The Triple Logic of Chinese-Path Modernization in Regional Practice

For a country to achieve modernization, it must not only follow the general laws of modernization but also conform to its own actual conditions and possess its own characteristics. Chinese-path modernization shares the common features of modernization in all countries but is more distinctly characterized by its own national conditions. From a regional perspective, China has a vast territory and a large population, with the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers traversing east and west, and the Qinling Mountains and Huai River dividing north and south. The differences in basic conditions among regions are rarely seen in the world. To make the whole country a well-coordinated chess game, coordinated development is the key to victory, and coordinating regional development is a matter of national significance (国之大者). Therefore, the regional practice of Chinese-path modernization is both a process of each region advancing its own modernization and a process of promoting coordinated regional development. A deep understanding of the theoretical logic, historical logic, and practical logic of the regional practice of Chinese-path modernization is of great significance for promoting coordinated regional development in China and comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

一个国家走向现代化，既要遵循现代化一般规律，更要符合本国实际，具有本国特色。中国式现代化既有各国现代化的共同特征，更有基于自己国情的鲜明特色。从区域来看，我国幅员辽阔、人口众多，长江、黄河横贯东西，秦岭、淮河分异南北，各地区基础条件差别之大在世界上是少有的。下好全国一盘棋，协调发展是制胜要诀，统筹区域发展是“国之大者”。因此，中国式现代化的区域实践，既是各区域推进自身现代化的过程，也是推动区域协调发展的过程。深入理解中国式现代化区域实践的理论逻辑、历史逻辑和实践逻辑，对于促进我国区域协调发展、全面建设社会主义现代化国家，具有重要意义。

The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization has a scientific theoretical logic

中国式现代化的区域实践具有科学的理论逻辑

Regional development is the manifestation of national development in specific territorial spaces. The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization is the embodiment of Chinese-path modernization at the regional scale, the spatial expression and effective support of the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization, and follows the basic requirements of Chinese-path modernization and the general laws of regional development.

区域发展是国家发展在特定地域空间的表现。中国式现代化的区域实践是中国式现代化在区域尺度上的体现，是中国式现代化本质要求的空间表现和有效支撑，遵循中国式现代化的基本要求和区域发展的一般规律。

The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization follows the basic requirements of Chinese-path modernization. The overarching goal of Chinese-path modernization is to comprehensively build a great modern socialist country. As subsets of the national territory, regions collectively reflect the level of social modernization, and the comprehensive development level of each region serves as concrete evidence for judging whether a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist country can be built. This determines that regional practice must be guided by Chinese-path modernization and place regional development within the overall context of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of the coordination of material and cultural-ethical progress, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development. The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization must embody the basic characteristics of Chinese-path modernization, and its spatial representation is inevitably a comprehensive and multi-dimensional modernization across the entire territory.

中国式现代化的区域实践遵循中国式现代化的基本要求。中国式现代化的总目标是全面建成社会主义现代化强国。区域作为国土空间的子集，其面貌集中反映了社会现代化水平，各区域的综合发展水平是判断能否建成富强民主文明和谐美丽的社会主义现代化强国的具体佐证。这就决定了区域实践必须以中国式现代化为引领，将区域发展置于全面建设社会主义现代化国家的大局中。中国式现代化是人口规模巨大、全体人民共同富裕、物质文明和精神文明相协调、人与自然和谐共生、走和平发展道路的现代化。中国式现代化的区域实践必须体现中国式现代化的基本特征，其空间表征势必是全域广泛、全面多维的现代化。

The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization follows the general laws of regional economic development. According to the regional life cycle theory, regions in the process of modernization go through four stages: infancy, youth, maturity, and old age. The prominent contradictions faced by regions at different stages also vary, which determines the different types of regional practice in Chinese-path modernization. For example, China’s western border provinces and those with relatively small economic aggregates are still in the initial or take-off stage of modernization and need to pursue leapfrog or catch-up development paths to achieve modernization in step with the rest of the country. In contrast, the eastern coastal regions are already at the forefront of modernization and occupy a leading position in advancing Chinese-path modernization. Regional division of labor and industrial coordination are necessary conditions for advancing modernization. According to the theory of regional division of labor, the vitality of regional division of labor and cooperation ultimately lies in its ability to enhance the interests of all parties involved. The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization requires adapting measures to local conditions, division of labor and cooperation, and classified advancement, so as to foster a linkage momentum between regions at different development gradients and thereby accelerate the realization of modernization. Particular attention must be paid to coordinated regional development to avoid the widening of regional disparities.

中国式现代化的区域实践遵循区域经济发展的一般规律。根据区域生命周期理论，区域在现代化进程中会经历幼年、年轻、成熟、老年四个阶段，处于不同发展阶段的区域面临的突出矛盾也不一样，这也决定了中国式现代化的区域实践的类型各异。比如我国西部边疆、经济总量偏小的省份，仍处于现代化的初始、起飞阶段，需要寻求跨越式、追赶式发展道路才能与全国同步实现现代化；而东部沿海地区在现代化的道路上已经走在前列，处于推进中国式现代化的引领地位。区域分工和产业协同是推进现代化建设的必要条件。根据区域分工理论，区域分工与合作的生命力归根结底在于其能增进各有关方的利益。中国式现代化区域实践需要因地制宜、分工协作、分类推进，促进不同发展梯度的区域之间形成联动势能，进而加速实现现代化。尤其是需注重区域协调发展，避免区域差距的扩大。

The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization has a profound historical logic

中国式现代化的区域实践具有深厚的历史逻辑

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, regional economic development has gone through four stages, with regional development and regional coordination being the two main threads running through the course of regional economic development.

新中国成立以来，区域经济发展经历了四个阶段，区域发展和区域协调是贯穿区域经济发展历程的两大脉络。

The first stage was from 1949 to 1977, characterized by a focus on developing the interior and pursuing balanced development. Industrialization was the dominant direction of China’s modernization. Before the founding of the People’s Republic, the vast majority of regions were in a backward traditional agricultural society, with industry accounting for less than 10% of the national economy, and over 70% of it concentrated in coastal areas. In 1953, China formally proposed to gradually realize socialist industrialization and established the strategic thinking of prioritizing the development of heavy industry. Later, Comrade Mao Zedong, in “On the Ten Major Relationships,” proposed correctly handling the relationship between coastal industry and interior industry. In 1958, the central government established seven “Economic Cooperation Zones” (经济协作区), aiming to form several economic regions with relatively complete industrial systems. In the 1960s, for reasons of national defense, the focus of economic construction and industrial layout was placed on the “Third Front” (三线) regions. [1]1 The “Third Front” (三线) was a massive industrial relocation and construction project initiated by Mao Zedong in the mid-1960s, moving key defense and heavy industries from coastal and border areas to China’s remote interior (Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, etc.) to protect them from potential foreign invasion. This stage of regional development laid the industrial foundation and accumulated strength for China to enter the take-off stage of economic development.

第一个阶段是1949-1977年，特点是重点发展内地、追求均衡发展。工业化是我国现代化的主导方向。新中国成立之前，绝大部分地区处于落后的传统农业社会，工业占国民经济比重不到10%，且70%以上集中在沿海地区。1953年，我国正式提出要逐步实现社会主义工业化，并确立了优先发展重工业的战略思想。后来，毛泽东同志在《论十大关系》中提出正确处理沿海工业和内地工业的关系。1958年，中央设立七大“经济协作区”，旨在形成若干具有比较完整的工业体系的经济区域。20世纪60年代，出于国防需要，将经济建设和工业布局的重点放在“三线”地区。这一阶段的区域发展为中国进入经济起飞阶段奠定了工业基础并积累了力量。

The second stage was from 1978 to 1990, characterized by prioritizing the eastern coast and pursuing unbalanced development. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, the focus of China’s regional economic development began to tilt toward the coast, and the eastern coastal regions took the lead in the pace of reform and opening up and development. In 1979, the Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen Special Economic Zones were established. Subsequently, the open areas in the eastern coastal regions continuously expanded and extended, and the economy took off rapidly. To prevent the “polarization” that unbalanced development might cause, Comrade Deng Xiaoping put forward the “Two Overall Situations” (两个大局) conception. [2]2 The “Two Overall Situations” (两个大局) refers to Deng Xiaoping’s strategic conception that first the coastal regions should develop rapidly, and then, when the country reached a certain level of prosperity, the central and western regions should be developed with support from the coast. One overall situation was that the eastern coastal regions should accelerate their opening up so that they could develop relatively quickly first, and the central and western regions should take this overall situation into account. The other overall situation was that when development reached a certain period, for instance, when the whole country reached a moderately prosperous level, more efforts should be made to help the central and western regions accelerate their development, and the eastern coastal regions should also submit to this overall situation. The “Two Overall Situations” conception embodies the essential requirements of socialism and is consistent with the requirement of common prosperity in Chinese-path modernization.

第二个阶段是1978-1990年，特点是东部沿海优先、非均衡发展。党的十一届三中全会以后，我国区域经济发展的重点开始向沿海倾斜，东部沿海地区率先迈出改革开放和发展的步伐。1979年深圳、珠海、汕头、厦门经济特区设立。此后，东部沿海地区的对外开放区域不断扩展延伸，经济迅速腾飞。为防止实施非均衡发展可能导致的“两极分化”，邓小平同志提出了“两个大局”构想。一个大局，就是东部沿海地区加快对外开放，使之较快地先发展起来，中西部地区要顾全这个大局。另一个大局，就是当发展到一定时期，比如全国达到小康水平时，就要拿出更多的力量帮助中西部地区加快发展，东部沿海地区也要服从这个大局。“两个大局”构想体现了社会主义的本质要求，与中国式现代化的共同富裕要求一脉相承。

The third stage was from 1991 to 2011, characterized by promoting coordinated regional development. As the development gap between the eastern region and the central and western regions continued to widen, China began to attach importance to coordinated development among regions. In 1991, the concept of “promoting the rational division of labor and coordinated development of regional economies” was first proposed. In 1992, the report to the 14th National Congress of the CPC emphasized “promoting the rational distribution and healthy development of the regional economy.” After 1999, regional coordinated development strategies such as the Western Development, the Revitalization of Northeast China, and the Rise of Central China were successively implemented. These, combined with the leading development of the eastern region, along with support for special types of regions such as old revolutionary base areas, ethnic minority areas, border areas, and poverty-stricken areas, together formed the overall strategy for regional development and established the basic pattern of China’s regional economic development.

第三个阶段是1991-2011年，特点是促进区域协调发展。由于东部地区与中西部地区的发展差距不断扩大，我国开始重视区域间的协调发展。1991年首次提出“促进地区经济的合理分工和协调发展”。1992年，党的十四大报告强调“促进地区经济合理布局和健康发展”。1999年以后先后实施了西部大开发、东北振兴、中部崛起等区域协调发展战略，并与东部地区率先发展相配合，再加上对革命老区、民族地区、边疆地区和贫困地区等特殊类型地区的扶持，共同组成了区域发展总体战略，形成了我国区域经济发展的基本格局。

The fourth stage is from 2012 to the present, characterized by comprehensively deepening coordinated regional development. Unbalanced and inadequate regional development is a concrete manifestation of China’s special national conditions. How to solve the problem of coordinated regional development determines how we move toward socialist modernization. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China has continued to implement the overall strategy for regional development. The report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC formally proposed the coordinated regional development strategy. At the same time, a series of major regional strategies, such as the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, have been successively introduced. These strategies echo the coordinated regional development strategy and jointly inject strong strategic support for high-quality regional economic development and the continuous narrowing of regional development gaps, laying a solid foundation for regional modernization.

第四个阶段是2012至今，特点是全面深化区域协调发展。区域发展不平衡、不充分是我国特殊国情的具体体现，如何解决区域协调发展难题，决定了我们如何走向社会主义现代化。党的十八大以来，我国继续实施区域发展总体战略，党的十九大报告中正式提出区域协调发展战略。与此同时，京津冀协同发展、长江经济带建设、粤港澳大湾区建设、长三角一体化和黄河流域生态保护与高质量发展等一系列区域重大战略相继出台，与区域协调发展战略相互呼应，共同为区域经济高质量发展和持续缩小区域发展差距注入强劲战略支持，为区域的现代化奠定了坚实基础。

The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization has a distinct practical logic

中国式现代化的区域实践具有鲜明的实践逻辑

The regional practice of Chinese-path modernization takes the realization of modernization as its fundamental purpose, focuses on high-quality regional development and coordinated regional development, and highlights regional characteristics while serving the overall national modernization agenda.

中国式现代化的区域实践，是以实现现代化为根本目的，着眼于区域高质量发展和区域协调发展，在服务全国现代化大局中彰显区域特色。

Find the correct strategic position within the overall national situation and achieve high-quality regional development. There are clear differences in resource endowments and development foundations among different regions. As the main bodies advancing modernization, each region needs to base itself on its own characteristics, give full play to its comparative advantages, strengthen the driving force of innovative development, and accelerate the construction of a dynamic system for high-quality development. Enhance the economic and population carrying capacity of central cities and city clusters and other areas with advantages in economic development; enhance the functions of other areas in safeguarding food security, ecological security, and border security, so as to provide strong spatial support for realizing Chinese-path modernization. Since the beginning of this year, whenever General Secretary Xi Jinping has conducted research in a locality, he has combined it with local realities to provide careful guidance and deployment for the local practice of Chinese-path modernization, and has clearly called for “grasping one’s own strategic position and strategic mission from the overall national situation.” This is one of the deep-seated logics for deploying and advancing the regional practice of Chinese-path modernization. For example, Inner Mongolia adheres to green development and demonstrates new achievements in building the “two barriers,” “two bases,” and “one bridgehead”[3]3 “Two barriers” refers to the ecological security barrier in northern China and the security barrier for the motherland’s northern border; “two bases” refers to a base for the production of clean energy and a base for the production of high-quality agricultural and livestock products; “one bridgehead” refers to a bridgehead for China’s opening up to the north.; the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area serves as a “strategic fulcrum for the new development pattern, a demonstration site for high-quality development, and a leading area for Chinese-path modernization”; the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region strives to become a “pilot zone and demonstration zone for Chinese-path modernization construction,” and so on. Only when each region finds its correct strategic position and achieves high-quality regional development can it be possible to realize nationwide modernization.

在全国大局中找准战略定位实现区域高质量发展。不同区域之间的资源禀赋、发展基础存在明显差别，各区域作为推进现代化的主体，需要立足各自特点，充分发挥比较优势，增强创新发展动力，加快构建高质量发展的动力系统。增强中心城市和城市群等经济发展优势区域的经济和人口承载能力，增强其他地区在保障粮食安全、生态安全、边疆安全等方面的功能，为实现中国式现代化提供强大的空间支撑。今年以来，习近平总书记每到一地调研，都会结合当地实际，对中国式现代化的地方实践悉心指导和部署，并明确提出要“从全国大局把握自身的战略地位和战略使命”。这是部署推进中国式现代化区域实践的深层逻辑之一。比如，内蒙古坚持绿色发展，在建设“两个屏障”“两个基地”“一个桥头堡”上展现新作为；粤港澳大湾区担当“新发展格局的战略支点、高质量发展的示范地、中国式现代化的引领地”；京津冀努力“成为中国式现代化建设的先行区、示范区”，等等。只有各个区域找准战略定位，实现区域的高质量发展，才有可能实现全国的现代化。

Strengthen regional cooperation to promote coordinated regional development. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC[4]4 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in November 2012, marking the beginning of the New Era under Xi Jinping’s leadership., General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly urged all localities to “consciously break free from the mindset of one’s own ‘one acre and three parts of land’[5]5 “One acre and three parts of land” is a Chinese idiom referring to one’s own small patch of land or narrow sphere of interest, used here to criticize parochial thinking. and unite as one to work toward the goals of top-level design.” The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC[6]6 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. made promoting coordinated regional development an important part of “accelerating the construction of a new development pattern and striving to promote high-quality development,” with the fundamental purpose of solidly advancing common prosperity for all the people. Continue to deeply implement the regional coordinated development strategy, major regional strategies, the main functional area strategy, and the new-type urbanization strategy; optimize the layout of major productive forces; and construct a regional economic layout and territorial space system featuring complementary advantages and high-quality development. Dynamically build regional growth poles, narrow the development gap between regions performing different functions, respond to circular cumulative causation effects[7]7 Circular cumulative causation is a concept in regional economics, developed by Gunnar Myrdal, describing how initial advantages or disadvantages in a region tend to reinforce themselves over time, leading to widening disparities., and promote coordinated regional development. Deepen coordinated cooperation among the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yellow River Basin, and other regions; strengthen close cooperation among cities within city clusters; and comprehensively realize Chinese-path modernization with a higher stance, better quality, a newer look, and higher efficiency.

加强区域合作促进区域协调发展。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记多次叮嘱各地“自觉打破自家‘一亩三分地’的思维定式，抱成团朝着顶层设计的目标一起做”。党的二十大报告将促进区域协调发展作为“加快构建新发展格局，着力推动高质量发展”的重要内容，根本目的是扎实推进全体人民共同富裕。继续深入实施区域协调发展战略、区域重大战略、主体功能区战略、新型城镇化战略，优化重大生产力布局，构建优势互补、高质量发展的区域经济布局和国土空间体系。动态打造区域增长极，缩小承担不同功能的区域间发展差距，应对循环累积因果效应，促进区域协调发展。深化京津冀地区、长江经济带、粤港澳大湾区、黄河流域等区域协同合作，加强城市群内部城市间的紧密合作，以更高站位、更优质量、更新面貌、更高效率全面实现中国式现代化。

Online editor: Zhang Fujun

网络编辑：张福军