Chinese-Path Modernization and “the East Rising While the West Declines”

“The East rising while the West declines” is a major trend widely acknowledged. Judgments about this trend will not only profoundly influence China’s grasp of the international situation and the formulation of its international strategy, but also affect people’s ideals and convictions. On March 1, 2022, in his speech at the opening ceremony of a training program for young and middle-aged cadres at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) during the spring semester of 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “On the whole, through sustained education since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, and especially from the fact that the Party and the country have achieved historic accomplishments and undergone historic changes in the New Era, and from the even sharper contrast between ‘the East rising while the West declines’ and ‘China in order while the West in chaos,’ Party members and cadres have strengthened their ideals and convictions.” Why has such a sharp contrast emerged between “the East rising while the West declines” and “China in order while the West in chaos”? A major reason is the successful advancement of Chinese-path modernization. The successful advancement of Chinese-path modernization has made the trend of “the East rising while the West declines” even more pronounced and the contrast between “China in order while the West in chaos” even sharper. On February 7, 2023, in his speech at a seminar for newly elected members and alternate members of the Central Committee and leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out: “From the end of World War II to the early 1990s, some developing countries, disregarding their national conditions and historical circumstances, completely copied the Western model. The result was that they could not adapt to local conditions, and the vast majority fell into prolonged economic stagnation and social and political turmoil. ‘Choice of path’ has plagued many developing countries. The initial successful practice and notable achievements of Chinese-path modernization, and the sharp contrast since the New Era between ‘the East rising while the West declines’ and ‘China in order while the West in chaos,’ have enabled the vast number of developing countries to see new hope and have new choices.” It can be said that “the East rising while the West declines,” as a future trend, is an inevitability in the development of world history.

“东升西降”是人们普遍承认的一个大趋势。对这个趋势的判断不仅会深刻影响中国对国际形势的把握与国际战略的制定，也会影响人们的理想信念。2022年3月1日，习近平总书记在2022年春季学期中央党校(国家行政学院)中青年干部培训班开班式上的讲话中指出：“总的看，经过党的十八大以来的持续教育，特别是从新时代党和国家事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革的事实中，从‘东升西降’‘中治西乱’更加鲜明的对比中，党员干部强化了理想信念。”为什么会出现“东升西降”“中治西乱”这样鲜明的对比？很大原因是因为中国式现代化的成功推进。中国式现代化的成功推进使“东升西降”的趋势更加彰显，使“中治西乱”的对比更加鲜明。2023年2月7日，习近平总书记在新进中央委员会的委员、候补委员和省部级主要领导干部学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想和党的二十大精神研讨班上的讲话中进一步指出：“第二次世界大战结束到上世纪90年代初期，一些发展中国家不顾国情和历史条件，全盘照搬西方模式，结果水土不服，绝大多数陷入经济长期停滞、社会政治动荡的困境。‘道路选择’困扰着许多发展中国家。中国式现代化的初步成功实践和取得的显著成就，新时代以来‘东升西降’‘中治西乱’的鲜明对比，使广大发展中国家看到了新的希望，有了新的选择。”可以说，“东升西降”作为未来趋势，是世界历史发展的必然。

“The East rising while the West declines” is a major trend in the process of world modernization

“东升西降”是世界现代化进程中的大趋势

“The East rising while the West declines” is the result of the constant evolution and change of human modernization. From the earliest primitive accumulation of modernization to the first wave of modernization, and then to the second wave of modernization after World War II, a basic feature was that Western countries dominated the fundamentals of modernization, forming a situation of “the West being strong and the East being weak.” But this situation is being broken, and one important reason is that Chinese-path modernization has continuously achieved new accomplishments.

“东升西降”是人类现代化不断发展变化的结果。从最早的现代化原始积累到第一波现代化，再到第二次世界大战之后的第二波现代化，一个基本的特点就是西方国家主导着现代化的基本面，形成了“西强东弱”的局面。但这个局面正在被打破，一个重要原因就是中国式现代化不断取得新成就。

1.1 The essence of “the East rising while the West declines”

1.1 “东升西降”的本质

1.1.1 The basis for distinguishing “East” from “West” cannot be limited to geographical factors

1.1.1 划分“东”“西”的依据不能局限于地理因素

Since the 1990s, economic globalization dominated by transnational monopoly finance capital in the United States and other Western countries has transformed the old international relations system centered on “nation-territory” states, forming a global political-economic system structure dominated by capital relations. Transnational monopoly capital groups jointly or separately control and constrain the high-end links of the global industrial capital circuit. Through the global deployment of capital, they impose a substantive rule of capital relations on late-developing countries, plundering their national wealth and economic surplus, and influencing or even controlling the global political-economic landscape.

自20世纪90年代以来，美西方国家跨国垄断金融资本主导的经济全球化改变了旧有“民族—疆域”国家为主体的国际关系体系，形成了以资本关系为主导的全球政治经济体系结构。跨国垄断资本集团联合或分别掌握、制约全球产业资本循环的高端环节，通过资本的全球布局，对后发国家形成实质性的资本关系统治，掠夺其国民财富和经济剩余，影响甚至控制全球政治经济格局。

According to the basic principles of historical materialism, old social system structures are inevitably replaced by new, more advanced social system structures. In the distinction between “East” and “West,” the “East” represents the emerging force driving the transformation of the social system structure, the oppressed and the overthrower of the old transnational finance capital, and a force of historical progress. It includes Asia, Latin America, Africa, and others. Among these, the BRICS countries are the main force, countries that support and participate in the Belt and Road Initiative must be united partners, and China is the leader

根据历史唯物主义基本原理，旧有社会体系结构必然被新的、更高级的社会体系结构替代。在“东”“西”划分中，“东”代表推动社会体系结构变迁的新兴力量，是旧有跨国金融资本的受压迫者和推翻者，是历史进步的力量，其包括亚洲、拉丁美洲、非洲等。这其中，金砖国家是主要力量，支持和参与“一带一路”倡议的国家必须是团结的伙伴，中国是“东升”的引领者和推动者。“西”是指旧有社会体系结构的主导者和主要成员，即G7集团及其附属国家，这决定了“东升西降”将在相当长一段时间内围绕发达国家和发展中国家的利益博弈而展开。同时，“东”“西”划定并非一成不变。在激烈对抗竞争中，“追随赢家”的政治选择始终存在，部分新兴市场国家可能在经济、政治或安全上不同程度地成为“西”的外围附庸；部分西方国家也可能出于自身长期利益的战略研判，选择中立甚至在一定程度上融入“东”。

1.1.2 “The East Rising and the West Declining” Is the Result of the Accumulation of Internal Contradictions in Western Monopoly Capitalism

1.1.2 “东升西降”是西方垄断资本主义内在矛盾积累的结果

“The East rising and the West declining” is the inevitable result of capitalism’s self-development, self-intensification, and self-negation of its historical limitations; it is the concentrated expression of changes in the world, changes in the times, and changes in history; it is the inevitable direction of world historical development. “The East rising and the West declining” is also the result of more than one hundred years of coexistence, contestation, and competition between the socialist system and the capitalist system, from the October Revolution in Russia to the present day; it is the result of the accumulation of experience in socialist modernization; and it is even more the result of theoretical and practical innovation in Chinese-path modernization. Over these more than one hundred years, the socialist system has been continuously improved, has gained ever-stronger competitiveness, and has caused the “socialist” component of world forces to rise step by step.

“东升西降”是资本主义自我发展、自我强化、自我否定历史局限性的必然结果，是世界之变、时代之变、历史之变的集中体现，是世界历史发展的必然方向。“东升西降”也是从俄国十月革命到今天100多年社会主义制度与资本主义制度并存、较量、竞争的结果，是社会主义现代化建设经验积累的结果，更是中国式现代化理论与实践创新的结果。在这100多年中，社会主义制度不断完善，拥有了越来越强的竞争力，使世界力量中“社”的含量逐步提升。

1.2 The Overall Trend and Driving Force of “the East Rising and the West Declining”

1.2 “东升西降”总体趋势与动力

1.2.1 “The East Rising and the West Declining” Is a Long-Term Historical Process Advancing in Waves

1.2.1 “东升西降”是一个长期的、波浪式前进的历史进程

At present, the trend of “the East rising and the West declining” has already emerged. Since the 1990s, the structural efficacy of the old social system dominated by the United States has declined, facing dual pressure from within and from without. Internally, the basic contradictions of the developed capitalist countries have deepened, gradually exceeding the boundaries and capacity of national governance; the accumulation system of the old transnational monopoly financial capital has seen its efficacy decline; “the West declining” unfolds through the superimposed eruption of multiple contradictions in Western countries’ economy, politics, culture, and society; as a historical stock, “the West declining” is slowly exhausting its existing energy, and although its new energy is still accumulating, the old contradictions cannot be overcome. Externally, emerging market countries represented by China have demonstrated strong momentum in economic growth, and the advantages of the social system, especially the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, are constantly manifesting themselves; the institutions, culture, and civilization of “the East rising” are growing, their strength is continuously accumulating, and consensus is constantly coalescing.

当前，“东升西降”趋势已经出现。20世纪90年代以来，美国主导的旧有社会体系结构效能衰减，面临自内而外和自外而内双重挤压。在内部，发达资本主义国家社会基本矛盾深化，渐逾国家治理边界和能力，旧有跨国垄断金融资本积累体系效能衰减；“西降”以西方国家经济、政治、文化、社会多重矛盾叠加爆发展开，作为历史存量的“西降”正在慢慢耗尽已有的能量，尽管其新的能量还在积累，但旧有的矛盾无法克服。在外部，以中国为代表的新兴市场国家展现出强大经济增长动能，社会制度优势特别是中国特色社会主义制度的优势在不断显现，“东升”的制度、文化、文明正在壮大，其力量持续积聚，共识不断凝聚。

1.2.2 The “Tail-Drag Effect” in the Process of “the East Rising and the West Declining”

1.2.2 “东升西降”过程中的“拖尾效应”

Western countries centered on the United States exhibit a strong “tail-drag effect” in the course of their development; this “tail” is very long. Consequently, the pattern of “the West being strong and the East being weak” has not yet undergone a fundamental transformation; short-term rebounds of “the West rising and the East declining” and the long-term coexistence of “the East and the West in stalemate” are unavoidable. We must fully estimate the extreme challenges that may be faced. The conflicts between “East” and “West” in areas such as ideology and trade are essentially new manifestations of capital’s inherent antagonistic contradictions and new means of self-redemption; coupled with new changes such as the new technological revolution, finance, climate, and geopolitical conflicts, Western countries exhibit a new form of “dying yet not perishing.” The trade wars, exchange rate wars, financial wars, public opinion wars, and localized hot wars waged by the United States and other Western countries against China and other emerging market countries are all typical expressions of their defense of the old system structure. This “tail-drag effect” will inevitably further aggravate the global peace deficit, development deficit, security deficit, and governance deficit.

以美国为中心的西方国家在发展过程中展现出强烈的“拖尾效应”，这个“尾巴”很长，因而“西强东弱”格局尚未出现根本转变，“西升东降”短期反弹和“东西并峙”长期并存的局面不可避免，我们必须充分估计可能面临的极限挑战。“东”“西”之间的意识形态、贸易等方面的冲突本质上是资本内在对抗性矛盾的新表现和自我救赎的新手段，加之新技术革命、金融、气候、地缘冲突等新的变化，使西方国家展现出新的垂而不死的形态。美西方国家对中国及其他新兴市场国家进行的贸易战、汇率战、金融战、舆论战、局部热战等都是其捍卫旧有体系结构的典型表现。这种“拖尾效应”必将导致全球和平赤字、发展赤字、安全赤字、治理赤字等进一步加重。

However, the short-term rebound of Western countries does not constitute a negation of the laws of world development itself; the limited offsetting factors are merely a repetition of old logic under new conditions. On the contrary, the more intense the confrontation between “East” and “West,” the more it demonstrates the intensification of the instability of the old system structure, which will inevitably accelerate the decline of Western countries as the confrontation intensifies. At the same time, both the “East” and the “West” are rife with internal contradictions and divergences; “West-West friction” and “East-East wrestling” are equally unavoidable, but one of the principal contradictions in the development of world history is the confrontation between the old and new forces represented by the “East” and the “West.” The inevitability of the “rise of the East and decline of the West” is determined by the historical limitations of the neo-imperialism of Western countries centered on the United States, which is based on the logic of capital; it is determined by the choice of development paths suited to their own conditions and long-term arduous struggle by emerging market countries; and it is determined by the success of the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization. While Western countries centered on the United States continuously strengthen their power to dominate global politics and economy, they also continuously create factors that negate themselves; China and other emerging market countries are bound to face a long and tortuous process, but their development momentum is unstoppable. Therefore, the general trend of the “rise of the East” is inevitable—it is a “rise” in development speed, development scale, and, more importantly, development quality. The general trend of the “decline of the West” is also inevitable; an important factor accelerating the “decline of the West” is the various economic, political, and social crises brought about by the fundamental contradictions of capitalism. To accelerate the development of the general trend of the “rise of the East and decline of the West,” it is necessary to accelerate the advancement of the cause of Chinese-path modernization, adhere to the mutual reinforcement of high-quality development and high-level security, and build a high-level socialist market economy system. The inevitability of the general trend of the “rise of the East and decline of the West” is just as Chernyshevsky expressed in his commentary on Lessing’s works: “The course of great world events is necessary and inevitable, like a great river; no cliff, no abyss can stop it, let alone arbitrarily built dams. … The realization of great world events depends neither on anyone’s will nor on any individual. They are realized according to laws as unswerving as the law of gravity or the law of organic growth.”

但是，西方国家短期反弹不构成对世界发展规律本身的否定，有限抵消性因素不过是旧有逻辑在新条件下的重复。恰恰相反，“东”“西”之间越是激烈对抗越说明旧有体系结构不稳定性的加剧，这必将随着对抗的加剧而加速西方国家的衰落。同时，“东”“西”各自内部均充斥矛盾分歧，“西西摩擦”“东东角力”同样不可避免，但世界历史发展的主要矛盾之一就是“东”“西”代表的新旧力量对抗。“东升西降”的必然性是以美国为中心的西方国家基于资本逻辑的新帝国主义历史局限性决定的，是新兴市场国家选择适合自身发展道路和长期艰苦奋斗决定的，是中国式现代化理论与实践成功决定的。以美国为中心的西方国家在不断强化对全球政治经济支配权力的同时，也不断创造出否定自身的因素；中国及其他新兴市场国家必然面临漫长曲折过程，但发展势头不可阻挡。因此，“东升”大趋势是必然的，是发展速度、发展规模，更是发展质量的“升”。“西降”大趋势也是必然的，加速“西降”的重要因素是资本主义基本矛盾带来的经济、政治、社会等各种危机。推动“东升西降”大趋势加速发展，就要加快推进中国式现代化事业，坚持高质量发展与高水平安全相互促进，构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制。“东升西降”大趋势的必然性，就像车尔尼雪夫斯基在评论莱辛著作中所表达的一样:“伟大的世界性事件的进程，是必然的和不可避免的，像大河一样，任何峭壁、任何深渊都挡不住它，更不用说随意建立的堤坝了。……伟大的世界性事件的实现，既不取决于谁的意志，也不取决于任何个人。它们是按照像引力定律或有机体生长规律一样确定不移的规律实现的。

The Impact of Rewriting the New Map of Human Modernization on the “Rise of the East and Decline of the West”

改写人类现代化新版图对“东升西降”的影响

The general trend of the “rise of the East and decline of the West” contains the mighty power of Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization, with its impact of rewriting the new map of human modernization, profoundly influences the evolution of the overall pattern of the “rise of the East and decline of the West.” In other words, the most important “undercurrent” within the general trend of the “rise of the East and decline of the West” is Chinese-path modernization, which is “scouring the existing riverbed of modernization.”

“东升西降”大趋势中蕴含着中国式现代化的磅礴力量。中国式现代化以其改写人类现代化新版图的冲击力深刻影响着“东升西降”大格局的演变。易言之，“东升西降”大趋势中最重要的“潜流”就是中国式现代化，它在“冲刷着现代化的现有河道”。

2.1 Rewriting the Demographic Map of Human Modernization

2.1 改写人类现代化的人口版图

Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a huge population. After several hundred years of development, currently, the countries in the world that have achieved industrialization, urbanization, informatization, and agricultural modernization—that is, “the countries that have entered modernization globally number only about 20, with a total population of about 1 billion” [n]—account for approximately 12.5% of the global population of about 8 billion. By 2035, China’s population of over 1.4 billion will enter modernization as a whole, a scale exceeding the total population of existing developed countries. The world’s modernized population will then reach 2.4 billion, accounting for about 30% of the global population, an increase of about 18% in the modernized population. This will greatly rewrite the demographic map of human modernization. This rewriting has three significances.

中国式现代化是人口规模巨大的现代化。经过几百年的发展，目前，全球实现工业化、城市化、信息化、农业现代化的国家，也就是说“全球进入现代化的国家也就20多个、总人口10亿左右”，约占全球80亿人口的12.5%。到2035年，中国14亿多人口将整体迈入现代化，规模超过现有发达国家人口的总和，世界现代化人口将会达到24亿人，约占全球人口的30%，现代化人口增加约18%，这将极大地改写人类现代化的人口版图。这个改写有3个意义。

2.1.1 The Modernization of the Largest Population in History

2.1.1 历史上最大规模人口实现的现代化

The modernization achieved by our country will greatly change the Western-centric mode of thinking, enabling more people to learn to use Eastern culture to think about problems and handle affairs. From 1822 to 1831, Hegel, in his lectures on the philosophy of history, expressed a very obvious Western-centric mode of thinking. He said: “World history goes from the ‘East’ to the ‘West,’ for Europe is absolutely the end of history, Asia is the beginning.” This Eurocentrism or Germanic centrism has persisted in human history for several hundred years, but it will be broken by Chinese-path modernization.

我国实现的现代化，会极大地改变西方中心主义的思维方式，使更多的人学会运用东方文化来思考问题、处理事情。1822年到1831年，黑格尔在其关于历史哲学的演讲中就表达出极为明显的西方中心主义的思维方式。他说:“世界历史从‘东方’到‘西方’，因为欧洲绝对地是历史的终点，亚洲是起点。”这种欧洲中心主义或者是日耳曼中心主义在人类历史上持续了数百年，但这将由中国式现代化来打破。

2.1.2 Modernization Where the People Jointly Build and Share the Fruits of Modernization

2.1.2 人民共建、共享现代化成果的现代化

Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which all of the more than 1.4 billion people can enjoy the fruits of modernization; no one is excluded from the ranks of modernization, and no ethnic group is blocked at the threshold of modernization. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which everyone enjoys the benefits of modernization development. Although some Western countries have achieved modernization, not everyone is on the “train” of modernization; many people are impoverished and even homeless, and have not become modern people in the true sense. It can be said that among the more than 1 billion people in developed Western countries, only about 800 million have reached the standard of living of modernization. According to the 2018 federal poverty level data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the “poverty rate” in the United States has remained around 15% for more than half a century; Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, pointed out in his May 2018 report on his visit to the United States that “the United States has become the Western country with the most severe polarization between rich and poor, with about 40 million Americans living in poverty.” In addition, statistics from the European Statistical Office show that the EU countries had 95.3 million people in poverty in 2022 (accounting for 22% of the population). It can be said that these people have not boarded the “train” of modernization. Chinese-path modernization, on the other hand, is a modernization jointly built and shared by every person and every ethnic group.

中国式现代化是14亿多人都能够享受到现代化成果的现代化，没有一个人被排斥在现代化行列之外，也没有一个民族被阻挡在现代化门槛之外。中国式现代化是人人都享受到现代化发展福祉的现代化。西方一些国家虽然实现了现代化，但并不是每一个人都在现代化的“列车”上，有很多人贫困潦倒甚至无家可归，并没有成为真正意义上的现代化人。可以说，西方发达国家10亿多人口中能达到现代化生活水准的也就有8亿多人口。按美国卫生与公众服务部(HHS)2018年的联邦贫困水平数据，美国的“贫困率”半个多世纪以来一直保持在15%左右;联合国极端贫困与人权问题特别报告员菲利普·奥尔斯顿在2018年5月发表的访美报告中指出，“美国已经沦为贫富分化最严重的西方国家，约4000万美国人生活在贫困中”。另外，欧洲统计局统计数据显示，欧盟国家2022年的贫困人口为9530万人(占人口的22%)。可以说，这些人都没有坐上现代化的“列车”。而中国式现代化是每一个人、每一个民族共同建设和共同享有的现代化。

2.1.3 Modernization of the All-Round Development of the Individual

2.1.3 人的全面发展的现代化

Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that realizes the all-round development of the individual, not a modernization that produces a large number of “one-dimensional people” or a “lost generation.” Western modernization, due to social contradictions, has caused some people, while enjoying the material fruits of modernization, to become “people on the road,” “catchers in the rye,” etc., losing their souls and dreams. China’s more than 1.4 billion people have great dreams and outstanding talents; truly organized under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the power they generate is immensely strong and immensely震撼. This population scale not only changes the demographic map of the number of modernized people but also shapes the map of population quality. Chinese-path modernization emphasizes the all-round development of people—people with ideals, beliefs, direction, and a future; people with a stage for struggle and countless opportunities to strive; people who can change their own destiny and influence the development of society.

中国式现代化是实现人的全面发展的现代化，不是大量产生“单向度人”或者是“迷茫一代”的现代化。西方现代化因为社会矛盾，使一些人在享有现代化物质成果的同时，成为“在路上的人”“麦田里的守望者”等，失去了灵魂和梦想。中国14亿多人民有着伟大的梦想，有着卓越才华，在中国共产党的领导下真正被组织起来，所产生的力量无比强大、无比震撼。这个人口规模改变的不仅是现代化人口数量的版图，而且还塑造人口质量的版图。中国式现代化强调的是全面发展的人，是有理想、有信念、有方向、有未来的人，是有奋斗舞台、有无数机会拼搏的人，是能够改变自身命运和影响社会发展的人。

2.2 Rewriting the Institutional Map of Human Modernization

2.2 改写人类现代化的制度版图

On February 7, 2023, in his speech at the seminar on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC for newly elected members and alternate members of the Central Committee and leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: “Because the world modernization process began in Western capitalist countries, the developed countries of today are mainly European and American countries and capitalist countries deeply influenced by Western civilization. This gives people an illusion that modernization seems to be Westernization, and Western civilization seems to be modern civilization.” In other words, up to now, the countries that have achieved modernization have basically been countries that took the capitalist road; modernization has been a product of the capitalist system. This situation brings two problems: first, it seems that only by taking the capitalist road can modernization be achieved, and achieving modernization can only mean building a capitalist system; leaving the capitalist system seems to make it impossible to enter the “gate of modernization”; second, developing countries that want to take other paths will all be bound within the system of the capitalist system, locked in by the capitalist system, and unable to conduct independent exploration.

2023年2月7日，在新进中央委员会的委员、候补委员和省部级主要领导干部学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想和党的二十大精神研讨班上的讲话中，习近平总书记明确指出：“由于世界现代化进程是从西方资本主义国家开始的，当今世界的发达国家也主要是欧美国家和深受西方文明影响的资本主义国家。这就给人们一种错觉，似乎现代化就是西方化、西方文明就是现代文明。”易言之，迄今为止实现现代化的国家基本上都是走资本主义道路的国家，现代化都是资本主义制度的产物。这种情形就带来两个问题：第一，似乎只有走资本主义道路才能实现现代化，实现现代化只能构建资本主义制度，离开资本主义制度就仿佛无法进入“现代化之门”；第二，想走其他道路的发展中国家都会被束缚在资本主义制度的体系之内，被资本主义制度规锁，无法进行独立自主的探索。

2.2.1 Chinese-Path Modernization Is Socialist Modernization Led by the Communist Party of China

2.2.1 中国式现代化是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化

Chinese-path modernization is a modernization of a socialist nature, a modernization built on the foundation of the socialist system. By 2035, China will have basically realized socialist modernization, and by that time it will have painted the socialist system’s map in bold colors on the world map of modernization systems, transforming the monotonous, gray-toned pattern of the Western system into a multi-toned, vibrant pattern of the socialist system; by 2048, the 200th anniversary of the publication of the *Communist Manifesto*, it will be precisely the time when China has fully built a great modern socialist country and realized the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. “At that time, Chinese Communists and the Chinese people will further prove the scientific, truthful, and predictive nature of Marxism with their own great deeds. Let us welcome this great moment with concrete actions.” [2]2 This is a quotation from Xi Jinping, referring to the 200th anniversary of the *Communist Manifesto* in 2048, which coincides with the target year for building China into a “great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.” By that time, the influence of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics will be even more evident.

中国式现代化是社会主义性质的现代化，是建立在社会主义制度基础上的现代化。到2035年，中国基本上实现社会主义现代化，届时将会在世界现代化制度版图上浓墨重彩地描绘出社会主义制度的版图，使单调的、充满灰色调的西方制度的格局变成多色调的、充满生机的社会主义制度格局；到2048年，也就是《共产党宣言》发表200周年之时，正是我国全面建成社会主义现代化强国、实现中华民族伟大复兴之际，“届时，中国共产党人和中国人民将以自己的壮举进一步证明马克思主义的科学性、真理性、预见性，让我们以实际行动迎接这个伟大时刻的到来吧”。到那个时候，中国特色社会主义制度的影响力将更加彰显。

2.2.2 Chinese-Path Modernization Has Many Significant Institutional Advantages

2.2.2 中国式现代化有诸多显著制度优势

The significant institutional advantages of Chinese-path modernization are mainly reflected in the following: First, the modernized country China has built is the first in human history to be built on the foundation of the socialist system, which proves that realizing modernization is not the patent or exclusive domain of the capitalist system; other systems, especially the socialist system, also possess this capability. Thus, the situation in which the capitalist system alone wrote the history of modernization has been transformed into one in which two systems coexist and compete in writing the annals of modernization. The “one-man show” of the capitalist system dominating the world of modernization has become a “duet” in which two systems each write their own history of modernization. For many countries embarking on the path of modernization, there are now more and more feasible institutional paths to choose from. Second, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics possesses a powerful capacity to drive modernization. This is why, in just over 70 years of the history of building the People’s Republic of China, China has been able to complete the process of industrialization and urbanization that took Western countries two to three hundred years.

中国式现代化的显著制度优势主要体现在：第一，中国建成的现代化国家是人类历史上第一个以社会主义制度为基础建成的，这就证明了实现现代化不是资本主义制度的专利和专属，其他的制度特别是社会主义制度也有这种能力。由此，由资本主义制度独写现代化历史的局面变成了两种制度并存竞写现代化春秋的局面，资本主义制度一统现代化天下的“独角戏”变成了两种制度各自撰写现代化历史的“双人舞”。对很多踏上现代化之路的国家而言，实现现代化的制度路径有了更多更可行的选择。第二，中国特色社会主义制度有一种强大的推动现代化的能力，这就是为什么我国在短短70多年中华人民共和国建设的历史中，就能走完西方国家需要两三百年才能走完的工业化、城市化过程。

The history of Western modernization is a slow process of development, and even more so a process full of blood and tears. The capitalist system relied on external expansion for colonial plunder, and used economic hegemony for the primitive accumulation of its modernization; it promoted its own development at the expense of countless countries. Discussing the impact of British colonial rule on India, the famous Indian-American economist Amartya Sen, in his 2021 book *Home in the World*, cited a fact observed by historian William Dalrymple: “The economic figures are there for all to see. At the time of the founding of the East India Company in 1600, Britain produced 1.8% of the world’s GDP, while India created 22.5%. By the peak of British rule in India (1911), these figures had almost been reversed, and India had gone from being one of the world’s leading manufacturing nations to a symbol of famine and poverty.” On January 20, 2025, a report released by Oxfam pointed out: “From 1765 to 1900, 64.82 trillion US dollars flowed from India to Britain, with 50% of this amount going into the pockets of the richest 10% of the British population.” Calculated over 135 years, that is over 480 billion US dollars per year—a colossal figure. It can be said that Western modernization is not truly an endogenous modernization brought about by the system itself, but a modernization brought about by the predatory nature of the system. In contrast, Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that stimulates the internal vitality of the system. Its institutional development has gone through stages: from the reform and improvement of the system after reform and opening up, to emphasizing the building of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and then to the system’s maturation and finalization. After more than 40 years of effort, in 2019, the *Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Upholding and Improving the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics and Advancing the Modernization of China’s System and Capacity for Governance*, adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, stated: “Practice has proven that the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system are a system and governance system guided by Marxism, rooted in the soil of China, with a deep foundation in Chinese culture, and deeply supported by the people; they are a system and governance system with strong vitality and great superiority; they are a system and governance system capable of continuously promoting the progress and development of a major country with nearly 1.4 billion people and ensuring that the Chinese nation, with a history of over 5,000 years of civilization, realizes the ‘Two Centenary Goals’ [3]3 The “Two Centenary Goals” are the goals of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the centenary of the CPC (2021) and building a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious by the centenary of the People’s Republic of China (2049). and thereby achieves its great rejuvenation.” This institutional system includes fundamental systems, basic systems, important systems, and specific systems, and possesses a powerful driving force for modernization and development.

西方的现代化历史是一个缓慢的发展过程，更是一个充满血泪的过程。资本主义制度依靠对外扩张进行殖民掠夺，通过经济霸权为其现代化进行原始积累，它是以无数国家的牺牲来推进自身的发展。在谈到英国殖民统治对于印度带来的影响时，著名的印度裔美籍经济学家阿马蒂亚·森在其2021年出版的《四海为家》一书中，引用历史学家威廉·达尔林普尔所观察到的事实指出：“经济数字有目共睹。在1600年东印度公司成立时，英国生产了世界生产总值的1.8%，而印度则创造了22．5%。到英国统治印度的巅峰时期(1911年)，这些数字就几乎被颠倒了，印度从世界名列前茅的制造业国家沦为饥荒与贫困的象征。”2025年1月20日，乐施会发布的一份报告指出:“从1765年到1900年，有64.82万亿美元的资金从印度流了英国，其中50%进入英国最富有的10%人口的口袋。”按照135年计算，每年超过4800亿美元，这是一个巨大的数字。可以说，西方现代化并不是真正由制度自身带来的内生现代化，而是由制度掠夺性带来的现代化。而中国式现代化是激发制度内在活力的现代化，其制度的发展经历了从改革开放后制度的改革完善，到强调建设中国特色社会主义制度，再到制度的成熟定型。经过40多年努力，2019年，党的十九届四中全会通过的《中共中央关于坚持和完善中国特色社会主义制度、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化若干重大问题的决定》提出：“实践证明，中国特色社会主义制度和国家治理体系是以马克思主义为指导、植根中国大地、具有深厚中华文化根基、深得人民拥护的制度和治理体系，是具有强大生命力和巨大优越性的制度和治理体系，是能够持续推动拥有近十四亿人口大国进步和发展、确保拥有五千多年文明史的中华民族实现‘两个一百年’奋斗目标进而实现伟大复兴的制度和治理体系。” 这个制度体系包括根本制度、基本制度、重要制度以及具体制度，具有强大推动现代化发展的动力。

2.3 Rewriting the Civilizational Map of Human Modernization

2.3 改写人类现代化的文明版图

Chinese-path modernization is a civilizational modernization. It avoids the colonial plunder carried out in the name of freedom and human rights under capitalism, and is a modernization realized in a humane and civilized manner.

中国式现代化是文明性的现代化，其避免了资本主义那种以自由、人权为名进行的殖民掠夺，是以人性化、文明化的方式实现的现代化。

2.3.1 Western Modernization Is Full of Barbarism

2.3.1 西方的现代化充满野蛮性

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “The modernization of Western countries is full of bloody and sinful acts such as war, slave trading, colonization, and plunder, bringing profound disasters to the vast number of developing countries. The Chinese nation has experienced the tragic history of aggression and humiliation by Western powers and deeply knows the value of peace; it will absolutely not repeat the old path of Western countries.” “Capitalist civilization is built on the foundation of the capitalist system of exploitation; it cannot overcome or eliminate the barbaric nature hidden beneath civilization.” Lenin said in *What Is to Be Done?*: “Freedom is a great word, but under the banner of industrial freedom the most predatory wars have been waged, and under the banner of freedom of labor the workers have been robbed.” In the name of free trade, Britain imported large quantities of opium into China. “In 1856, the total value of opium imported into China was about 35 million US dollars. In the same year, the British Indian government obtained 25 million US dollars in revenue from its opium monopoly, exactly one-sixth of its total fiscal revenue.” This so-called free trade not only destroyed people’s bodies but also destroyed their souls. It is precisely for this reason that Marx indignantly pointed out in “The Opium Trade”: “This trade, whether in terms of the tragic conflicts that can be said to constitute its axis, or in terms of its impact on all relations between East and West, is unparalleled in the annals of human history.” In the name of industrial freedom, “from 1818 to 1836, British cotton yarn exports to India increased by 5,200 times. In 1850, British cotton textile exports to India accounted for 65% of the total value of British cotton textile exports.” The British colonial authorities stipulated that goods imported into India from Britain were subject to very low taxes, or even exempt from taxes, while Indian textiles sold domestically were subject to extremely high internal taxes. Under British control, the Indian cotton textile industry declined sharply. The trade protectionist policies implemented by Britain towards Asia, especially India, systematically destroyed the growth potential of Indian industry.

习近平总书记指出，“西方国家的现代化，充满战争、贩奴、殖民、掠夺等血腥罪恶，给广大发展中国家带来深重灾难。中华民族经历了西方列强侵略、凌辱的悲惨历史，深知和平的宝贵，决不可能重复西方国家的老路”“资本主义文明是建立在资本主义剥削制度基础上的，它无法克服和消除文明下的野蛮本性”。列宁在《怎么办？》中说：“自由是个伟大的字眼，但是人们曾经在工业自由的旗帜下进行最富有掠夺性的战争，在劳动自由的旗帜下掠夺劳动者。”以贸易自由为名，英国大量向中国输入鸦片。“1856年输入中国的鸦片，总值约3500万美元，同年英印政府靠鸦片垄断获取了2500万美元的收入，正好是它财政总收入的六分之一”。这种所谓的自由贸易不仅毁灭人的肉体，而且摧毁人的灵魂。正因为如此，马克思在《鸦片贸易史》中悲愤地指出：“这种贸易，无论就可以说是构成其轴心的那些悲惨冲突而言，还是就其对东西方之间一切关系所发生的影响而言，在人类历史记录上都是绝无仅有的。”以工业自由为名，“1818至1836年，英国输往印度的棉纱增加了5200倍。1850年，英国对印度的棉纺织品输出占英国棉纺织品输出总值的65%”。英国殖民当局规定，英国输入印度的货物只收极低税，甚至免税，印度纺织品在本国销售，却要交极高的内地税。在英国控制下，印度棉织工业急剧衰败。英国对亚洲特别是对印度实施的贸易保护主义政策，系统性破坏了印度工业的增长潜力。

2.3.2 Chinese-Path Modernization Has Created a New Form of Human Civilization

2.3.2 中国式现代化创造了人类文明新形态

Chinese-path modernization has truly inaugurated the civilizational history of human modernization. If Western modernization inaugurated the prehistory of the civilizational history of human modernization, then socialist modernization, and especially Chinese-path modernization, has brought that prehistory to an end, presenting modernization in a civilizational state. It is in this sense that Chinese-path modernization has created many new forms of civilization. For example, our country has created a new civilization of human cities. This new civilization is unprecedented in the history of human modernization. From 1978 to 2024, China’s urbanization rate rose from 17.6% to 67%, bringing over 900 million people to live in cities. Statistical data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in January 2025 show: in terms of urban-rural composition, the permanent urban population was 943.5 million, an increase of 10.83 million over the end of the previous year; the permanent rural population was 464.78 million, a decrease of 12.22 million; the urban population as a share of the national population (urbanization rate) was 67%, an increase of 0.84 percentage points over the end of the previous year. Over 47 years, more than 760 million people in China have entered urban life; urbanization on this scale is unprecedented in human history. In this process, on the one hand, our cities have experienced no social unrest, no urban slums like those in Latin America or India, and not even urban vagrants or beggars. On the other hand, our country has seen neither the “sheep devouring men” enclosure movement of England nor the “cowboy-style” wild rush of the United States.

中国式现代化真正开创了人类现代化的文明史。如果说西方现代化开创的是人类现代化文明史的史前史，那么社会主义现代化特别是中国式现代化就结束了人类现代化的史前史，使现代化以文明状态呈现出来。正是在这个意义上，中国式现代化创造了很多文明新形态。比如，我国创造了人类城市新文明。这个新文明是人类现代化历史上从未有过的。中国从1978年到2024年，城镇化率从17.6%提高到67%，使9亿多人生活在城市中。国家统计局在2025年1月发布的统计数据显示:从城乡构成看，城镇常住人口94350万人，比上年末增加1083万人;乡村常住人口46478万人，减少1222万人；城镇人口占全国人口的比重(城镇化率)为67%，比上年末提高0.84个百分点。在47年中，中国有7.6亿多人进入城市生活，这种规模的城市化是人类历史上从未有过的。在此过程中，一方面，我国城市没有出现任何社会动荡，没有出现像拉丁美洲、印度那样的城市平民窟，更没有城市流浪乞讨人员。另一方面，我国没有出现英国那种“羊吃人”的圈地运动，也没有出现美国那种“牛仔式”的狂野突进。

Why has this new civilization of human cities been able to be created? First, it follows the laws of urbanization development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in September 2018: “In the process of modernization, the rise of the urban share and the decline of the rural share is an objective law, but under our national conditions of having nearly 1.4 billion people, no matter how far industrialization and urbanization advance, agriculture must develop, villages will not disappear, and urban and rural areas will coexist for a long time — this too is an objective law. Even if our country’s urbanization rate reaches 70%, there will still be over 400 million people in the countryside. If in the process of modernization we leave those 400 million people in the countryside behind, ending up with ‘prosperous cities on one side and a desolate countryside on the other,’ that would not conform to our Party’s governing purpose, nor to the essential requirements of socialism. Such modernization could never succeed! Forty years ago, we opened the curtain on reform and opening up through rural reform. Forty years later today, we should open up a new situation of integrated urban-rural development and modernization through rural revitalization.” This law determines that cities coexist symbiotically, not in opposition or confrontation. Second, it establishes a people-centered urbanization. In this process, our country has resolved many institutional problems affecting urbanization development, constructing a series of institutional systems to promote the development of urban civilization, aimed at effectively safeguarding the rights and interests of farmers entering cities, and on this basis realizing the citizenization of the agricultural transfer population. This safeguards not only the rights and interests of farmers after they settle in cities, but also their rights and interests in the countryside. The “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese-Path Modernization” [4]4 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in July 2024. The “Resolution” adopted at that session is a key document outlining comprehensive reforms to advance Chinese-path modernization. adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party explicitly requires: “Safeguard the legitimate land rights and interests of farmers who settle in cities, lawfully uphold their land contracting rights, rights to use homesteads, and rights to collective income distribution, and explore ways to establish voluntary and compensated withdrawal.” Such urbanization promotes the modernization of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, and is absolutely unique in the history of human modernization.

这个人类城市新文明为什么能够创造出来:首先，遵循城市化的发展规律。习近平总书记在2018年9月指出：“在现代化进程中，城的比重上升，乡的比重下降，是客观规律，但在我国拥有近14亿人口的国情下，不管工业化、城镇化进展到哪一步，农业都要发展，乡村都不会消亡，城乡将长期共生并存，这也是客观规律。即便我国城镇化率达到70%，农村仍将有4亿多人口。如果在现代化进程中把农村4亿多人落下，到头来‘一边是繁荣的城市、一边是凋敝的农村’，这不符合我们党的执政宗旨，也不符合社会主义的本质要求。这样的现代化是不可能取得成功的！40年前，我们通过农村改革拉开了改革开放大幕。40年后的今天，我们应该通过振兴乡村，开启城乡融合发展和现代化建设新局面。”这个规律决定了城市之间是共生共存的关系，不是对立或者对抗关系。其次，建立以人民为中心的城市化。在这个过程中，我国解决了很多影响城市化发展的制度问题，建构起一系列促进城市文明发展的制度体系，旨在促使进城农民权益得到有效保障，并在此基础上实现农业转移人口市民化。这不仅保障农民进城落户后在城市的权益，也保障其在农村的权益。党的二十届三中全会通过的《中共中央关于进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化的决定》明确要求：“保障进城落户农民合法土地权益，依法维护进城落户农民的土地承包权、宅基地使用权、集体收益分配权，探索建立自愿有偿退出的办法。”这样的城市化促进了农业、农村、农民的现代化，在人类现代化历史上是绝无仅有的。

New Pathways for Chinese-Path Modernization to Promote “the East Rising and the West Declining”

中国式现代化推动“东升西降”的新路径

The direction and speed of the objective trend of “the East rising and the West declining” depend to a large extent on the degree of advancement of Chinese-path modernization. If Chinese-path modernization advances smoothly, the process of “the East rising and the West declining” will accelerate, and the situation of “the West being strong and the East being weak” will be changed relatively quickly. Chinese-path modernization influences the changes in the pattern of “the East rising and the West declining” from multiple aspects.

“东升西降”这个客观趋势的发展方向、速度，在很大程度上取决于中国式现代化的推进程度。中国式现代化推进顺利，“东升西降”的进程就会加速，“西强东弱”的局面就会较快被改变。中国式现代化从多个方面影响着“东升西降”格局的变化。

3.1 Building a New Form of Human Industrial Civilization with New Quality Productive Forces at Its Core

3.1 建设以新质生产力为核心的人类工业文明新形态

3.1.1 China’s Industrial Civilization Contains Many Factors That Give Rise to the Development of New Quality Productive Forces

3.1.1 中国的工业文明蕴含着很多催生新质生产力发展的因素

After 76 years of arduous effort since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, China has become the country with the most complete industrial system in the world. Not only are its categories complete and its products numerous, but many fields also have advanced technology and great development potential. Today, China’s industrial civilization has three prominent characteristics: First, people-centeredness. The population participating in the industrialization process is enormous; many private enterprises are participants in and contributors to the development of industrial civilization, such as Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Geely Holding Group. Second, integration. Various industrial categories can cooperate with each other, forming concentrated advantages. Third, innovativeness. China’s industrial technology has innovations in many fields, such as tunnel boring machines, high-speed rail technology, and large aircraft manufacturing. These characteristics all contain the foundations and conditions for the development of new quality productive forces.

经过中华人民共和国成立76年的艰苦努力，中国已经成为世界上工业体系最为完整的国家，不仅门类齐全、产品繁多，而且很多领域技术先进、发展潜力巨大。当今，中国的工业文明有3个突出特点：第一，人民性。参与工业化进程的人口众多，很多民营企业都是工业文明发展的参与者、贡献者，像华为技术有限公司、吉利控股集团等。第二，集成性。各种工业门类之间能够相互协作，形成集中的优势。第三，创新性。中国的工业技术在很多领域都有创新，如盾构机、高铁技术、大飞机建造等。这些特点都蕴含着新质生产力发展的基础与条件。

3.1.2 New Quality Productive Forces Lay a New Foundation for a New Human Industrial Civilization

3.1.2 新质生产力为人类工业新文明奠定新基础

New quality productive forces are an advanced productive force quality that takes innovation as the core, breaks away from traditional economic growth modes and productive force development pathways, possesses high technology, high efficiency, high quality, and high character, and fully embodies the new development philosophy.

新质生产力是创新起核心作用，摆脱了传统经济增长方式和生产力发展路径，具有高科技、高效能、高质量、高品质特征，是充分体现新发展理念的先进生产力质态。

First, the most important driving forces generating new quality productive forces are revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading. Specifically: technology has achieved unprecedented breakthrough progress; when such technology is applied to the production field, it causes a qualitative leap in production. For example, the maturation of rotating detonation engine technology has had a huge impact on the aerospace industry; the allocation of production factors is manifested in an innovative manner, with factors activating each other and allocation efficiency greatly enhanced — this is not an improvement by orders of magnitude but presents a geometric progression, such as the integration of technology, finance, and the internet generating enormous benefits; industries are transforming and upgrading in unprecedented ways — this transformation and upgrading is not structural adjustment in the general sense but a revolutionary transformation, which not only shifts from the “general track” to the “flying track” but advances at an accelerated pace.

第一，新质生产力产生的最重要动能就是技术革命性突破、生产要素创新性配置、产业深度转型升级，具体而言：技术出现了从未有过的突破性进展，这种技术应用于生产领域，使生产发生质的飞跃。比如，旋转爆震发动机技术的研发成熟，给航空航天事业带来巨大影响；生产要素的配置以创新性方式展现出来，要素之间的作用相互激活，配置效率极大提升，这不是以数量级提升，而是呈现几何级提升，如科技、金融、网络之间相互融合将会产生巨大效益；产业以前所未有的方式转型升级，这种转型升级不是一般意义上的结构调整，而是革命性改造，这种革命性改造不仅从“一般赛道”转向了“飞行赛道”，而且以加速度前进。

Second, new quality productive forces take the leap in laborers, means of labor, subjects of labor, and their optimized combination as their basic connotation. Specifically: laborers are the most active and basic element in the productive forces; their knowledge structure and innovation capacity undergo a qualitative change in the intelligent era, manifested as breaking through traditional skill boundaries and forming a new type of skill system; the means of labor break through the physical boundaries of traditional material tools, using new technological carriers such as data algorithms, intelligent equipment, and digital twins to realize the intelligent iteration of the production process, forming creative innovations in labor tools; the subjects of labor extend from natural resources to emerging fields such as data elements, virtual space, and biological genes, promoting the reconstruction of the human mode of existence.

第二，新质生产力以劳动者、劳动资料、劳动对象及其优化组合的跃升为基本内涵，具体而言：劳动者是生产力中最活跃、最基本的要素，其知识结构和创新能力在智能时代发生质变，表现为突破传统技能边界，形成新型技能体系；劳动资料突破传统物质工具的物理边界，以数据算法、智能设备、数字孪生体等新型技术载体实现生产过程的智能化迭代，形成对劳动工具的创造性革新；劳动对象则从自然资源向数据要素、虚拟空间及生物基因等新兴领域延展，推动了人类生存方式的重构。

Third, new quality productive forces take a substantial increase in total factor productivity as their core indicator, are characterized by innovation, key in high quality, and are essentially advanced productive forces. China is at the forefront of the world in the development of new quality productive forces. An article on the US Barron’s website on January 27, 2025, titled “Don’t Beat DeepSeek, Learn from It,” argued that China has redefined the internet and mobile applications, changing the way people interact, shop, and conduct business online. In addition, China’s innovation capacity in the field of electric vehicles has astonished the world; in telecommunications technology, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. has made significant progress in developing and deploying fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G); it has invested substantial resources in AI development, achieving breakthroughs in fields such as natural language processing, autonomous systems, and algorithm-driven manufacturing. At the same time, China’s progress in robotics and autonomous driving further proves its innovation capacity.

第三，新质生产力以全要素生产率大幅提升为核心标志，特点是创新，关键在质优，本质是先进生产力。中国在新质生产力的发展方面走在世界前列，美国《巴伦周刊》网站2025年1月27日发表题为《不要打击DeepSeek，要向它学习》的文章认为，中国重新定义了互联网和手机应用，改变了人们在网上互动、购物和开展业务的方式。另外，中国在电动汽车领域的创新能力令世界惊讶；在电信技术方面，华为技术有限公司在开发和部署第五代移动通信技术(5G)方面取得重大进展；在AI开发方面投入大量资源，在自然语言处理、自主系统和算法驱动制造等领域取得突破性进展。同时，中国在机器人和自动驾驶领域的进步更加证明了它的创新能力。

3.1.3 The Great Contributions of the New Human Industrial Civilization

3.1.3 人类工业新文明的伟大贡献

First, it has contributed a green, ecological industrial civilization. The development of China’s ecological civilization has turned global industry greener and cleaner. China has committed to peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. Currently, 40% of the world’s hydrogen refueling stations are in China, and China accounts for more than 50% of global newly installed wind power capacity. In 2024, China’s exports of wind turbine generator sets grew by 71.9%; photovoltaic products have exceeded 200 billion yuan in exports for four consecutive years; and lithium battery exports reached 3.91 billion units, a record high. In the field of green transportation, China’s exports of electric railway locomotives have increased for five consecutive years; electric motorcycles and bicycles are selling well in overseas markets, with export value exceeding 40 billion yuan for the first time; and exports of electric vehicles surpassed 2 million units for the first time, providing strong support for the development of global green civilization. Many countries’ green transitions are inseparable from China. For example, New Zealand’s goal is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and in 2023 China provided 89% of New Zealand’s solar photovoltaic equipment.

第一，贡献了绿色生态化工业文明。中国生态文明的发展使全球工业变绿了、变清洁了。中国承诺到2030年前碳排放达到峰值，2060年前实现碳中和。目前，全球40%的加氢站在中国，中国占全球新增风力发电能力的50%以上。2024年，我国风力发电机组出口增长71.9%，光伏产品连续4年出口超过2000亿元，锂电池出口39.1亿个，创历史新高。在绿色交通领域，我国铁道电力机车出口量连续5年保持增加，电动摩托车和自行车热销海外市场，出口值首次突破400亿元，电动汽车出口量首次突破200万辆，为全球绿色文明发展提供强大支持。很多国家绿色转型都离不开中国，如新西兰的目标是到2050年实现净零排放，中国在2023年为新西兰提供了89%的太阳能光伏设备。

Second, industrial trade has become fairer and more reasonable. The strong manufacturing capacity of China, along with the comprehensiveness of its product range and the high quality of its products, has continuously enhanced its voice in global industrial trade. China has consistently adhered to the principle of equality and mutual benefit in industrial trade. It neither engages in industrial exploitation of other countries by occupying technological high ground, nor practices trade bullying by virtue of rule-making power, nor, like some countries, resorts to trade protectionism on the pretext of “forced labor,” “human rights,” or “values.” Instead, while conducting equal product transactions, it shares technology with other countries. It can be said that since the world entered the era of industrial civilization, trade exchange has never been as equal as it is today, and the reason lies in the development of China’s industry and the formation of its voice.

第二，工业贸易更加公平合理。中国制造的强大能力以及产品种类的全面性、质量的高品质性，使其在全球工业贸易中的话语权不断提升。中国在工业贸易中一直坚持平等互利的原则，既不因为占据技术制高点就对其他国家采取工业压榨，也不因为有规则制定权就对其他国家进行贸易欺凌，更不会像有的国家动不动就以“强迫劳动”“人权”和“价值观”等为借口进行贸易保护，而是在进行产品平等交易的同时与其他国家进行技术分享。可以说，自从世界进入工业文明时代以来，贸易交换从没有像如今这样平等，其原因就是中国工业的发展以及话语权的形成。

3.2 Enhancing the technological content of Chinese-path modernization and promoting the “eastward shift” of the global center of scientific and technological innovation

3.2 提升中国式现代化的科技含量，推动全球科技创新重心“东移”

At a deeper level, capital is the direct driving force behind the “rise of the East and decline of the West.” Since the end of the 20th century, the “financial capital–scientific and technological innovation” double helix structure has been the most important means by which the United States occupies the apex of the world political and economic system. At the same time, the brutalization of capital forces in capitalist societies and their control over and domination of national politics have caused capital to exhibit various inherent contradictions and problems, leading to chaotic national governance. The “small yard, high fence” [5]5 “Small yard, high fence” (小院高墙) is a term used to describe U.S. policy aimed at restricting China’s access to advanced technologies, particularly in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, by creating a narrow, tightly controlled perimeter around critical technologies. of science and technology has been built ever higher; any technology with even a modicum of technical content is placed by Western countries on “sales ban” or “embargo” lists. This will inevitably weaken the driving force for the development of science and technology. In contrast, Chinese-path modernization must also fully utilize the power of capital. On the one hand, it must build a high-level socialist market economy system, making the socialist market economy more economically efficient, more substantively economically just, and more socially ethical than the capitalist market economy. On the other hand, it must regulate and guide the power of capital, enabling it to play a more positive role. Since China aims to become a scientific and technological power by 2035 and a world scientific and technological power by 2049, it must stimulate the endogenous vitality of capital to participate in scientific and technological innovation and place serving scientific and technological innovation in a more important position.

从深层次讲，资本是推动“东升西降”的直接动因。20世纪末以来，“金融资本—科技创新”双螺旋结构是美国居于世界政治经济体系结构顶端的最重要手段。同时，资本主义社会资本力量的野蛮化以及对国家政治的控制、凌驾，使资本呈现出各种内在的矛盾和问题，国家治理出现各种混乱局面，科技的“小院高墙”越筑越高，但凡有一点技术含量的科技就会被西方国家列入“禁售”“禁运”清单。这就会造成科学技术发展的动力减弱。与之相比，中国式现代化也要充分运用资本的力量，一方面，建设高水平的社会主义市场经济体制，使社会主义市场经济比资本主义市场经济有更高的经济效率、更实质的经济正义、更向善的社会伦理。另一方面，规范和引导资本力量，发挥其更加积极的作用。我国到2035年建成科技强国，到2049年建成世界科技强国，因此就必须激发资本参与科技创新的内生活力，把服务科技创新摆在更重要的位置上。

3.2.1 Conforming to the law of the shifting world center of science and building a world scientific and technological power

3.2.1 顺应世界科学中心转移规律，建设世界科技强国

In 1962, Yuasa Mitsutomo of Kobe University, using the historical comparative method and quantitative analysis, further revealed the law of the shifting center of science. He believed that if a country’s scientific achievements exceeding 25% of the world’s total scientific achievements in the same period is taken as a sign that it is the world center of scientific activity, then from the 16th to the 20th century, the world center of science underwent five major shifts, namely: Italy (1540–1610), Britain (1660–1730), France (1770–1830), Germany (1810–1920), and the United States (1920–present), with a shift cycle of approximately 80 to 100 years. This is known in the history of science as the “Yuasa phenomenon.” The “Yuasa phenomenon” indicates that the world center of science is not fixed but constantly changing and shifting, and its basic law is a continuous shift from the “West” to the “East.” In these shifts, strategic scientists and theoretical scientists played important roles. Leonardo da Vinci, Copernicus, Galileo, Hooke, Newton, Lavoisier, Faraday, Einstein, Born, Planck, and others all promoted the great development of science and technology with their own scientific ideas.

1962年，神户大学汤浅光朝运用历史比较法和数量分析法进一步揭示了科学中心转移规律。他认为，如果把一个国家的科学成果超过同期内全世界科学成果的25%作为它是世界科学活动中心的标志，那么从16世纪至20世纪，世界科学中心发生了5次大的变迁，即:意大利(1540—1610)、英国(1660—1730)、法国(1770—1830)、德国(1810—1920)、美国(1920年—现在)，转移周期大约为80～100年。科学史界称为“汤浅现象”。“汤浅现象”表明：世界科学中心不是固定的，而是不断变化和转移的，其基本规律就是不断从“西”向“东”转移。在这几次转移中，战略科学家、理论科学家发挥了重要作用。达·芬奇、哥白尼、伽利略、胡克、牛顿、拉瓦锡、法拉第、爱因斯坦、波恩、普朗克，等等，都以自身的科学思想推动了科学技术的大发展。

3.2.2 Actively exploring the linked development of venture capital and the technology industry

3.2.2 积极探索风险投资与科技产业联动发展

China should encourage and support various types of capital operating companies of all ownership forms to participate in the investment and financing of science and technology innovation enterprises on a self-financing basis, while simultaneously improving relevant laws and regulations, regulating market order, comprehensively enhancing the motivation, vitality, and effectiveness of the capital market in serving scientific and technological innovation, and realizing the financialization of technology and the technologization of finance. To this end, China can adopt multiple methods to provide high-tech enterprises with more financing channels, enabling them to raise more funds in the stock market; it can adopt a series of policies to address the funding needs of technology enterprises; and it can improve the positioning and governance of financial institutions, perfecting the incentive and constraint mechanisms for serving the real economy.

中国应鼓励支持各类所有制资本运营公司以自负盈亏方式参与科创类企业投融资，同时完善相关法律法规，规范市场秩序，全面提升资本市场服务科技创新动力、活力、效力，实现科技金融化和金融科技化。为此，中国可以采取多种方法让高科技企业有更多的融资渠道，使其在股市上融得更多资金；可采取一系列政策解决科技企业所需要的资金问题;完善金融机构定位和治理，健全服务实体经济的激励约束机制。

3.2.3 Strengthening cross-border capital operations and accelerating technology diffusion

3.2.3 加强跨国资本运作，加快技术扩散

Because countries such as the United States and Britain have adopted a “small yard, high fence” containment policy of high technology against China, China must take targeted measures to break this containment. China should conduct high-level international bidding for specific weak-link technologies or industries, following the path of competition, introduction, digestion, and independent innovation used for high-speed rail technology, exchanging its huge market advantages for technological advantages. At the same time, it should take equity stakes in or acquire advanced international scientific and technological innovation enterprises. This will not only help Chinese enterprises expand overseas markets but also promote the optimization and upgrading of the economic structure and drive the development of related industries, forming new growth points.

由于美国、英国等国家对中国采取高科技的“小院高墙”封堵政策，所以我国要采取有针对性的措施打破其封堵。中国应当对特定短板技术或产业展开高水平国际招标，仿照高铁技术竞争、引进、消化、自主创新路径，以巨大市场优势换取技术优势。同时，参股或收购国际先进科技创新企业，这不仅有助于我国企业拓展海外市场，而且有助于推动经济结构优化升级及带动相关产业发展，形成新的增长点。

3.3 Implementing the “Three Major Global Initiatives” [6]6 The “Three Major Global Initiatives” (三大全球倡议) refer to the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping between 2021 and 2023. and building a community with a shared future for mankind

3.3 实施好“三大全球倡议”，构建人类命运共同体

The advancement of modernization is not only a matter of a country’s own development but also an issue of international relations involving affairs between countries. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that affects the globe on a scale and with a force never before seen in human history. Therefore, every step of development in Chinese-path modernization will have broad and profound impacts on other countries. Conversely, the advancement of modernization in other countries will also affect the process of Chinese-path modernization.

现代化的推进不仅是一个国家自身发展的问题，也是涉及国与国事务的国际关系问题。中国式现代化是以人类历史上从未有过的规模和力量影响全球的现代化，因此中国式现代化的每一步发展都会对其他国家产生广泛和深刻的影响。反之，其他国家现代化的推进也会影响中国式现代化的进程。

3.3.1 Chinese-path modernization should further increase the forces of peace in human society

3.3.1 中国式现代化要进一步增加人类社会的和平力量

In June 2022, in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, President Xi Jinping pointed out: “Where is the world headed? Peace or war? Development or recession? Openness or closure? Cooperation or confrontation? These are the questions of the times placed before us.” The dark clouds of war have always hung over the people of the world, and Chinese-path modernization is continuously dispelling these clouds. One of the important characteristics of Chinese-path modernization is taking the path of peaceful development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Adhering to peaceful development, seeking our own development while firmly safeguarding world peace and development, and better safeguarding world peace and development through our own development, and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind – these are the prominent features of Chinese-path modernization.” Chinese civilization possesses a prominent character of peacefulness. Concepts such as peace, harmony, concord, amity generates wealth, a harmonious family brings prosperity to everything, and harmony in diversity have been passed down for more than 5,000 years in Chinese civilization. This philosophy advocates constructing a peaceful world that unites the individual and the collective through moral order and ethical norms, emphasizing collective and holistic cooperation in the relationship between self and others.

2022年6月，习近平主席在金砖国家工商论坛开幕式上的主旨演讲中指出：“世界向何处去？和平还是战争？发展还是衰退？开放还是封闭？合作还是对抗？是摆在我们面前的时代之问。”战争的阴云始终在世界人民头上笼罩着，而中国式现代化正在不断消除着这些阴云。中国式现代化的重要特征之一就是走和平发展道路。习近平总书记指出：“坚持和平发展，在坚定维护世界和平与发展中谋求自身发展，又以自身发展更好维护世界和平与发展，推动构建人类命运共同体，是中国式现代化的突出特征。”中华文明具有突出的和平性，如和平、和睦、和谐、和气生财、家和万事兴、和而不同等都是中华文明五千多年来一直传承的理念，这种理念主张以道德秩序、伦理规范构造一个群己合一的和平世界，在人己关系中强调集体及整体合作。

Taking the path of peaceful development and continuously adding to the forces of peace for humanity is a requirement of Chinese-path modernization. Shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Communist Party of China put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; the formal publication of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence was a great pioneering achievement in the history of international relations. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, under extremely complex international circumstances, China consistently upheld this principle. In the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, our Party advanced the thesis that “peace and development are the themes of the era,” and through its own development, continuously added bricks and tiles to the edifice of human peace and development. In the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, China has put forward the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind. “Today, building a community with a shared future for mankind has expanded from a Chinese initiative to an international consensus, and from a beautiful vision to rich practice, powerfully driving the world toward a bright future of peace, security, prosperity, and progress.” More than seventy years of practice have proven that, on the issue of peace and security, China is the major country with the best record in the world. No other major country cherishes and defends world peace as China does; no other major country is as committed to the maintenance of world peace as China is. It can be said that with every step forward in Chinese-path modernization, the forces of world peace increase by one measure.

走和平发展道路，为人类不断增添和平力量，是中国式现代化的要求。中国共产党在中华人民共和国成立后不久就提出了和平共处五项原则，和平共处五项原则的正式发表是国际关系史上的伟大创举，在社会主义革命和建设时期，在极其复杂的国家环境下，中国一直奉行这一原则。在改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期，我们党提出“和平与发展是时代主题”的论断，以自身的发展为人类和平与发展大厦不断添砖加瓦。中国特色社会主义新时代，中国又提出了构建人类命运共同体的理念，“现在，构建人类命运共同体已经从中国倡议扩大为国际共识，从美好愿景转化为丰富实践，有力推动世界走向和平、安全、繁荣、进步的光明前景”。70多年的实践证明，在和平与安全问题上，中国是世界上纪录最好的大国，没有哪个大国像中国这样如此珍视和捍卫世界和平，没有哪个大国像中国这样如此致力于世界和平的维护。可以说，中国式现代化每前进一步，世界和平力量就会增加一份。

3.3.2 Chinese-Path Modernization Must Further Increase the Civilizational Forces of Human Society

3.3.2 中国式现代化要进一步增加人类社会的文明力量

Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that creates new forms of civilization and promotes great exchanges among civilizations. The Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China means that different civilizations must engage in constructive and mutually beneficial interactions in forms of civilization that are mutually recognized, transcending barbarism or the threat of force. It requires greater respect for the heritage and value traditions of the development of human civilization, and the promotion of mutual learning among civilizations through dialogue and exchange. In today’s world, where economic globalization is deepening and the future and destiny of all countries are closely intertwined, the coexistence of different civilizations through tolerance, exchange, mutual learning, drawing on each other’s strengths, and common development plays an irreplaceable role in advancing the process of human societal modernization and enriching the garden of world civilizations. However, some Western countries reject the equality of civilizations, using so-called human rights diplomacy and values diplomacy to force other civilizations to transplant Western social and political systems. In reality, this kind of diplomacy is a means of profit for a small group of capitalist oligarchs, a narrow, small-circle civilization. The Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China transcends human rights diplomacy and values diplomacy, is based on the common values of all humanity, and enables all civilizations to engage in dialogue on an equal footing.

中国式现代化是创造文明新形态、促进文明大交流的现代化。中国提出的全球文明倡议意味着不同文明之间须以彼此认可的文明形式、超越野蛮或武力威胁的方式展开建设性互利交往，它要求更加尊重人类文明发展的遗产与价值传统，以对话交流的方式来推进文明互鉴。在经济全球化日渐深入、各国前途命运紧密相连的当今世界，不同文明包容共存、交流互鉴、取长补短、共同发展，在推动人类社会现代化进程、繁荣世界文明百花园中具有不可替代的作用。但是，有的西方国家排斥文明的平等性，以所谓人权外交与价值观外交来强迫其他文明移植西方社会政治制度。实际上，这种外交是少数资本家集团的获利手段，是狭隘的小圈子文明。中国提出的全球文明倡议超越人权外交与价值观外交，以全人类共同价值为基础，使各种文明能以平等的身份进行对话。

The basic points of the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China are: advocating the equality of civilizations, opposing the hierarchy of civilizations; advocating the openness of civilizations, opposing the creation of closed small circles of civilization; advocating the diversity of civilizations, opposing the forced assimilation of other civilizations by a single civilization; advocating the shared enjoyment of civilizations by the people, opposing unequal civilizations monopolized by capital or squeezed by class; advocating the complementarity and mutual learning of civilizations, opposing the clash of civilizations theory; advocating the historicity and contemporaneity of civilizations, opposing the abstraction of civilizations; advocating the developmental and progressive nature of civilizations, opposing the rigidity and exclusion of civilizations; advocating the integration and innovation of civilizations, opposing the artificial creation of opposition between civilizations. Western scholars, however, fabricate the “clash of civilizations” theory to incite “color revolutions.” [7]7 “Color revolutions” refers to a series of popular uprisings and regime-change movements in post-Soviet states and elsewhere, often characterized by nonviolent resistance and associated with Western support for pro-democracy forces; the term is used critically in Chinese political discourse to denote illegitimate foreign interference. The “clash of civilizations” theory is essentially an act of covering the eyes of reason with arrogance and prejudice, and promoting cultural hegemony in a domineering and unreasonable manner. Americans have always believed that planting the flag of American democratic values on a broader expanse of land is a matter of saving backward regions based on the evolutionary needs of freedom and civilization. Yet China advocates replacing hostility and confrontation with civilizational dialogue and understanding, actively promotes the common values of all humanity—peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom—and disseminates the traditional values of “harmony between heaven and humanity” and “harmonious coexistence” along with their implications for ecological civilization. At the same time, it strengthens the dissemination of Chinese studies overseas, builds platforms for the West to learn from and draw on China, and connects “coming to learn” with “going to teach.” [8]8 “Coming to learn” (来学) and “going to teach” (往教) are classical Chinese phrases from the Book of Rites (《礼记》), contrasting the traditional ideal of students seeking out a teacher with the active dissemination of knowledge by the teacher. This not only lets the world know about “China on the tip of the tongue” but also lets the world know about “China in scholarship,” “China in philosophy and social sciences,” “China in its system of independent knowledge,” “China in development,” “China in its openness,” “China that continuously contributes to human civilization,” and “China that creates entirely new forms of human civilization.”

中国提出的全球文明倡议的基本要点在于：主张文明平等性，反对文明等级论；主张文明开放性，反对搞文明封闭的小圈子；主张文明多彩性，反对以单一化文明对其他文明进行强制同化；主张文明的人民共享性，反对资本独占狭隘文明或阶级挤压的不平等文明;主张文明的互补互鉴性，反对文明冲突论；主张文明的历史性与现实性，反对文明抽象论;主张文明的发展进步性，反对文明的僵化排外；主张文明的融合创新性，反对人为制造文明的对立。而西方学者制造“文明冲突论”，以此来煽动“颜色革命”。“文明冲突论”本质上是以傲慢和偏见蒙住理性之眼、以蛮横无理的方式推行文化霸权。美国人一直认为，在更广阔的土地上插上美国的民主价值旗帜，是基于自由和文明的进化需要而拯救那些落后地区。然而，中国倡导以文明对话和理解代替敌视和对抗，积极推广和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由的全人类共同价值，传播“天人合一”“和合共生”的传统价值观及其生态文明意蕴。同时，加强海外中国学传播，搭建西方学习、借鉴中国的平台，将“来学”与“往教”贯通起来，不仅让世界知道“舌尖上的中国”，还要让世界知道“学术中的中国”“哲学社会科学中的中国”“自主知识体系中的中国”“发展中的中国”“开放中的中国”“为人类文明不断作贡献的中国”“开创全新人类文明形态的中国”。

Conclusion

结语

“The East rising while the West declines” is a long-term historical process advancing in waves. With the continuous success of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the magnificent and surging development of Chinese-path modernization, the trend of “the East rising while the West declines” has already become apparent. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, the old system dominated by the United States has seen its effectiveness decline due to dual pressures from within and without. The overall strength of Western developed countries is declining. Some countries have seen little to no growth in GDP for ten or even twenty years—for example, Japan’s GDP in 2024 is roughly the same as its level twenty years ago. Some countries have seen per capita GDP decline—for example, Germany’s per capita income in 2024 is equivalent to its per capita income level in 2015. These various signs indicate that the momentum of “the East rising” is unstoppable, and the trend of “the West declining” is irreversible.

“东升西降”是一个长期的、波浪式前进的历史进程。伴随中国特色社会主义不断取得成功，中国式现代化波澜壮阔向前发展，当前“东升西降”的趋势已经显现出来。自20世纪90年代苏联解体、东欧剧变以来，美国主导的旧有体系，由于面临自内而外和自外而内双重挤压导致其效能在衰减。西方发达国家的整体实力在下降，有的国家GDP十年甚至二十多年都没有什么增长，如日本2024年的GDP与20年前的数量相差无几；有的国家人均GDP在下降，如德国2024年的人均收入相当于2015年的人均收入水平。这种种迹象表明，“东升”的势头锐不可当，“西降”的趋势无可挽回。

Online editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆