Implications of the China’s Development Road

By Wang Jianjun, Outlook Week Research Center

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Implications of the China’s Development Road

By Wang Jianjun, Outlook Week Research Center

What we need to do now is to accelerate the development of productivity through reform, to adhere to the socialist road, and to prove the superiority of socialism with our practice. It will take two more generations, three generations, or even four generations of the Chinese people to achieve this goal. They do a great and unprecedented new experiment with an ideal, a plan and absolute confidence, and they will set up a magnificent miles-stone for the Chinese reform and opening-up.

In late 2012, the 91-year old Communist Party of China is to greet its Eighteen National Congress, ..... how to further explore the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, how to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and how to make greater contributions to world peace and development.

In early 2012, Li Shenming, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, led the "holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics" research group to run around for more than two months in China to study a historical answer to these issues. They visited cadres and masses of all walks of life at various levels in Beijing and Shanghai, and in Guangdong, Shaanxi, Jilin, Hubei, Qinghai, Jiangsu provinces, and distributed more than 1,600 copies of questionnaire. ... Eventually, he presented the research conclusions to Outlook Weekly.

The interviewed cadres and masses agreed that the Communist Party of China since its establishment 91 years ago has led the Chinese people in completing three major historical tasks: The first is overthrowing the reactionary rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism, obtaining true national sovereignty and national independence and liberation of the people, establishing the new China with people as the masters of the country. The second is establishing the basic system of socialism, and an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system on the basis of poverty and backwardness, so that the ancient country with a new look has embarked on the road of great rejuvenation. The third is pioneering the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and greatly upgrading China's comprehensive national strength, improving the people's material and cultural life, and laying a solid foundation for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the basic realization of socialist modernization. These three historic achievements have fundamentally changed the future and destiny of the Chinese people and ensured the Chinese nation to embark on the independent, prosperous, strong, democratic, and civilized broad road, and to proudly stand among the nations of the world.

The Uniqueness of China’s Development Road

A complete understanding of the three historical tasks completed by the Chinese people led by the Chinese Communist Party must first identify what the real China is. Hu Angang, director of the Center for China Studies, Tsinghua University, dynamically summarizes that more than one billion people on nearly ten million square kilometers of land have been engaged in the decades-long industrialization practice, which is the greatest social practice in the history of human activity. He describes this miracle with four unique essentials to understand it:

First, China is a world-class populous country, with not only a vast landmass but also tremendous regional differences in the country, and has become a major power of the world economy, science and technology, and military. Big country development is different from that of a small country, an advantage of big country is the benefit provided by a huge domestic market, and a disaster-stricken area can enjoy support of other parts of the country, the complementary advantages. But a large country also has its big difficulties, China is a major developing countries with extremely uneven political and economic and social development, is one of the countries with the largest regional disparities in key development indicators in the world, and is almost a special case for solving the problems of survival and development of over one billion people in the world, ancient and modern statesmen have been neither exposed to, nor handled.

Second, China is a country in fast multi-transitions, i.e. industrial transition mainly from the agriculture-based to the industrial and service-based, the transition from a rural society to urban society, the transition from a planned economic system to a socialist market economic system, the transition from a closed to an open society, the transition from a closed and backward culture to open and advanced Chinese culture. Look at the size of its population, it is bigger than any large country in transition; regarding transformation speed, its transition is faster than any changing society; as for the type of transformation, its is different from the characteristics and process of any country in the transition. These unprecedented and ultra-large-scale multi-transitions would be accompanied by transition challenges from a variety of major contradictions as well as social conflicts, international competition, and so on.

Third, China both lags behind and catches up in the modern times. It is after 1950 that China really gets into the modern period of economic growth, the formal start of industrialization, so its modernization process is at least 100 to 200 years later than that of the developed industrialized countries. This situation provides both latecomer with disadvantages and advantages of the "conditional convergence", so it can, through innovation and re-creation, achieve growth by "leaps and bounds" and rapidly narrow down the relative gaps with developed countries

Fourth, China uniquely pioneers a non-traditional and non-Western modernization path. Firstly, open up an independent path of development, never rely on any external forces, never attach to the world's major powers, and never succumb to world hegemonies. This is difficult to achieve by other developing countries. Secondly, do not copy other countries in development mode, must and should only take the unique socialist modernization path suitable for China's national conditions. Thirdly， adhere to the socialist system, and give full play to the superiority of the socialist system. This is the most important institutional advantages for China to catch up with and surpass other developed capitalist countries including the United States. Fourthly, internally adhere to the socialist principles of common development and sharing the common prosperity. Fifthly, externally take the path of peaceful development, and never repeat the history of exercising overseas hegemony, expansion and invasion by the capitalist countries and the former Soviet Union.

Never Change the Historic Choice

Look at the world, it is in profound turmoil, change, differentiation, and major adjustments. From the overall situation, the outbreak and spread of the Western financial crisis has thoroughly exposed the capitalist inherent contradictions and capital greed. With the reducing resources and scientific and technological progress, the basic contradictions are bound to be exacerbated worldwide within the framework of the capitalist system.

To shift the crisis and expand their influences, the international monopoly capitalism is pressing ahead with a new round of carving up the world, especially in the process of competition for resources. In this process, contradictions between developed capitalist countries and Third World, i.e. developing countries will become more profound and intricate, sharper and intensified even in a certain period and certain regions, and the turmoil of the world may be further intensified. This has been vividly reflected by the wide-ranging "occupation movement" in the United States, MENA "color revolution" and the U.S. "return to Asia" and other hot events.

The CPC guides the Chinese people holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, taking Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thinking of the "Three Represents" as guidance, thoroughly implementing the Scientific Outlook on Development, emancipating the mind, furthering reform and opening up, gathering strength to tackle tough, steadfastly advancing along the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and struggling for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. It also leads in opening up the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, formulates the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and establishes the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, which profoundly reveals the laws governing social development in contemporary China, and is the scientific answer to the fundamental problem of what flag to raise and what road to take.

Meanwhile, we must soberly recognize that, as far as the domestic situation goes, China will remain at the primary stage of socialism for a long period of time to come, has gone on the road full of thorns and frustrations, and the road ahead will never be Veuve Clicquot and smooth sailing. China needs urgent transformation of its economic development mode, urgently narrowing down the gap in income redistribution, urgently punishing and preventing corruption, urgently carrying forward the practical and realistic style of work, and urgently strengthening the flesh-and-blood ties with the masses ... Deng Xiaoping once pointed out that if three is any problem with China, it is incubated within the Communist Party. So, in that sense, a major test we face is anchored on the test of party purity and the vanguard building. The historic choice of the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics for the Chinese nation will never change. No mater what road to take, the U.S.-led Western world will never allow a powerful China to emerge.

Thus, we today have clearer and more profound recognition on the issue of the flag than any period in the past. This flag must be distinctive, held high, not wavering overtly or covertly, and allowed no falling-down. The road, theory and system provide specific support and practice of the carrier for the banner, apart from these, the banner becomes empty slogan. The three elements are united in the grand cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and together constitute the actual content of the banner. From the practice of China's development, the banner is the image, the direction and the strength. And the banner is also a clear answer to the future road to continue, i.e. taking no beaten track, no garden path, and neither standing still.

Carrying Forward For 90 Years

In fact, the ideals, beliefs, theories and roads are closely related to the destiny of the nation and even to the fate of each of us and our family. The idea that they are illusory and are very far away from us or are unrelated to us will sooner or later create a grandeur mistake. The socialism with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental achievements of the 90-year struggle, creation and accumulation by CPC and the people, must be cherished, always preserved and continuously developed. It is the crystallization of the wisdom and efforts of several generations of Chinese Communists leading the people's tireless explorations and practices.

The socialism with Chinese characteristics covers the historical process of the whole socialist cause development in China, including the primary stage of socialism, and the senior and advanced stage of socialism. Thus, in view of time extension, socialism with Chinese characteristics will last much longer than the primary stage of socialism.

Therefore, on the one hand, unwaveringly adhere to the basic line of the primary stage of socialism for a hundred years. We must proceed from this reality, and can not go beyond this stage, otherwise will enter a blind alley. On the other hand, it must be clear that the development direction and forward target of the primary stage of socialism is to continuously enrich, improve and develop practical character, theoretical character, national character, the times character for socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Hence, there is a strong spiritual motivation in global competition. Any historical retrogression means a dead end to the party, the state and the people.

Ensure That the People Live a Better Life

September 12, 2007, the British "Guardian" reported that the income of the 225 richest people is equal to the poorest 2.7 billion people's income in the world, equivalent to 40% of the income for the global population. In the year 2007, the richest 1% families command 43% of the financial wealth of U.S. households, household financial wealth owned by 20% households accounted for 93% of total U.S. household financial wealth, while 80% households had only 7% of the total households financial wealth in the United States. The total assets of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Paul Allen are more than the total GDP of the world's 43 least developed countries.

Human Development Report 2005 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had provided the following three sets of data: nowadays, global GDP per capita is about US$5,000, and global per capita cereal nearly 400 kilograms, the world would have no hunger and poverty if we can achieve a humane and equitable allocation of them. Many people believe that spends US$ 2 on a cup of Italian coffee is nothing, but 1/5 of the world people live on that a day, and another 1/5 on less than US$ 1 a day and many children lost their lives due to the lack of simple mosquito net in some countries. Only US$ 7 billion annually allows 2.6 billion people with access to clean water, and that amount is less than the Europeans used for perfume and smaller than Americans spent on cosmetic surgery annually. If this investment is in place, every day the lives of about 4,000 people can be saved.

This general historical background continuously warns the Chinese Government of improving the livelihood of the Chinese people, which is the fundamental goal of China’s development. This goal allows not only the people to enjoy a prosperous and decent life, but also includes higher levels of education, and live healthier and longer life.

China, in the past 60 years, especially 30 years since the reform and opening up, has created the greatest miracle in the history of human development. This miracle is reflected not only in the development of the economy at a surprising rate, but also in the significant progress made in human development. China is one of the countries with the best improvement of the human development index. According to the UN statistics, over the past 40 years (1970 to 2010), the improvement of Human Development Index for China is after that of Oman, ranking second in the world.

However, due to the large population, huge gaps between regions, China is not only tied down by the development gap between urban areas and rural areas and must face uneven regional development as well as a huge number of absolute poor, and its social development lags behind economic development, still difficult for short-term change. Therefore, China must continue its efforts to coordinate social development and economic growth to solve the problem of uneven development.

The good news is that the Central Government increases the social construction investments, the standard of living of the people began to accelerate. For example, in the past decade, the beneficiaries of Chinese medical insurance grew from 73 million in 2001 to 1.304 billion in 2011, health insurance coverage jumped to a staggering 96 percent from only 3.25%. In contrast, in the past 200 years or more, the U.S. health insurance coverage was 15.7% in 2011. Not only that, China has also created the world's largest employment, and 107.6 million new urban jobs were added over the past decade. The Eleventh Five-Year Program planed to create 45 million new jobs in a five-year time, but recorded 57 million jobs.