxism-Leninism into a Chinese context. It offers a new reference point for other countries and nations who desire both development and independence.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that his deepest impression of Chinese leaders was the frequent visions they offer the people, which later were always realized. In the global context of “certainty” being a scarce resource, China is providing the world with determinacy.

The 19th CPC National Congress is an event of huge significance not only for Chinese society but for the international community. It is a grand meeting closely related to the future development of the whole world.

So far six million copies of the book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, which collects the speeches, talks, interviews, notes and letters of the Chinese leader, have been sold in more than 160 countries and regions, becoming one of the most influential works composed by national leaders.

China’s philosophy of national governance has become one of the most attractive topics at meetings between Chinese and foreign leaders.

Stepping into the new era and embarking on a new road, the CPC is competent of making more splendid development under the guidance of the thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. The world will also benefit more in the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.