A Blueprint for Tomorrow’s China

By Zheng Changzhong

The third volume of Xi Jinping： The Governance of China， a collection of President Xi Jinpings speeches， conversations， instructions and letters written between October 18， 2017 and January 13， 2020， should be read keeping in mind the development of modern Chinese civilization.

More than a century ago， Chinas traditional civilization began to be severely impacted by the waves of modernization. In the process of building a modern civilization， China chose to reorganize the country and society under the leadership of a political party， and ultimately， the Communist Party of China （CPC） undertook the historical mission.

To address the disconnect between a scattered traditional society and the growing demand for the orderly construction of a modernized nation， the Peoples Republic of China established a planned economic system and unit-based social system， the units being different work organizations， in the early days of its founding. Thanks to the hard work of millions for more than 20 years， the tasks to establish a basic stage of socialist modernization were completed.

To promote the sustainable development of this modernization， the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1978 decided to implement a reform and opening-up policy. In 1992， the 14th CPC National Congress made the decision to set up a socialist market economic system， marking the establishment of a modern market in China.

In 1997， the 15th CPC National Congress announced the decision to build a socialist country under the rule of law，signifying the comprehensive development of a modern country.

In 2002， the 16th CPC National Congress introduced the Three Represents， a socio-political guideline for the CPC to always represent the requirements for developing advanced productive forces， the orientation of an advanced culture， and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people. It marked the CPCs comprehensive promotion of theoretical innovation and development in accordance with the requirements of the market economy and rule of law.

In 2007， the 17th CPC National Congress proposed building a harmonious socialist society， marking the establishment of a modern society in China.

The report expounded Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and offered basic strategies while clarifying strategic arrangements to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and move on to allout efforts to build a great modern socialist country.

The report represents comprehensive arrangements for building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era as well as a systematic design outlining the format of Chinas modern civilization.

The third volume of Xi Jinping： The Governance of China includes Xis report， which tops the table of contents， followed by 19 sections arranged by topic to interpret the guiding principles of the 19th CPC National Congress. They center on three aspects： carrying out the proposals made at the congress， implementing the blueprint designed at the congress， and advancing work in practice.

The third volume not only interprets and elaborates the guiding spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress， but also enriches and deepens the connotations of those guiding principles through practical innovation. Moreover， it collects the new decisions， ideas and policies put forward by Xi during the process of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The book represents not only important instructions for building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era， but also a blueprint for tomorrows Chinese civilization.