How to Understand the Course of China's Reform and Opening up since 1978

Reform and opening up is a revolution. The rise of China's economy is inextricably linked with this revolution. In the 21st century, China has become a remarkable new country of power. China's reform and opening up has also entered a new phase with a different past. This current time is crucial to deepening the reform and opening up and is crucial to achieving the two centenary goals.

Great changes have taken place in the reform and opening up:

New problems depend on further reform and development

Since 1978, the reform and opening up to the turn of the century can be broadly divided into two major phases. In the previous stage, the main tasks to be solved by reform and opening up were those that gradually accumulated in the three decades after the founding of the People's Republic. Since the 21st century, the problems faced by China's reform and opening up have come mainly from the economic and social development and from the imperfect and imperfect new system formed during the process of reform and opening up. Although both of these two phases belong to the reform and opening up, the practical tasks facing them are very different. Therefore, our thinking should be different.

In the first phase of reform and opening up, we can see that the changes in four aspects lead the development of the trend and strongly promote the process of China's modernization: first, the change in guiding ideology. From "taking class struggle as the key link" to "taking economic construction as the center," we have formed the party's basic line in the primary stage of socialism with "one center and two basic points" as its core content. Second, the political environment changes. From the very beginning, the reform and opening up covered both political and economic aspects. The wide range of political reforms has not only served to clear the way for economic reforms but also to make the country's governance progress toward democracy and the rule of law. Third, the transformation of the economic system. The most prominent feature of this reform is to adopt a gradual approach and constantly adjust its thinking based on practice. In 1992, we set the goal of establishing a socialist market economic system. By the end of the 20th century, China basically completed its transition from a planned economic system to a market economy. Fourth, the change of foreign policy. After the reform and opening up started, China clearly defined the main task of diplomatic work as creating a conducive peace environment for the country's modernization. Deng Xiaoping has identified three major foreign strategies and policies: one is to make a big judgment about the peace and development in the international situation; the other is to make it clear that China's diplomacy has developed from "one line" to "all-around"; the third is to reinterpret the principle of independence Peaceful diplomatic policy.

The first phase of China's reform and opening up was a success. The basic objectives set in the first phase were fulfilled on schedule. It is worth noting that in addition to the above four changes, China's social structure and ideological concepts have undergone tremendous changes. Many new strata have emerged and people's thinking is no longer simple and consistent. Both these changes are bound to take place along with the process of economic growth and modernization. Although they can not be set in advance, they will have a more profound and long-term impact.

After entering the new century, China continues its strong momentum of growth and by 2010 it has become the second largest economy in the world. In the meantime, China is also facing a series of new challenges. From a domestic point of view, this challenge mainly comes from five aspects: First, the problems to be solved by the reform are not to a large extent the problems brought about by the old planned economic system but the imperfect and unsound socialist market economic system bring. Second, the stage of rapid economic development in China has come to an end and is entering a phase of modest and steady growth. The successful response to this change will have an important impact on the modernization of our country as scheduled. Third, the issue of mastery and distribution of wealth has become increasingly prominent after economic development. The social polarization between rich and poor and the emergence of interest groups make this issue more sensitive. Fourthly, a series of problems accumulated in the process of rapid economic development need to be solved urgently, such as environmental resources, industrial structure, urbanization, employment, population aging and so on. Fifthly, in the context of diversified interests, it is far more complicated than ever before to co-ordinate and coordinate all parties in the reform and achieve effective governance.

To solve these problems, we have always said the same thing: problems arising in the process of reform and development can only be solved by further reforms and developments. To solve the current difficulties encountered, we must emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts and face up to difficulties only in the direction determined by the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Government.

Change yourself to affect the world:

China has the experience and strength to successfully meet the challenges

In addition to changes in the domestic environment, the external environment China is facing in recent years is also changing. How to treat and respond to changes in the external environment? First of all, China has become the most important and most compelling variable in the development of the world today. This important change requires us to change the habit of thinking before. In the past, we are accustomed to observing changes in the external situation and then responding. Now, judging from the international situation in foreign countries, the first thing to look at is how China looks. This shows that China is strong. However, it also requires us to predict the impact of our internal development and foreign behavior and make arrangements in advance. If we say that we used to take a step forward and take a step forward, we should now take one step and two steps and take into account the result of the interaction between China and other countries. This needs further study and practice for us.

Second, we must have an assessment of ourselves based on facts. My country is still a large emerging country, and it is still some way to go before a mature great power. The modernization of our country has not yet been completed. The per capita GDP and the per capita resource share are very low. The reunification of our country has not yet been completed. Our country pursues the policy of non-alignment and there is no real allied country. The experience of emerging powers in participating in international games needs to be further accumulated. In addition, the socialism system with Chinese characteristics is unique in itself. Finally, as an extra-large country, China's development will inevitably have an impact on the existing international order. The process will not be easy. Geographically, China is the only major power that has many neighboring countries. From historical experience, the prosperity of China does not rely mainly on its external conquest; since the 20th century, China has changed itself to influence the world.

At present, although we face many problems, China has the experience and ability to successfully handle the challenges. The basic experiences since the reform and opening up are as follows: First, we must make sure that reform and opening up are unshaken. The first is to concentrate on getting things done well at home. Second, to establish the authority of the Central Government and form a new consensus on reform through collective wisdom. From the perspective of governing the country and governing politics, we need to shift from seeking high-speed economic development to leading coordinated economic and social development. Thirdly, the benign interaction between the central government, local authorities and grassroots units is a prominent feature of China's reform and opening up. As the reform moves into the Sham Shui Po area, it is a very important issue how to continue such benign interaction and how to mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties while coordinating the interests of all parties. Fourthly, weigh the pros and cons of the short, medium term and long term, and properly handle the relations of reform, development and stability. Judging from past experience, the basic logic for handling the relations between the three is to drive development through reform and eliminate them through further reform measures in the event of instability. At present, with the changes in economic and social development and ideological concepts, the sharing of the fruits of the reform will not only be limited to the economic aspect but must also include the equal enjoyment of all rights and the achievement of social fairness and justice. Fifth, as the situation changes, China's diplomatic policies and policies will inevitably have to be adjusted under the conditions of overall stability. An important change brought about by the reform and opening up is that the link between China and the world has become inextricably linked. This has both a positive side and a negative side. This requires thinking on the overall strategy when handling foreign affairs. We must pay more attention to the balance between goals, means and capabilities when dealing with international issues. Each major country in the world today has its own difficulties. As the world is at risk of turmoil, if China can play a more constructive role in safeguarding peace and development, it will be able to further establish its position as a big power and show its elegance.

Finally, I would like to raise two issues that are still not sufficiently focused at the macro level. First, how to achieve institutional stability through further reforms, and second, how to establish a modern and economical society. Stabilizing and perfecting the economic and political system is an indispensable element in China's major reform agenda and one of the stated objectives to be reached in basically realizing its modernization. At the present stage of reform and opening up, the top-level design must give more consideration to this issue. Judging from world history and experience, the most important thing a political party can contribute to a nation is whether it can create a stable political system conducive to sustainable development for this nation. With a large population, China needs not only innovative ways of production but also innovative ways of living from a development perspective. Thriftyness is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, and the limited global resources have determined that the modernized way of life in the West is not universal. If China can rely on limited resources to create a modern life enjoyed by many people, it will be the Chinese nation's greatest contribution to the development of human society.