The Question of Modernization and China’s Answer

The “question of modernization” posed by Chinese Communists contains a profound reflection on “where modernization is heading.” Since the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important statements rich in the characteristics of the times and in line with China’s national conditions, centering on major strategic propositions such as completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and comprehensively building a modern socialist country. Exploring Chinese-path modernization has always been an important task for Chinese Communists. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC pointed out, “The current and future period is a critical period for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.” [1]1 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in July 2024 and focused on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese-path modernization. In his keynote address at the High-level Dialogue between the CPC and World Political Parties, General Secretary Xi Jinping stated: “Polarization or common prosperity? Material至上 or coordinated material and cultural-ethical progress? [2]2 The Chinese term “物质至上” (wuzhi zhishang) literally means “material supremacy” or “putting material things first.” Draining the pond to catch fish or harmony between humanity and nature? Zero-sum game or win-win cooperation? Copying other countries’ models or independent development based on our own national conditions? What kind of modernization do we need? How can we achieve modernization? Faced with these questions of modernization, political parties, as important forces leading and driving the modernization process, have the responsibility to provide answers.” The “question of modernization” raised by General Secretary Xi Jinping demonstrates a profound reflection and deep insight into the development of world modernization, putting forward development issues worthy of deep consideration by political parties around the world. In answering these questions, we must base ourselves on China’s national conditions, deeply grasp the general trend of world development, deeply understand the essence of modernization, firmly take the path of modernization that suits our own national conditions, and contribute to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

中国共产党人的“现代化之问”蕴含着对现代化发展“向何处去”的深刻思考。新时代以来,习近平总书记围绕全面建成小康社会、全面建设社会主义现代化国家等重大战略命题,作出了一系列富有时代特征、符合中国国情的重要论述。探索中国式现代化始终是中国共产党人的重要任务,党的二十届三中全会指出,“当前和今后一个时期是以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业的关键时期”。习近平总书记在中国共产党与世界政党高层对话会上的主旨讲话中指出:“两极分化还是共同富裕?物质至上还是物质精神协调发展?竭泽而渔还是人与自然和谐共生?零和博弈还是合作共赢?照抄照搬别国模式还是立足自身国情自主发展?我们究竟需要什么样的现代化?怎样才能实现现代化?面对这一系列的现代化之问,政党作为引领和推动现代化进程的重要力量,有责任作出回答。”习近平总书记提出的“现代化之问”,彰显着对世界现代化发展的深刻思考与深邃洞见,提出了值得世界各国政党深入思考的发展问题。在回答这些问题时,我们必须立足中国国情,深刻把握世界发展大势,深刻理解现代化的本质,坚定走符合自身国情的现代化道路,为实现中华民族伟大复兴、构建人类命运共同体贡献力量。

I. Polarization or Common Prosperity?

一、两极分化还是共同富裕?

In recent years, during the process of advancing economic and social modernization, China has consistently faced a crucial question: how to move toward common prosperity? Undoubtedly, this is a major issue related to the long-term stability of the country and the harmony and stability of society. In this regard, General Secretary Xi Jinping once posed the question: “If material wealth increases, but development is extremely unbalanced, the gap between rich and poor is huge, society is unfair, and polarization occurs, can it win people’s hearts?” As a socialist country, China has the inherent nature of serving the people by preventing polarization and achieving common prosperity. Chinese-path modernization is essentially socialist modernization, and this nature of serving the people reveals the prominent characteristics of socialist modernization. Looking at the process of Western modernization, capitalism has always adhered to a capital-centered approach in advancing modernization. Whether in Europe, North America, or Japan and South Korea, the principle of capital supremacy has always been upheld in the process of promoting economic, political, and cultural development. In capitalist society, the strength of the entire country and the whole society will not be mobilized to help some poor people escape suffering. As socialist modernization, Chinese-path modernization always adheres to a people-centered approach, placing the interests of the people first, demonstrating the distinct attributes of socialism. Therefore, only by properly handling the epochal proposition of “polarization or common prosperity” can we promote the deepening of Chinese-path modernization and comprehensively build a great modern socialist country. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC pointed out: “Focus on improving the quality of people’s lives, perfect the income distribution and employment systems, improve the social security system, enhance the balance and accessibility of basic public services, and promote more obvious and substantive progress in people’s all-round development and common prosperity for all the people.” This fully demonstrates the determination of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core to adhere to the people-centered development philosophy and unswervingly advance common prosperity for all the people.

近年来,中国在推进经济社会现代化发展过程中,一直面临着一个至关重要的问题:如何走向共同富裕?无疑,这是一个关系到国家长治久安、社会和谐稳定的重大课题。对此,习近平总书记曾提出这样的问题:“物质丰富了,但发展极不平衡,贫富悬殊很大,社会不公平,两极分化了,能得人心吗?”中国作为一个社会主义国家,具有防止两极分化、实现共同富裕的为民本色。中国式现代化本质上是社会主义现代化,而为民本色揭示了社会主义现代化所具有的突出特征。从西方现代化进程看,资本主义在推进现代化建设中,始终坚持以资本为中心。无论是欧洲、北美,还是日本、韩国,在推动经济、政治、文化发展过程中始终秉持资本至上。在资本主义社会,不会为了帮助部分穷苦人民脱离苦难而发动整个国家、整个社会的力量。中国式现代化作为社会主义现代化,始终坚持以人民为中心,把人民群众的利益放在首位,彰显出社会主义的鲜明属性。因此,只有处理好“两极分化还是共同富裕”的时代命题,才能促进中国式现代化向纵深推进,才能全面建成社会主义现代化强国。党的二十届三中全会指出:“聚焦提高人民生活品质,完善收入分配和就业制度,健全社会保障体系,增强基本公共服务均衡性和可及性,推动人的全面发展、全体人民共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展。”这充分彰显出以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持以人民为中心的发展思想,坚定不移地推进全体人民共同富裕的决心。

So-called polarization is now mostly used to describe a social phenomenon in the process of economic development where the gap between rich and poor is too large, to the extent that the poor become poorer and the rich become richer. If allowed to develop unchecked, it will inevitably lead to a rapid widening of the wealth gap, the solidification of social classes, and further, it could even cause social division and national turmoil. More specifically, polarization takes inequality in income distribution as its logical starting point, continuous division and differentiation as its logical process, and the formation of “two poles” as its logical end, resulting in a social pattern of extremely expanded income gaps. First, polarization originates from unreasonable systems of wealth production and distribution, preventing people from obtaining their own labor remuneration fairly, effectively, and reasonably. Second, in this unequal distribution process, due to the stimulus of the Matthew effect, it will inevitably lead to the continuous differentiation of social wealth, with monetary wealth further concentrating in the hands of the propertied and high-income groups, while low-income and propertyless groups become increasingly impoverished due to their inability to obtain reasonable income. Third, against the background of the continuous accumulation and aggregation of the aforementioned unreasonable distribution, people’s income gaps continue to widen, and society develops toward “two poles,” thus forming the social phenomenon of polarization. This inevitably leads to class differentiation and social instability, thereby endangering the harmonious development of society and the long-term stability of the country.

所谓两极分化,现多用来描述经济发展过程中贫富差距过大,以至于形成穷者愈穷、富者愈富的社会现象。如果任其肆意发展,必然会导致人们贫富差距急速拉大,社会阶层固化,更进一步甚至会造成社会撕裂与国家动荡的乱局。更详细地说,两极分化是以收入分配的不平等为逻辑起点,以持续分裂分化为逻辑过程,以形成“两极”为逻辑旨归,造成收入差距极端扩大的社会样态。其一,两极分化起始于不合理的财富生产与分配制度,导致人们无法公平、有效、合理地获得自身的劳动报酬。其二,在这一不平等的分配过程中,由于马太效应的刺激,必然会导致社会财富的持续分化,金钱财富向着有产者、高产者进一步集中,低产者和无产者则由于无法获得合理的收入而愈发贫困。其三,在上述不合理分配不断叠加与聚合的背景下,人们的收入差距不断拉大,社会向着“两极”发展,从而形成了两极分化的社会现象。这必然导致人们的阶层分化和社会的动荡不安,从而危及社会的和谐发展与国家的长治久安。

For example, the Enclosure Movement in England, which lasted from the 15th to the 19th century, was a protracted and far-reaching land reform movement. This famous land transformation movement was driven by the rapid development of the wool textile industry and the strong supply and demand for wool production and sales. Some profit-seeking English nobles and the bourgeoisie seized the land of peasants and herders, even forcibly converting arable land into pastures, thereby triggering a series of social problems and creating a situation where the poor became poorer and the rich became richer. This was essentially the evil consequence of land redistribution caused by the propertied class wanting to expand production to obtain high profits. It is not difficult to see that polarization is an inevitable result of capitalist development and a historical inevitability of the failure to rationally distribute social wealth. In capitalist society, for capitalists to obtain excess profits, they must inevitably exploit workers and appropriate the fruits of others’ labor. If allowed to develop unchecked, it will inevitably lead to the propertied class obtaining a continuous stream of wealth, while the proletariat can only become appendages of the capitalists in the most basic living conditions, unable even to guarantee their own basic livelihood, becoming the destitute. Thus, the historical process of capitalism advancing modernization is undoubtedly full of blood and violence, inevitably leading to wealth flowing into the hands of a few capitalists, while ordinary people lose their basic human rights, ultimately resulting in social polarization.

譬如,英国在15世纪至19世纪发生的历时持久、影响深远的圈地运动。这一场著名的土地变革运动,受当时毛纺织业快速发展和羊毛生产销售供需两旺的影响。一些逐利的英国贵族和资产阶级霸占农民牧民的土地,甚至强行将耕地变为牧场,从而引发了一系列的社会问题,造成了穷者愈穷、富者愈富的局面。这实际上是有产者想要扩大生产获得高额利润所导致的土地重新分配的恶果。不难发现,两极分化是资本主义发展的必然结果,是社会财富无法合理分配的历史必然。在资本主义社会,资本家想要获得超额利润就必定会压榨劳动者吸取他人劳动成果。如若任其发展不加以遏制,则必然会导致资本拥有者获得源源不断的财富,无产者则只能在最基础的生活状态中成为资本家的附庸,甚至都无法保障自身基本的生活,成为赤贫者。由此可见,资本主义推进现代化的历史过程,无疑是充满血腥与暴力的,必然会导致财富流向少数资本家手中,而普通群众丧失人的基本权利,最终造成社会两极分化。

In contrast, common prosperity is the essential requirement of socialism, and China has always adhered to the value principle of common prosperity. So-called common prosperity means solving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, and on this basis, continuing to do a good job of both making the cake bigger and distributing it well, vigorously promoting high-quality development, generally raising the income level of urban and rural residents, gradually narrowing the distribution gap, and resolutely preventing polarization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Under our socialist system, we must not only continuously liberate and develop the productive forces, continuously create and accumulate social wealth, but also prevent polarization, and effectively promote more obvious and substantive progress in people’s all-round development and common prosperity for all the people.” That is to say, as a socialist country, China must adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, using the social wealth created by the people in the process of socialist modernization to meet the people’s own production and living needs and give back to the broad masses of the people. At the same time, it should be noted that our common prosperity is still common prosperity with certain gaps; it is not uniform equal prosperity of egalitarianism; our common prosperity is not about killing the rich to help the poor, but about the rich helping the poor and supporting the poor; our common prosperity has long-term, arduous, and complex characteristics, requiring gradual progress and persistent effort. On the path toward common prosperity, we must not only improve the material living standards of the people but also pay attention to promoting cultural-ethical progress, achieving a double prosperity of both material life and spiritual life.

与之相反,共同富裕是社会主义的本质要求,中国一直坚守共同富裕的价值原则。所谓共同富裕,就是解决发展不平衡不充分的问题,并在此基础上继续把做大蛋糕和分好蛋糕两件事情办好,大力推动高质量发展,普遍提高城乡居民收入水平,逐步缩小分配差距,坚决防止两极分化。习近平总书记指出:“在我国社会主义制度下,既要不断解放和发展社会生产力,不断创造和积累社会财富,又要防止两极分化,切实推动人的全面发展、全体人民共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展。”也就是说,中国作为一个社会主义国家,必须坚持中国特色社会主义道路,将人民群众在社会主义现代化建设中所创造的社会财富,用于保障人民群众自身生产生活需要,回馈广大的人民群众。同时需要注意的是,我们的共同富裕是仍然存在一定差距的共同富裕,不是整齐划一的平均主义同等富裕;我们的共同富裕不是杀富济贫,而是先富带后富、帮后富;我们的共同富裕具有长期性、艰巨性和复杂性,需要循序渐进、久久为功。在通向共同富裕的道路上,我们不仅要实现人民群众物质生活水平的提高,还需要注意推进精神文明建设,实现物质生活和精神生活双富裕。

Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all the people, and it is the inevitable path to preventing polarization and achieving common prosperity. Under the socialist system, liberating and developing the productive forces, eliminating exploitation, eradicating polarization, and ultimately realizing common prosperity constitute the essential requirements of socialism. In the process of moving toward modernization, China has abandoned the Western model centered on capital, adhered to a people-centered approach, and promoted common prosperity for all the people. First, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, a socialist market economy system has been established, reform and opening up has been continuously deepened, the rural revitalization strategy has been implemented, rural infrastructure construction has been strengthened, rural economic development has been promoted, and farmers’ income levels have been raised. “Improve the normalized mechanism for preventing the return to poverty among the rural population, and establish a tiered and categorized assistance system for the low-income rural population and underdeveloped areas,” further consolidating the institutional safeguards for raising farmers’ income levels. Second, China has won the battle against poverty, comprehensively built a moderately prosperous society, and achieved the complete elimination of absolute poverty and an overall improvement in the people’s living standards. These measures have gradually turned the goal of common prosperity for all the people into reality. Examined through the lens of historical materialism, development is the foundation and key to solving all problems. Achieving common prosperity requires reasonable and effective income regulation and distribution, but it also requires continuously liberating and developing the productive forces, using development to solve the various problems the people encounter in economic and social transformation. Only by promoting the immense development of the productive forces and enlarging the economic “pie” can there be a solid material foundation to guarantee the people’s beautiful aspiration for common prosperity. It is particularly important to note that, in the current stage of China’s development, against the historical backdrop of the country’s continuous industrial iteration and upgrading, we need to continuously liberate and develop the new quality productive forces, which are driven by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading. This contemporary advanced productive force is an important engine for achieving sustained economic growth in China in the New Era and a key driving force for ensuring the people’s common prosperity. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [3]3 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, held in July 2024, is a major meeting of the Communist Party of China that typically focuses on economic reform and development strategy. made strategic plans for developing new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, emphasizing “improving the systems and mechanisms for developing new quality productive forces in light of local conditions,” “improving relevant rules and policies, accelerating the formation of relations of production more compatible with new quality productive forces, promoting the concentration of various advanced production factors toward the development of new quality productive forces, and substantially increasing total factor productivity,” and so on. Therefore, in the historical process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, we not only need to liberate and develop the productive forces, especially new quality productive forces, but also need to pay attention to preventing polarization while developing, and promote the realization of common prosperity. Only in this way can we advance Chinese-path modernization in depth, promote the comprehensive building of a great modern socialist country, safeguard the vital interests of the people, and realize the people’s beautiful vision.

中国式现代化是全体人民共同富裕的现代化,是防止两极分化实现共同富裕的必由之路。在社会主义制度下,解放生产力,发展生产力,消灭剥削,消除两极分化,最终实现共同富裕,构成了社会主义的本质要求。在迈向现代化的过程中,中国摒弃了西方以资本为中心的模式,坚持以人民为中心,促进全体人民共同富裕。首先,在中国共产党的领导下,建立社会主义市场经济体制,不断深化改革开放,实行乡村振兴战略,加强农村基础设施建设,促进农村经济发展,提高农民收入水平。“完善覆盖农村人口的常态化防止返贫致贫机制,建立农村低收入人口和欠发达地区分层分类帮扶制度”,进一步筑牢提高农民收入水平的制度保障。其次,中国打赢了脱贫攻坚战,全面建成了小康社会,实现了绝对贫困的彻底消除和人民生活水平的整体性提升,这些举措促进全体人民共同富裕的目标逐渐变为现实。以历史唯物主义审视之,发展是解决一切问题的基础和关键。实现共同富裕需要合理有效的收入调节分配,但是同时也需要不断解放生产力、发展生产力,以发展来解决人民群众在经济社会转型中遇到的各类问题。只有促进生产力的极大发展,做大经济总量的“蛋糕”,才有坚实的物质基础来保障人民实现共同富裕的美好愿望。尤其需要注意的是,在中国现阶段的发展过程中,在国家不断进行产业迭代升级的历史背景下,我们需要不断解放并发展由技术革命性突破、生产要素创新性配置、产业深度转型升级而催生的新质生产力。这一当代先进生产力是新时代新征程中实现中国经济持续增长的重要引擎,是保障人民群众共同富裕的重要动力。党的二十届三中全会就因地制宜发展新质生产力作出战略谋划,强调“健全因地制宜发展新质生产力体制机制”,“健全相关规则和政策,加快形成同新质生产力更相适应的生产关系,促进各类先进生产要素向发展新质生产力集聚,大幅提升全要素生产率”等。因此,在推进中国式现代化发展的历史进程中,我们不仅需要解放生产力,发展生产力,尤其是新质生产力,还需要注意在发展的同时防止两极分化,推进共同富裕的实现。唯有如此,才能推进中国式现代化向纵深发展,才能推进全面建成社会主义现代化强国,才能保障人民群众的切身利益,实现人民群众的美好愿景。

II. Material Supremacy or Coordinated Development of the Material and the Spiritual?

二、物质至上还是物质精神协调发展?

In the current era, China has achieved remarkable accomplishments in areas such as scientific and technological innovation, infrastructure construction, and improvement of people’s livelihoods. This has not only raised the people’s living standards and enhanced the country’s comprehensive national strength but also created conditions for the flourishing development of spiritual culture. At the same time, a question that people have always focused on is: Should we pursue material supremacy, or advocate for the coordinated development of the material and the spiritual? This question concerns the development direction of individuals, families, society, and even the nation, and it concerns the historical choices and practical principles of China’s modernization. In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Material abundance and spiritual enrichment are the fundamental requirements of socialist modernization.” This means that in the process of socialist modernization, we must maintain both material abundance and spiritual enrichment. Only in this way can we, on the basis of fully safeguarding the people’s fundamental interests, build a high-quality great modern socialist country. With the free and comprehensive development of the individual as the fundamental goal, we must achieve material abundance and affluence, guarantee the people’s rights to survival, development, and education, pay attention to the practical concerns of the people at the spiritual level, and realize the people’s spiritual pleasure and satisfaction. In this sense, whether to choose material supremacy or the coordinated development of the material and the spiritual in the process of modernization is undoubtedly a major proposition concerning ideological security, national construction, and ethnic development. From this perspective, it is necessary for us to conduct in-depth analysis, research, and discussion on this issue, clarify the deep relationship between material civilization construction and cultural-ethical progress, elucidate the inherent requirements of the coordinated development of the material and the spiritual, and thereby advance the in-depth development of Chinese-path modernization.

在当今时代,中国在科技创新、基础设施建设、民生改善等方面取得了举世瞩目的成就,这不仅提高了人民群众的生活水平,增强了国家的综合实力,也为精神文化的繁荣发展创造了条件。与此同时,人们始终关注的一个问题是:我们应该追求物质至上,还是倡导物质与精神协调发展?这个问题涉及个人、家庭、社会乃至国家的发展方向,涉及我国现代化的历史选择与实践原则。对此,习近平总书记指出:“物质富足、精神富有是社会主义现代化的根本要求。”这意味着在社会主义现代化建设过程中,我们既要保持物质上的富足,也要坚持精神上的富有,只有如此才能在充分保障人民群众的根本利益的基础上,建成高质量的社会主义现代化强国。在以人的自由全面发展为根本目标前提下,实现物质上的富足富裕,保障人的生存权、发展权、教育权,注重人们精神层面的现实关切,实现人的精神愉悦与精神满足。从这个意义上讲,在现代化进程中到底是选择物质至上还是物质精神协调发展,无疑是事关意识形态安全和国家建设、民族发展的重大命题。由是观之,我们有必要对此进行深入的分析、研究与探讨,厘清物质文明建设与精神文明建设的深层关系,明晰物质精神协调发展的内在要求,并以此推进中国式现代化建设向纵深发展。

Material supremacy is an ideology that implies an unabashed pursuit of material things, where the definition of success is mainly reflected in wealth and status. This ideology holds that the importance of material things can even surpass morality, human nature, and the spiritual. From an individual micro perspective, material supremacy means that individuals regard money, status, and power as the highest goals, sometimes neglecting interpersonal relationships and social responsibility. From a national and societal macro perspective, material supremacy means that in the process of national economic and social development, only the development of the productive forces is emphasized, with excessive focus on the material construction achievements of gross domestic product while neglecting the construction of spiritual civilization. More specifically, the formation and development of material supremacy in a country, region, or society includes three logical levels. The first logical level is that in the initial stage of social development, due to the relatively low level of the productive forces, all forces are exhausted to liberate and develop the productive forces, vigorously promoting the construction of material civilization, thereby providing the most basic guarantee for the country and society. The second logical level is that while material civilization has been partially developed, the construction of spiritual civilization is forgotten, or spiritual civilization construction is not promptly elevated to a corresponding level, resulting in a trend that overemphasizes material civilization construction while neglecting spiritual civilization construction. The third logical level is allowing the second logical level to develop unchecked, leading to a divergence between spiritual civilization construction and material civilization construction. In society, people generally judge, define, and explain everything in terms of material things, and the ideology of commodity fetishism [4]4 Commodity fetishism is a concept from Marx’s *Capital* describing how social relations between people appear as relations between things under capitalism. becomes deeply embedded in people’s thoughts, forming a widespread mindset of material supremacy in the process of national economic and social development. Due to the sequential evolution of these three logical levels, the ideology of material supremacy is fully developed and rooted in the development process of individuals and society. There is no doubt that although this habitual thinking is conducive to liberating and developing the productive forces in the early stages of economic and social development, meeting people’s basic material needs, and promoting the country’s material civilization construction, it will later move toward an extreme, that is, falling into a purely materialist theory that measures everything by material efficiency and material value.

物质至上是一种思想观念,其意味着对物质追求的毫不遮掩,对成功的定义主要体现在财富和地位上,这种观念认为物质的重要性甚至可以超越道德、人性和精神等方面。就个人微观角度而言,物质至上是个人将钱财、地位、权力视为最高目标,有时会忽视人际关系和社会责任感。就国家社会宏观角度而言,物质至上是在国家经济社会发展的过程中只注重生产力的发展,过于关注国内生产总值的物质层面建设成果而忽视精神文明的构建。更详细地说,物质至上在某国家地区社会中的形成与发展包含三个逻辑层次。第一个逻辑层次是在社会发展的初始阶段,由于生产力处于较低的水平,因此穷极一切力量解放生产力、发展生产力,大力推动物质文明的建设,以此给予国家社会最基础的保障。第二个逻辑层次是在物质文明得到部分发展的同时,忘却了精神文明建设,或者没有及时将精神文明建设提升到对应层次,致使过于注重物质文明建设而忽略精神文明建设的风向形成。第三个逻辑层次是任由第二个逻辑层次肆意发展,导致精神文明建设与物质文明建设两者分道扬镳,社会中人们普遍以物质来评断、定义、解释一切,拜物教思想深深扎入人们的思想观念之中,在国家社会经济发展过程中形成普遍的物质至上思维定式。由于这三个逻辑层次的依次演进,物质至上的思想观念得到充分发展并根植于个人与社会的发展历程之中。毫无疑问,这种思维惯性虽然在经济社会发展的初期有利于解放生产力、发展生产力,满足人们的基本物质需求,促进国家的物质文明建设,但是在随后的发展中就会走向一个极端,即陷入以物质效益、物质价值来衡量一切的唯物质论。

For example, in the process of the development of the commodity economy, consumerism once ran rampant; it is bound up with materialism, and together they act upon people’s interactions and daily life. In reality, consumerism is a variant and continuation of the primacy of material things in the sphere of consumption; the consumption it advocates is not aimed at satisfying actual needs, but at the ceaseless pursuit of desires that are manufactured and stimulated. This social trend of thought deeply influences people’s everyday interactions, and also affects the economic and cultural development of the nation and society. It is a mistaken way of thinking that over-pursues material things and consumption, while neglecting the practicality of real products and the construction of spiritual culture and ideology. There is no doubt that the primacy of material things is a greedy pursuit of material wealth and the collapse and abandonment of spiritual faith. As a social phenomenon, it leads people to regard material wealth and material enjoyment as the highest goal and measure of life, while neglecting the adherence to and transmission of spiritual faith, interpersonal relations, and historical culture. This not only damages the construction of spiritual culture, but also causes material construction to fall into a state of alienation, becoming an alien force that constrains economic and social development. Therefore, whether it is consumerism or the primacy of material things, we should clearly resist them, carry out a thorough critique of them, and thereby guide people to establish a correct view of consumption and a correct view of material things, using correct consumption concepts and material concepts to guide people and satisfy the people’s needs for a better life.

譬如,在商品经济的发展过程中,消费主义曾甚嚣尘上,它与物质主义捆绑在一起,共同作用于人们的交往与生活。实际上,消费主义是物质至上在消费领域的变种与延续,其所倡导的消费不是为了实际需求的满足,而是不断追求被制造出来、被刺激起来的欲望的满足。这种社会思潮深深影响着人们的日常生活交往,也影响了国家社会的经济文化发展。这是一种对于物质、对于消费的过度追求,忽视了现实产品的实用性和精神文化思想建设的错误思维。毫无疑问,物质至上是对于物质财富的贪婪追求和精神信仰的放弃崩塌。作为一种社会现象,它让人们将物质财富和物质享受视为生活的最高目标和衡量标准,而忽视了精神信仰、人际关系和历史文化等方面的坚守与传承。这不仅破坏了精神文化的建设,还致使物质建设陷入异化的境地,成为束缚经济社会发展的异己力量。因此,无论是消费主义还是物质至上,我们都应该予以明确抵制,对其进行深入批判,进而引领人们树立正确的消费观和物质观,以正确的消费理念和物质观念引导人们,满足人民的美好生活需要。

The coordinated development of the material and the spiritual is the core requirement of socialist modernization and an important guarantee for common prosperity for all the people. At the same time, the coordinated development of the material and the spiritual is also an important component of comprehensively building a modern socialist country and promoting common prosperity for all the people. On the one hand, comprehensively building a great modern socialist country includes not only modernization at the material level, but also modernization at the spiritual level. With the continuous advancement of reform and opening up, the basic material needs of the people have been greatly satisfied, and they are now moving toward higher-level spiritual and cultural needs. China’s economic development has also provided a basic guarantee for the people’s rich and varied spiritual and cultural needs. On the other hand, the coordinated development of the material and the spiritual is an important guarantee for achieving common prosperity for all the people in China, and is conducive to promoting people’s free and all-round development. China has always adhered to the view that the people are the creators of history, and insisted that the people are the masters of the country. Therefore, when advancing national construction and social development, it always takes common prosperity for all the people as its value pursuit, effectively safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of the people, and protects the people’s rights to survival, education, and development. Marxism holds that in a communist society, every individual can develop freely and comprehensively. The “all-round” expressed here refers not only to development at the material level, but also to development at the spiritual level and other levels. Therefore, the coordinated development of the material and the spiritual is conducive to guaranteeing the basic rights of everyone to free and all-round development, and is conducive to China’s continuous progress toward a society in which everyone develops freely and comprehensively.

物质和精神协调发展是社会主义现代化建设的核心要求,是全体人民共同富裕的重要保障。同时,物质精神协调发展也是全面建设社会主义现代化国家、推动全体人民共同富裕的重要内容。一方面,全面建设社会主义现代化强国,不仅包括物质层面的现代化,还包括精神层面的现代化。随着改革开放不断推进,人民群众的基本物质生活需求得到极大满足,转而向着更高层次的精神文化需求迈进。中国的经济发展也为人民群众丰富多彩的精神文化需要提供了基础保障。另一方面,物质和精神协调发展是实现中国全体人民共同富裕的重要保障,有利于促进人们自由而全面的发展。中国始终坚持人民群众是历史的创造者,坚持人民当家作主。因此,在推进国家建设、社会发展时,始终以全体人民共同富裕为价值追求,切实保障人民群众的合法权益,维护人民群众的生存权、教育权、发展权。马克思主义认为,在共产主义社会每个人都能够自由而全面地发展。其所表达的“全面”不是只有物质层面的发展,还包括精神层面和其他层面的发展。因此,物质与精神的协调发展有利于保障每个人自由全面发展的基本权利,有利于中国朝着每个人自由全面发展的社会不断迈进。

Chinese-path modernization is the practical path for opposing the primacy of material things and promoting the coordinated development of the material and the spiritual. Development of the material alone is not modernization; the coordinated development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress is the proper meaning of Chinese-path modernization. In this regard, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the headquarters of UNESCO: “Realizing the Chinese Dream is the result of the balanced development and mutual promotion of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress. Without the inheritance and development of civilization, without the promotion and flourishing of culture, there can be no realization of the Chinese Dream. The ancestors of the Chinese nation long aspired to a world of great harmony [5]5 “Great harmony” (datong) is a classical Confucian ideal of a well-ordered, equitable society, often associated with the utopian vision in the “Liyun” chapter of the Book of Rites. in which people’s material life is abundant and worry-free and their moral realm is fully elevated. Chinese civilization has always incorporated people’s spiritual life into the ideals of life and society. Therefore, realizing the Chinese Dream is a development process in which material civilization and cultural-ethical progress advance side by side like two wings of a bird.” Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are coordinated; this is the unique advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Over the past few decades, China has made great progress in the economy, science and technology, culture, and other fields, becoming one of the world’s largest economies. Under the leadership of the CPC, China has always adhered to high-quality development at the material level, taking science and technology as the primary productive force, promoting the production of social material products and the enrichment of the people’s material life. At the same time, China has also made remarkable achievements in the field of cultural-ethical progress, promoting the construction of ideological and moral development and scientific and cultural development, strengthening society’s legal awareness and concept of the rule of law, prompting the continuous improvement of public cultural services, and promoting the construction of a new type of civilization.

中国式现代化是反对物质至上,推进物质精神协调发展的现实进路。只有物质的发展不是现代化,物质文明与精神文明的协调发展才是中国式现代化的应有之义。对此,习近平总书记在联合国教科文组织总部的演讲中指出:“实现中国梦,是物质文明和精神文明均衡发展、相互促进的结果。没有文明的继承和发展,没有文化的弘扬和繁荣,就没有中国梦的实现。中华民族的先人们早就向往人们的物质生活充实无忧、道德境界充分升华的大同世界。中华文明历来把人的精神生活纳入人生和社会理想之中。所以,实现中国梦,是物质文明和精神文明比翼双飞的发展过程。”中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化,这是中国特色社会主义的独特优势。在过去的几十年里,中国在经济、科技、文化等方面取得了长足进步,成为全球最大的经济体之一。在中国共产党的带领下,中国始终坚持物质层面的高质量发展,以科学技术为第一生产力,推动社会物质产品的生产和人民物质生活的丰富。同时,中国也在精神文明建设领域取得了显著成就,推动了思想道德建设和科学文化建设,强化了社会的法律意识、法治观念,促使公共文化服务得到不断提升,推动了新型文明的构建。

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC: “We have established and upheld the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological domain, the Party’s innovative theories in the New Era have taken deep root in people’s hearts, the core socialist values have been widely disseminated, the excellent traditional Chinese culture has undergone creative transformation and innovative development, cultural undertakings have become increasingly prosperous, the online ecosystem has continued to improve, and the situation in the ideological domain has undergone a comprehensive and fundamental transformation.” It can be seen from this that in the process of realizing modernization, China has always adhered to the policy of “grasping with both hands, and both hands must be firm,” [6]6 “Grasping with both hands, and both hands must be firm” is a policy slogan from the Deng Xiaoping era, meaning that material civilization and cultural-ethical progress must be developed simultaneously and with equal determination. grasping both the construction of material civilization and the construction of cultural-ethical progress. This coordinated development has injected powerful momentum and vitality into Chinese-path modernization, enabling China to achieve major progress and substantial development in the economy, science and technology, culture, and all other aspects.

习近平总书记在党的二十大报告中指出:“我们确立和坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度,新时代党的创新理论深入人心,社会主义核心价值观广泛传播,中华优秀传统文化得到创造性转化、创新性发展,文化事业日益繁荣,网络生态持续向好,意识形态领域形势发生全局性、根本性转变。”由此可见,在实现现代化的过程中,中国始终坚持“两手抓,两手都要硬”的方针,既抓物质文明建设,又抓精神文明建设。这种协调发展为中国式现代化注入了强大的动力和活力,使得中国在经济、科技、文化等各个方面都取得了重大进步和长足发展。

III. Draining the Pond to Catch the Fish, or Harmony Between Humanity and Nature?

三、竭泽而渔还是人与自然和谐共生?

China is currently in an important historical stage of further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-path modernization. In this process, China’s choice in the area of the ecological environment has become an important topic of widespread concern both at home and abroad. On this issue, there are two completely different views: one is the rapid development of draining the pond to catch the fish, and the other is the sustainable development of harmony between humanity and nature. So, which one is the correct choice for Chinese-path modernization? In this regard, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition: “The development model of killing the goose for the golden eggs and draining the pond to catch the fish has reached its end; green development that conforms to nature and protects the ecology points to the future.” That is to say, in the historical process of advancing modernization, if a development model that takes the destruction of the environment as its cost is adopted, it will inevitably lead to the destruction of the natural ecology and the unsustainability of economic development, thereby falling into an awkward situation with no future. Only by respecting nature, conforming to nature, and protecting nature can we maintain vigorous vitality in the course of history, inject vitality into economic development, provide impetus for ecological protection, and thereby lead the whole society onto a green and sustainable development path. Therefore, in the process of advancing modernization, draining the pond to catch the fish or harmony between humanity and nature is not only a question concerning ecological environmental protection and sustainable development, but also a major issue concerning the future destiny of humanity. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC pointed out: “Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which humanity and nature live in harmony.” This is a development path that both conforms to China’s national conditions and has global significance. Only in this way can we achieve sustainable development and leave for future generations a beautiful homeland with blue skies, green land, and clear water.

中国正处于进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化的重要历史阶段。在这个过程中,中国式现代化在生态环境方面的选择成为国内外广泛关注的重要话题。在这个问题上,有两种截然不同的观点:一种是竭泽而渔式的快速发展,另一种是人与自然和谐共生的可持续发展。那么,究竟哪一种才是中国式现代化的正确选择呢?对此,习近平总书记在2019年中国北京世界园艺博览会开幕式上的讲话中指出:“杀鸡取卵、竭泽而渔的发展方式走到了尽头,顺应自然、保护生态的绿色发展昭示着未来。”也就是说,在推进现代化的历史进程中,如果采取以破坏环境为代价的发展方式,必然会导致自然生态的破坏和经济发展的不可持续,从而陷入没有前途的尴尬境地。只有尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然,才能在历史的进程中始终保持蓬勃生机,为经济发展注入活力,为生态保护提供动力,从而引领全社会走上一条绿色可持续的发展之路。因此,在推进现代化的进程中,竭泽而渔还是人与自然和谐共生不仅是一个关于生态环境保护与可持续发展的问题,更是一个关乎人类未来命运的重大课题。党的二十届三中全会指出:“中国式现代化是人与自然和谐共生的现代化。”这是一条既符合中国国情,又具有世界意义的发展道路。唯有如此,我们才能实现可持续发展,为子孙后代留下天蓝、地绿、水清的美丽家园。

The so-called “draining the pond to catch the fish” refers to draining a lake or pond to catch fish; it is now generally used as a metaphor for doing things only with immediate gain in mind, without making long-term plans. If one only focuses on economic growth while neglecting the protection of the ecological environment, it is undoubtedly a short-sighted and unsustainable development model, and in the end it will inevitably backfire on humanity itself. Therefore, draining the pond to catch the fish can only yield short-term economic returns, while in the long run it is a destruction of humanity’s sustainable development. To be specific, this practice of draining the pond to catch the fish contains three levels. The first level is that, in the process of promoting the economic and social development of human society, in order to obtain significant gains relatively simply and quickly, economic development is pursued at all costs. In this process of economic and social development, deforestation, geological changes, hydrological impacts, and the like are short-term and imperceptible damages, so efforts are intensified to exploit nature, arbitrarily extracting from it without any restraint. The second level is that the relentless accumulation of such reckless plundering of natural resources inevitably leads to great destruction of the ecological environment. The ecological environment shifts from imperceptible and unremarkable changes to a sharp deterioration; nature suffers ruthless and even irreparable damage in the course of economic and social development. The third level is that the deterioration of the ecological environment not only destroys the metabolism of nature itself but also has a profound impact on the economic activities of human society, blocking the sustainable development of human society. Draining the pond to catch the fish without scruple for the sake of seizing benefits is an irresponsible attitude toward nature and toward oneself. Once this mindset is put into practice, it will inevitably in turn affect humanity itself and affect humanity’s normal economic and social activities.

所谓竭泽而渔是指排尽湖水或池水来捉鱼,现在一般用来比喻做事情只图眼前利益,不作长远打算。如果只注重经济的增长而忽略生态环境的保护无疑是一种目光短浅、不可持续的发展模式,并且最终必将反噬人类自身。因此,竭泽而渔只能获取短暂的经济回报,而长久来说是对人类可持续发展的一种破坏。具言之,竭泽而渔这一实践样态包含三个层级。第一个层级是在推动人类社会经济发展的过程中,为了相对简单快速地获取显著收益,不顾一切发展经济。在这一经济社会的发展过程中,对于森林的砍伐、地质的改变、水文的影响等属于短期不明显的破坏,因此更是加大力度竭力开发大自然,丝毫不加以遏制地随意对大自然进行索取。第二个层级是这种肆无忌惮掠取自然资源的不断叠加,必然导致对生态环境的极大破坏。生态环境由不明显不宜感知的变化转变为生态环境急剧恶化,大自然在经济社会的开发中遭到了无情的甚至是无法恢复的破坏。第三个层级是生态环境的恶化不仅破坏了自然界本身的新陈代谢,还对人类社会的经济活动等造成深远的影响,阻断了人类社会的可持续发展。为了攫取利益而毫无顾忌竭泽而渔,是一种对自然、对自身不负责的态度,这种思维一旦付诸实践,必将反过来影响人类本身,影响人类的正常经济社会活动。

In contrast, the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature is the inherent requirement and basic principle for the sustainable development of human society. In today’s world, as humanity overexploits natural resources, the relationship between humanity and nature is increasingly tense, with problems such as ecological environmental degradation and resource depletion becoming prominent. Therefore, emphasizing the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature is both an inherent requirement for the sustainable development of human society and an important part of global ecological civilization construction. First, the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature helps to ensure the natural resources needed for human survival and development. According to the general laws of the development of human society, to achieve one’s own liberation and to develop the productive forces, it is necessary to enhance humanity’s ability to utilize nature, transform nature, and obtain material resources from nature. From the perspective of humanity’s utilization of nature, the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature is conducive to humanity’s calmly obtaining from nature the natural resources needed to maintain its own survival and development. Second, the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature is conducive to promoting the sustainable development of the economy and society. The sustainable development of the economy and society requires the use of nature to obtain various resources from it. The harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature undoubtedly makes this mode of acquisition more civilized, harmonious, and sustainable. Third, the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature helps to use the modern achievements created by human civilization to in turn protect the natural ecology. In the continuous process of development, human society has created a series of new items, new methods, and new ways of thinking. Applying these new items, new methods, and new ways of thinking to protect nature and restore the natural ecology will undoubtedly yield great results. It can be said that ecological civilization construction is a fundamental plan concerning human survival and development, and the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature is an inevitable choice for the sustainable development of human society.

与之相反,人与自然和谐共生是人类社会持续发展的内在要求和基本原则。在当今世界,随着人类对自然资源的过度开发,人与自然之间的关系日益紧张,生态环境恶化、资源枯竭等问题凸显。因此,强调人与自然和谐共生,既是人类社会可持续发展的内在要求,也是全球生态文明建设的重要内容。其一,人与自然和谐共生有助于保障人类生存与发展所需的自然资源。根据人类社会发展的一般规律,要获得自身的解放,要发展生产力,就必然要提升人们利用自然、改造自然、从自然获取物质资料的能力。从人类对自然界的利用维度来看,人与自然的和谐共生有利于人类从容地从自然界获取维护自身生存与发展所需的自然资源。其二,人与自然和谐共生有利于促进经济社会的可持续发展。经济社会的可持续发展,需要借助对自然界的利用,获得自然界的各种资源。人与自然和谐共生,无疑会使这种获得方式更加文明和谐、更加具有持续性。其三,人与自然和谐共生有助于利用人类文明所创造的现代成果反过来保护自然生态。人类社会在不断发展的过程中,创造了一系列的新物品、新方法、新思维,将这些新物品、新方法、新思维运用于保护自然界,恢复自然生态,无疑会有巨大的成效。可以说,生态文明建设是关乎人类生存和发展的根本大计,人与自然和谐共生是人类社会持续发展的必然选择。

Chinese-path modernization is the proper logical path from draining the pond to catch the fish toward the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. In terms of concepts and ideas, in the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, we have always adhered to the concept of green development, emphasizing the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. Humanity and nature are a community of life; humanity must respect nature, conform to nature, and protect nature. In terms of lifestyle, in the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, we actively advocate a green and low-carbon lifestyle, encourage people to pay more attention to conserving resources and protecting the environment, strengthen ecological civilization construction, increase investment in environmental protection, and build a complete system of institutions for ecological civilization, so that the land of China presents a more beautiful ecological picture. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC emphasized, “We must improve the system of institutions for ecological civilization, coordinate the promotion of carbon reduction, pollution reduction, greening expansion, and growth, actively respond to climate change, and accelerate the improvement of the systems and mechanisms for implementing the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” [7]7 “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” is a well-known formulation by Xi Jinping, encapsulating the idea that ecological protection and economic development are not contradictory but mutually reinforcing. From the perspective of industrial development, we should increase the intensity of industrial restructuring, develop green industries, innovate green technologies, strengthen environmental governance, and improve the quality of the ecological environment. In terms of ecological consumption, we should advocate green consumption and guide residents toward a low-carbon life. At the international level, we should strengthen international cooperation to jointly address global environmental issues. In addition, it must also be pointed out that sustainable development is not achieved overnight, and ecological civilization construction also requires long-term efforts. When facing problems such as resource constraints and environmental pollution, we cannot harbor any fluke mentality; we must adhere to the basic state policy of conserving resources and protecting the environment, and firmly take the path of green development, circular development, and low-carbon development. In summary, Chinese-path modernization not only focuses on economic growth but also pays more attention to sustainable development. We adhere to the civilized development path of production development, affluent living, and a sound ecology, achieving the organic unity of economic, social, and ecological benefits. We actively develop clean energy, promote energy-saving and environmental protection technologies, and strive to make green the bright background color of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

中国式现代化是从竭泽而渔走向人与自然和谐共生的应然理路。就理念观念而言,在推进中国式现代化的过程中,我们始终坚持绿色发展理念,注重人与自然的和谐共生。人与自然是生命共同体,人类必须尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然。从生活方式上说,中国式现代化在推进过程中,积极倡导绿色低碳生活方式,鼓励人们更加注重节约资源、保护环境,加强生态文明建设,加大对环境保护的投入力度,构建起完备的生态文明制度体系,让中国大地呈现出更加美丽的生态画卷。党的二十届三中全会强调,“必须完善生态文明制度体系,协同推进降碳、减污、扩绿、增长,积极应对气候变化,加快完善落实绿水青山就是金山银山理念的体制机制。”从产业发展角度而言,应该加大产业结构调整力度,发展绿色产业,创新绿色技术,加强环境治理,提升生态环境质量。从生态消费上讲,应该倡导绿色消费,引导居民低碳生活。从国际层面而言,应该加强国际合作,共同应对全球环境问题。除此之外,还需指出的是,可持续发展并非一蹴而就,生态文明建设也需要长期努力。在面对资源约束、环境污染等问题时,我们不能抱有任何侥幸心理,必须坚持节约资源、保护环境的基本国策,坚定走绿色发展、循环发展、低碳发展之路。综上所述,中国式现代化不仅关注经济增长,更注重可持续发展。我们坚持走生产发展、生活富裕、生态良好的文明发展道路,实现经济效益、社会效益和生态效益的有机统一。我们积极发展清洁能源、推广节能环保技术,努力让绿色成为全面建设社会主义现代化国家的亮丽底色。

IV. Zero-Sum Game or Win-Win Cooperation?

四、零和博弈还是合作共赢?

The modernization process of human society has once again come to a historical crossroads. In the process of advancing modernization, countries around the world face the question of modernization: zero-sum game or win-win cooperation, thus leading to the historical choice between zero-sum game or win-win cooperation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Today, human society is once again at a historical juncture of where to go. Is it hostility and confrontation or mutual respect? Is it closure and decoupling or openness and cooperation? Is it a zero-sum game or mutual benefit and win-win? The choice is in our hands, and the responsibility rests on our shoulders.” [8]8 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, on April 21, 2022. The world today is undergoing changes unseen in a century, and countries around the world are also facing unprecedented challenges and crises. The world economy is struggling to recover, extremism and Cold War thinking occasionally rear their heads, and shadows of war have appeared in some regions, adding a layer of gloom to the future and destiny of the world. In response, some countries and regions directly adopt a zero-sum game approach, slowing the rise of emerging forces by interfering with and undermining the development of other countries; while other countries adopt a win-win cooperation policy, developing their own politics, economy, and culture by continuously expanding foreign exchanges and cooperation. From this perspective, choosing between a zero-sum game and win-win cooperation in the process of development has undoubtedly become an extremely important matter. In the process of advancing modernization, China utilizes the advantages of countries around the world to continuously improve itself, promotes reform and development in the fields of politics, economy, culture, education, and ecology, continuously drives industrial upgrading and technological innovation, and endows Chinese-path modernization with endogenous momentum.

人类社会现代化进程又一次来到了历史的十字路口。世界各国在推进现代化过程中存在零和博弈还是合作共赢的现代化之问,从而引出了零和博弈还是合作共赢的历史抉择。习近平总书记指出:“今天,人类社会再次面临何去何从的历史当口,是敌视对立还是相互尊重?是封闭脱钩还是开放合作?是零和博弈还是互利共赢?选择就在我们手中,责任就在我们肩上。”当今世界正处于百年未有之大变局,世界各国也面临着前所未有的挑战与危机。世界经济复苏困难,极端主义和冷战思维不时抬头,部分地区出现战争阴影,为世界的前途和命运增添了一层阴霾。对此,有的国家地区直接采取零和博弈的方法,通过干涉、破坏他国发展来减缓新兴势力崛起;而有的国家则采取合作共赢的方针,通过不断扩大对外交流与合作,来发展自身的政治经济文化。由是观之,在发展的过程中选择零和博弈还是合作共赢,无疑变成一件极为重要的事情。中国在推进现代化的过程中,利用世界各国的优势不断完善自身,推动政治、经济、文化、教育、生态等领域的改革与发展,不断推动产业升级和科技创新,赋予中国式现代化以内生动力。

The so-called zero-sum game means that in a strictly competitive situation, the gain of one party necessarily entails the loss of the other, and the sum of gains and losses of all parties is always “zero,” so there is no possibility of cooperation between the two sides. It is a concept in game theory, also known as a zero-sum game, as opposed to a non-zero-sum game, and belongs to non-cooperative games. Today, the zero-sum game has evolved into the thinking of Western conservative forces that different civilizations, nations, and states are necessarily and naturally hostile to one another, thus emphasizing that the victor is king and the loser is a bandit, that the strong prey on the weak, and that the strong must be hegemonic. More specifically, this game theory contains two logics. First, in the process of exchange and interaction among the world’s countries and regions, there exists an irreconcilable strict competition, with no possibility of cooperation. The world today faces intense competition: the struggle between established powers and newly rising great powers to contain and counter-contain, the systemic competition between capitalism and socialism, and the competition between Chinese-path modernization and Western-path modernization as development models. Therefore, the principle of peaceful coexistence must be resolutely rejected; only through competition can each country and region protect and develop itself. Second, in this strictly competitive environment, the gain of one party is necessarily premised on the loss of the other, so the development of other countries must be undermined. The zero-sum game presupposes that the world is in a constant state of competition, holding that the sum of all gains and losses is necessarily zero. Hence, to increase one’s own gains, one must adopt strategies that interfere with the development of other countries and suppress competitors, thereby containing and blocking their development. This zero-sum game thinking is the inevitable result of the Western world’s development having fallen into stagnation, with some regions even regressing. Because when one can do nothing at home, the only option is to turn the gun outward, attempting to contain the rise of other countries in order to divert domestic contradictions and shift one’s own crises, thereby achieving relative “progress” for oneself.

所谓零和博弈是指参与博弈的各方,在严格竞争下,一方的收益必然意味着另一方的损失,博弈各方的收益和损失相加总和永远为“零”,故双方不存在合作的可能。它是博弈论的一个概念,又称零和游戏,与非零和博弈相对,属非合作博弈。现如今,零和博弈已经演变为西方保守势力所谓的不同文明、国家和民族之间必然天然敌对的思维,因此强调成王败寇、弱肉强食、强者必霸。更详细地说,这一博弈理论存在着两个逻辑。第一,在世界各个国家和地区的交流与交往过程中,存在着无法调节的严格竞争,不存在合作的可能。当今世界面临着激烈的竞争,是守成大国与新型崛起大国之间的遏制和反遏制之争、资本主义与社会主义的制度竞争、中国式现代化与西方式现代化的发展模式之争。因此断然不可采取和平共处的原则,各个国家和地区只有通过竞争才能保护自身,发展自身。第二,在这种严格竞争的环境下,一方的收益必然以另一方的损失为前提,因此必须破坏他国发展。零和博弈预设世界处在不断竞争的环境中,认为所有的利益和损失相加必然为零,因此想要增加本国的收益,就必须采取干涉他国发展、打压竞争对手的策略,从而遏制并阻断他国的发展。零和博弈这一思维是在西方世界发展陷入停滞,部分地区甚至陷入倒退情况下所产生的必然结果,因为在自己身上无所作为,只能将枪口调转向外,妄图通过遏制他国崛起以转移国内矛盾,转嫁自身危机,从而获得自身的相对“进步”。

In contrast, cooperation and mutual benefit are the value pursuit and national character of the Chinese nation. So-called cooperation and mutual benefit means that the two or multiple parties to a transaction or a shared task achieve mutual benefit and complementarity, realizing common gains for both or all sides. In an era of economic globalization with increasingly frequent international exchanges, only cooperation can lead to development, and only cooperation can achieve mutual benefit. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has advocated harmonious coexistence, emphasized unity and collaboration, upheld fairness and justice, and pursued common development. Cooperation and mutual benefit are not only China’s value pursuit but also an embodiment of the Chinese national character. Against the backdrop of current global economic integration, the concept of cooperation and mutual benefit has become increasingly important. Since ancient times, China has put forward the idea of “harmony in diversity.” [9]9 “Harmony in diversity” (he er bu tong) is a classical Confucian concept from the Analects, advocating unity without uniformity. “Harmony and integration” (hehe) refers to the Chinese nation’s emphasis on peaceful coexistence, openness and cooperation, communication and integration, advocating the search for points of convergence of interests and the greatest common denominator through negotiation, cooperation, and fair competition. From the dimension of the Chinese nation’s value pursuit, when all ethnic groups think with one mind and exert their efforts in one direction, they will inevitably promote the country’s development and prosperity; if ethnic groups exclude and struggle against one another, it will lead to chaos and decline. Therefore, cooperation and mutual benefit are the value pursuit inherent in the Chinese nation. From the dimension of the Chinese nation’s own character, China is a unified multi-ethnic country, with different ethnic groups living together in the big family of the motherland. China has always adhered to ethnic equality, ethnic unity, and the common prosperity of all ethnic groups. In the interactions and exchanges among ethnic groups, they blend together and develop jointly, and the concept of cooperation and mutual benefit is deeply rooted in the hearts of people of all ethnicities. Examined through the lens of dialectical materialism, cooperation and mutual benefit do not mean smooth sailing. In the process of cooperating with others and advancing things forward, we often do not advance straight into a smooth path but face various twists and turns and multiple challenges, such as lack of trust, unequal distribution of benefits, and cultural differences. This requires the cooperating parties to negotiate with each other, communicate frankly, and tolerate each other, thereby promoting the continuous development and even qualitative change of things. Therefore, in cooperation we need to seek the greatest common denominator, “establish compliance mechanisms that align with internationally accepted rules, and optimize the environment for openness and cooperation,” [10]10 Quotation from the resolution of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC (July 2024), which focused on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. so as to achieve common development.

与之相反,合作共赢是中华民族的价值追求与民族性格。所谓合作共赢是指交易双方或共事双方或多方在完成一项交易活动或共担一项任务的过程中互惠互利、相得益彰,能够实现双方或多方的共同收益。在世界交流愈加频繁的经济全球化时代,只有合作才能发展,只有合作才能共赢。中华民族自古以来就崇尚和谐共生,强调团结协作,秉持公平正义,追求共同发展。合作共赢不仅是中国的价值追求,更是中华民族性格的体现。在当前全球经济一体化的大背景下,合作共赢的理念显得愈发重要。中国自古就提出“和而不同”的思想,“和合”是指中华民族强调和平共处、开放合作、沟通融合,主张通过谈判、合作以及公平的竞争来寻求利益契合点和最大公约数。从中华民族的价值追求维度而言,各民族心往一处想、劲往一处使,必然能够推动国家的发展与繁荣;如若各民族相互排挤、相互斗争,则会导致混乱与衰败。因此,合作共赢是中华民族内蕴的价值追求。从中华民族的自身性格维度而言,中国是一个多民族统一的国家,不同民族生活在祖国的大家庭中。中国始终坚持民族平等、民族团结、各民族共同繁荣,在各民族的交往互动中相互交融,共同发展,合作共赢理念深入各民族人民内心之中。以唯物辩证法审视之,合作共赢并不意味着一帆风顺。我们在与他人展开合作的过程中,在推动事物的前进过程中,往往并不是长驱直入一片坦途,而是会面临各种波折重重挑战,如信任缺失、利益分配不均、文化差异等。这就需要合作的双方互相协商,坦诚交流,彼此包容,从而促进事物的不断发展乃至质变。因此,我们在合作中需要寻求最大公约数,“建立同国际通行规则衔接的合规机制,优化开放合作环境”,从而实现共同发展。

“Openness is a distinct hallmark of Chinese-path modernization.” [11]11 Quotation from the same Third Plenary Session resolution. Chinese-path modernization transcends the old Western zero-sum game thinking and is a modernization path of cooperation and mutual benefit. The wisdom of “harmony and integration” (hehe) fully embodies humanity’s goal of pursuing historical progress, serves as the historical criterion for human competition and interaction in modern times, and represents a general trend, the common aspiration of the people, and a historical inevitability. Abandoning the inertial thinking of the zero-sum game is a historical necessity for moving toward cooperation and mutual benefit and a principled requirement for achieving peaceful coexistence among humanity. It is not only conducive to one’s own economic and social development and the promotion of domestic social vitality but also beneficial to upholding global fairness and justice, prompting the world to realize the construction of a better life through cooperation and mutual benefit. In the course of advancing Chinese-path modernization, Western zero-sum game thinking will inevitably lead to mutual harm among the multiple parties in exchanges, hindering the development of world politics, the global economy, diverse cultures, green ecology, higher education, and other fields. Adhering to cooperation and mutual benefit is the proper measure for creating a better concept, a better life, a better society, a better China, a better world, and a better future. Facing the New Era and the new journey, we need to answer the question of modernization with cooperation and mutual benefit, find our own appropriate entry points, leverage our respective strengths, and make up for our respective shortcomings, thereby achieving common growth. It should be noted that in this process, all parties must trust and respect each other, give full play to their respective subjective initiative, jointly face challenges, and share the fruits of development.

“开放是中国式现代化的鲜明标识。”中国式现代化超越了西方旧有的零和博弈思维,是合作共赢的现代化道路。“和合”的思想智慧充分体现了人类追求历史进步的目标,是人类从事现代竞争和交往的历史准则,是大势所趋、人心所向、历史必然。摒弃零和博弈思维惯性,是走向合作共赢的历史必然,是人类实现和平共处的原则要求,不仅有利于自身的经济社会发展,促进本国的社会活力,还有利于维护世界的公平与正义,促使世界在合作共赢中实现美好生活的建构。在推进中国式现代化的发展历程中,西方的零和博弈思维必然导致交流的多方相互伤害,阻碍世界政治、全球经济、多元文化、绿色生态、高等教育等方面的发展,坚持合作共赢才是创造美好理念、美好生活、美好社会、美好中国、美好世界、美好未来的应然举措。面对新时代新征程,我们需要以合作共赢回答现代化之问,找到自身合适的切入点,发挥各自的优势,弥补各自的不足,从而实现共同成长。需要注意的是,在此过程中各方要相互信任、相互尊重,充分发挥各自的主观能动性,共同面对挑战,共享发展成果。

V. Copying Other Countries’ Models or Independent Development Based on One’s Own National Conditions?

五、照抄照搬别国模式还是立足自身国情自主发展?

Against the backdrop of economic globalization, exchanges of development models and experiences among countries are becoming increasingly frequent. However, faced with successful development cases from around the world, we must consider a question: Should we copy the successful models of other countries to China, or should we engage in independent innovation based on our own national conditions? This question concerns not only the choice of China’s development path but also the long-term stability of the country. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the National People’s Congress: “Copying the political systems of other countries will not work; it will lead to maladaptation, produce a tiger that looks like a dog, and may even ruin the future of the country. Only a system rooted in the soil of one’s own country and absorbing sufficient nutrients is the most reliable and effective.” [12]12 Speech by Xi Jinping at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the National People’s Congress, September 5, 2014. That is to say, copying other countries’ models will only cause China’s development model to be inconsistent with the country’s actual conditions, leading to stagnation and regression in development. Independent development based on one’s own national conditions is the proper meaning of promoting China’s high-quality development and is the most useful, reliable method, approach, principle, and criterion. In the historical process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, whether to choose to copy other countries’ models or to develop independently based on one’s own national conditions is a major theoretical and practical proposition of far-reaching significance. How to answer this proposition in the New Era and how to choose China’s development model concerns the success or failure of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and the success or failure of building a modern socialist country in all respects. Therefore, it is necessary for us to conduct in-depth discussion and research on these two models. By analyzing the specific connotations, actual manifestations, and practical cases of copying other countries’ models and independent development based on one’s own national conditions, we will explore which model China should choose in the process of reform, development, and construction.

在经济全球化的大背景下,各国之间的发展模式和经验交流日益频繁。然而,面对世界各国的成功发展案例,我们不得不思考一个问题:究竟是将别国的成功模式照搬到中国,还是根据自身国情进行自主创新?这个问题不仅关乎中国发展道路的选择,也关系到国家的长治久安。习近平总书记在庆祝全国人民代表大会成立60周年大会上的讲话中指出:“照抄照搬他国的政治制度行不通,会水土不服,会画虎不成反类犬,甚至会把国家前途命运葬送掉。只有扎根本国土壤、汲取充沛养分的制度,才最可靠、也最管用。”也就是说,照抄照搬别国模式只会让中国的发展模式与本国的现实情况不相符合,导致发展的停滞、倒退,立足自身国情自主发展才是促进中国高质量发展的应有之义,才是最有用最可靠的方式方法与原则准则。在推进中国式现代化发展的历史进程中,到底是选择照抄照搬别国模式还是立足自身国情自主发展,是一个具有深远意义的重大理论和现实命题。新时代如何回答这一命题,如何选择中国的发展模式,事关中国特色社会主义建设的成败,事关全面建设社会主义现代化国家的成败。因此,我们有必要对这两种模式展开深入的探讨与研究,通过分析照搬照抄别国模式和立足自身国情自主发展这二者的具体内涵、现实表征与实际案例,对中国改革发展建设过程中到底应该选择哪种模式进行探讨。

The so-called wholesale copying of other countries’ models refers to blindly imitating the political, economic, cultural, and social systems of other nations, disregarding one’s own national conditions and stage of development, in the belief that this can rapidly achieve national development and prosperity. However, this approach often overlooks the differences between countries, leading to various problems in practice. Because countries differ in their social systems, ethnic composition, and religious beliefs, blindly imitating the social governance models of other countries may not only fail to solve the social problems facing one’s own country but may instead intensify social contradictions and affect national harmony and stability. Generally speaking, in the process of late-developing countries learning from mature developed countries how to develop, they have passed through three logical levels. The first logical level we call the “imitation stage.” In this stage, the successful experiences of other countries are simply imitated and borrowed, and the path of industrialization and urbanization that other countries have taken is retraced. The second logical level we call the “differentiation stage.” On the basis of the first logical level, some countries conduct in-depth research on the development models of developed countries, understand the principles and methods behind them, and integrate them to form their own development characteristics; other countries, however, fail to achieve effective innovation, remain at the superficial level of parroting others, and thus fall into the predicament of copying other countries’ models. The third logical level we call the “solidification stage.” In this stage, some countries achieve leadership through integrated innovation and become the bellwethers of world development; other countries, because they still insist on copying other countries’ models, cause their own development to stagnate, regress, and lose the momentum for continued development. Thus it can be seen that copying other countries’ models is a harmful concept of development. Although it may promote economic and social development in the short term, it will inevitably bring disaster to the country’s social development in the end.

所谓照搬照抄别国模式是指不顾自身国情和发展阶段,盲目模仿他国的政治、经济、文化和社会制度,以为这样就能迅速实现国家的发展和繁荣。然而,这种做法往往忽略了各国之间的差异,导致实践中出现种种问题。因为各国社会制度、民族构成和宗教信仰不同,盲目模仿他国的社会治理模式,不但可能无法解决本国面临的社会问题,反而可能导致社会矛盾加剧,影响国家的和谐与稳定。一般说来,在后发国家向成熟发达国家学习如何发展的过程中经历过这样三个逻辑层级。第一个逻辑层级,我们称之为“模仿阶段”。在这个阶段中,简单地模仿借鉴他国的成功经验,将他国走过的工业化、城镇化道路再走一遍。第二个逻辑层级,我们称之为“分化阶段”。在第一个逻辑层级的基础上,一些国家通过对发达国家发展模式进行深入研究,了解其背后的原理和方法,整合成为自身的发展特色;另外一些国家则没有进入有效的创新,停留在人云亦云的表面,因而陷入了照搬照抄他国模式的境地。第三个逻辑层级,我们称之为“固化阶段”。在此阶段,部分国家实现了整合创新后的引领,成为世界发展的风向标;另外一些国家由于依然坚持照搬照抄他国模式,使得本国发展陷入了停滞、倒退,失去了继续发展的动力。由此可见,照搬照抄别国模式是一种有害的发展观念,虽然短期看会促进经济社会发展,但最终必然为国家社会发展带来灾难。

For example, the Westernization Movement [13]13 The Westernization Movement (洋务运动, c. 1861–1895) was a late Qing dynasty reform effort that introduced Western military technology and industrial methods while preserving the imperial system; it is widely regarded as a failure because it did not address the feudal political structure. carried out in China from the 1860s to the 1890s, under the slogans of “self-strengthening” and “seeking wealth,” used Western military equipment, machine production, and science and technology to save the rule of the Qing dynasty, but ultimately ended in failure. Why was it that, despite learning from the advanced productive forces and advanced scientific-technological culture of the West, it still ended in failure? This is because the fundamental purpose of the Westernization Movement was to maintain the rule of the Qing dynasty. It was merely a study and imitation of advanced Western material things, without touching the foundations of the feudal system, thus falling into a state of simply copying technology, without considering its applicability to the fundamental system and the people’s thinking. Consequently, although the Westernization Movement advanced the historical process of China’s modernization to a certain extent, it still did not change the historical fate of the Qing dynasty, nor did it successfully rescue the Chinese people who were living in dire straits. In this sense, copying other countries’ models is a simple imitation and repetition, mechanically applying other countries’ development models to one’s own country, and the result often has a counterproductive effect on the country’s own development.

譬如,中国在19世纪60年代到90年代进行的洋务运动,以“自强”“求富”为口号利用西方军事装备、机器生产和科学技术以挽救清朝统治,但最终以失败而告终。为什么明明是学习西方先进的生产力和先进的科学技术文化,但却仍然以失败而告终呢?这是因为,洋务运动根本目的是维护清王朝的统治,只是对于西方先进器物的学习与模仿,没有触及封建制度的根本,从而陷入对于技术简单的照搬照抄状态,没有考虑其对根本制度以及国民思想的适用性。因而,洋务运动虽然在一定程度上推进了中国现代化的历史进程,但是仍然没有改变清王朝的历史命运,没有成功挽救水深火热中的中国人民。从这个意义上讲,照抄照搬别国模式是一种简单的模仿与重复,是将别国的发展模式生硬套用在本国之上,其结果往往对本国发展起到反作用。

In contrast, independent development based on one’s own national conditions is a theoretical and practical innovation built on the foundation of drawing on the beneficial experiences of other countries’ development. Basing development on one’s own national conditions means making development conform to the country’s actual reality and to the objective laws of economic and social development; independent development emphasizes exerting subjectivity, insisting that the country’s development be decided by its own people, and possessing the autonomy and decision-making power over development. Independent development based on one’s own national conditions is a dialectical negation of the development experiences of other countries, a further theoretical innovation on the basis of practice, and a further practical innovation under the guidance of theory. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the College of Europe in Bruges: “The world is multi-directional in its development, and world history is even less a single-line progression. China cannot completely copy the political systems and development models of other countries; otherwise, it would not only suffer from maladaptation but also bring about catastrophic consequences.” [14]14 Xi Jinping, speech at the College of Europe, Bruges, April 1, 2014. That is to say, development is not a unilinear forward march but must be continuously explored and advanced within multi-dimensional and multi-directional spatiotemporal conditions. Looking at the world, the development path of each country is unique. The level of productive forces, the educational level of the people, the state of economic development, social and historical traditions, and the form of state ownership all differ from country to country. Therefore, it is impossible for identical development models to exist, and copying the development models of other countries is bound to fail. Turning back to the domestic situation, our country possesses a long historical heritage and profound cultural deposits, which provide ideological resources and practical guidance for independent development based on our own national conditions. Since ancient times, China has emphasized that “harmony generates new things, while sameness leads to stagnation” [15]15 A classical Chinese saying from the *Guoyu* (Discourses of the States), meaning that diversity and difference are the basis for growth, while uniformity leads to exhaustion.; only development based on a country’s own national conditions can allow all things to grow, whereas copying other countries’ models will inevitably lead to “sameness leading to stagnation,” making it impossible for one’s own development to continue.

与之相反,立足自身国情自主发展是借鉴他国发展有益经验基础上的理论与实践创新。立足自身国情就是使发展符合本国的实际,符合经济社会发展客观规律;自主发展就是强调发挥主体性,坚持本国的发展由本国人民自己决定,拥有发展的自主权和决定权。立足自身国情自主发展是对他国发展经验的辩证否定,是在实践基础上的又一次理论创新,是在理论指导下的又一次实践创新。习近平总书记在布鲁日欧洲学院的演讲中指出:“世界是多向度发展的,世界历史更不是单线式前进的。中国不能全盘照搬别国的政治制度和发展模式,否则的话不仅会水土不服,而且会带来灾难性后果。”也就是说,发展并不是单向直线前进的,而是要在多维度多向度的时空条件中不断探索迈进的。放眼世界,每个国家的发展道路都是独特的。每个国家的生产力水平、人民受教育水平、经济发展状况、社会历史传统、国家所属形态都各不相同,因此不可能存在一模一样的发展模式,照搬照抄别国的发展模式必定失败。回归国内,我们国家拥有悠久的历史传承和深厚的文化底蕴,为立足自身国情自主发展提供了思想资源与实践指引。中国自古以来就强调“和实生物,同则不继”,只有立足于本国国情的发展才能使得万物生长,而照搬照抄他国模式必然会导致“同则不继”,使得自身的发展无法继续。

Basing development on one’s own national conditions and taking an independent path of modernization is the consistent core requirement of Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization is a broad road that abandons the copying of other countries’ models and insists on independent development based on one’s own national conditions. In the historical process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, China has always insisted on independently exploring its own path of economic and social development, formulating reasonable and effective policies according to China’s own national conditions and actual circumstances, and advancing the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We need to draw on the beneficial achievements of foreign political civilizations, but we must never give up the foundations of China’s political system. China has more than 9.6 million square kilometers of land and 56 ethnic groups. Whose model can we follow? And who can point fingers and tell us what to do? Faced with a rich and diverse world, we should adopt an attitude of inclusiveness, humbly learn from the good things of others, digest and absorb the good things of others from an independent standpoint, and turn them into our own good things, but we must never swallow them whole or imitate others mechanically.” [16]16 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, September 20, 2009; the phrase “邯郸学步” (imitating others mechanically) refers to a fable from the *Zhuangzi* about a man who tried to copy the gait of people in Handan and forgot how to walk himself. That is to say, in advancing Chinese-path modernization, we must always adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and must not forget China’s systemic attributes and people-centered attributes. In the process of foreign exchanges, we must adhere to independence and self-reliance, uphold confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and always advance China’s economic and social development with a vigorous spirit. It is also necessary to note that independent development based on one’s own national conditions does not mean closed development, nor does it mean that we cannot draw on the successful experiences of other countries. Rather, while developing all aspects of China’s economy and society, we must adhere to reform and opening up, adhere to drawing on and absorbing all positive factors from other civilizations that are beneficial to China’s development, and make them serve China’s modernization cause.

立足自身国情、走独立自主的现代化道路,是中国式现代化一以贯之的核心要求。中国式现代化是摒弃照抄照搬别国模式、坚持立足自身国情自主发展的康庄大道。中国在推进中国式现代化的历史进程中,始终坚持独立自主地探索本国的经济社会发展道路,根据中国自身的国情和现实情况来制定合理有效的政策,推进马克思主义的中国化时代化。习近平总书记指出:“我们需要借鉴国外政治文明有益成果,但绝不能放弃中国政治制度的根本。中国有960多万平方公里土地、56个民族,我们能照谁的模式办?谁又能指手画脚告诉我们该怎么办?对丰富多彩的世界,我们应该秉持兼容并蓄的态度,虚心学习他人的好东西,在独立自主的立场上把他人的好东西加以消化吸收,化成我们自己的好东西,但决不能囫囵吞枣、决不能邯郸学步。”也就是说,在推进中国式现代化进程中,我们要始终坚持中国特色社会主义道路,不能忘记中国的制度属性和人民属性。在对外交流的过程中要坚持独立自主,坚持中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信,始终以昂扬的精神面貌来推进中国的经济社会发展。还需要注意的是,立足自身国情自主发展并不代表要封闭发展,也不代表不能借鉴别国成功经验,而是要在中国经济社会等各个方面发展的同时坚持改革开放,坚持借鉴吸收其他文明中一切有益于中国发展的积极因素,使之为中国的现代化事业服务。

In summary, Chinese-path modernization is a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable form of development, aimed at achieving common prosperity for all the people, coordinated development of material and cultural-ethical progress, harmony between humanity and nature, win-win cooperation, and independent development. In the context of the New Era, we must strengthen our confidence, forge ahead with determination, continuously advance Chinese-path modernization, and continuously add bricks and tiles to and add luster to the great cause of building a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

概言之,中国式现代化是一种全面、协调、可持续的发展形态,旨在实现全体人民共同富裕、物质精神协调发展、人与自然和谐共生、合作共赢和自主发展。在新时代背景下,我们要坚定信心,锐意进取,不断推进中国式现代化,不断为强国建设、民族复兴伟业添砖加瓦、增光添彩。

(The author is Dean of the Institute of Mainstream Ideology at Wuhan University and Professor at the School of Marxism.)

（作者系武汉大学主流意识形态研究院院长,马克思主义学院教授）

Online Editor: Ma Jingren

网络编辑：马京仁