Continuously Realizing the People’s Aspirations for a Better Life

As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has clearly put forward the development thinking of adhering to a people-centered approach. This reflects the inherent requirement of upholding the principal position of the people, highlights the value orientation of putting the people first, and establishes the basic principle that the new development concept must always be adhered to. The people-centered development thinking is an important component of Xi Jinping’s economic thought. On the new journey, we must thoroughly implement the people-centered development thinking, persist in ensuring and improving people’s livelihoods through development, encourage joint efforts to create a better life, ensure that the fruits of modernization benefit all the people more and more fairly, and continuously realize the people’s aspirations for a better life.

中国特色社会主义进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央鲜明提出坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，反映了坚持人民主体地位的内在要求，彰显了人民至上的价值取向，确立了新发展理念必须始终坚持的基本原则。坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，是习近平经济思想的重要内容。新征程上，要深入贯彻以人民为中心的发展思想，坚持在发展中保障和改善民生，鼓励共同奋斗创造美好生活，让现代化建设成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，不断实现人民对美好生活的向往。

People-centeredness is the essential attribute of Marxism

人民性是马克思主义的本质属性

People-centeredness is the essential attribute and distinctive character of Marxism. Always being with the people and fighting for the people’s interests is the fundamental distinction between a Marxist political party and other political parties. The Communist Party of China adheres to the guidance of Marxism; the Party’s theory comes from the people, is for the people, and benefits the people. The formation of the people-centered development thinking has profound ideological and theoretical origins.

人民性是马克思主义的本质属性和鲜明品格。始终同人民在一起，为人民利益而奋斗，是马克思主义政党同其他政党的根本区别。中国共产党坚持以马克思主义为指导，党的理论来自人民、为了人民、造福人民。以人民为中心的发展思想的形成，具有深厚的思想理论渊源。

Marxism is the theory of the people. For the first time, it established an ideological system for the people to achieve their own liberation. For the first time, it explored the path of human freedom and liberation from the standpoint of the people, pointing the way with scientific theory toward the ultimate establishment of an ideal society without oppression, without exploitation, with equality for all, and with freedom for all. The *Communist Manifesto* points out: “All previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority.” The Communist Party of China adheres to a people-centered approach, upholds the principal position of the people, persists in building the Party for the public good and exercising power for the people, practices the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and adheres to the mass viewpoint and the mass line. These all originate from Marxism’s value pursuit of seeking benefits for the vast majority of people.

马克思主义是人民的理论，第一次创立了人民实现自身解放的思想体系，第一次站在人民的立场探求人类自由解放的道路，以科学的理论为最终建立一个没有压迫、没有剥削、人人平等、人人自由的理想社会指明了方向。《共产党宣言》指出：“过去的一切运动都是少数人的，或者为少数人谋利益的运动。无产阶级的运动是绝大多数人的，为绝大多数人谋利益的独立的运动。”中国共产党坚持以人民为中心，坚持人民主体地位，坚持立党为公、执政为民，践行全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨，坚持群众观点和群众路线，渊源于马克思主义为绝大多数人谋利益的价值追求。

Upholding the primacy of the people is one of the valuable historical experiences accumulated by our Party over a century of struggle. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “The country is the people, and the people are the country. As we have fought to establish and consolidate our leadership over the country, we have in fact been fighting to earn the people’s support. The Party’s roots are in the people, its lifeblood is in the people, and its strength is in the people. The Communist Party of China has always represented the fundamental interests of the broadest majority of the people; it shares the people’s weal and woe, life and death, and has no special interests of its own. It has never represented the interests of any interest group, any powerful group, or any privileged stratum.” Looking back through history, the Communist Party of China’s revolution, construction, and reform have all been for the interests of the people, to let the people live a good life. Entering the New Era, the people’s aspirations for a better life have become even stronger. As a Marxist political party, our Party has always placed the people’s interests in the highest position, striving to create a better and happier life for the people.

坚持人民至上，是我们党百年奋斗积累的宝贵历史经验之一。习近平总书记指出：“江山就是人民、人民就是江山，打江山、守江山，守的是人民的心。中国共产党根基在人民、血脉在人民、力量在人民。中国共产党始终代表最广大人民根本利益，与人民休戚与共、生死相依，没有任何自己特殊的利益，从来不代表任何利益集团、任何权势团体、任何特权阶层的利益。”纵观历史，中国共产党干革命、搞建设、抓改革，都是为人民谋利益，让人民过上好日子。进入新时代，人民对美好生活的向往更加强烈。作为马克思主义政党，我们党始终把人民利益摆在至高无上的地位，努力为人民创造更美好、更幸福的生活。

Creatively putting forward the people-centered development thinking

创造性地提出以人民为中心的发展思想

Xi Jinping’s economic thought is a major theoretical achievement formed by applying the basic principles of Marxist political economy to guide economic development practice in the New Era. It creatively puts forward the development thinking of adhering to a people-centered approach, discussing the fundamental stance of adhering to a people-centered approach from many aspects, including the original aspiration and founding mission and the change in the principal contradiction in society.

习近平经济思想是运用马克思主义政治经济学基本原理指导新时代经济发展实践形成的重大理论成果，创造性地提出坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，从初心使命、社会主要矛盾变化等诸多方面论述了坚持以人民为中心的根本立场。

Development for the people is the fundamental stance of Marxist political economy. In his speech at the ceremony commemorating the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: We must always take the people’s stance as our fundamental stance, take seeking happiness for the people as our fundamental mission, adhere to the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, implement the mass line, respect the people’s principal position and their pioneering spirit, always maintain flesh-and-blood ties with the masses, gather the mighty force of unity, and unite and lead the people to jointly create a great historical cause. This is an inevitable choice that respects the laws of history and a conscious responsibility of Communists to remain true to our original aspiration and keep our founding mission firmly in mind.

发展为了人民，是马克思主义政治经济学的根本立场。习近平总书记在纪念马克思诞辰200周年大会上的讲话中指出，我们要始终把人民立场作为根本立场，把为人民谋幸福作为根本使命，坚持全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨，贯彻群众路线，尊重人民主体地位和首创精神，始终保持同人民群众的血肉联系，凝聚起众志成城的磅礴力量，团结带领人民共同创造历史伟业。这是尊重历史规律的必然选择，是共产党人不忘初心、牢记使命的自觉担当。

Adhering to the people-centered development thinking is the fundamental stance of China’s economic development. Xi Jinping’s economic thought insists on taking the people’s interests as the fundamental starting point and ultimate goal of the Party’s leadership over economic work, focuses on ensuring and improving people’s livelihoods through development, and always highlights the value orientation of putting the people first. Within the theoretical system of Xi Jinping’s economic thought, the people-centered development thinking runs through all fields and aspects, possessing rich and profound ideological connotations.

坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，是我国经济发展的根本立场。习近平经济思想坚持把人民利益作为党领导经济工作的根本出发点和落脚点，注重在发展中保障和改善民生，始终彰显人民至上的价值取向。在习近平经济思想的理论体系中，坚持以人民为中心的发展思想贯穿各领域各方面，有着丰富和深刻的思想内涵。

Since the New Era, the people-centered development thinking has been reflected in all aspects of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. China’s position as the world’s second-largest economy has been consolidated and enhanced, with per capita GDP exceeding US$12,000. A complete victory was achieved in the fight against poverty, accomplishing the arduous task of eradicating absolute poverty and making a tremendous contribution to the cause of poverty reduction for humanity. A new situation has emerged in the coordinated development of regions and between urban and rural areas. Continuous efforts have been made to ensure access to childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance, leading to an all-around improvement in people’s lives. The world’s largest education system, social security system, and medical and health care system have been established, and the level of education popularization has achieved a historic leap. The people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security has become more substantial, more guaranteed, and more sustainable, and common prosperity has achieved new results.

新时代以来，以人民为中心的发展思想体现在中国特色社会主义建设的各个方面。我国作为世界第二大经济体的地位得到巩固提升，人均国内生产总值超过1.2万美元。脱贫攻坚战取得全面胜利，完成了消除绝对贫困的艰巨任务，为人类减贫事业作出巨大贡献，区域城乡协调发展呈现新局面。在幼有所育、学有所教、劳有所得、病有所医、老有所养、住有所居、弱有所扶上持续用力，人民生活全方位改善。建成世界上规模最大的教育体系、社会保障体系、医疗卫生体系，教育普及水平实现历史性跨越。人民群众获得感、幸福感、安全感更加充实、更有保障、更可持续，共同富裕取得新成效。

Making unremitting efforts to realize the people’s aspirations for a better life

为实现人民对美好生活的向往不懈努力

In his speech at the ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping issued a call to the entire Party: “Bear in mind our original aspiration and founding mission, strengthen our ideals and convictions, practice the Party’s fundamental purpose, always maintain flesh-and-blood ties with the masses, always think and work together with the people, share their weal and woe, and continue to make unremitting efforts to realize the people’s aspirations for a better life and strive for greater glory for the Party and the people!” The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC clearly stated the major principles that must be firmly grasped on the path forward, among which a very important one is “adhering to the people-centered development thinking,” requiring us to “safeguard the fundamental interests of the people, improve people’s well-being, and continuously realize that development is for the people, relies on the people, and its fruits are shared by the people, so that the fruits of modernization benefit all the people more and more fairly.”

习近平总书记在庆祝中国共产党成立100周年大会上的讲话中向全党发出号召：“牢记初心使命，坚定理想信念，践行党的宗旨，永远保持同人民群众的血肉联系，始终同人民想在一起、干在一起，风雨同舟、同甘共苦，继续为实现人民对美好生活的向往不懈努力，努力为党和人民争取更大光荣！”党的二十大报告明确提出前进道路上必须牢牢把握的重大原则，其中很重要的一条就是“坚持以人民为中心的发展思想”，要求“维护人民根本利益，增进民生福祉，不断实现发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享，让现代化建设成果更多更公平惠及全体人民”。

Thought is the guide to action; without common thought, there will be no common action. Since entering the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has always adhered to the people-centered development thinking, implemented the mass line in all activities of governance, taken the people’s aspirations for a better life as the goal of struggle, relied on the people to create historical achievements, and written a new chapter in practicing the Party’s fundamental purpose and always seeking happiness for the people. The great practice of the New Era has fully proven that only by adhering to the people-centered development thinking can we continuously improve people’s well-being and continuously meet the people’s needs for a better life.

思想是行动的指南，没有共同的思想就不会有共同的行动。进入新时代以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央始终坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，把群众路线贯彻到治国理政全部活动之中，把人民对美好生活的向往作为奋斗目标，依靠人民创造历史伟业，在践行党的根本宗旨、始终为人民谋幸福上书写了新的篇章。新时代的伟大实践充分证明，只有坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，才能不断增进民生福祉，不断满足人民对美好生活的需要。

As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a New Era, the principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The people’s needs for a better life are becoming increasingly broad. Not only have higher requirements been put forward for material and cultural life, but demands in areas such as democracy, the rule of law, fairness, justice, security, and the environment are also growing day by day. The change in the principal contradiction in Chinese society is a historic change affecting the overall situation, placing many new requirements on the work of the Party and the state. We must be adept at planning development from the perspective of the changed principal contradiction, organically unify the resolution of the problem of unbalanced development with the resolution of the problem of inadequate development, continuously raise the level of social productive forces, and better meet the people’s needs for a better life. To this end, we must adhere to the people-centered development thinking, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, and strive to achieve development that is higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and safer.

中国特色社会主义进入新时代，我国社会主要矛盾已经转化为人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间的矛盾。人民美好生活需要日益广泛，不仅对物质文化生活提出了更高要求，而且在民主、法治、公平、正义、安全、环境等方面的要求日益增长。我国社会主要矛盾的变化是关系全局的历史性变化，对党和国家的工作提出了许多新要求。我们要善于从变化了的社会主要矛盾出发谋划发展，把解决发展不平衡问题与解决发展不充分问题有机统一起来，不断提高社会生产力水平，更好满足人民美好生活需要。为此，必须坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，完整准确全面贯彻新发展理念，加快构建新发展格局，努力实现更高质量、更有效率、更加公平、更可持续、更为安全的发展。

The development of a country and a nation requires the determination of struggle goals and strategic arrangements, thereby consolidating consensus and strength. Our Party has always attached great importance to determining struggle goals and improving strategic arrangements, and has fully embodied the requirement of leading the people to create a better life within these struggle goals and strategic arrangements. The 20th National Congress of the CPC [4]4 The 20th National Congress of the CPC refers to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in October 2022, which set the strategic goals for the period to 2035 and beyond. mapped out a grand blueprint for comprehensively building a modern socialist country and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese-path modernization. The overall strategic arrangement for comprehensively building a great modern socialist country is to proceed in two steps: from 2020 to 2035, to basically realize socialist modernization; from 2035 to the middle of this century, to build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful. The grand blueprint has been drawn; in the process of realizing the struggle goals, firmly adhering to the people-centered development thought and implementing the development strategy well will surely promote more obvious substantive progress in the people’s all-round development and common prosperity for all, and create a better life for the people through high-quality development.

一个国家和民族的发展，需要确定奋斗目标、战略安排，以此凝聚共识和力量。我们党始终高度重视确定奋斗目标、完善战略安排，并在奋斗目标和战略安排中充分体现带领人民创造美好生活的要求。党的二十大擘画了全面建设社会主义现代化国家、以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的宏伟蓝图。全面建成社会主义现代化强国，总的战略安排是分两步走：从2020年到2035年基本实现社会主义现代化；从2035年到本世纪中叶把我国建成富强民主文明和谐美丽的社会主义现代化强国。宏伟蓝图已绘就，在实现奋斗目标的过程中，牢牢坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，贯彻落实好发展战略，必将推动人的全面发展、全体人民共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展，在高质量发展中为人民创造美好生活。

Online editor: Zhang Fujun

网络编辑：张福军