Enriching China’s Independent Economic Knowledge System with the Experience of Chinese-Path Modernization

In June 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development: “The primary task of strengthening cultural confidence is to base ourselves on the great historical and contemporary practices of the Chinese nation, to summarize Chinese experience with Chinese reasoning, to elevate Chinese experience into Chinese theory, neither blindly following various dogmas nor mechanically copying foreign theories, and to achieve spiritual independence and self-reliance.” [1]1 The Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development was held in Beijing on June 2, 2023, as a key meeting on cultural policy under Xi Jinping. “Spiritual independence and self-reliance” in theoretical creation and innovation is primarily manifested as “constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system.” Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization, driving historic achievements and historic transformations in the cause of the Party and the state. [2]2 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in November 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era and the official launch of the “New Era” (新时代) period. The great practice of Chinese-path modernization in the New Era has provided powerful impetus and broad space for theoretical creation, laying a solid foundation for constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system. Systematically distilling the successful experience embedded in the economic construction of advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization in the New Era, and “elevating practical experience into a systematic economic theory,” is the key to further enriching and perfecting China’s independent economic knowledge system.

2023年6月，习近平总书记在文化传承发展座谈会上强调：“坚定文化自信的首要任务，就是立足中华民族伟大历史实践和当代实践，用中国道理总结好中国经验，把中国经验提升为中国理论，既不盲从各种教条，也不照搬外国理论，实现精神上的独立自主。”“精神上的独立自主”在理论创造和创新上，首要表现为“建构中国自主的知识体系”。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央，成功推进和拓展了中国式现代化，推动党和国家事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革。新时代中国式现代化的伟大实践，为理论创造提供了强大动力和广阔空间，为建构中国自主的知识体系奠定了坚实基础。系统凝练新时代推进和拓展中国式现代化在经济建设方面蕴含的成功经验，“把实践经验上升为系统化的经济学说”，是进一步丰富和完善中国自主的经济学知识体系的关键所在。

Summarize the intrinsic connection between theoretical innovation and practical development in the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, and grasp the main content of China’s independent economic knowledge system. Constructing China’s independent economic knowledge system requires the support and guidance of scientific theory, and requires original Chinese economic theory to explain the unique laws of China’s economic operation and development. Entering the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core accurately positioned the unique stage of China’s economic development, firmly grasped the major changes occurring in China’s economic development, and profoundly understood the complex impacts brought by the international economic situation, thereby creating and forming Xi Jinping’s economic thought, opening up a new realm of Marxist political economy. Xi Jinping’s economic thought is not only our Party’s systematic theoretical summary of the economic development practice of the New Era using the basic principles of Marxist political economy, but also a major achievement of our Party’s deepening understanding and theoretical innovation of the laws of socialist economic construction with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Constructing China’s independent economic knowledge system with Xi Jinping’s economic thought as the core means using the principled theoretical achievements contained in Xi Jinping’s economic thought to support the main content of China’s independent economic knowledge system, and, on the basis of scientifically analyzing and fully grasping the intrinsic connections among these principled theoretical achievements, clarifying the basic threads and overall structure of China’s independent economic knowledge system. This can both drive China’s independent economic knowledge system to more accurately focus on the major issues and concrete practices of socialist economic development with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, and better highlight the subjectivity and originality of this knowledge system.

总结中国式现代化推进过程中理论创新与实践发展的内在联系，把握中国自主的经济学知识体系的主体内容。构建中国自主的经济学知识体系，需要科学理论的支撑与引领，需要具有原创性的中国经济学理论来阐释中国经济运行及发展的独特规律。进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央，准确定位中国经济发展所处的独特阶段、牢牢把握中国经济发展发生的重大变化、深刻洞悉国际经济形势带来的复杂影响，创立形成习近平经济思想，开拓了马克思主义政治经济学的新境界。习近平经济思想不仅是我们党运用马克思主义政治经济学基本原理对新时代经济发展实践作出的系统理论概括，同时也是我们党对新时代中国特色社会主义经济建设规律认识深化和理论创新的重大成果。以习近平经济思想为核心构建中国自主的经济学知识体系，就是用习近平经济思想中蕴含的原理性理论成果支撑起中国自主的经济学知识体系的主体内容，并在科学分析和充分把握这些原理性理论成果的内在联系的基础上，厘清中国自主的经济学知识体系的基本脉络与整体结构。这既能够推动中国自主的经济学知识体系更加准确地聚焦新时代中国特色社会主义经济发展的重大问题和具体实践，也能够更好地凸出这一知识体系的主体性、原创性。

Refine the successful path of Chinese-path modernization in achieving great accomplishments, and expand the specific content of China’s independent economic knowledge system. Promoting economic development is an important aspect of realizing modernization. In the long-term process of practice, our Party has led the people in unremittingly exploring the path of modernization, completing in just a few decades the industrialization journey that took developed countries several hundred years, creating a miracle of rapid economic development. Entering the New Era, our Party has upheld and improved the basic socialist economic system, eliminated absolute poverty, and achieved a historic leap from poverty and weakness, from a blank slate to moderate prosperity in all respects, prosperity, and strength, providing more complete institutional guarantees, a more solid material foundation, and a more proactive spiritual force for Chinese-path modernization. [3]3 “From a blank slate” (一穷二白) is a standard Mao-era phrase describing China’s poverty and industrial backwardness before 1949. China’s independent economic knowledge system is a condensation of experience from the great achievements of China’s economic development. Constructing China’s independent economic knowledge system means starting from the series of great achievements made in China’s economic development, summarizing and refining the successful experience of achieving these great accomplishments, and presenting them in the form of innovative categories, basic principles, and a theoretical system with intrinsic connections. Through theoretical generalization of these successful experiences, while profoundly responding to the question of why we were able to achieve such huge economic successes in the past, it further forms a regular understanding of how to do economic work well, providing theoretical guidance for achieving even greater development achievements in the future.

提炼中国式现代化取得伟大成就的成功之道，扩展中国自主的经济学知识体系的具体内容。推动经济发展是实现现代化的一个重要方面。在长期实践过程中，我们党领导人民不懈探索现代化路径，仅仅用几十年时间就走完了发达国家几百年走过的工业化历程，创造了经济快速发展奇迹。进入新时代，我们党坚持和完善社会主义基本经济制度，消除了绝对贫困问题，实现了从积贫积弱、一穷二白到全面小康、繁荣富强的历史性跨越，为中国式现代化提供了更为完善的制度保证、更为坚实的物质基础、更为主动的精神力量。中国自主的经济学知识体系是面向中国经济发展伟大成就的经验凝结。构建中国自主的经济学知识体系，就是从中国经济发展所取得的一系列伟大成就出发，总结和提炼取得这些伟大成就的成功经验，并将它们以创新的范畴、基本的原理和存在内在联系的理论体系的形式呈现出来。通过对这些成功经验进行理论概括，在深刻回应过去我们为什么能够取得巨大经济成就这一问题的同时，进一步形成关于做好经济工作的规律性认识，为未来取得更大发展成就提供理论指南。

Condense the main reasons why Chinese-path modernization surpasses Western modernization, and shape the distinctive advantages of China’s independent economic knowledge system. The world modernization process began with Western capitalist countries, which established comprehensive advantages in advancing modernization and became the pioneers of modernization. For a long historical period in the past, Western modernization occupied a dominant position and became the model for different nations and peoples to emulate in moving toward modernization. Chinese-path modernization, however, has broken the myth of “modernization = Westernization” and presented another picture of modernization. Chinese-path modernization adheres to a people-centered approach, committed to “serving the interests of the vast majority of the people” and “promoting comprehensive social progress and the all-round development of the individual.” It is fundamentally different from capital-centered Western modernization, effectively avoiding a series of problems such as prolonged economic downturn, intensified polarization, and deepening social contradictions in Western societies. With its unique values and great practice, Chinese-path modernization has made significant innovations to the theory and practice of world modernization. Constructing China’s independent economic knowledge system means using the concepts, principles, and discourse of Marxist political economy to fully explain the fundamental reasons why Chinese-path modernization can surpass Western modernization—such as upholding the Party’s overall leadership over economic work, adhering to a people-centered approach, and upholding and improving the basic socialist economic system—and to clearly summarize the enlightening significance of the experience of economic construction embedded in Chinese-path modernization for developing countries in promoting sustained and healthy economic development. In condensing the experience and elevating the theory of Chinese-path modernization surpassing Western modernization and innovating the modernization model, the distinctive advantages and theoretical characteristics of China’s independent economic knowledge system are constructed.

凝练中国式现代化超越西方现代化的主要原因，塑造中国自主的经济学知识体系的鲜明优势。世界现代化进程是从西方资本主义国家开始的，西方资本主义国家在推进现代化过程中建立起全面的优势，成为了现代化的先行者。在过去很长的一段历史时期内，西方现代化占据着主导地位，成为了不同国家和民族迈向现代化的模仿对象。而中国式现代化，打破了“现代化=西方化”的迷思，展现了现代化的另一幅图景。中国式现代化坚持以人民为中心，致力于“服务绝大多数人的利益”和“推动社会全面进步和人的全面发展”。它在根本上区别于以资本为中心的西方现代化，有效避免了西方社会经济持续低迷、两极分化加剧、社会矛盾日益加深等重重问题。中国式现代化以其独特的价值观念及伟大实践，对世界现代化理论和实践做出了重大创新。构建中国自主的经济学知识体系，就是要用马克思主义政治经济学的概念、原理和话语，把坚持党对经济工作的全面领导、坚持以人民为中心、坚持和完善社会主义基本经济制度等中国式现代化能够超越西方现代化的根本原因充分阐释清楚，把中国式现代化蕴含的经济建设经验对发展中国家推动经济持续健康发展的启示意义清晰概括出来。在对中国式现代化超越西方现代化、创新现代化模式进行经验凝结及理论升华中，构筑起中国自主的经济学知识体系的鲜明优势与理论特色。

To summarise the unique experience of keeping the destiny of development and progress firmly in one’s own hands is to highlight the independent character of China’s independent economic knowledge system. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “To advance Chinese-path modernization, we must uphold independence and self-reliance, insist on placing the development of the country and the nation on the foundation of our own strength, and insist on keeping the destiny of our country’s development and progress firmly in our own hands.” Chinese-path modernization upholds the principle of independence and self-reliance, and by combining the stimulation of endogenous driving forces with the peaceful use of external resources, it continuously promotes social development. To highlight the independent character of China’s independent economic knowledge system, on the one hand, we must “take what we are doing as the centre” and continuously enrich the concepts, categories and principles of this knowledge system. For example, in the face of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, on the basis of upholding that productive forces are the fundamental driving force of human social development, has put forward the concept of “new quality productive forces” and the major task of developing new quality productive forces, using a new theory of productive forces to continuously promote high-quality economic and social development. We must continuously summarise and refine the Party’s theoretical innovations on major issues such as development concepts, ownership, distribution systems, government functions, market mechanisms, macroeconomic regulation, industrial structure, and corporate governance structures, so as to continuously add theoretical impetus to the completion of central tasks and the realisation of strategic goals. On the other hand, we must be adept at using “international language and methods” to tell the story of China’s economic development well. Chinese-path modernization actively learns from and draws on the successful experiences of modernisation in countries around the world, and continuously expands its own breadth and depth through exchange and mutual learning with the modernisation of other countries. China’s independent economic knowledge system is an inclusive and open knowledge system; it does not reject the reasonable components of foreign economic theories. Attention should be paid to drawing on Western economics knowledge concerning finance, prices, currency, markets, competition, trade, exchange rates, industry, enterprises, growth, management, and so on, as well as the aspects that reflect the general laws of large-scale socialised production and the market economy; attention should also be paid to drawing on effective means such as model deduction and quantitative analysis. While insisting on taking ourselves as the mainstay and using foreign things for our own purposes, we continuously ensure that China’s independent economic knowledge system truly stands tall among the world’s academic forests.

总结把发展进步的命运牢牢掌握在自己手中的独特经验，凸显中国自主的经济学知识体系的自主属性。习近平总书记指出：“推进中国式现代化，必须坚持独立自主、自立自强，坚持把国家和民族发展放在自己力量的基点上，坚持把我国发展进步的命运牢牢掌握在自己手中。”中国式现代化秉持独立自主、自力更生的原则，通过激发内生动力与和平利用外部资源相结合的方式，不断推动社会发展。凸显中国自主的经济学知识体系的自主属性，一方面，要“以我们正在做的事情为中心”不断丰富这一知识体系的概念、范畴和原理。例如，面对新一轮科技革命和产业变革，以习近平同志为核心的党中央在坚持生产力是人类社会发展的根本动力的基础上，提出了“新质生产力”这个概念和发展新质生产力这个重大任务，以新的生产力理论不断推动经济社会高质量发展。要不断总结和提炼我们党关于发展理念、所有制、分配体制、政府职能、市场机制、宏观调控、产业结构、企业治理结构等重大问题形成的理论创新成果，不断为完成中心任务、实现战略目标增添理论动力。另一方面，要善于运用“国际化语言和方式”讲好中国经济发展的故事。中国式现代化积极学习借鉴世界各国现代化的成功经验，在与世界各国现代化的交流互鉴中不断拓展自身的广度和深度。中国自主的经济学知识体系是具有包容性和开放性的知识体系，并不排斥国外经济理论的合理成分。要注意借鉴西方经济学关于金融、价格、货币、市场、竞争、贸易、汇率、产业、企业、增长、管理等方面的知识，以及反映社会化大生产和市场经济一般规律的一面，注意借鉴模型推演、数量分析等有效手段。在坚持以我为主、为我所用中，不断推动中国自主的经济学知识体系真正屹立于世界学术之林。

To summarise the scientific path by which Chinese-path modernization innovatively develops the fine traditional Chinese culture is to endow China’s independent economic knowledge system with profound cultural foundations. For any country, it is necessary to correctly handle the relationship between tradition and modernity in the process of advancing modernisation. Chinese-path modernization is not only a modernisation that continues an ancient civilisation; it is also the ideological and theoretical crystallisation formed by our Party’s profound summary of the historical experience of modernisation construction in our country and other countries around the world, and its continuous exploration of how to accelerate the realisation of modernisation in a large Eastern country like ours. The fundamental reason it has been able to become a completely new form of human civilisation is precisely that our Party has always insisted on integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, continuously endowing Chinese-path modernization with profound foundations. The Chinese nation has a long cultural tradition and has formed a wealth of ideas on promoting economic development over thousands of years of historical evolution. For example, the social ideal of a world for all and a commonwealth for all [4]4 “A world for all and a commonwealth for all” (天下为公、天下大同) – Classical Confucian ideals from the *Book of Rites* (《礼记》), describing a society where public spirit prevails and universal harmony is achieved., the economic ethic of enriching the people and giving due consideration to both righteousness and benefit [5]5 “Enriching the people and giving due consideration to both righteousness and benefit” (富民厚生、义利兼顾) – A traditional Chinese economic-ethical principle balancing material well-being with moral integrity., the ecological concept of harmony between humanity and nature and the coexistence of all things [6]6 “Harmony between humanity and nature and the coexistence of all things” (天人合一、万物并育) – A core concept in Chinese philosophy, especially Daoism and Confucianism, emphasising the unity of humans and nature., and the way of interaction based on good faith, harmony, and good neighbourliness [7]7 “Good faith, harmony, and good neighbourliness” (讲信修睦、亲仁善邻) – A traditional Chinese diplomatic and social principle advocating trust, harmony, and kindness toward neighbours.. These fine historical cultures, passed down for thousands of years, and the value concepts that the broad masses of the people use daily without conscious awareness, are compatible and interpenetrating with Marxist political economy. Marxism must be used to activate the vital and excellent factors in traditional Chinese economic thought, endowing them with new contemporary connotations. In achieving the organic connection between tradition and modernity, and in the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional economic thought, we must continuously build the deep cultural foundation of China’s independent economic knowledge system, continuously expand the content space of China’s independent economic knowledge system, and promote the construction of China’s independent economic knowledge system to achieve even more fruitful results on the new journey of the New Era.

总结中国式现代化创新发展中华优秀传统文化的科学路径，赋予中国自主的经济学知识体系深厚文化底蕴。对任何一个国家而言，都需要在推进现代化的过程中正确处理好传统与现代的关系。中国式现代化不仅是赓续古老文明的现代化，同时也是我们党深刻总结我国和世界其他国家现代化建设的历史经验，对我国这样一个东方大国如何加快实现现代化进行不断探索形成的思想理论结晶。它之所以能够成为一种全新的人类文明形态，根本原因就在于我们党始终坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，不断赋予中国式现代化以深厚底蕴。中华民族具有悠久的文化传统，在几千年的历史演进中形成了关于推动经济发展的丰富思想。例如，天下为公、天下大同的社会理想，富民厚生、义利兼顾的经济伦理，天人合一、万物并育的生态理念，讲信修睦、亲仁善邻的交往之道，等等。这些传承了几千年的优秀历史文化和广大人民日用而不觉的价值观念，是同马克思主义政治经济学相契合、相融通的。要用马克思主义激活中国传统经济思想中富有生命力的优秀因子，赋予其新的时代内涵。在实现传统与现代的有机衔接中，在对传统经济思想进行创造性转化和创新性发展中，持续构筑中国自主的经济学知识体系的深层文化根基，不断拓展中国自主的经济学知识体系的内容空间，推动中国自主的经济学知识体系构建在新时代新征程上取得更为丰硕的成果。

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧