The Significant Advantages of the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics as Seen from Social Development

As a governance system formed by a state under specific historical conditions, the system is the fundamental basis for national governance and profoundly influences the path and effectiveness of social development. The advantage of a system is the higher efficiency and stronger resilience that a national governance system demonstrates in promoting social progress, responding to risks and challenges, and achieving development goals, compared with other systems; it is the most important factor determining the success of national development. The advantage of a system originates not only from the inherent attributes of the system itself but also needs to be verified and manifested through the concrete practice of social development, in the comparison between history and reality. Xi Jinping pointed out: “The advantage of a system is a country’s greatest advantage, and competition between systems is the most fundamental competition between countries.” This assertion not only reveals the core position of the system in national competition and development but also points to the key to the “Chinese miracle.” The advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics have been fully demonstrated in social development; they do not come out of nowhere but have a profound theoretical foundation, cultural heritage, practical sources, and civilizational vision, exhibiting significant comprehensive advantages.

作为国家在特定历史条件下形成的治理体系，制度是国家治理的根本依据，并深刻影响着社会的发展路径和发展成效。而制度优势则是国家治理体系在促进社会进步、应对风险挑战、实现发展目标等方面所展现出的优于其他制度的更高效能和更强韧性，是决定国家发展成功的最重要因素。制度优势既源于制度本身的内在属性，更需要在历史与现实的比较中，通过社会发展的具体实践来验证和彰显。习近平指出：“制度优势是一个国家的最大优势，制度竞争是国家间最根本的竞争。”这一论断不仅揭示了制度在国家竞争和发展中的核心地位，也指明了“中国奇迹”的关键所在。中国特色社会主义制度优势在社会发展中已经得以充分展现，它不是凭空而来的，而是有着深厚的理论基础、文化底蕴、实践来源与文明视野，具有显著的综合优势特征。

I. The Reasons for the Formation of the Advantages of the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics

一、中国特色社会主义制度优势形成的缘由

The formation of a system’s advantages is by no means accidental; it is a creative process of deep integration of scientific theory, cultural tradition, practical experience, and civilizational achievements. The advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics are the result of the interplay of multiple factors.

制度优势的形成绝非偶然，而是科学理论、文化传统、实践经验以及文明成果深度融合的创造性过程。中国特色社会主义制度的优势，是多重因素交织作用的结果。

(A) The Institutional Creation of the Principles of Scientific Socialism

(一)科学社会主义原则的制度创造

Socialism with Chinese characteristics originates from scientific socialism. In the process of its establishment and development, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has internalized the principles of scientific socialism, which are the scientific theoretical support for the manifestation of its advantages.

中国特色社会主义源于科学社会主义。在创立和发展过程中，中国特色社会主义制度内化了科学社会主义原则，后者是其优势得以体现的科学理论支撑。

The scientific socialism founded by Marx and Engels profoundly revealed the inherent contradictions of capitalist society and the historical inevitability of its replacement by socialism and communism. They not only criticized the old world but also devoted themselves to exploring the basic principles for building a new world: establishing the leading position of the proletariat and its political party, making the working people the masters of society; establishing the basic economic system of public ownership of the means of production, fundamentally liberating and developing the social productive forces; carrying out planned regulation of social production to overcome the anarchy of capitalist production; implementing the distribution principle based on distribution according to work, gradually moving towards common prosperity; developing advanced socialist culture, promoting the all-round development of people and the comprehensive progress of society; and transforming and utilizing nature in accordance with natural laws. These basic principles are directional guidelines given by them based on a profound analysis of the laws of human social development, especially the inherent contradictions and drawbacks of capitalist society. They possess a distinct people-centered, revolutionary, and constructive character and are the fundamental adherence for establishing a socialist system. While putting forward these principles, Marx and Engels also particularly emphasized that the practical application of these principles “must be adapted to the historical conditions at the time, wherever and whenever.” This idea left broad practical space for the application and innovation of the socialist system in specific historical development.

马克思、恩格斯创立的科学社会主义，深刻揭示了资本主义社会的内在矛盾及其被社会主义、共产主义取代的历史必然性。他们不仅批判旧世界，更致力于探索建设新世界的基本原则：确立无产阶级及其政党的领导地位，使劳动人民成为社会的主人；建立生产资料公有制的基本经济制度，从根本上解放和发展社会生产力；对社会生产进行有计划的调节，克服资本主义生产的无政府状态；实行以按劳分配为主体的分配原则，逐步走向共同富裕；发展社会主义先进文化，促进人的全面发展与社会全面进步；合乎自然规律地改造和利用自然等。这些基本原则，是他们基于对人类社会发展规律，特别是对资本主义社会内在矛盾与弊端的深刻剖析而给出的方向性指引，具有鲜明的人民性、革命性和建设性，是建立社会主义制度的根本遵循。马克思、恩格斯在提出这些原则的同时，也特别强调这些原则的实际运用 “随时随地都要以当时的历史条件为转移”。这一思想为社会主义制度在具体历史发展中的应用与创新留下了广阔的实践空间。

As early as the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the Communist Party of China put the principles of scientific socialism into practice in China. While exploring the path of the Chinese revolution, it also carried out practical explorations of building a new social system in the base areas and liberated areas, accumulating preliminary experience in system building. After the victory of the New Democratic Revolution, the Communist Party of China led the Chinese people in establishing a new type of state power, the people’s democratic dictatorship, and initiated the historical process of comprehensively creating a socialist system. The Communist Party of China led the Chinese people in establishing and improving the leadership system of the Party, the system of people’s congresses, the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, the system of grassroots self-governance, the basic socialist economic system, the system of livelihood security, the system of ecological civilization, the “one country, two systems” system, and the Party and state supervision system, thereby creating and forming the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The establishment and improvement of this series of systems realized the great leap of the principles of scientific socialism from theoretical propositions to institutional creation.

早在新民主主义革命时期，中国共产党就将科学社会主义原则付诸中国实践，在探索中国革命道路的同时，在根据地、解放区进行了建设新型社会制度的实践探索，并积累了制度建设的初步经验。新民主主义革命胜利后，中国共产党领导中国人民建立了人民民主专政的新型国家政权，开启了社会主义制度全面创建的历史进程。中国共产党带领中国人民建立健全党的领导制度、人民代表大会制度、中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度、民族区域自治制度、基层群众自治制度、社会主义基本经济制度、民生保障制度、生态文明制度体系、“一国两制” 制度体系以及党和国家监督体系等，创立并形成了中国特色社会主义制度体系。这一系列制度的建立健全，实现了科学社会主义原则从理论主张到制度创造的伟大跨越。

The principles of scientific socialism are the essential stipulations and inherent requirements of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. Without scientific socialism, there would be no socialism with Chinese characteristics, nor would the socialist system with Chinese characteristics have emerged. From its creation to its development and improvement, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has consistently adhered to the principles of scientific socialism. This adherence is not a dogmatic simple application but an internalization of the principles of scientific socialism into the design and construction of various systems based on new practices and the requirements of the new era, thereby forming scientific and effective institutional arrangements and operational mechanisms. It is precisely because of the adherence to and creative application of scientific socialism that the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has a scientific theoretical basis and can demonstrate its unique advantages in the process of ensuring and promoting economic and social development.

科学社会主义原则是中国特色社会主义制度的本质规定及内在要求。没有科学社会主义，就没有中国特色社会主义，也不可能有中国特色社会主义制度的产生。从创立到发展与完善，中国特色社会主义制度对科学社会主义原则的坚持一以贯之。这种坚持不是教条化的简单搬用，而是依据新的实践和新的时代要求把科学社会主义原则内化于各项制度的设计和构建中，由此形成科学有效的制度安排和运作机制。正是由于对科学社会主义的坚持和创造性运用，中国特色社会主义制度才有科学的理论依据，在保障和促进经济社会发展过程中才能体现出独特的优势。

(B) The Institutional Transformation of Fine Traditional Chinese Culture

(二)中华优秀传统文化的制度转化

Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism rooted in Chinese soil. In the process of its creation and development, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has achieved the creative transformation of fine traditional Chinese culture, endowing its own advantages with a profound cultural heritage and gaining broad psychological identification.

中国特色社会主义是扎根中国土壤的社会主义。中国特色社会主义制度在创立和发展过程中，实现了对中华优秀传统文化的创造性转化，使自身优势具有深厚的文化底蕴，获得了广泛的心理认同。

Culture is the matrix of the system, and the system is, to a large extent, the crystallization of cultural essence. The fine culture accumulated over the long history of the Chinese nation, the rich governance wisdom and value concepts it contains, are the core elements of the spiritual symbols and modes of thinking of the Chinese nation, subtly influencing China’s institutional choices and governance practices. For example, the political tradition of “great unity” (大一统) regards the state as a unified whole, emphasizing diversity in unity, unimpeded implementation of policies and decrees, and ethnic integration; the people-oriented thought that “the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is stable, the state is at peace” (民惟邦本、本固邦宁) regards the people as the foundation of the state, emphasizing that the root of governing the country and ensuring stability lies in reassuring the people, enriching the people, and educating the people, paying attention to the people’s wishes and demands, and valuing the people’s strength; the tradition of selecting and appointing the worthy and capable (选贤任能) regards having both moral integrity and professional competence as an important standard for the selection and appointment of officials, emphasizing that officials should not only have outstanding abilities but also good conduct; the ecological concept of “following the way of nature and the unity of heaven and humanity” (道法自然、天人合一) regards humans and nature as an organic whole, emphasizing that human behavior should be coordinated with nature, and that human use and adjustment of nature should conform to natural laws; the way of interaction of “emphasizing trust, cultivating harmony, and being kind to neighbors” (讲信修睦、亲仁善邻) regards benevolence and righteousness as appropriate principles for friendly interaction, emphasizing that interactions between people and between states should be based on trust, goodwill, and harmonious coexistence; the ideological realm of “harmonizing all nations and the common good of the world” (协和万邦、天下大同) regards common development as the beautiful vision of humanity, emphasizing that different countries and nations should coexist harmoniously and develop together; the spirit of change of “discarding the old and establishing the new, advancing with the times” (革故鼎新、与时俱进) regards the development and change of things as an objective law, emphasizing that social development should actively move forward, eliminate the old and bring forth the new, and that various regulations should be adjusted in accordance with the times.

文化是制度的母体，制度在很大程度上是文化精华的结晶。中华民族悠久历史所积累的优秀文化、所内蕴的丰富的治国智慧和价值理念，是中华民族精神标识和思维方式的核心要素，潜移默化地影响着中国的制度选择和治理实践。例如，“大一统” 的政治传统，将国家视为一个统一的整体，强调多元一体、政令畅通、民族融合；民惟邦本、本固邦宁的民本思想，将民众视为国家的根基，强调治国安邦的根本在于安民、富民、教民，要关注民众愿望和要求，重视民众力量；选贤任能的用人传统，将德才兼备作为官员选拔和任用的重要标准，强调官员不仅要有出色的才干，还要有良好的品行；道法自然、天人合一的生态理念，将人与自然视为一个有机整体，强调人的行为与自然相互协调，人对自然的利用和调整要顺应自然规律；讲信修睦、亲仁善邻的交往之道，将仁爱、道义作为友好交往的适宜原则，强调人与人、国与国之间的交往要诚信友善、和睦相处；协和万邦、天下大同的思想境界，将共同发展作为人类的美好愿景，强调不同国家、民族间应和谐共处、协同发展；革故鼎新、与时俱进的变革精神，将事物的发展变化视为客观规律，强调社会发展要积极向前、除旧布新，各种规制都要顺应时势而调整。

Xi Jinping has pointed out that the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system “have a deep foundation in Chinese culture.” The institutional transformation of fine traditional Chinese culture by socialism with Chinese characteristics is comprehensive and profound. The establishment of the Party’s leadership as the highest political principle not only constitutes a profound grasp of the laws of modern politics but also aligns with China’s historical governance tradition of holding the central authority to command the four quarters, responding to the people’s cultural expectation of a strong leading core. In contemporary China, it is only with the Party’s leadership that a political situation of unified customs across the six directions and shared practices throughout the nine provinces can be achieved. [5]5 “Unified customs across the six directions and shared practices throughout the nine provinces” (六合同风，九州共贯) is a classical Chinese expression referring to a state of complete political and cultural unity under a central authority. The unitary state structure and the organizational principle of democratic centralism embody a modern continuation of the “great unity” (大一统) tradition, effectively safeguarding national unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The system of people’s congresses and other institutions that develop whole-process people’s democracy and protect the rights and interests of the masses all contain the cultural tradition that “the people are the foundation of the state” (民为邦本). The successful practice of the system of regional ethnic autonomy not only guarantees the legitimate rights and interests of all ethnic minorities but also consolidates the pattern of unity in diversity among the Chinese nation; it is a modern embodiment of the traditional wisdom of “adjusting their teachings without altering their customs, and unifying their governance without changing their conveniences” (修其教不易其俗，齐其政不易其宜). The institutional arrangement of “one country, two systems” reflects the application of the political wisdom of inclusiveness and seeking common ground while reserving differences. The emphasis in cadre selection and appointment on combining moral integrity with professional competence, valuing grassroots experience, and implementing long-term training bears a deep imprint of the cultural tradition of selecting the worthy and appointing the capable.

习近平指出，中国特色社会主义制度和国家治理体系 “具有深厚中华文化根基”。中国特色社会主义对中华优秀传统文化的制度转化是全面而深刻的。党的领导这一最高政治原则的确立，既是对现代政治规律的深刻把握，也契合了中国历史上执中枢以驭四方的治理传统，回应了民众对于坚强领导核心的文化期待。在当代中国，有了党的领导，才有六合同风、九州共贯的政治局面。单一制的国家结构、民主集中制的组织原则，体现了对“大一统”传统的现代承接，有效维护了国家的统一、主权和领土完整。人民代表大会制度等发展全过程人民民主和保障人民群众权益的各项制度，都蕴含着民为邦本的文化传统。民族区域自治制度的成功实践，既保障了各少数民族的合法权益，又巩固了中华民族多元一体的格局，是修其教不易其俗、齐其政不易其宜传统智慧的现代体现。“一国两制”的制度安排，体现了对兼容并包、求同存异的政治智慧的运用。干部选拔任用中强调德才兼备、注重基层经历、实行长期培养等，深深烙印着选贤任能文化传统的印记。

It is precisely this deep-seated cultural alignment and institutional transformation that endows the socialist system with Chinese characteristics not only with historical rationality but also with a broad basis of social identification and cultural-psychological foundation, thereby making the exertion of its advantages more pronounced and enduring.

正是这种深层次的文化契合与制度转化，使得中国特色社会主义制度不仅具有历史合理性，也具备了广泛的社会认同与文化心理基础，从而使其优势的发挥更为显著和持久。

(III) The Institutional Elevation of Socialist Practical Experience

(三)社会主义实践经验的制度提升

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has been developed and advanced through practice. In the process of its creation and development, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has continuously summarized and elevated the practical experience of socialism, giving its own advantages a deep experiential foundation.

中国特色社会主义是在实践中开拓发展的。中国特色社会主义制度在创立和发展过程中，不断总结和提升社会主义实践经验，使自身优势具有深厚的经验基础。

Socialist practice is the basis for the generation and evolution of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. The formation of the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics embodies decades of practical experience in socialist revolution, construction, and reform. After the founding of New China, the Communist Party of China led the Chinese people to rapidly restore the national economy, advance economic and social development, achieve basic social equity, and gradually establish an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system, enabling a poor and backward country to present a new developmental situation. The practice of this period proved that the socialist system possesses great superiority in comprehensively mobilizing resources, rapidly advancing modernization, and ensuring social fairness. Among these, adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, implementing public ownership and collective ownership of the means of production, promoting the Five-Year Plans, and the nationwide system for mobilizing resources (举国体制) were important driving forces for the manifestation of the advantages of the socialist system and also constituted important fulcrums for the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

社会主义实践是中国特色社会主义制度生成与演进的基础。中国特色社会主义制度优势的形成，凝聚着社会主义革命、建设和改革的数十年实践经验。新中国成立后，中国共产党领导中国人民迅速恢复了国民经济，推进了经济社会的发展，实现了基本的社会公平，并逐步建立起独立的比较完整的工业体系和国民经济体系，使一个贫穷落后的国家展现出新的发展局面。这一时期的实践，证明了社会主义制度在全面动员资源、快速推进现代化建设、保障社会公平等方面具有巨大优越性。其中，坚持党中央的集中统一领导、实行生产资料全民所有和集体所有、推行五年计划和举国体制，是社会主义制度优势得以体现的重要动因，也构成了中国特色社会主义制度优势的重要支点。

In the early period of the establishment of the socialist system, China mainly advanced national modernization through the planned economy. Under specific historical conditions, implementing the planned economy had historical rationality, and the planned economy indeed played an important role. However, as a mode of resource allocation, it also had inherent defects and drawbacks. With the advancement of socialist modernization and the continuous expansion of the scale of the national economy, especially when facing complex economic relations, the defects and drawbacks of the planned economy became apparent. The report of the 14th National Congress of the CPC evaluated the planned economic system as follows: “The original economic system had its historical origins and played an important positive role, but as conditions changed, it increasingly failed to meet the requirements of modernization…” During the implementation of the planned economy, there was a tendency to one-sidedly pursue a single form of public ownership and to be impatient for success. The excessive pursuit of the singularization of the public-owned economy inevitably led to the problem of the transformation of relations of production being divorced from the actual economic and social development. Additionally, the “Cultural Revolution” (文化大革命) also severely damaged socialist democracy and the legal system. The experiences and lessons accumulated in socialist practice prompted the Communist Party of China to initiate reform and opening up, and in this process, to perfect and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

在社会主义制度建立初期，中国主要通过计划经济推进国家现代化建设。在特定的历史条件下，实行计划经济具有历史的合理性，计划经济也确实发挥了重要作用。但是作为一种资源配置方式，它也有内在缺陷和弊端。随着社会主义现代化的推进以及国民经济规模的不断扩大，尤其是面对复杂的经济关系时，计划经济的缺陷和弊端就显露出来了。党的十四大报告对计划经济体制作了这样的评价：“原有经济体制有它的历史由来，起过重要的积极作用，但是随着条件的变化，越来越不适应现代化建设的要求……”实行计划经济时，一度出现了片面追求单一公有制和急于求成的倾向。对公有制经济单一化的过度追求，难免会导致生产关系变革与经济社会发展实际相脱离的问题。另外，“文化大革命” 也对社会主义民主与法制造成严重破坏。社会主义实践中积累起来的经验教训促使中国共产党开启改革开放，并在这一过程中完善和发展中国特色社会主义制度。

During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, the Communist Party of China, by strengthening socialist legal system construction and advancing law-based governance, further developed and perfected the fundamental systems, basic systems, and important systems. On the basis of summarizing socialist practical experience, the Communist Party of China continuously promoted institutional reform and institutional innovation, elevating practices proven effective in practice into institutional arrangements. The most notable among these was the establishment of the socialist market economy system. Xi Jinping pointed out: “Proposing the reform goal of establishing a socialist market economy system was a major theoretical and practical innovation by our Party in the process of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, solving a major problem that other socialist countries in the world had long failed to solve.” With the establishment of the socialist market economy system, the Communist Party of China also carried out adjustments and improvements to the ownership structure and the distribution mode structure, forming a pattern of co-development with public ownership as the mainstay and multiple forms of ownership, and a pattern of coexistence with distribution according to work as the mainstay and multiple modes of distribution. Such “one system, two patterns” promoted the renewal and perfection of the basic socialist economic system.

在改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期，中国共产党通过加强社会主义法治建设、推进依法治国，进一步发展和完善了根本制度、基本制度和重要制度等。在总结社会主义实践经验的基础上，中国共产党不断推进体制改革和制度创新，将实践中行之有效的做法上升为制度安排。其中最为显著的，就是建立社会主义市场经济体制。习近平指出：“提出建立社会主义市场经济体制的改革目标，这是我们党在建设中国特色社会主义进程中的一个重大理论和实践创新，解决了世界上其他社会主义国家长期没有解决的一个重大问题。”随着社会主义市场经济体制的建立，中国共产党还进行了所有制结构和分配方式结构的调整和完善，形成了以公有制为主体、多种所有制经济共同发展的格局和按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存的格局。这样的“一种体制、两种格局”,促进了社会主义基本经济制度的更新和完善。

Entering the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, on the basis of comprehensively summarizing socialist practical experience, gained a deeper understanding of the laws of institutional construction, placed institutional construction in a more prominent position, and focused on consolidating fundamental systems, perfecting basic systems, and innovating important systems. Through comprehensively deepening reform, efforts were made to break down institutional and mechanistic drawbacks hindering development and the barriers of solidified interests. While maintaining the stability and continuity of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, this also greatly enhanced its developmental and innovative nature. After more than a decade of reform, development, and perfection, the system of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has become more complete and meticulous, more compliant and reasonable, and more full of vitality. Various systems are interconnected and interlinked, capable of reflecting both the objective requirements of deepening development and fully reflecting the will and aspirations of the people. The advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics have been more fully manifested, and the system of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is moving towards a direction of greater maturity and more fixed form.

进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央在全面总结社会主义实践经验的基础上，对制度建设规律有了更加深刻的认识，将制度建设摆在更加突出的位置，着力筑牢根本制度、完善基本制度、创新重要制度。通过全面深化改革，努力破除妨碍发展的体制机制弊端以及利益固化藩篱，在保持中国特色社会主义制度稳定性和延续性的同时，也极大增强了中国特色社会主义制度的发展性和创新性。经过十几年的改革、发展和完善，中国特色社会主义制度体系更加完备周密、更加合规合理、更加富有生机活力。各项制度相互连接、相互贯通，既能反映深化发展的客观要求，又能充分反映人民的意志和愿望。中国特色社会主义制度优势得到更加充分的体现，中国特色社会主义制度体系向着更加成熟更加定型的方向迈进。

(IV) The Institutional Integration of the Achievements of Human Civilization

(四)人类文明成果的制度集成

Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a new manifestation of the development and progress of human civilization. In the process of its creation and development, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has drawn upon and absorbed all outstanding achievements of human civilization, giving its own advantages a rich civilizational foundation.

中国特色社会主义是人类文明发展进步的新体现。中国特色社会主义制度在创立和发展过程中，借鉴吸收了一切人类优秀文明成果，使自身优势具有丰厚的文明底蕴。

The process of human social development and progress is also a process of the continuous accumulation of the achievements of human civilization. The achievements of human civilization are the product of the mutual exchange and integration of various civilizations and are the common wealth of humanity. Among these, social systems, political systems, legal systems, economic systems, and cultural systems, along with their modes of operation, are important fruits of the accumulation of human civilization. From ancient times to the present, the evolution and perfection of various systems are a microcosm of the development and progress of human society. Different systems have their own essential characteristics and forms of expression, but most reflect the common content and common value pursuits of the development and progress of human society. Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: “Peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom are the common values of all humanity…” Within different social systems, these common values are embodied to varying degrees and at different levels. Precisely because common content and common values exist, various systems have the possibility of mutual reference in the process of their development and perfection.

人类社会发展进步的过程，也是人类文明成果不断积累的过程。人类文明成果，是各种文明相互交流、相互交融的产物，是人类的共同财富。其中，社会制度、政治制度、法律制度、经济制度和文化制度及其运行方式，是人类文明积淀的重要成果。从古至今，各种制度的演进和完善，是人类社会发展进步的一个缩影。不同的制度，具有各自的本质特征和表现形式，但大都反映了人类社会发展进步的共同内容和共同价值追求。习近平明确指出：“和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由是全人类的共同价值……”在不同社会制度中，这些共同价值都有不同程度、不同层次的体现。正因为有共同内容和共同价值的存在，各种制度在其发展完善过程中才有相互借鉴的可能。

Since modern times, the profound transformation of human production methods and lifestyles has spurred the rise of the capitalist system and also created conditions for the emergence of the socialist system. As a form of civilization, the capitalist system possesses historical progressiveness. For example, it incorporated the principle of rule of law into the national governance system, created the modern enterprise system and the system of property rights protection, and formed a market-based allocation of resources. At the same time, however, the capitalist system also contains new profound contradictions and conflicts, prominently manifested as class antagonism within society, colonial plunder by states abroad, and predatory exploitation of natural resources. The emergence of the socialist system is an important manifestation of the development and progress of human civilization, and also an important achievement of human civilization. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics is a new form of the socialist system and also a new form of human civilization. Its transcendence of the capitalist system is most notably reflected in overcoming and eliminating the inherent contradictions and drawbacks of the capitalist system, promoting harmonious development between people, between people and society, between people and nature, and between nations. The transcendence of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is also reflected in its constant openness to drawing on and learning from all beneficial achievements of human civilization. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "If socialism is to win its superiority over capitalism, it must boldly absorb and draw upon all the achievements of civilization created by human society, and absorb and draw upon the advanced modes of operation and management methods of all countries in the world today, including the developed capitalist countries, that reflect the laws of modern社会化 production." He was convinced: "Our system will improve day by day; it will absorb the progressive elements we can learn from all countries in the world and become the best system in the world." In the process of developing and perfecting the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, Xi Jinping explicitly emphasized: "When dealing with different civilizations, we need a broader mind than the sky... We should seek wisdom and draw nourishment from different civilizations." When discussing the construction of a socialist rule-of-law country with Chinese characteristics, he clearly stated: "The rule of law is one of the important achievements of human civilization. The essence and core principles of the rule of law have universal significance for the national governance and social governance of all countries. We must learn from and draw upon the excellent achievements of rule-of-law civilization in the world."

近代以来，人类生产方式和生活方式深刻变革，促使资本主义制度兴起，也为社会主义制度的产生创造了条件。作为一种文明形态，资本主义制度具有历史进步性。例如，它把法治原则纳入国家治理体系，创造了现代企业制度和产权保护制度，形成了市场化的资源配置方式等。但同时，资本主义制度也内蕴着新的深刻矛盾与冲突，突出表现为社会内部的阶级对抗、国家对外的殖民掠夺以及对自然资源的掠夺性利用。社会主义制度的产生，是人类文明发展进步的重要体现，也是人类文明的重要成果。中国特色社会主义制度是社会主义制度的新形态，也是人类文明的新形态。它对资本主义制度的超越，最为显著的体现就是克服和消除了资本主义制度的内在矛盾和弊端，促进了人与人、人与社会、人与自然以及国家与国家之间的和谐发展。中国特色社会主义制度的超越性还体现在它始终以开放姿态借鉴吸收人类文明的一切有益成果。邓小平指出：“社会主义要赢得与资本主义相比较的优势，就必须大胆吸收和借鉴人类社会创造的一切文明成果，吸收和借鉴当今世界各国包括资本主义发达国家的一切反映现代社会化生产规律的先进经营方式、管理方法。”他确信：“我们的制度将一天天完善起来，它将吸收我们可以从世界各国吸收的进步因素，成为世界上最好的制度。”在发展完善中国特色社会主义制度的过程中，习近平明确强调：“对待不同文明，我们需要比天空更宽阔的胸怀……我们应该从不同文明中寻求智慧、汲取营养”。在论及中国特色社会主义法治国家建设时，他明确指出：“法治是人类文明的重要成果之一，法治的精髓和要旨对于各国国家治理和社会治理具有普遍意义，我们要学习借鉴世界上优秀的法治文明成果”。

In the process of its creation and development, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has reflected the drawing on and learning from the achievements of human civilization, including those of capitalist civilization, in many aspects. For example, advancing national governance on the track of the rule of law, restricting and supervising power according to law, giving full play to the decisive role of the market in allocating resources, establishing a modern enterprise system, and protecting intellectual property rights. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics does not adopt a method of "comprehensive transplantation" in drawing on and learning from various civilizational achievements. Instead, it strips away the institutional attributes of the latter and endows them with new institutional attributes, thereby achieving institutional integration. Precisely because it possesses this open characteristic of being all-embracing like a sea that receives a hundred rivers, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has a broad civilizational vision and a high contemporary perspective. Its advantages are reflected in both its unique characteristics and its universal influence.

中国特色社会主义制度在创立和发展过程中，有许多方面都体现了对人类文明成果包括资本主义文明成果的借鉴吸收。例如，在法治轨道上推进国家治理，依法制约监督权力，充分发挥市场配置资源的决定性作用，建立现代企业制度，保护知识产权等。中国特色社会主义制度对各种文明成果的借鉴吸收，不是采用 “全面移植” 的方式，而是将后者的制度属性剥离出来，赋予其新的制度属性，从而实现制度集成。正是因为具有这种海纳百川的开放特征，中国特色社会主义制度具有宽广的文明视野与时代高度，其优势体现在既有独特性特征，又有普遍性影响。

II. Significant Manifestations of the Advantages of the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics

二、中国特色社会主义制度优势的显著体现

Whether a system has advantages is not determined by theoretical deduction and elaboration, but must be demonstrated through the actual results of economic and social development. The advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics are concentratedly reflected in its effectiveness in ensuring and promoting economic and social development. The sustained and stable development of China's economy and society and the major brilliant achievements attained also fully confirm the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

一种制度是否具有优势，不取决于理论上的推演和阐述，而是必须通过经济社会发展的实际成效来展现。中国特色社会主义制度优势集中体现在保障和促进经济社会发展的效能上，而中国经济社会持续稳定发展和取得的重大辉煌成就，也充分印证着中国特色社会主义制度优势所在。

(I) Upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, forming a unified will and a powerful force for development

(一)坚持党中央集中统一领导，形成统一意志和强大发展合力

Party leadership is the essential stipulation and distinctive feature of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and it is also the greatest advantage of this system. Without Party leadership, there would be no creation of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, nor would there be its perfection and development. "Upholding Party leadership means, first and foremost, upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee..." The Party Central Committee is the highest leadership core of the Party. Upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the inevitable requirement and highest principle of upholding Party leadership. Its significance lies in maintaining political stability and preventing internal friction. Furthermore, for a country in the process of modernization, whether political stability can be achieved depends critically on whether the core leadership force of the Party is strong. In contemporary China, without the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, there would be a situation of "each going its own way, a sheet of loose sand; not only would the goals we set be unattainable, but it would inevitably lead to disastrous consequences."

党的领导是中国特色社会主义制度的本质规定和鲜明特征，也是中国特色社会主义制度的最大优势。没有党的领导，就没有中国特色社会主义制度的创立，也不可能有中国特色社会主义制度的完善和发展。“坚持党的领导，首先是坚持党中央权威和集中统一领导……”党中央是党的最高领导核心，坚持党中央集中统一领导是坚持党的领导的必然要求和最高原则。其重要意义在于维护政治稳定，防止内耗。进一步来说，处于现代化进程中的国家，能否实现政治稳定，关键取决于党的领导核心力量是否强大。在当代中国，如果没有党中央集中统一领导，就会出现“各自为政、一盘散沙的局面，不仅我们确定的目标不能实现，而且必定会产生灾难性后果”。

Upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is an important guarantee for national stability and the formation of a unified will and a powerful force for development. China is a large country with a huge population and diverse ethnic groups, inevitably leading to conflicts and contradictions of interest. The Communist Party of China is also a large party with a massive membership, inevitably leading to differences and divergences in ideological understanding. Advancing the cause of the Party and the state hinges on unifying the will of the entire Party and pooling social forces. Only by upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can the will of the entire Party and the people of the whole country be unified, common goals and pursuits be clarified, and a powerful force for united struggle be formed. After the founding of New China, facing external blockades and extremely poor development conditions, the key reason why the Party and the people were able to overcome various difficulties and challenges and achieve many major accomplishments in the process of socialist construction lay in the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. After the end of the "Cultural Revolution,"[6]6 The "Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976) was a period of political turmoil and social upheaval facing ideological confusion both inside and outside the Party and uncertainty about the country's direction, it was precisely under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee that the entire Party re-established the ideological line of seeking truth from facts and led the people to embark on a new journey of reform and opening up and socialist modernization. In the process of advancing reform and opening up, facing new contradictions and problems arising from adjustments in social structure and interest relations, especially facing the severe political and ideological shocks brought by the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe,[7]7 The “national chessboard approach” (全国一盘棋) is a metaphorical expression referring to the principle of coordinating all parts of the country as a single, unified whole, prioritizing the overall plan over local or sectoral interests. the key reason why the Party and the people were able to hold their ground, strengthen their belief in socialism, and strive to continuously resolve new contradictions and problems through reform and opening up also lay in the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. Entering the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has gained a deeper understanding of upholding and strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, consistently placing the maintenance of the Party Central Committee's authority and the upholding of its centralized and unified leadership at the top of political construction, and making efforts to further strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee from an institutional and mechanistic perspective. It is precisely because of this that the Communist Party of China has been able, under extremely severe and complex domestic and international circumstances, to promote historic changes and achieve historic accomplishments in the cause of the Party and the state.

坚持党中央的集中统一领导，是国家稳定并形成统一意志和强大发展合力的重要保证。中国是一个大国，人口众多，民族多元，难免有利益上的矛盾和冲突。中国共产党又是一个大党，党员规模巨大，难免有思想认识上的差异和分歧。推进党和国家事业发展，重在统一全党意志，汇聚社会力量。只有坚持党中央集中统一领导，才能统一全党和全国人民的意志，明确共同的目标追求，形成团结奋斗的强大力量。新中国成立后，面对外部封锁和一穷二白的发展条件，党和人民之所以能战胜各种困难和挑战，在社会主义建设过程中取得许多重大成就，关键在于有党中央的集中统一领导。“文化大革命”结束后，面对党内外思想混乱的状态和关于国家向何处去的迷茫，正是在党中央的集中统一领导下，全党重新确立了实事求是的思想路线，并领导人民开启了改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新进程。在推进改革开放过程中，面对社会结构和利益关系调整带来的新矛盾新问题，尤其是面对苏东剧变带来的严重政治和思想冲击，党和人民之所以能够稳住阵脚、坚定社会主义信念，努力通过改革开放不断破解新矛盾新问题，关键也在于有党中央集中统一领导。进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央对坚持和加强党中央集中统一领导有了更加深刻的认识，始终把维护党中央权威、坚持党中央集中统一领导置于政治建设首位，着力从制度机制上进一步强化党中央集中统一领导。正因为这样，中国共产党才能在十分严峻复杂的国内外形势下，推动党和国家事业发生历史性变革、取得历史性成就。

Upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee enables the Party's core leadership role of exercising overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides to be fully brought into play. Exercising overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides is an important manifestation of the Party's centralized and unified leadership and an important mechanism for unifying will and forming a force for development. Exercising overall leadership means focusing on safeguarding and developing the fundamental interests of the people, proceeding from the overall and long-term development of the cause of the Party and the state, and focusing on grasping and resolving major issues concerning the overall situation, strategy, and direction. Coordinating the efforts of all sides means proceeding from the requirements of implementing the Party's strategic deployments, fully mobilizing the initiative of all parties, coordinating and straightening out relationships among them, supporting state organs, social organizations, and people's organizations in carrying out their work according to laws and regulations, so that they perform their respective duties, cooperate with each other, and form a working pattern of mutual coordination and support. With such a leadership mechanism of exercising overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides, it is possible to achieve unified government decrees and coordinated steps, effectively prevent the decentralized situation of having no leader and each acting as they see fit, and reduce the internal friction among various social forces.

坚持党中央集中统一领导，使党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用得以充分发挥。总揽全局、协调各方，是党集中统一领导的重要体现，也是统一意志、形成发展合力的重要机制。总揽全局，就是着眼于维护和发展人民的根本利益，从党和国家事业发展的全局和长远出发，着重把握和解决好事关全局性、战略性、方向性的重大问题。协调各方，就是从贯彻落实党的战略部署的要求出发，充分调动各方面积极性，协调理顺各方面关系，支持国家机关、社会组织、人民团体等依法依规开展工作，使它们各司其职、相互配合，形成相互协调、相互支持的工作格局。有了这样总揽全局、协调各方的领导机制，就可以实现政令统一、步调一致，有效防止群龙无首、各行其是的分散局面，减少各种社会力量的内耗。

Upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee enables democratic centralism to operate scientifically and effectively. Democratic centralism is the fundamental organizational and leadership system of the Party and the state. Mao Zedong once stated that democratic centralism is “centralism on the basis of democracy, and democracy under the guidance of centralism.” Upholding and practicing democracy helps maintain the vitality of the Party and the state. Without centralism, democracy alone can hardly generate efficiency. The organic integration of democracy and centralism ensures that the formulation of plans and the implementation of policies for national economic and social development are imbued with both democratic and centralized qualities. Democratic centralism optimizes the relationship between democracy and efficiency in an institutionalized manner. Upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee allows for effective centralization on the basis of democracy, thereby unifying will, strengthening consensus, forming an effective organizational system, ensuring the coordinated and efficient operation of various systems, and enabling the rapid and effective implementation of Party and government decisions and deployments. Xi Jinping pointed out: “This system organically combines the full development of intra-Party democracy with the correct exercise of centralism. It can both maximize the stimulation of the Party’s creative vitality and unify the Party’s thinking and action, effectively preventing and overcoming the decentralism of endless discussion without decision and decision without implementation. It is a scientific, reasonable, and efficient system.” The fundamental reason why China, in the course of its economic and social development, has been able to avoid the phenomenon of mutual obstruction and checks and balances that frequently occurs in some countries is precisely because it upholds the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, allowing the overall function of democratic centralism to be fully exerted.

坚持党中央集中统一领导，使民主集中制得以科学有效运行。民主集中制是党和国家的根本组织制度和领导制度。毛泽东曾说过，民主集中制就是 “在民主基础上的集中，在集中指导下的民主”。坚持和实行民主，有助于保持党和国家的生机活力。只有民主没有集中，就难以产生效率。民主与集中的有机结合，使国家经济社会发展的规划制定和政策实施，既能贯穿着民主性，也能贯穿着集中性。民主集中制以制度化的方式优化了民主与效率的关系。坚持党中央集中统一领导，可以在民主的基础上实行有效集中，从而统一意志、强化共识，形成有效的组织体系，保证各项制度协调高效运转，使党和政府决策部署得到迅速有效的贯彻执行。习近平指出：“这项制度把充分发扬党内民主和正确实行集中有机结合起来，既可以最大限度激发全党创造活力，又可以统一全党思想和行动，有效防止和克服议而不决、决而不行的分散主义，是科学合理而又有效率的制度。”中国在经济社会发展过程中，之所以能够避免一些国家经常出现的那种互相牵扯、相互掣肘的现象，从根本上说，就是因为坚持党中央集中统一领导，使得民主集中制的整体功能得到充分发挥。

(II) Upholding the Principal Position of the People, Safeguarding and Protecting the People’s Rights and Interests

(二)坚持人民主体地位，维护和保障人民的各项权益

Upholding the principal position of the people is an inherent requirement for perfecting and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. The development and improvement of systems such as the political, economic, cultural, and social security systems within the socialist system with Chinese characteristics consistently adhere to the value principle of the people’s principal position and implement this principle in all aspects of institutional construction, fundamentally safeguarding and ensuring social fairness, so that the fruits of economic and social development benefit all the people.

坚持人民主体地位是完善和发展中国特色社会主义制度的内在要求。中国特色社会主义制度体系中的政治、经济、文化和社会保障等制度的发展完善始终坚持人民主体地位的价值原则，并把人民主体地位落实到制度建设的各个方面，从根本上维护和保障社会公平，使得经济社会发展成果惠及全体人民。

The establishment, development, and improvement of the socialist democratic political system with Chinese characteristics embody the people’s social principal position and smooth the channels for interest expression and consultation. The system of people’s congresses is the fundamental political system with distinct Chinese characteristics, with its people-centered nature being its fundamental attribute and distinctive feature. Deputies to people’s congresses at all levels are elected by the people, are responsible to the people, and are subject to the people’s supervision, ensuring that the exercise of state power reflects the people’s will. The system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China is a new type of party system with Chinese characteristics. Through institutionalized, standardized, and procedural consultation mechanisms, it enables the policy suggestions and interest demands of various democratic parties and sectors of society to enter the decision-making process, thereby achieving the coordination of various interests. The system of regional ethnic autonomy is an institutional creation of the Party and the people based on national conditions, which is conducive both to ensuring national unity and to mobilizing the initiative of ethnic minorities in autonomous areas. The system of grassroots self-governance is a basic political system embodying direct democracy, allowing the people to practice self-management, self-service, self-education, and self-supervision in grassroots public affairs and public welfare undertakings, helping to directly resolve grassroots conflicts. Together, these systems constitute the practical carrier of whole-process people’s democracy, fully reflecting the essential requirements of socialist democratic politics, maintaining political stability, and promoting social development.

中国特色社会主义民主政治制度的建立、发展和完善，体现了人民的社会主体地位，畅通了利益表达与协商渠道。人民代表大会制度是具有鲜明中国特色的根本政治制度，人民性是其根本属性，也是其显著特征。各级人大代表由人民选举产生，对人民负责，受人民监督，确保国家权力运用体现人民意志。中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度是具有中国特色的新型政党制度，它通过制度化、规范化、程序化的协商机制，使各民主党派和社会各界的政策建议、利益诉求能够进入决策过程，从而实现各种利益的协调。民族区域自治制度是党和人民依据国情实现的制度创造，既有利于保证国家统一，也有利于发挥自治地方少数民族的积极性。基层群众自治制度是体现直接民主的基本政治制度，它让人民在基层公共事务和公益事业中实行自我管理、自我服务、自我教育、自我监督，有助于直接化解基层矛盾。这些制度共同构成了全过程人民民主的实践载体，充分反映了社会主义民主政治的本质要求，维护了政治稳定，促进了社会发展。

As a key pillar of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, the establishment of the basic socialist economic system adapts to the objective requirements of the diversity and multi-level nature of contemporary China’s productive forces and reflects the institutional essence of putting the people first. Adhering to the dominance of public ownership and the common development of multiple forms of ownership ensures the state’s and the collective’s control over key resources and lifeline industries, providing a material foundation for macroeconomic regulation and the realization of common interests; it also affirms the legal status and contributions of the non-public sector, stimulating the entrepreneurial and innovative vitality of the whole society, and helping to better liberate and develop social productive forces. The distribution system with distribution according to work as the main body and multiple forms of distribution coexisting recognizes and protects lawful income, allows factors of production such as knowledge, technology, management, and data to participate in distribution according to their contributions, and simultaneously uses redistribution adjustment mechanisms to strive to narrow income gaps. This combination of systems provides a basic framework at the macro level for balancing the interest relationships among different ownership types and different factor owners.

作为中国特色社会主义制度的重要支柱，社会主义基本经济制度的确立适应了当代中国生产力发展多样性、多层次的客观要求，反映了人民至上的制度本质。坚持以公有制为主体、多种所有制经济共同发展，既保证了国家和集体对关键资源和命脉产业的控制，为宏观调控和实现共同利益提供了物质基础；又肯定了非公有制经济的合法地位与贡献，激发了全社会的创业创新活力，有助于更好解放和发展社会生产力。按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存的分配制度，承认并保护合法收入，允许知识、技术、管理、数据等生产要素按贡献参与分配，同时通过再分配调节机制着力缩小收入差距。这一制度组合，在宏观层面为平衡不同所有制、不同要素所有者的利益关系提供了基本框架。

The socialist cultural system insists on guiding cultural development with the core socialist values, which plays a directional and safeguarding role for cultural construction. Guiding cultural development with the core socialist values helps consolidate the common ideological foundation for the united struggle of the Party and the people, strengthens the people’s sense of identification with the socialist system, and guides the improvement of the moral and ethical standards of the whole society. At the same time, taking the protection of the basic cultural rights and interests of the broad masses of the people as the main goal, continuously developing and perfecting the system for safeguarding the people’s cultural rights and interests, striving to improve the urban and rural public cultural service system, and promoting the equalization of basic public cultural services, so that the people can conveniently and fairly enjoy public cultural services, are also a full manifestation of upholding the principal position of the people.

社会主义文化制度坚持以社会主义核心价值观引领文化建设，这对文化建设起着定向和保障作用。以社会主义核心价值观引领文化建设，有助于巩固党和人民团结奋斗的共同思想基础，有利于增强人民群众对社会主义制度的认同感，有利于引导全社会思想道德水平的提升。同时，以保障广大人民群众的基本文化权益为主要目标，不断发展和完善人民文化权益保障制度，着力健全和完善城乡公共文化服务体系，推进基本公共文化服务均等化，使人民群众能够便利、公平地享受公共文化服务，也是坚持人民主体地位的充分体现。

Ensuring and improving people’s livelihood is the focus of economic and social development. The continuous development and improvement of the livelihood security system can enable the fruits of reform and development to benefit all the people more and more fairly. After decades of effort, China has built the world’s largest social security system, including old-age insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance, maternity insurance, social assistance, and housing security. Although the level of security still needs to be raised with economic development, its policy of “full coverage, basic protection, multi-level, and sustainability” provides basic survival and development guarantees for social members, especially vulnerable groups, alleviates the social risks brought by market competition, and upholds the bottom line of social fairness and justice. Since reform and opening up, and especially since entering the New Era, China has continuously increased investment in and reform of public services such as education, healthcare, and employment, further promoting social equity and comprehensively eliminating various factors that lead to the intergenerational transmission of poverty.

保障和改善民生是经济社会发展的重点所在，民生保障制度的不断发展和完善，能够使改革发展成果更多更公平地惠及全体人民。经过几十年的努力，中国建成了世界上规模最大的社会保障体系，包括养老保险、医疗保险、失业保险、工伤保险、生育保险、社会救助、住房保障等。尽管保障水平仍需随经济发展而提高，但其 “全覆盖、保基本、多层次、可持续”的方针，为社会成员特别是弱势群体提供了基本的生存与发展保障，缓解了市场竞争带来的社会风险，维护了社会公平正义的底线。改革开放以来特别是进入新时代以来，中国持续加大教育、医疗、就业等公共服务改革和投入，进一步促进社会公平，全方位消除导致贫困代际传递的各种因素。

(III) Upholding the National Chessboard Approach and Concentrating Resources to Accomplish Major Tasks

(三)坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事

Upholding the national chessboard approach and concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks is a distinctive feature of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and a unique advantage in responding to major challenges and promoting breakthrough development in the cause of the Party and the state. The essence of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics determines that the state has overall interests and the people have common needs. Therefore, national construction and social development inevitably require overall arrangements and comprehensive planning, and state coordination under the leadership of the Party inevitably becomes an inherent requirement of national construction and social development. Upholding the national chessboard approach and concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks means that in promoting national construction and development, the Party and the state, proceeding from the whole or the overall situation, coordinate the interests and resources of all parties through institutional mechanisms, prioritize key areas and major projects, and thereby achieve major breakthroughs and accomplish major tasks within a relatively short period.

坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事，是中国特色社会主义制度的显著特点，也是其应对重大挑战、推进党和国家事业实现突破性发展的独特优势。中国特色社会主义制度的本质，决定了国家有整体利益，人民有共同需求。因而，国家建设和社会发展必然要有全局安排、整体规划，党领导下的国家统筹也就必然成为国家建设和社会发展的内在要求。坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事，就是在推进国家建设和发展过程中，党和国家从整体或大局出发，通过制度机制统筹协调各方利益与资源，优先保障关键领域与重点工程，从而能够在较短时间内取得重大突破、办成大事。

The institutional advantage of coordinating nationwide efforts and concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks was formed during the period of socialist revolution and construction, developed and improved in the practice of the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, and has been more fully demonstrated in the New Era. Coordinating nationwide efforts and concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks requires top-level design. Whether under the planned economy or in the conditions of developing a socialist market economy, the advantage of coordinating nationwide efforts and concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks does not come from simple administrative directives, but from a scientific decision-making mechanism, efficient organization, broad social recognition, and effective resource integration. Coordinating nationwide efforts and concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks is conducive to correctly handling the relationships between the central and local authorities, and between immediate interests and long-term interests, mobilizing the initiative of all parties, and promoting sustained and healthy economic and social development. At the same time, this requires all regions and departments to have a sense of the overall situation and a global perspective, to submit to the overall arrangement of the state, and to carry out cross-regional, cross-departmental, and cross-level coordination and cooperation. From the “two bombs, one satellite”[1]1 “Two bombs, one satellite” refers to China’s successful development of nuclear bombs (atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb), intercontinental ballistic missiles, and artificial satellites in the 1960s and 1970s, a symbol of national technological achievement. to the manned space program, from the Three Gorges Project to the high-speed rail network, from the fight against poverty to epidemic prevention and control, and then to the construction of a series of major national projects and the implementation of major projects, all fully demonstrate this institutional advantage. It is precisely this institutional advantage that enables China to achieve rapid breakthroughs in many major engineering constructions and key fields, and to display astonishing efficiency and resilience in responding to emergencies or crises.

坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事的制度优势，是在社会主义革命和建设时期形成的，在改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期的实践中得到发展完善，进入新时代得到了更充分的彰显。坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事，需要有顶层设计。无论在计划经济时期，还是发展社会主义市场经济条件下，坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事的优势，都不是来自简单的行政指令，而是来自科学的决策机制、高效的组织、广泛的社会认同以及有效的资源整合。坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事，有利于正确处理中央和地方、眼前利益和长远利益的关系，调动各方积极性，推动经济社会持续健康发展。同时，这也要求各地区、各部门都要有大局意识、全局观念，服从国家整体安排，进行跨地区、跨部门、跨层级协调合作。从“两弹一星”到载人航天，从三峡工程到高铁网络，从脱贫攻坚到疫情防控，再到一系列国之重器的建造、重大工程的实施，都充分彰显了这一制度优势。正是这一制度优势使中国能够在许多重大工程建设和许多关键领域实现快速突破，并在应对突发情况或危机过程中展现出令世人惊叹的效率与韧性。

Xi Jinping pointed out: “National construction is the common cause of the entire people, and the process of national development is also the process of the entire people sharing the fruits of achievement.” Coordinating nationwide efforts and concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks, internalizing the common aspirations and common needs of the people into the national development strategy, can reflect the dual goals of strengthening the country and enriching the people. It is not only major infrastructure improvements and the fight against poverty that allow the people to directly feel the improvement in living standards and quality of life brought about by concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks; other major engineering constructions are also closely linked to enhancing the well-being of the people. The strength and prosperity of the state provide the people with a more reliable sense of security and more development opportunities, while the increase in the people’s sense of gain also stimulates their enthusiasm and initiative to participate in national construction, providing lasting momentum and support for the sustained development of the country.

习近平指出：“国家建设是全体人民共同的事业，国家发展过程也是全体人民共享成果的过程。”坚持全国一盘棋、集中力量办大事，把人民共同愿望和共同需求内化于国家发展战略，能够体现强国与富民的双重目标。不仅是重大基础设施改善和脱贫攻坚可以让人民群众直接感受到集中力量办大事带来的生活水平和生活质量的提高，其他重大工程建设也是同增进人民群众的福祉紧密联系在一起的。国家强盛为人民群众提供了更可靠的安全感、更多的发展机会，而人民群众的获得感增多，也激发了自身参与国家建设的热情和积极性，能够为国家的持续发展提供持久动力和支撑。

(4) Adhering to the combination of an effective market and a competent government, giving play to the coordinating role of the “invisible hand” and the “visible hand”

(四)坚持有效市场和有为政府相结合，发挥“无形之手” 与“有形之手” 的协调作用

The mode of resource allocation and its efficiency are core issues determining sustained economic growth. The planned economy and the market economy each have their strengths and weaknesses in resource allocation. For example, the planned economy is prone to problems such as low production efficiency, resource waste, and insufficient labor incentives, while the market economy is prone to monopoly, economic fluctuations, and polarization between rich and poor. Therefore, allocating resources through the market and compensating for market failures through the government has become an inevitable logic of economic development and a common practice among countries in the world today. Over the years, many countries have failed to find a scientific and effective way to handle the relationship between the market and the government. In the process of developing the socialist market economy, the Communist Party of China proposed the organic combination of an effective market and a competent government, so that the “invisible hand” and the “visible hand” can work together. On the one hand, fully utilize and leverage the strengths of the market economy, allowing the market to play a decisive role in resource allocation; on the other hand, better play the role of the government to compensate for market failures. Achieving mutual coordination and mutual promotion between an effective market and a competent government reflects the development law of the socialist market economy, solves the worldwide problem of the relationship between the market and the government, and effectively promotes the healthy and sustained development of China’s socialist market economy.

资源配置方式及其效率，是决定经济持续增长的核心问题。计划经济与市场经济在资源配置方面各有长处也各有缺陷。例如，计划经济容易导致生产效率低下、资源浪费、劳动激励不足等问题，而市场经济则易导致垄断、经济波动、贫富分化等问题。因此，以市场方式配置资源并通过政府弥补市场失灵，成为经济发展的必然逻辑，也成为当今世界各国的普遍做法。多年来，对于如何处理市场与政府的关系，很多国家都未能找到科学有效的方式。在发展社会主义市场经济过程中，中国共产党提出有效市场与有为政府的有机结合，以便“无形之手”与“有形之手”能够协同发力。一方面，充分利用和发挥市场经济的长处，让市场在资源配置中起决定性作用；另一方面，更好发挥政府作用，弥补市场失灵。实现有效市场与有为政府的相互协调、相互促进，体现了社会主义市场经济的发展规律，破解了市场与政府关系这一世界性难题，有力促进了中国社会主义市场经济的健康持续发展。

To ensure the role of the market, we have established a unified, open, competitive, and orderly modern market system through continuous deepening of reform. For example, we have improved the property rights protection system, laying the foundation for various market entities to stabilize expectations and operate with peace of mind; fully implemented the negative list system for market access, implementing “entry unless prohibited,”[2]2 “Entry unless prohibited” means that market access is permitted for any sector not explicitly listed on the negative list, a principle to reduce administrative barriers. stimulating market vitality; continuously promoted market-oriented allocation reform of factors of production, gradually removing barriers to the flow of factors such as land, labor, capital, technology, and data; implemented the fair competition review system, strengthened anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition law enforcement, and focused on maintaining fair market order; issued and implemented regulations such as the *Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment*, committed to creating a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment. The significance of establishing and improving these systems is to minimize direct government intervention in microeconomic activities, allowing the price mechanism, competition mechanism, and supply-demand mechanism to fully play their roles, guiding resources to flow to more efficient fields and enterprises.

为保障市场作用，我们通过持续深化改革，建立了统一开放、竞争有序的现代市场体系。例如，完善产权保护制度，为各类市场主体稳定预期、安心经营奠定了基础；全面实施市场准入负面清单制度，落实“非禁即入”,激发了市场活力；持续推进要素市场化配置改革，逐步破除土地、劳动力、资本、技术、数据等要素流动障碍；落实公平竞争审查制度，加强反垄断和反不正当竞争的执法力度，着力维护市场公平秩序；出台并落实《优化营商环境条例》等法规，致力于打造市场化、法治化、国际化营商环境。这些制度建立健全的意义，就是最大限度减少政府对微观经济活动的直接干预，让价格机制、竞争机制、供求机制充分发挥作用，引导资源流向效率更高的领域和企业。

To clarify the government’s positioning, we have promoted the transformation of government functions through deepening reform. We have strengthened macroeconomic governance, for example, through the coordination and cooperation of fiscal policy, monetary policy, employment policy, and industrial policy, maintaining aggregate economic balance, promoting structural optimization, smoothing economic cycle fluctuations, preventing systemic risks, and creating a stable macro environment for market operations; provided high-quality public services, increased investment in fields such as education, healthcare, basic scientific research, public culture, and ecological environmental protection, compensated for the shortcomings of market supply, and enhanced human capital and overall social welfare; implemented major national development strategies, through formulating medium- and long-term plans, regional development strategies, and industrial policy guidance, guiding social capital and resources to key fields and weak links related to the long-term development of the country, avoiding short-sighted and short-term market behavior; maintained market order and social fairness, cracked down on illegal and irregular activities, and protected consumer rights; regulated income distribution, promoted common prosperity, and ensured the shared enjoyment of the fruits of economic development.

为明确政府定位，我们通过深化改革，促进政府职能转变。加强宏观经济治理，例如，通过财政政策、货币政策、就业政策、产业政策等的协调配合，保持经济总量平衡，促进结构优化，平抑经济周期波动，防范系统性风险，为市场运行创造稳定的宏观环境；提供优质公共服务，加大教育、医疗、基础科研、公共文化、生态环保等领域的投入，弥补市场供给不足的缺陷，提升了人力资本和整体社会福利；实施国家重大发展战略，通过制定中长期规划、区域发展战略、产业政策指引等，引导社会资本和资源投向关系国家长远发展的关键领域和薄弱环节，避免市场的短视短期行为；维护市场秩序与社会公平，打击违法违规行为，保护消费者权益；调节收入分配，促进共同富裕，确保经济发展成果的共有共享。

To improve the coordination mechanism between the market and the government, we have strived to achieve positive interaction between the two through a series of institutional and mechanism innovations. For example, the formulation of industrial policies focuses on leveraging the role of the market mechanism and entrepreneurs; macroeconomic regulation and control increasingly use market-oriented and law-based means; the provision of public goods actively explores models of cooperation between the government and social capital; in the cultivation of emerging factor markets such as data, the government simultaneously assumes multiple roles such as rule-maker, data opener, and market regulator. Such innovations enable the socialist economy to both enhance efficiency and leverage advantages, avoiding the dilemmas of market failure or government failure that often occur in some countries. Especially in the face of the international financial crisis and downward pressure on the economy, the Chinese government has adopted macroeconomic regulation and structural reforms, coupled with the huge potential of the domestic market and resilient micro-entities, enabling the socialist market economy to demonstrate strong internal vitality and development capacity.

为完善市场与政府的协同机制，我们通过一系列体制机制创新努力实现两者的良性互动。例如，产业政策的制定注重发挥市场机制和企业家的作用；宏观调控更多运用市场化、法治化手段；公共产品的提供积极探索政府与社会资本合作模式；在数据等新兴要素市场培育中，政府同时承担规则制定者、数据开放者和市场监管者等多重角色。这样的创新，使社会主义经济发展既能提升效率，又能发挥优势，避免了一些国家常出现的市场失灵或政府失效的困境。特别是在面对国际金融危机和经济下行压力时，中国政府采取宏观调控和结构性改革，加上庞大的国内市场潜力和富有韧性的微观主体，使社会主义市场经济展现出了强大的内在生机和发展能力。

(5) Adhering to the scientific formulation and effective implementation of national development plans, providing stable expectations for social development

(五)坚持科学编制并有效实施国家发展规划，为社会发展提供稳定预期

Scientifically formulating and effectively implementing national development plans, establishing clear development goals, and achieving continuity and systematicness in development are an important manifestation of the institutional advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This not only enables people to have stable development expectations for economic and social development but also enhances people’s confidence in future development.

科学制定并有效实施国家发展规划，确立明确的发展目标，实现发展的连续性、系统性，是中国特色社会主义制度优势的一个重要体现。这不仅可以使人们对经济社会发展有稳定的发展预期，还可以增强人们对未来的发展信心。

A notable feature of the development of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics is to reflect the long-term and processual nature of economic and social development through phased goals, and to reflect the continuity and stability of economic and social development by carrying out a blueprint to the end. Formulating and implementing corresponding development plans, making institutional strategic arrangements for the economy and society, and transforming the Party’s propositions and the people’s will into the will of the state and the common action of the whole society can ensure the completion of economic and social development tasks and the realization of phased goals. From the “Five-Year Plan”[3]3 “Five-Year Plan” (五年计划) refers to the series of centralized economic and social development plans used from 1953 to 2005, characteristic of the planned economy era. to the “Five-Year Plan,”[4]4 “Five-Year Plan” (五年规划) refers to the same series renamed from 2006 onward (starting with the 11th Five-Year Plan), reflecting a shift toward more indicative, guidance-oriented planning under the socialist market economy. their formulation and implementation record the historical process and firm steps of China’s economic and social development, and also contain the successful experience of combining China’s economic and social development strategic determination with phased policies.

中国特色社会主义事业发展的一个显著特点，是以阶段性目标来反映经济社会发展的长期性、过程性，以一张蓝图绘到底的方式来体现经济社会发展的接续性、稳定性。而制定实施相应的发展规划，对经济社会作出制度性的战略安排，把党的主张和人民意愿转化为国家意志和全社会共同行动，可以确保经济社会发展任务的完成和阶段性目标的实现。从“五年计划”到“五年规划”,它们的制定实施，记录了中国经济社会发展的历史进程和坚定步伐，也包含着中国经济社会发展的战略定力与阶段性政策相结合的成功经验。

China’s national development plans possess a high degree of scientific rigor and statutory authority. Their formulation follows the statutory procedure of “the Party Central Committee putting forward proposals—the State Council drafting—the National People’s Congress reviewing and approving.” The national development plan is proposed by the Central Committee of the Party at its plenary session, drafted by the State Council as an outline plan, and reviewed and approved by the National People’s Congress, thereby possessing statutory authority. The formulation of a national development plan typically goes through multiple stages, including preliminary investigation and research, extensive solicitation of opinions, and deliberation and approval by the National People’s Congress. This is a process of promoting democracy, concentrating wisdom, and building consensus. This process ensures that the development plan not only embodies the Party Central Committee’s judgment on the stage-specific characteristics and strategic tasks of national development but also absorbs the insightful views of all sectors of society, thereby grounding its strategic objectives, key tasks, and policy measures on a solid foundation of reality and popular will.

中国的国家发展规划具有高度的科学性与法定的权威性，其制定遵循“党中央提出建议—国务院编制—全国人大审查批准”的法定程序。国家发展规划是由党的中央全会提出建议，由国务院编制规划纲要，由全国人民代表大会审查批准，具有法定的权威性。国家发展规划的制定通常要经过前期调查研究、广泛征求意见、全国人大审议通过等多个环节，是一个发扬民主、集中智慧、凝聚共识的过程。这一过程确保了发展规划既体现了党中央对国家发展阶段性特征和战略任务的判断，又吸收了社会各界的真知灼见，使其战略目标、重点任务、政策举措建立在坚实的现实基础和民意基础之上。

China’s national development plans are systematic and interconnected. The national planning system is an organic whole composed of multiple levels and fields that are mutually linked. Below the national development plan, there are specialized plans compiled by various departments, local plans compiled by various regions, and annual plans that connect with them, characterized by horizontal coverage to the edges and vertical penetration to the bottom. In this way, national plans and strategic deployments can be broken down layer by layer and implemented in the specific work of various departments and regions, preventing plans from hanging in the air or giving rise to localized conflicts. At the same time, the objectives and tasks of the five-year plan are also linked to long-term visionary goals, reflecting a strategic mindset that combines short-term and long-term efforts and promotes sustained progress.

中国的国家发展规划具有系统性和衔接性。国家规划体系是一个多层次、多领域相互衔接的有机整体。在国家发展规划之下，有各部门编制的专项规划，有各地方编制的地方规划，还有年度计划与之衔接，具有横向到边、纵向到底的特点。这样，国家规划和战略部署可以层层分解、落实到各部门、各地区的具体工作中，避免规划悬空或产生局部性的冲突。同时，五年规划的目标任务也同长期的远景目标相衔接，体现了长短结合、持续推进的战略思维。

China’s national development plans are guiding and mobilizing. National development plans not only guide government work but also play an important guiding role in social expectations and the behavior of market entities. The industrial development directions, regional development priorities, major engineering projects, and social policy orientations clarified in the development plan can release clear signals to society, guiding enterprise investment decisions, talent mobility, and resource allocation. For example, the emphasis in the development plan on strategic emerging industries, green and low-carbon development, and the digital economy will drive a large amount of social capital and innovation resources to concentrate in these fields. This model of strategic guidance combined with market response can effectively integrate the country’s strategic intentions with market vitality, helping to accelerate industrial upgrading and economic transformation, and achieving high-quality economic and social development.

中国的国家发展规划具有引导性与动员性。国家发展规划不仅指导政府工作，也对社会预期和市场主体行为产生重要引导作用。发展规划明确的产业发展方向、区域发展重点、重大工程项目以及社会政策取向等，可以向社会释放清晰的信号，引导企业投资决策、人才流动和资源配置。例如，发展规划中对战略性新兴产业、绿色低碳发展、数字经济等的强调，会带动大量社会资本和创新资源向这些领域集聚。这种战略引领加市场响应的模式，能够将国家的战略意图与市场的活力有效结合，有助于加速产业升级和经济转型，实现经济社会高质量发展。

III. Empirical Insights Contained in the Advantages of the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics

三、中国特色社会主义制度优势蕴含的经验启示

The advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics contain many important experiences. These experiences not only possess the essential characteristics of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics but also include concepts and methods that transcend social systems and have universal significance, providing useful insights for thinking about the common human課題 of advancing national governance and improving systems.

中国特色社会主义制度优势蕴含着许多重要经验。这些经验既具有中国特色社会主义制度的本质特征，也有超越社会制度、具有普遍意义的理念和方法，为思考推进国家治理和制度完善这一人类共同课题提供了有益启示。

(1) Developing and Improving Systems Based on Specific Socio-Historical Conditions

(一)依据特定社会历史条件发展完善制度

Systems are by no means abstract designs suspended above history and reality. They are products of practice, must be based on scientific theoretical principles, and must be deeply embedded in specific socio-historical conditions and problem contexts. No system is perfect; all need to be continuously developed and improved in practice. The success of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the formation of its advantages lie first and foremost in the Party leading the people to combine theoretical principles with basic national conditions and the requirements of the times, continuously carrying out constructive practice.

制度绝非悬浮于历史与现实之上的抽象设计。它是实践的产物，必须依据科学的理论原则，并深深嵌入特定的社会历史条件与问题语境之中。任何制度都不是完美无缺的，都需要在实践中不断发展完善。中国特色社会主义制度的成功及其优势的形成，首先在于党领导人民把理论原则与基本国情和时代要求相结合，不断开展建设性的实践。

First, a profound understanding of the historical and spatiotemporal orientation. Any effective system construction must be based on a scientific assessment of the country’s own historical stage. China is a country with a long history and profound cultural traditions that was at the forefront of world development for a considerable historical period, yet fell into a state of backwardness and vulnerability in modern times. The pursuit of national independence, people’s liberation, national strength, and national rejuvenation thus became the theme of China’s social revolution and development. This unique historical trajectory determines that the construction of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics must focus on national unity, ethnic solidarity, and the integration of social forces, accelerating the country’s modernization. Whether it is emphasizing a centralized and unified leadership system or focusing on long-term planning, both inherently respond to this historical theme. In terms of national reality, China is already a socialist country, but it is still in the primary stage of socialism. This determines that the development and improvement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is a long-term process, and the design of various systems cannot depart from reality. In terms of the contemporary world, China is still a developing country undergoing modernization. In the process of system construction, it must be adept at learning from and absorbing advanced experiences while avoiding falling into the trap of institutional dependency, always maintaining the country’s political and economic independence and development autonomy. This sober understanding of the spatiotemporal coordinates is a prerequisite for preventing system construction from falling into excessive idealization or blind imitation.

一是对历史时空方位的深刻认识。任何有效的制度构建，都必须建立在对本国所处历史方位的科学研判基础之上。中国是一个有着悠久历史和深厚文化传统并在相当长历史时期里走在世界发展前列的国家，到了近代却陷入落后挨打的局面，追求民族独立、人民解放，国家强盛、民族复兴，由此成为中国社会革命和发展的主题。这一独特的历史轨迹，决定了中国特色社会主义制度的构建必须着眼于国家统一、民族团结以及社会力量的整合，加快推进国家的现代化建设。无论是强调集中统一的领导体制，还是注重规划长远发展，都内含着对这一历史主题的回应。从国情现实而言，中国已是社会主义国家，但又处于社会主义初级阶段，这就决定了中国特色社会主义制度的发展完善是长期的过程，各种制度的设计不能脱离现实。对当今世界而言，中国还是一个正在进行现代化建设的发展中国家，在制度建设过程中既要善于借鉴吸收先进经验，又要避免落入制度依附性的陷阱，始终保持国家的政治经济独立性和发展自主权。这种对时空坐标的清醒认识，是避免制度建设陷入过度理想化或盲目跟从的前提。

Second, innovative breakthroughs in path dependence. Institutional change has a certain degree of path dependence, meaning that past patterns influence future choices. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics was formed on the basis of innovatively developing existing cultural traditions and institutional frameworks. Unlike some countries, it has neither adopted a nihilistic attitude toward history nor fallen into the rut of complacency. Instead, while respecting historical continuity, it continuously achieves institutional innovation and breakthroughs. For example, the breakthrough from the planned economy system and the reform of the socialist economic system have both adhered to the socialist principles of pursuing fairness and emphasizing macro-control and consciously introduced market mechanisms capable of improving efficiency and stimulating vitality, achieving a dual transcendence over both the traditional planned economy path and the free market model. This shows that in the process of system construction and development, skillfully handling the dialectical relationship between persistence and innovation, continuity and change, is a matter of utmost importance.

二是对路径依赖的创新性突破。制度变迁有一定的路径依赖，也就是过去的模式会影响未来的选择。中国特色社会主义制度是在对既有的文化传统、制度框架进行创新发展的基础上形成的。与有的国家不同，它没有对历史采取虚无主义态度，也没有陷入故步自封的窠臼，而是在尊重历史接续性的前提下，不断实现制度创新与突破。例如，对计划经济体制的突破和对社会主义经济制度的改革，既坚持了社会主义追求公平、注重宏观调控的原则要求，又自觉引入了能够提高效率、激发活力的市场机制，实现了对传统计划经济路径和自由市场模式的双重超越。这表明，在制度建设和发展过程中，善于处理坚持与创新、接续与变革的辩证关系，是一个至关重要的问题。

Third, the scientific application of basic principles. The principles of scientific socialism are the basic guidelines for constructing a socialist system and have universal significance, but their practical application must vary according to time and place. The practical wisdom embedded in the socialist system with Chinese characteristics lies in the effective integration of the principles of scientific socialism with China’s specific realities. This integration is not a simple application or mechanical splicing but internalizes the requirements of the principles into the resolution of China’s problems, forming original institutionalized solutions. For example, upholding the system of Party leadership embodies the scientific socialist principle of establishing the leading position of the proletariat and its party, integrates the pursuit of unity in fine traditional Chinese culture, and adapts to the practical need of contemporary Chinese society for a strong political core. It is precisely this commitment to achieving deep integration and re-creation of universal principles and specific realities that enables system construction to meet the needs of social development.

三是对基本原则的科学运用。科学社会主义原则是社会主义制度构建的基本遵循，具有普遍性意义，但其实际运用必须因时因地而异。中国特色社会主义制度蕴含的实践智慧，就在于将科学社会主义原则与中国具体实际进行了卓有成效的结合。这种结合不是简单套用或机械拼接，而是将原则要求内化于中国问题的解决中，形成具有原创性的制度化方案。例如，坚持党的领导制度，既体现了科学社会主义关于确立无产阶级及其政党领导地位的原则要求，又融合了中华优秀传统文化中的统一性追求，更适应了当代中国社会发展需要强大政治核心的现实需求。正是这种致力于实现普遍原则与具体实际的深度融合及再创造，才能使制度建设符合社会发展的需要。

(2) Taking the Enhancement of People’s Well-being as the Purpose of the System

(二)以增进人民福祉作为制度旨归

The vitality of a system lies not only in its governance effectiveness but also in whether the value goals it carries can gain widespread recognition and support from the people. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics takes adhering to the people-centered principle and continuously enhancing the people’s well-being as its fundamental value coordinate, giving its advantages a deep social foundation.

制度的生命力不仅在于治理效能，还在于其承载的价值目标能否获得人民群众的广泛认同和拥护。中国特色社会主义制度将坚持人民至上、不断增进人民福祉作为根本价值坐标，使其优势体现具有深厚的社会基础。

First, taking the enhancement of people’s well-being as the ultimate criterion for evaluating system effectiveness. There are multiple dimensions for measuring the quality of a system, such as whether politics is stable, the economy is prosperous, science and technology are advancing, and society is harmonious. These dimensions converge on a fundamental criterion: the extent to which the system safeguards and guarantees the fundamental interests of the people and enhances their well-being. The creation, development, and improvement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics have always adhered to the people-centered principle, taking the people’s aspiration for a better life as the goal of struggle, and integrating this throughout the entire process of promoting social development and progress. Whether it is abolishing exploitation, eliminating poverty, promoting the all-round development of people, or achieving common prosperity; whether it is developing whole-process people’s democracy to increase people’s participation, or improving the social security system to secure the bottom line of people’s livelihood—all profoundly reflect the value orientation of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and fully demonstrate the enormous effectiveness of this system. China’s experience shows that only by adhering to the people-centered principle and ensuring that the fruits of development benefit all people more and more fairly can the social foundation of the system be deeply rooted.

一是将增进人民福祉作为评判制度成效的终极尺度。衡量一种制度的好坏有多种维度，如政治是否稳定、经济是否繁荣、科技是否进步、社会是否和谐等，这些维度汇聚到一个根本性的尺度上，就是在多大程度上维护和保障了人民的根本利益、增进了人民福祉。中国特色社会主义制度的创建、发展和完善，始终坚持人民至上，把人民对美好生活的向往作为奋斗目标，并将其贯穿促进社会发展进步的全过程。无论是消灭剥削、消除贫困，还是促进人的全面发展、实现共同富裕；无论是发展全过程人民民主、提高人民参与度，还是健全社会保障体系、守牢民生底线，都深刻反映了中国特色社会主义制度的价值取向，也充分反映了中国特色社会主义制度产生的巨大成效。中国的经验表明，只有坚持人民至上，使发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，才能使制度的社会根基扎实扎深。

Second, embedding mechanisms of responsiveness and inclusiveness into institutional construction. The interest demands of the masses are concrete, diverse, and dynamically changing. A good system must contain mechanisms capable of promptly responding to the aspirations of the masses and accommodating diverse interest demands. Many institutional arrangements and their internal mechanisms within the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics can play such a role. For example, the continuous improvement and refinement of institutional mechanisms such as the system for Party and government leading cadres, Party deputies, People's Congress deputies, and CPPCC members to maintain contact with the masses, the petitioning system, online governance mechanisms, and public opinion collection mechanisms can ensure that the operation of the system fully reflects the interest demands of the masses, and that policy adjustments can fully reflect changes in the people's needs. With mechanisms of responsiveness and inclusiveness in the system, the people are not only beneficiaries of the system's well-being but also participants and supervisors in its development and improvement.

二是在制度建设中嵌入回应性和包容性机制。人民群众的利益诉求是具体的、多样的，也是动态变化的。好的制度必须内含能够及时回应人民群众愿望并包容多样化利益诉求的机制。中国特色社会主义制度体系中的许多制度安排及其内在机制都可以起到这样的作用。例如，党政领导干部和党代表、人大代表、政协委员联系群众制度，信访制度，网络问政机制，民意征集机制等制度机制的不断健全完善，能够确保制度运行充分反映人民群众的利益诉求，方针政策调整能够充分反映人民需求的变化。制度有了回应性和包容性机制，人民就不仅是制度福祉的受益者，也是制度发展完善的参与者和监督者。

Third, effectively achieving a balance among various interest relations. Enhancing the people's well-being also involves correctly handling the relationships of interest among society as a whole, groups, and individuals. The basic logic displayed by the socialist system with Chinese characteristics in the process of maintaining and coordinating various interest relations is to safeguard the rights and interests of groups and individuals under the premise of upholding the overall interest. That is, placing the overall interest in the primary position, and on this premise, coordinating group interests and safeguarding individual rights and interests. Such a practical logic is conducive to achieving a dynamic balance among various interest relations. The overall interest is not a mechanical combination or simple sum of group and individual interests, but their concentrated expression. Upholding and realizing the overall interest is the foundation for upholding and realizing group and individual interests. Placing the overall interest in the primary position, and under this premise, coordinating group interests and protecting individual rights and interests, is conducive to harmonizing various interest relations, ensuring that social development possesses both strong collective action capacity and the ability to fully stimulate individual vitality and creativity.

三是有效实现各种利益关系的平衡。增进人民福祉，也涉及要正确处理社会整体、群体及个人之间的利益关系问题。中国特色社会主义制度在维护和协调各种利益关系过程中展现出的基本逻辑，是在维护整体利益前提下保障群体和个体权益。也就是将整体利益置于首位，在此前提下协调群体利益、保障个体权益，这样的实践逻辑有利于实现各种利益关系的动态平衡。整体利益不是群体利益和个体利益的机械组合或简单相加，而是它们的集中体现。维护和实现整体利益，是维护和实现群体利益和个体利益的基础。把整体利益置于首位，在维护整体利益的前提下，协调群体利益、保护个体利益，有利于协调好各种利益关系，确保社会发展既具有强大的集体行动能力，又能充分激发个体活力与创造力。

(3) Testing the efficacy of the system through practical results

(三)用实践效果来检验制度的功效

Evaluating and measuring whether a system has advantages requires not only examining whether its structure is complete and standardized, but more importantly, looking at its practical results, because practice has an objective and direct verification function for the system. Taking practical results as the ultimate criterion for testing the system is also an important experience in the development and improvement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

评价和衡量一种制度是否具有优势，不仅要看其体系是否完备规范，更要看其实践效果，因为实践对制度具有客观的、直接的验证功能。以实践效果作为检验制度的终极标准，也是中国特色社会主义制度发展完善的重要经验。

First, taking the resolution of practical problems as an important focus for the development and improvement of the system, and enhancing the system's advantages in the process of solving problems. The development and improvement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has always focused on solving practical problems. For example, using economic system reform as the driving force to comprehensively deepen reform; building a high-level socialist market economy system to further liberate and develop the productive forces; implementing the inspection and巡察 (patrol) system [9]9 The inspection and巡察 (patrol) system refers to a mechanism of intra-Party supervision established by the CPC, where central and local inspection teams are dispatched to conduct oversight of lower-level Party organizations and leading cadres, aiming to identify and rectify problems related to discipline, conduct, and policy implementation. to strengthen intra-Party supervision — all these are aimed at conforming to social development and solving problems arising in social development. It can be said that every major institutional reform and mechanism innovation in the process of developing and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has been directed at prominent and urgent problems in social development. The advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics are manifested through tangible governance effectiveness and development results. This pragmatic approach allows the development and improvement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics to avoid falling into unnecessary debates or overly idealistic pursuits, always maintaining resonance with practice.

一是把解决实际问题作为制度发展完善的重要着眼点，在解决问题的过程中增强制度优势。中国特色社会主义制度的发展完善，始终着眼于实际问题的解决。例如，以经济体制改革为牵引，全面推进改革的深化；构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制，进一步解放和发展生产力；实行巡视巡察制度，加强党内监督等，都是为了顺应社会发展、破解社会发展中出现的问题。可以说，中国特色社会主义制度发展完善过程中的每一次重大体制改革、机制创新，都是针对社会发展中的突出问题、紧迫问题的，中国特色社会主义制度的优势通过实实在在的治理成效和发展效果来体现。这种务实的做法，使得中国特色社会主义制度发展完善可以避免陷入无谓的争论或过分理想化的追求，始终保持与实践同频共振。

Second, taking grassroots exploration as a trial-and-error pathway for the development and improvement of the system, and perfecting institutional design through summarizing practical experience. Grassroots exploration is an important pathway for the development and improvement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. Many systems have been formed and developed through the path of "pilot exploration — experience summarization — gradual promotion." For example, the household contract responsibility system [10]10 The household contract responsibility system is a rural economic reform initiated in the late 1970s that dismantled collective farming and allocated land to individual households under long-term contracts, significantly boosting agricultural productivity. moved from local exploration to nationwide implementation; opening up to the outside world progressed from pilot projects in special economic zones and coastal open cities to all-round expansion; institutional opening up moved from trials in various provinces and cities to nationwide replication and promotion — all embody this development path. Such "controllable experiments" utilize trial-and-error space to promote institutional innovation, test effects through practice, discover potential problems, accumulate operational experience, and continuously revise and improve institutional design based on summarized experience. This kind of grassroots exploration and local experimentation effectively reduces the risk of overall reform and can enhance the controllability of institutional improvement and the adaptability of learning.

二是把基层探索作为制度发展完善的试错途径，通过总结实践经验完善制度设计。基层探索是中国特色社会主义制度发展完善的重要路径，很多制度都是通过 “试点探索—经验总结—逐步推广”的路径形成、发展起来的。例如，家庭联产承包责任制从局部探索到全国推行；对外开放从经济特区、沿海开放城市的先行先试到全方位展开；制度型开放从各省市试点到全国复制推广等，无不体现了这种发展路径。这样的“可控性实验”,就是利用试错空间来推进制度创新，并通过实践来检验效果、发现潜在问题、积累操作经验，在总结经验基础上不断修正和完善制度设计。这种基层探索和局部试验，有效降低了整体改革的风险，可以提高制度完善的可控性及学习的适应性。

Third, establishing and improving evaluation and supervision mechanisms for institutional improvement helps the system better guarantee and serve economic and social development. Establishing and improving dynamic evaluation and supervision mechanisms is an important link in the development and improvement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. Society is constantly developing and changing; new situations, new problems, and new challenges will continuously emerge. This requires the system to possess mechanisms for dynamic evaluation, supervision, and adjustment. The formulation and implementation of national development plans include stages such as ex-ante evaluation and ex-post evaluation. Establishing and improving scientific and normalized evaluation and supervision mechanisms, and using new means such as big data to monitor the operation of major strategic plans, major policies, and major projects, can further enhance the system's correction function and adjustment capacity.

三是建立健全制度完善的评估和督察机制，有助于制度更好地保障和服务于经济社会发展。建立健全动态评估和督察机制，是中国特色社会主义制度发展完善的重要环节。社会是不断发展变化的，新情况新问题新挑战会不断产生，这就要求制度必须具备动态评估和督察调适的机制。国家发展规划的制定实施，就包含了事前评估和事后评估等环节。建立健全科学化、常态化的评估和督察机制，运用大数据等新型手段监测重大战略规划、重大政策和重大工程的运行，可以进一步增强制度的修正功能和调适能力。

(4) Continuously advancing institutional improvement through reform

(四)通过改革不断推进制度完善

Systems need relative stability to provide expectations for development; systems also need continuous reform to enhance their internal vitality. Handling the relationship between stability and change, between upholding fundamental principles (守正) and innovation, is an important issue in the development and improvement of systems. The process of developing and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is a process of continuous self-improvement through reform while adhering to the fundamental direction and basic framework.

制度需要相对稳定，为发展提供预期；制度也需要不断改革，增强内在活力。处理好稳定与变革、守正与创新的关系，是制度发展完善的重要课题。中国特色社会主义制度的发展完善过程，就是在坚持根本方向和基本框架下通过改革不断实现自我完善的过程。

First, institutional reform is the self-improvement and development of the system, not a systemic reconstruction that tears everything down and starts anew. To advance institutional reform, there must be a clear understanding of "what to reform" and "what not to reform." From the perspective of China's reforms, those aspects of the system that are fundamental, directional, and long-term, that embody the nature and purpose of the Party and the state, that reflect the fundamental interests of the people, and that mirror China's national conditions, must be unswervingly upheld and developed. Changing these would mean changing the banner and the system, leading to subversive mistakes. What must be thoroughly reformed are the institutional and mechanistic drawbacks that hinder economic and social development. Only by eliminating these institutional and mechanistic drawbacks can social vitality be further unleashed.

一是制度改革是制度的自我完善和发展，而非推倒重来的制度重构。推进制度改革，必须对“改什么”与“不改什么”有明确认识。从中国的改革来看，制度中带有根本性、方向性、长远性的，体现党和国家的性质和宗旨的，体现人民根本利益的，反映中国国情的，必须毫不动摇地坚持和发展，改掉这些就意味着改旗易帜，就会犯颠覆性错误。要彻底改的，是那些妨碍经济社会发展的体制机制弊端。只有革除这些体制机制弊端，才能进一步释放社会活力。

Second, institutional reform is a systemic project, requiring a good grasp of the coordination and matching among various reform measures. China's reform has not been a comprehensive rollout without regard to priorities or urgency. Instead, based on the principal contradictions and carrying capacity of different periods, it has chosen key areas for breakthrough first, paid attention to the sequence and mutual support of reform measures, and simultaneously emphasized the systemic nature, holistic nature, and coordination of reform. For example, economic system reform must be promoted in coordination with administrative system reform, cultural system reform, social system reform, and ecological civilization system reform; state-owned enterprise reform must be interconnected with state-owned asset management system reform and the improvement of the social security system. Overall reform is advanced and overall leaps are driven through breakthroughs in key areas. Only by grasping the timing,分寸 (measure), and interconnections of reforms can a benign situation be formed where various systems promote and complement each other.

二是制度改革是一项系统工程，需要把握好各项改革措施之间的协同配套。中国的改革并非不分轻重缓急的全面铺开，而是根据不同时期的主要矛盾和承受能力，选择重点领域率先突破，并注意改革措施的先后次序和相互支撑，同时注重改革的系统性、整体性和协同性。例如，经济体制改革要与行政体制改革、文化体制改革、社会体制改革、生态文明体制改革等协同推进；国企改革要与国有资产管理体制改革、社会保障体系完善等相互衔接，并通过重点突破来推进整体改革、带动整体跃升。只有把握好改革的时序、分寸与关联，才能形成各项制度相互促进、相得益彰的良性局面。

Third, reform helps enhance the inclusiveness of the system. A system with vitality must be able to accommodate the growth of new things and new elements, and effectively resolve the internal tensions generated by change. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics has demonstrated distinct inclusiveness in reform. While adhering to the basic institutional framework, it allows and encourages exploration of various forms of realization, such as the common development of multiple forms of ownership, the coexistence of multiple modes of distribution, and the institutional arrangement of "one country, two systems" [11]11 "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle first applied to Hong Kong and Macao, allowing these regions to maintain their capitalist systems and legal frameworks while being part of a socialist China. regarding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan issues. When new social strata, new economic forms, and new technologies emerge, the Party and the state provide reasonable regulation at the institutional level, incorporating them into the institutional governance framework through legislation, policy adjustments, and other means. At the same time, by improving mechanisms for dialogue and consultation, efforts are made to resolve interest conflicts and social differences in the reform process, achieving dynamic stability and sustainable development of the system.

三是改革有助于增强制度的包容性。一个具有生命力的制度，必须能够包容新事物、新元素的生长，并能够有效化解因变革而产生的内部张力。中国特色社会主义制度在改革中展现出了鲜明的包容性，在坚持基本制度框架下，允许和鼓励多种实现形式的探索，如多种所有制经济共同发展、多种分配方式并存以及港澳台问题上“一国两制”的制度安排。新的社会阶层、新的经济形态和新的技术出现后，党和国家在制度层面进行合理规范，并通过立法、政策调整等方式将其纳入制度治理框架。同时，通过完善对话协商机制，努力化解改革进程中的利益矛盾和社会分歧，实现制度的动态稳定和持续发展。

The socialist system with Chinese characteristics not only provides a fundamental guarantee for China's own prosperity, development, and national rejuvenation, but also, with its unique and successful experience, contributes irreplaceable Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to humanity's exploration and creation of more just, efficient, and inclusive social systems.

中国特色社会主义制度不仅为中国自身的繁荣发展、民族复兴提供了根本保障，也以其独特而成功的经验为人类探索和创造更加公正、高效、包容的社会制度，贡献了不可替代的中国智慧和中国方案。