The New Concept, New Thought and New Strategy for National Governance Highlight Scientific Thinking

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The New Concept, New Thought and New Strategy for National Governance Highlight Scientific Thinking

By Professor Li Jianhua: The Research Center of the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics of Zhejiang Province

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Comrade Xi Jinping pools the wisdom of the Communist Party of China (Party for short), focusing on the overall issues, core issues, and key issues under the new situation of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, has made a series of important speeches, proposed a complete set of strategy for national governing, thus, having formulated the new concept, new thought and new strategy for national governance. Comrade Xi Jinping’s series of important speeches and the new concept are based on the rigorous scientific methodology approach, highlight the Marxist scientific thinking, and provide a basic criteria for the Party to effectively govern the country under the new situation.

Commanding the overall situation with strategic thinking

In line with Marxism, the relationship between the internal factors and the external factors are interrelated, restricted and influenced each other. The Marxist thought on universal connection between matters provides us a strategic and systematic way of thinking. Comrade Xi Jinping profoundly commands the Party's national governance system, comprehensiveness and complexity under the new situation, scientifically applies Marxist strategic thinking, stresses a series of fundamental issues related to the Party’s national governance effectiveness such as in-depth explanations on the relationship between the five major constructions, and the relationship between the long-term objectives and periodical development goals, and the relationship between a part and the whole.

From the strategic and systematic perspectives, economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction, and ecological civilization construction are an organic part of the national governance, which are closely linked to each other, and complement each other, but there are also existing tensions and contradictions; if one factor is overemphasized or is advanced individually, which is easy to cause an imbalance between economic development and social development and reduce the effects of national governance. In order to promote the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable economic and social development in China, the Report to the 18th CPC National Congress established for the socialist construction with Chinese characteristics the "five in one" overall layout. In order to co-ordinate this overall layout, comrade Xi Jinping stresses that any current major reform program is affecting the whole, which also needs more comprehensive considerations, and more coordinate advance. Since the 18th National Congress, the Party puts forward and promotes coordinately comprehensively building a moderate prosperous society in all respects, comprehensively deepening reform, comprehensively governing the country with rule of law, and strictly and comprehensively governing the Party, thus formulating the "four comprehensives" strategic layout, clarifying the strategic focus and strategic task to promote the overall coordinate development of the "five in one" overall layout under the new situation, and the "comprehensives" have become keywords repeatedly stressed by the Party’s national governance. This means the national governance in the new period is no longer simple pursuit of reaching a single goal, but taking into overall consideration the internal links between the various factors, and seeking synergy in various fields.

Based upon the current reality and from long-term perspective is a prominent feature of strategic thinking. In national governance, we should deal with the relationship between the long-term goals and the phased development goals. We should strive for the long-term goals unswervingly and meanwhile establish feasible goals. To achieve national prosperity and strength, national rejuvenation and people's happiness and to attain the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are the long-term goals of the Party's governing the country. Comrade Xi Jinping clearly points out that people's yearning for a better life is the Party’s goal and our responsibility is to unite and lead the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups, take over the baton of history, and continuously strive to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Meantime, he, in accordance with the periodical characteristics of the present stage of China's economic and social development, also identifies better education, more stable work, more satisfied income, more reliable social security, higher levels of health care services, more comfortable living conditions and more beautiful environment, and children growing healthier, working happier and living better as the realistic goals for the Party to achieve in the current period. Comprehensively building a well-off society in all respects is a concentrated expression of these phased development goals.

The relationship between a part and the whole is also an important point of strategic thinking. The new concept, new thought and new strategy of governing the country profoundly commands the relationship between a part and the whole, takes problems as the guidance, and the short board development as the breakthrough point, and aims at optimizing the whole situation with solution to the key problems. On the path of building a well-off society in all respects, there still exist such prominent short-board aspects such as poverty alleviation and environmental protection. Comrade Xi Jinping attaches great importance to complement of these short-board in economic and social development. He stresses, "we can not announce the completion of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, while there are still tens of millions people living under poverty line, which not only affects the people’s satisfaction of and also influences the international community’s recognition of our country comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society in all respects." To make up for the short board development as an important starting point, and to promote development of the whole society with advance models are the scientific application and development of Marxist strategic thinking in modern China.

Take historical thinking as a link between the past and the future

History is the best textbook. Historical thinking is indispensable to the Party’s effective administration. Comrade Xi Jinping points out, to attach importance to history, study history and learn from history can bring out vast wisdom for mankind to understand yesterday, seize today, and create for tomorrow. The Party running the country should both face the present and the future, and inherit from the history so as to keep writing a new chapter in history.

The new concept, new thought and new strategy of governing the country are deeply rooted in the rich soil of the fine traditional culture of China, and profoundly reflect the dialectical unity between tradition and modernity, and between history and reality. Take the socialist core values as an example, its main contents have inherited and extended the fine traditional culture and traditional virtues of China. As Comrade Xi Jinping points out: prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, sincerity, amity inherit the Chinese fine traditional culture gene, carry the ideal and belief established in the modern times by the Chinese people’s explorations from down to bottom and after having experienced numerous twists and turns, and also bear everyone’s beautiful expectation for the future. He further stresses, among the Chinese fine cultural traditions, the moral ideal and the ethical requirements such as making inquiries is to attain knowledge, sincerity can help straighten up one’s mind, self-cultivation can help upgrade a family, and ruling a country well can help build a peaceful world, etc., which from the personal, social and national perspectives are our important cultural support to nurture and practice the socialist core values. Comrade Xi Jinping on many occasions organically integrates China’s traditional political ideas into governing the country and gives the traditional governing wisdom the new connotation of the times.

The historical thinking of the new concept, new thought and new strategy of governing the country is essentially reflecting the respect for the past, facing up the reality and focusing on the future. Nations and nation-states must know who they are, where they come from, and where they go, and as the mind is set right, they must unswervingly move towards the set goals. History is the best teacher, which faithfully records the footsteps of every country, and it also provides inspiration and enlightenments for its future development. To get devoiced from China's history, divorced from China's culture, divorced from the spiritual world of the Chinese people and divorced from the profound changes in contemporary China is difficult to correctly understand China. The most important reality in contemporary China is to realize the "two centennial" goals. To this end, we need to correctly understand the history and culture of the Chinese nation, and constantly enhance cultural self-confidence and strategic concentration. As Comrade Xi Jinping points out: Standing on the vast land of 9.60 million square kilometers, sucking cultural nutrients accumulated in the long-term struggles of the Chinese nation, and supported by the majestic force polymerized by 1.3 billion people of China, we can go our own way with a very broad stage, unprecedented historical heritage, and a very strong forward-moving impetus.

Transforming contradictions with dialectical thinking

Comrade Xi Jinping points out that the ability of dialectical thinking is to recognize contradictions, analyze contradictions, and solve contradictions, and is good at grasping the key-links, identifying the key points, and understanding the development law of matters and things. This points out the two basic aspects of dialectical thinking, namely, the "two points theory" and "focus theory". The new concept, new thought and new strategy of governing the country, in Marxist dialectical materialism, analyze various relations in the Party and Government development process, and through grasping and transforming the main contradictions to promote improvement of the national governance system and upgrade governance capacity.

After 30-year rapid development by reform and opening up, China has become the world's second largest economy. Some Southeast Asian countries and Latin American countries fall into the "middle-income trap" after a certain stage of the rapid economic development, so economic stagnation, political instability and social disorder have emerged. In order to avoid this situation happening, the key lies in the use of dialectical thinking to firmly grasp and effectively solve the major contradictions in economic and social development. In this regard, the new concept, new thought, and new strategy of the national governance gives a clear answer. "The CPC Central Committee’s Proposal for Making the 13th Five-year Plan on National Economic and Social Development" objectively accesses achievements of China's economic development and the basic sound long-term trend, and also lists prominent problems and contradictions in aspects of the production mode, regional development, income distribution, public service, legal construction, and concludes that a fundamental way to solve the main contradictions is focusing on economic construction, proceeding from reality, grasping the new features of development, intensifying structural reforms, accelerating the transformation of economic development mode, and realizing more efficient, more equitable, and more sustainable development with higher quality. This captures the essentials of the Party governing the country under the new situation.From the perspective of international relations, the in-depth development of economic globalization has not only made international exchanges more and more frequent, and international contacts closer and closer, but also brought more and more common problems and challenges to humankind. From climate control to economic crisis prevention to poverty eradication, all of which need the international community to work together. If every country just pursues its own interests to the neglect of the interests of other countries and the common interests of mankind, which can hardly respond effectively to the common challenges the human society faces, but will intensify the contradictions, and even trigger conflict and war among countries. The new concept, new thought and new strategy for the national governance with dialectical thinking co-ordinates the overall domestic situation and overall international situation, puts forward the magnificent concept of building a human community of shared future, thus, providing a new perspective and thinking for promoting the common development of human society.

Leading development with innovative thinking

Currently, the domestic and overseas environment is undergoing profound changes, and China's socialist modernization drive is facing a series of new problems and challenges. In the new situation, only those innovators are making progress, becoming stronger and, remaining successful. The new concept, new thought and new strategy for the national governance positions innovation in the core of country's overall development, continuously pushes innovation in all aspects such as theory innovation, institutional innovation, technological innovation, cultural innovation, hence, having opened up a new realm of the Party governing the country.

From the perspective of economic construction, the Party has come up with the innovative theories such as the new normal of economic development and the supply-side structural reform, and vigorously promoted the transforming and upgrading of the economic structure, accelerated the national economic transformation from the element-driven and the investment scale-driven growth to the innovation-driven growth. From the perspectives of state governance and social governance, the "Decision" by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee proposes comprehensive deepening reform and promoting national governance systems and governance capacity modernization, aiming to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. The "Decision" by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee puts forward a innovative statement of comprehensive ruling the country with law and makes systematic arrangements. From the perspective of cultural construction, the Party, around building a socialist culturally strong country, puts forward a series of innovative theories such as cultivating and practicing the socialist core values, building an innovative system of philosophy and social sciences, constructing modern public cultural service system, accelerating development of modern culture industry, building a modern media system, etc.. From the perspective of developing ecological civilization, the Party has established the innovative concept of green development, put forward "vigorously stepping toward socialist ecological civilization" and taken a series of innovative measures such as speeding up the construction of the main functional areas, promoting the economical and intensive utilization of resources, and improving the safeguards mechanism of ecological security and developing green industrial sectors.

In addition, implementing the strategy of a strong manufacturing country, vigorously developing newly emerging strategic industries, promoting the new-type urbanization, implementing the overall strategy for regional development, promoting the Belt and Road construction ... None of this series of strategic initiatives is not the product of innovative thinking, all of which highlights the core-driven force of innovation for China's reform and development under the new situation.

Command initiative with the bottom line thinking

Bottom line thinking is a foresight thinking with a sense of urgency. Comrade Xi Jinping repeatedly stresses: We should learn to be good at using the bottom line thinking, get prepared for the worst, and strive for the best, so as to get preparedness averting peril, and firmly command the initiative. The planning and arrangements of the new concept, new thought and new strategy for governing the country on a series of important issues concerning China's economic and social development planning, and comprehensive and stricter governance of the Party show the bottom line thinking.

The economic and social development has both regularity and certainty, meanwhile, is also affected by complicated and changing situations and factors, and risks and uncertainties are in existence. If there is lack of bottom line thinking and sense of urgency, and inadequate assessment of potential risks, it is easy to get a loss at what to do in the face of difficulties and challenges, and lose the initiative to develop as well. On planning economic and social development, the new concept, new thought and new strategy for governing the country reflect clearly problem- oriented and bottom line thinking. For example, the 13th Five-Year Plan not only fully confirms the great achievements of China's economic and social development in 12th Five-Year period, also objectively analyzes the risks and challenges, proposes to actively cope with a series of major risks and challenges such as the continuous impacts of the international financial crisis. Taking into overall consideration the potential of China's economic development, and the requirements of economic growth by building a comprehensively moderate prosperous society in all respects, comrade Xi Jinping in his recommendations made on the CPCCC-proposed 13th Five-Year Plan comes up with 6.5% annual economic growth as the bottom line. To establish this bottom line is to delineate reasonable space for the national economic development and to strengthen the strategic stability so that we can firmly command the development initiative.

Discipline and standards are the bottom line requirements for the Party members and cadres to conduct their duty. Only by adhering to the bottom line thinking, strictly complying with the political discipline, can we keep the Party's progressiveness and purity, and give full play to the Party's political advantage. The Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPCCC stresses that the Party is a Marx political party, and stricter governance of the Party reflects its character. Historical experience has repeatedly demonstrated whenever the Party governs itself strictly, the Party gets stronger and more powerful, and becomes victorious from victory to victory; otherwise, it becomes weak, lax and lost. In the process of comprehensive and stricter governance of the Party, on the one hand we strengthen the Party rules consciousness, and the bottom line awareness, and set up the system red line; on the other hand, carry out anti-corruption struggle in a high pressure profile, and strike the ideological alarm with strict punishment. The CPCCC has adopted a series of rules and regulations governing the Party members and cadres in political life and daily work, providing institutional safeguards for the Party to govern the country better under the new situation.

(Excerpts of the article in People's Daily, April 26, 2017, p.7 )