Embark on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way

Formulating strategic planning and determining strategic arrangements is the consistent leadership method of the Communist Party of China, a basic experience of the Party in leading and promoting socialist modernization, and a unique advantage of the party system with Chinese characteristics. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out: “From building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way to basically realizing modernization, and then to building a modern and powerful socialist country in an all-round way, it is a strategic arrangement for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.” 1 This “two-step” strategic arrangement for the new era on the basis of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way has completely outlined the timetable and road map for China’s socialist modernization construction between the “two hundred years.” Section 1: Attaching importance to strategic arrangements is an important experience of the CPC in governing the country Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: “Strategic issues are fundamental issues for a political party and a country. If we make accurate strategic judgments, plan scientifically strategically, and win the initiative strategically, there will be great hope for the cause of the party and the people. “2 The Communist Party of China has struggled for nearly a hundred years:

Persistently taking Marxism as the guide, deeply studying China’s actual national conditions and the development and changes of the times, planning China’s revolution, construction and reform from a strategic height, and planning for the cause of socialist modernization, and formulating a series of lines, principles and policies that conform to China’s reality and the characteristics of the times, guiding China’s revolution, construction and reform from victory to new victory, and leading the Chinese nation to usher in a great leap from standing up, getting rich to becoming strong.

1. the strategic design for the realization of the “four modernizations” has opened up the great practice of independently exploring the road of socialist modernization

The strategic thinking of the Chinese Communist Party was born during the revolutionary war. As the core of the party’s first-generation leadership, Comrade Mao Zedong applied strategic thinking to the practice of war, systematically expounded the strategic and tactical issues of the Chinese revolution, the strategic and tactical problems of the people’s war, the strategic foresight and strategic guidance of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the strategic choices and strategic decisive battles of the War of Liberation, the problems of strategically despising the enemy and attaching importance to the enemy tactically, and the questions of principle firmness and tactical flexibility; and systematically studied and answered “what is the Chinese revolution and how to carry out the Chinese revolution.” This major historical topic shows that it has focused on long-term strategic foresight, made strategic arrangements with the overall situation in mind, and made strategic adjustments that judge the hour and size up the situation, leading the party to victory in the new democratic revolution. The founding of New China brought about national independence and the people’s liberation, marking the beginning of socialist modernization as the primary task of the CPC’s strategic planning.

In the early days after the founding of New China, Comrade Mao Zedong profoundly summed up the profound lessons of the international communist movement and China’s initial experience in building socialism, and put forward the strategic thinking of “taking the Soviet Union as a guide” and independently exploring the road of socialist construction in China. He put forward the strategic principle of correctly handling the “10 major relations” and mobilizing all positive factors to build a socialist country; made a strategic judgment that correctly handling contradictions among the people has become the main theme of the country’s political life; put forward a series of major principles for correctly handling contradictions among the people; clearly formulated the strategic objectives and strategic steps for building a modern socialist country, and provided scientific strategic guidance for correctly grasping the overall situation of China’s socialist cause. First, the strategic goal of the “four modernizations.” As early as the late period of the New Democratic Revolution, the Communist Party of China repeatedly proposed to transform China from a backward agricultural country into an advanced industrial country.

In 1945, Comrade Mao Zedong clearly pointed out at the Seventh Party Congress: “The task of the Chinese working class is not only to struggle for the establishment of a new democratic state, but also to struggle for China’s industrialization and agricultural modernization.“1 At the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee, Comrade Mao Zedong further put forward the strategic goal of turning an agricultural country into an industrial country. In June 1953, the Party put forward the convex line of “one transformation and three transformations” in the transitional period, and this “transformation” is socialist industrialization. Later, “The Struggle to Mobilize All Forces to Build Our Country into a Great Socialist Country - Outline for the Study and Propaganda of the Party’s General Line in the Transitional Period” further pointed out: “By realizing the socialist industrialization of the country, we can promote the modernization of agriculture and transportation, and we can establish and consolidate a modern national defense.“2 In September 1954, Comrade Zhou Enlai pointed out in his “Report on the Work of the Government” delivered at the first session of the First National People’s Congress: “China’s economy turned out to be very backward; if we do not build a strong modern industry, modern agriculture, a modern transportation industry, and a modern national defense, we will not be able to shake off backwardness and poverty, and our revolution will not be able to achieve its goal.“3 This is the first time that the party has put forward the “four modernization” goals. From the end of 1959 to the beginning of 1960, Comrade Mao Zedong made a complete expression of the “four modernizations” for the first time in his “Conversation on Reading the Soviet Union’s Political Economy Textbook.” He said: “To build socialism, the original requirements were industrial modernization, agricultural modernization, scientific and cultural modernization, and now we must add national defense modernization.“4 Second, the strategic consideration of “two steps.” After the socialist system was basically established, Comrade Mao Zedong began to plan and consider the issue of strategic steps to build socialism. In September 1963, he revised the “On Industrial Development Issues (First Draft)” and said that our industrial development can be considered in two steps: the first step is to establish an independent and complete industrial system; the second step is to bring China’s industry close to the world’s advanced level. At the First Session of the Third National People’s Congress held in December 1964, Comrade Zhou Enlai, in accordance with Comrade Mao Zedong’s instructions, made a complete and accurate expression of the “two-step” strategy in the “Government Work Report”, that is: “Starting from the Third Five-Year Plan, China’s national economic development can be considered in two steps:

The first step is to establish an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system; The second step is to comprehensively realize the modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, so that China’s economy will be in the forefront of the world. “1 In terms of the time required, Comrade Mao Zedong initially envisaged laying the foundation in 15 years and achieving modernization in 50 years. After the setbacks of the “Great Leap Forward” and the three years of difficulty, his consideration of this issue became more realistic, believing that if China is Chinese with many mouths, a weak foundation, and a backward economy, it will take 100 years or more to turn China into a rich and powerful modern country. In 1975, at the First Session of the Fourth National People’s Congress, Comrade Zhou Enlai reiterated the strategic arrangement of “two steps” and the comprehensive realization of the “four modernizations.”

The “four modernizations” strategic objectives and the “two-step” strategic considerations were the CPC’s initial exploration of the road of socialist modernization after the founding of New China, and also marked the transformation of the CPC’s understanding of modernization from “industrialization” to “modernization.” Although such strategic objectives and strategic considerations took detours and encountered twists and turns in later practice, they provided important ideological preparation and practical foundation for the great practice of the party gradually putting forward complete modernization goals and making systematic strategic arrangements after reform and opening up.