Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, speaks at a symposium on the publication of the third volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China in Beijing on July 29, 2020 (XINHUA) 

A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) stressed efforts to further study, publicize and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era on July 29. 

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a symposium on the publication of the third volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. 

The book's third volume is the latest "textbook" for using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to arm the whole Party, educate the people and advance the work, the latest "textbook" for the CPC to unite and lead people to live a better life, and the latest "textbook" for working to build a community with a shared future for humanity, Wang said. 

Wang stressed the roles of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the theoretical banner for building a strong Marxist governing party and ensuring the long-term governance of the Party and long- term stability of the country, and as the guideline for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics at a new historical starting point and achieving national rejuvenation. 

Noting that the book's third volume must be studied throughout the whole Party with the first and second volumes as a whole, Wang urged better theoretical publicity, education, research and interpretation at home and innovative communication abroad to help the world better understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.  

(Source: Xinhua News Agency) 

__________

A China-Europe freight train carrying medical equipment arrives in Belgrade, Serbia, on May 26, 2020 (XINHUA)

VOICES

Zheng Changzhong, an associate professor with the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University, Shanghai 

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 tomorrow’s Chinese civilization. 

 

Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization 

Opening up and cooperation, inclusiveness and tolerance are in the interests of all. To cope with the global crisis and give momentum to globalization, it is especially important for major powers to coordinate and lead in building international consensus, enhancing mutual trust, maintaining regional peace and stability, and promoting multilateral cooperation. 

In today’s world, development issues are still at the root of the political and social problems that many countries face. To achieve sound and sustainable development and benefit mutually, countries need to open up and cooperate. Some countries are engaged in geopolitics at the cost of future development, politicizing economic issues and creating confrontations that are fragmenting the world into small groups. This confrontation is setting globalization back, delaying the resolution of urgent problems facing all, and hindering long-term development. 

 

Family members chat in their new home in Damxung County, Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China, on August 2, 2020. They recently moved out of a place with harsh natural conditions (XINHUA)

 

Cai Fang, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 

China has unique advantages in kickstarting domestic demands, especially consumer demands. With a large market, China’s economic fundamentals are strong. The huge market potential will also help the country to cushion the adverse impacts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The tertiary industry and household consumption, the main contributing factors to China’s economic growth, are also the areas most seriously affected. During and after the pandemic, reopening the service sector and spurring household consumption can be the focus of efforts to restore economic activities, stabilize employment, and ensure people’s livelihood. 

 

 

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister 

I read the book with keen interest as it expounds China’s development philosophy and reveals the political aspirations, concept of governance and great plans of Xi Jinping. It offers an opportunity for the international community to learn more about China. 

 

 

Vegetable greenhouses in Daihua Town, Changshun County in Guizhou Province, southwest China, on August 2, 2020 (XINHUA)

Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics at East China Normal University in Shanghai 

In 2017, at the 19th CPC National Congress, Xi set achieving a xiaokang society as a centenary goal, to be achieved by the time the Party celebrates its centenary in 2021. This is to be followed by another centenary goal, to be achieved after two 15-year periods, that is, to achieve basic national modernization by 2035, and then onward to realize the Chinese dream of turning China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful by 2049, the centenary anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. 

According to the Book of Rites, one of the five Confucian classics, the growing social chaos during China’s Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) that put the goal of establishing a datong society—a great unity of peace and harmony—out of immediate reach made the philosopher fret. Nevertheless, he argued that positive steps forward could be taken by building a xiaokang society. 

Indeed, his concept for ritual—li—is the primary concern of the Book of Rites, as well as numerous other works attributed to him. If li as ritual is understood in its contemporary xiaokang context, then it can encompass not only economic development goals understood in terms of GDP and per-capita GDP, it can also include the tremendous efforts to eliminate corruption, eradicate extreme poverty, and advance the rule of law. It likewise overlaps with major advances seen in China in recent years to advance green technology and reduce pollution. 

While the novel coronavirus epidemic threatened to spoil 2020 as the xiaokang year, China has taken effective measures to contain the outbreak and returned to positive growth while other nations, including the United States, continue to experience major crises and decline. China has not relented its poverty alleviation endeavors while fighting the epidemic. It is on track to complete building a meaningful and durable xiaokang. 

Zhou Huilin (center right), head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, and Lu Cairong (center left), Vice President of China International Publishing Group, unveil the exhibition booth at the 2020 Shanghai Book Fair displaying the third volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China on August 12, 2020 (COURTESY PHOTO)

George N. Tzogopoulos, Director of the EU-China Program at the Centre International de Formation Européenne 

The impact of COVID-19 on the world economy is yet to be assessed. One of the critical questions is how the big economic shock caused by COVID-19 will be overcome in the future. It is here that the Belt and Road Initiative deserves special attention. 

Until the COVID-19 outbreak, the initiative, consisting of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, had emerged as the most successful integration platform for years on the world stage, guaranteeing common prosperity and win-win results. 

At the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in April 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping placed emphasis on issues such as debt sustainability and protection of the environment. China has sought to solve problems to safeguard the smooth continuation of the initiative. 

The discussion about the Belt and Road Initiative should not revolve only around infrastructure projects. The initiative aims at fostering international cooperation in several sectors. Tourism and people-to-people exchanges have suffered a serious blow due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, there are other sectors which have the potential of contributing to interconnectivity. 

The first is the digital side of the initiative which has been elevated to new heights in the lockdown period. The second is the Health Silk Road. An idea proposed by Xi in 2016, it has seen China provide medical assistance to numerous countries, principally in Africa. China also plans to make its home-developed COVID-19 vaccine a global public good.