In this connection, he outlined three major tasks:

- To give first priority to the expansion of scientific, technological and educational undertakings so as to push forward economic development through advances in science and technology and improved quality of the work force.

- To maintain a rough balance between total demand and total supply and rationally adjust and reform the structure of production.

- To open wider to the outside world and constantly expand economic and technological exchange and co-operation with other countries.

Restructuring Economy

Zhao said that all the reforms that have been carried out in the country are conducive to the development of the socialist economy.

The reforms include the development of different types of ownership, with public ownership remaining predominant, and even allowing the private sector to exist and develop. "This is determined by the actual condition of the productive forces in the primary stage of socialism." he said.

The country's main task in deepening the reform is to change the managerial mechanism of enterprises and, with that end in view, to institute supporting reforms in the systems of planning, investment, allocation of materials, finance, monetary affairs and foreign trade. In this way, China will gradually establish a basic framework for a planned commodity economy, Zhao said.

The socialist planned commodity economy should be a system that integrates planning with the market, Zhao said, adding that the essential difference between socialist and capitalist commodity economies lies in the form of ownership on which they are based.

Planning should be done according to the principle of commodity exchange and the law of value, he said. On the whole, he said, under the new economic mechanism, "The state regulates the market, and the market guides enterprises."

Political Restructuring

The immediate objective of reform of the political structure, Zhao said, is to institute a system of leadership that will help to raise the efficiency, increase the vitality and stimulate the initiative of all sectors of society.

The immediate objective of the reform is limited, he said. But when that objective is achieved, it will lay a sound foundation for socialist democracy and for the realization of the long-range objective.

The long-range goal of reform, he said, is to build a socialist political system with a high degree of democracy and a complete set of laws - a system that is effective and full of vitality.

China will never abandon the characteristics and advantages of its system, Zhao said. These include the people's congresses, multi-party co-operation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party, and the practice that decisions made in accordance with the principle of democratic centralism will be implemented promptly.

He added that China will never introduce a Western system of separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers and of different parties ruling the country in turn. (For details of the political reform, please read "Notes From the Editors.")

Party Building

On building the Party's organization, Zhao said that the principle of making the ranks of cadres more revolutionary, younger, better educated and more professionally competent has been proved correct in practice. The most important criterion for judging whether a cadre is revolutionary is whether he or she is firm in implementing the Party's basic line.

"In our efforts to promote younger cadres to leading posts," Zhao said, "we should now focus on members of the central leading bodies. We propose that this congress take a big forward step in this respect."

Zhao said that strengthening the Party's collective leadership and democratic centralism should start with the central committee and include the following:

- Establishing a system of regular working reports to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee by its Standing Committee and to the plenary sessions of the Central Committee by the Political Bureau;

- Increasing the number of plenary sessions of the Central Committee each year so that its role in collective decision-making can be brought into fuller play;

- Formulating work rules and a system for holding democratic meetings of the Political Bureau, its Standing Committee and the Secretariat of the Central Committee, so as to institutionalize collective leadership and place Party leaders under more strict supervision and control.

He maintained that the inner-party struggle against corruption is unavoidable while China is carrying out reform and the open policy. Corrupt members who have done harm to the cause of the Party and the people must be expelled.

Development of Marxism

Zhao said that the integration of Marxism with practice in China for more than 60 years has experienced "two major historic leaps."

The first leap took place during the new-democratic revolution, when the Chinese Communists, after repeated exploration and learning by trial and error, found a road of revolution based on China's particular conditions and led the revolution to victory.

The second took place after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee in 1978. Having analysed both positive and negative experiences of more than 30 years since the founding of the People's Republic and studied the experience of other countries and the world situation, the Chinese Communists found a way to build socialism with Chinese characteristics, thus ushering in a new period of socialist development in the country.