Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

Xi Jinping: The Governance of China III Updated: 2021-12-24

5. Deepening reform of Party and government institutions and the system of government administration 

We will adopt a comprehensive approach to the setup of Party and government institutions, and ensure that powers are designated properly and functions and duties are defined clearly both for the institutions themselves and their internal bodies. We will use staffing resources in a coordinated way, develop a sound system of administration, and improve the organic law for state institutions. The government needs to transform its functions, further streamline administration and delegate powers, develop new ways of regulation and supervision, and strengthen its credibility and administrative capacity, building itself into a service-oriented government able to satisfy the needs of the people. 

More decision-making power should be given to governments at and below the provincial level, and ways should be explored to merge Party and government bodies with similar functions at the provincial, city, and county levels or for them to work together as one office while keeping separate identities. We will deepen the reform of public institutions to see that they focus on serving public interests, relieve them of government functions, keep them away from business activities, and let them run their own day-to-day operations while maintaining supervision over them. 

6. Consolidating and developing the patriotic united front 

The united front is important to the success of the Party's cause, and we must maintain a long-term commitment to it. We must uphold the banner of patriotism and socialism, strive to achieve great unity and solidarity, balance commonality and diversity, and expand common ground and the convergence of interests. In handling its relationships with other Chinese political parties, the Communist Party of China is guided by the principles of long-term coexistence, mutual oversight, sincerity, and sharing the rough times and the smooth, and it supports these parties in performing their duties in accordance with the requirements of the Chinese socialist system for their participation in governance. 

We will fully implement the Party's policies concerning ethnic groups, heighten public awareness of ethnic unity and progress, and create a keen sense of identity of the Chinese nation. We will encourage more exchanges and interactions among different ethnic groups, helping them remain closely united like the seeds of a pomegranate that stick together, and work jointly for common prosperity and development. 

We will fully implement the Party's basic policy on religious affairs, uphold the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation and provide active guidance to religions so that they can adapt themselves to socialist society. We will encourage intellectuals who are not Party members and people belonging to new social groups to play important roles in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. We should form a new type of cordial and clean relationship between government and business, promote healthy growth of the non-public sector of the economy, and encourage those working in this sector to achieve success. We will maintain extensive contacts with overseas Chinese nationals, returned Chinese and their relatives and unite them so that they can join our endeavors to rejuvenate the Chinese nation. 

Comrades, 

The political system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a great creation of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people. We have every confidence that we can give full play to the strengths and distinctive features of China's socialist democracy, and make China's contribution to the political advancement of humanity. 

VII. Building Stronger Cultural Confidence and Helping Socialist Culture to Flourish 

Culture is a country and nation's soul. Our country will thrive only if our culture thrives, and our nation will be strong only if our culture is strong. Without full confidence in our culture, without a rich and prosperous culture, the Chinese nation will not be able to rejuvenate itself. We must develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, inspire the cultural creativity of our whole nation, and develop a great socialist culture in China. 

Socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is derived from China's fine traditional culture, which was born of the Chinese civilization and nurtured over more than 5,000 years; it has grown out of the revolutionary and advanced socialist culture that developed over the course of the Chinese people's revolution, construction, and reform under the Party's leadership; and it is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

To develop socialist culture with Chinese characteristics means developing a socialist culture for our nation – a culture that is sound and people-oriented, that embraces modernization, the world, and the future, and that both promotes socialist material wellbeing and raises socialist cultural-ethical standards. In developing this culture, we must follow the guidance of Marxism, base our efforts on Chinese culture, and take into account the realities of contemporary China and the conditions of the present era. We should ensure that this culture serves the people and serves socialism. We should follow the principle of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend, and encourage creative transformation and development, so as to add new luster to Chinese culture. 

1. Holding firmly the leading position in ideological work 

Ideology determines the direction a culture should take and the path it should follow as it develops. We must continue to adapt Marxism to China's conditions, keep it up-to-date, and enhance its popular appeal. We will develop socialist ideology that has the ability to unite and the power to inspire the people to embrace shared ideals, convictions, values, and moral standards. We will better arm ourselves with theory and increase the public appeal of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We will work harder to study and develop Marxist theory, work faster to develop philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, and develop new types of think tanks with distinctive Chinese features. 

We will maintain the right tone in public communication, give priority to improving means of communication and to creating new ones, and strengthen the penetration, guidance, influence, and credibility of the media. We will provide more and better online content and put in place a system for integrated internet management to ensure a clean cyberspace. We will implement the system of responsibility for ideological work, and further consolidate our positions and improve management in this field. We will distinguish between matters of political principle, issues of understanding and thinking, and academic viewpoints, but we must oppose and resist various erroneous views with a clear stand. 

2. Cultivating and observing the core socialist values 

The core socialist values represent the contemporary Chinese spirit and are a crystallization of the values shared by all Chinese people. 

We will focus on fostering a new generation capable of shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation; we will offer them better guidance, expose them to practice, and provide institutional guarantees. We will draw on the core socialist values to guide education, efforts to raise cultural-ethical standards, and the creation, production, and distribution of cultural and intellectual products, and see that all areas of social development are imbued with these values and that they become part of people's thinking and behavior. To this end, we will encourage extensive public involvement, making our officials take the lead and starting with families and children. 

We will draw on China's fine traditional culture, keep alive and develop its vision, concepts, values, and moral norms, and do so in a way that responds to the call of our era. With this we will see that Chinese culture maintains its appeal and evolves with the times. 

3. Raising intellectual and moral standards 

When the people have ideals, their country will have strength, and their nation will have a bright future. We will help our people raise their political awareness and moral standards, foster appreciation of fine culture, and enhance social etiquette and civility. 

We will undertake extensive public awareness activities to help the people develop firm ideals and convictions, build their awareness of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Chinese Dream, foster a Chinese ethos and a readiness to respond to the call of our times, strengthen the guiding role of patriotism, collectivism, and socialism, and see that the people develop an accurate understanding of history, ethnicity, country, and culture. We will launch a civic morality campaign to raise public ethical standards, and enhance work ethics, family virtues, and personal integrity. We will encourage our people to strive for excellence and to develop stronger virtues, respect the elderly, love families, and be loyal to the country and the people. 

We will improve and strengthen our ideological and political work, and launch initiatives to raise the public's cultural-ethical standards. We will promote the spirit of science and make scientific knowledge widely attainable; we will work to see the back of outdated social mores and to promote good and up-to-date practices and trends; and we will resist the corrosive influence of backward and decadent culture. We will build credibility, institutionalize volunteer services, and heighten people's sense of social responsibility, awareness of rules, and sense of dedication. 

4. Seeing socialist literature and art thrive 

Socialist literature and art are for the people: Writers and artists should take a people-centered approach and draw inspiration from everyday life and the experiences of the people to produce works that do justice to our times. We encourage them to create fine works that are thought provoking and of a high artistic standard, that reflect real life, and that extol our Party, our country, our people, and our heroes. 

We will foster democracy in academic research and artistic pursuits, and encourage originality and experimentation with new approaches in the creation of literature and art. We encourage the cultivation of fine tastes, style, and a sense of responsibility, and reject vulgarity and kitsch in literary and artistic creation. We will strengthen the professional standards of artists and writers to see the emergence of a large number of eminent figures who have moral integrity and outstanding artistic appeal, and creators of inspiring works. 

5. Promoting cultural programs and industries 

To meet the people's new aspirations for a better life, we must provide them with rich intellectual nourishment. We need to deepen structural reform of the cultural sector, improve the cultural management system, and accelerate the establishment of systems and mechanisms that put social benefits first while pursuing economic returns. We will improve the public cultural service system, carry out public-interest cultural programs, and launch more popular cultural activities. We will strengthen protection and utilization of cultural relics, and better preserve and carry forward our cultural heritage. 

We will improve modern systems for cultural industries and markets, explore new mechanisms for cultural production and operation, improve economic policy on the cultural sector, and develop new forms of business in this sector. We will carry out extensive fitness-for-all programs, speed up efforts to build China into a country strong in sport, and make smooth preparations for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. We will strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges with other countries, giving prominence to Chinese culture while also drawing on other cultures. We will improve our capacity for engaging in international communication so as to tell China's stories well, present a true, multidimensional, and panoramic view of China, and enhance our country's cultural soft power. 

Comrades, 

Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has actively guided and promoted China's advanced culture while keeping China's fine traditional culture alive and strong. Today, we Chinese Communists and the Chinese people should and can shoulder our new cultural mission, make cultural creations through practice, and promote cultural progress along with history. 

VIII. Growing Better at Ensuring and Improving People's Wellbeing and Strengthening and Developing New Approaches to Social Governance 

Everyone in the Party must keep firmly in mind that the nature of a political party and of a government is determined by those whom they serve. To lead the people to a better life is our Party's abiding goal. We must put the people's interests above all else, see that the gains of reform and development benefit all our people in a fair way, and strive to achieve shared prosperity for everyone. 

As we work to ensure and improve people's wellbeing, we must focus on the most pressing, most immediate issues that concern the people the most. We will do everything in our capacity and work away, issue by issue, year in and year out. We will see that everyone performs their duties and shares in the benefits. We will see basic needs are met, prioritize key areas, improve institutions, and guide public expectations. We will improve public services, ensure people's basic quality of life, and keep up with people's ever-growing desire for a better life. We will continue to promote social fairness and justice, develop effective social governance, and maintain public order. With this we should see that our people will always have a strong sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security. 

1. Giving priority to developing education 

Strengthening education is fundamental to our pursuit of national rejuvenation. We must give priority to education, further reform in education, speed up its modernization, and develop education that people are satisfied with. We should fully implement the Party's education policy, foster virtue through education, enhance our students' well-rounded development, promote fairness in education, and nurture a new generation of capable young people who have a good and all-round moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetical grounding and are well-prepared to join the socialist cause. 

We will promote the coordinated development of compulsory education in urban and rural areas, while giving particular attention to rural areas. We will improve preschool education, special needs education, and online education, make senior secondary education universally available, and strive to see that each and every child has fair access to good education. 

We will improve the system of vocational education and training, and promote integration between industry and education and cooperation between enterprises and colleges. We will move faster to build Chinese universities into world-class universities and develop world-class disciplines as we work to bring out the full potential of higher education. We will improve the system of financial aid to students, and work to see that the vast majority of the new members of the urban and rural labor force have received senior secondary education, and that more and more of them receive higher education. We will support the well-regulated development of private schools. We will strengthen the professional ethics and competence of teachers, and encourage public respect for educators and public support for education. We will improve continuing education, step up efforts to build a learning society, and promote the well-rounded development of all our people. 

2. Improving the quality of employment and raising incomes 

Employment is pivotal to people's wellbeing. We must give high priority to employment and pursue a proactive employment policy, striving to achieve fuller employment and create better quality jobs. We will launch large-scale vocational skills training programs, give particular attention to tackling structural unemployment, and create more jobs by encouraging business startups. We will provide extensive public employment services to open more channels for college graduates and other young people as well as migrant rural workers to find jobs and start their own businesses. We must remove institutional barriers that block the social mobility of labor and talent, and ensure that every one of our people has the chance to pursue a career through hard work. We will improve mechanisms for joint discussion and mediation involving government, trade unions, and employers in an effort to ensure harmonious labor relations. 

We will continue to follow the principle of distribution according to one's work while improving our institutions and mechanisms for distribution based on factors of production, so as to make income distribution fairer and more orderly. We will encourage people to make their money through hard work and legal means. We will expand the size of the middle-income group, increase income for people on low incomes, adjust excessive incomes, and prohibit illicit income. We will work to see that individual incomes grow in step with economic development, and that pay rises in tandem with increases in labor productivity. We will expand the channels for people to make work-based earnings and property income. We will see that government plays its function of adjusting redistribution, move faster to ensure equitable access to basic public services and narrow the gaps in incomes. 

3. Strengthening the social security system 

We will act on the policy requirements to help those most in need, to build a tightly woven safety net, and to build the necessary institutions, as we work to develop a sustainable multitiered social security system that covers the entire population in both urban and rural areas, with clearly defined rights and responsibilities, and support that hits the right level. We will work to see that everyone has access to social security. We will improve the basic pension schemes for urban employees and for rural and non-working urban residents, and quickly bring pension schemes under national unified management. 

We will improve the unified systems of basic medical insurance and serious disease insurance for rural and non-working urban residents, and improve unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance. We will establish a unified national platform for social security services. We will promote the coordinated development of the social assistance systems for urban and rural residents, and improve the subsistence allowances system. 

We must adhere to the fundamental national policy of gender equality, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of women and minors. We will improve our systems for social assistance, social welfare, charity, and entitled groups' benefits and services. We will improve the system for supporting and caring for children whose parents are working in cities, women, and elderly people in rural areas. We will develop programs for people with disabilities and work to provide better rehabilitation services for them. 

We must not forget that housing is for living in, not for speculation. With this in mind, we will move faster to put in place a housing system that ensures supply through multiple sources, provides housing support through multiple channels, and encourages both housing purchase and renting. This will put us in a better position to meet the housing needs of all of our people. 

4. Winning the battle against poverty 

Seeing that poor people and poor areas will enter the moderately prosperous society together with the rest of the country is a solemn promise made by our Party. We should mobilize the energies of our whole Party, our whole country, and our whole society, and continue to implement targeted poverty reduction and alleviation measures. We will operate on the basis of a working mechanism whereby the central government makes overall plans, provincial-level governments take overall responsibility, and city and county governments ensure implementation; and we will strengthen the system for making heads of Party committees and governments at each level assume the overall responsibility for poverty alleviation. 

We will continue to advance poverty reduction drawing on the joint efforts of government, society, and the market. We will pay particular attention to helping people increase confidence in their own ability to lift themselves out of poverty and see that they can access the education they need to do so. We will strengthen collaboration on poverty alleviation between the eastern and western regions; and we will provide focused assistance to areas of extreme poverty. We must ensure that by the year 2020, all rural residents living below the current poverty line have been lifted out of poverty, and poverty is eliminated in all poor counties and regions. Poverty alleviation should reach those who truly need it and deliver genuine outcomes. 

5. Carrying out the Healthy China initiative 

A healthy population is a key mark of a prosperous nation and a strong country. We will improve the national health policy, and ensure the delivery of comprehensive lifecycle health services for our people. We will deepen reform of the medicine and health care system, establish distinctive Chinese systems for providing basic health care, medical insurance, and quality and efficient health care services, and develop a sound modern hospital management system. 

We will improve community-level health care services, and strengthen the ranks of general practitioners. We will put an end to the practices of hospitals funding their operations with profits from overpriced drugs, and improve the system for medicine supply. 

With emphasis on prevention, we will carry out extensive patriotic health campaigns, promote healthy and positive lifestyles, and prevent and control major diseases. We will initiate a food safety strategy to ensure that people have peace of mind about what they are putting on their plates. We will support both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and ensure the preservation and development of traditional Chinese medicine. We will support the development of private hospitals and health-related industries. 

We will work to ensure that our childbirth policy meshes with related economic and social policies, and carry out research on the population development strategy. As we respond proactively to population aging, we will adopt policies and foster a social environment in which senior citizens are respected, cared for, and live happily in their later years. We will provide integrated elderly care and medical services, and accelerate the development of old-age programs and industries. 

6. Establishing a social governance model based on collaboration, participation, and common interests 

We will step up institution building in social governance and improve the law-based social governance model under which Party committees exercise leadership, government assumes responsibility, non-governmental actors provide assistance, and the public get involved. We will strengthen public participation and rule of law in social governance, and make such governance smarter and more specialized. 

We will improve mechanisms for preventing and defusing social tensions, and properly handle problems among the people. We will promote safe development, and raise public awareness that life matters most and that safety comes first; we will improve the public safety system and the responsibility system for workplace safety; we will take resolute measures to prevent serious and major accidents, and build up our capacity for disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief. 

We will accelerate development of the crime prevention and control system, combat and punish in accordance with the law all illegal and criminal activities such as pornography, gambling, drug abuse, gang violence, kidnapping, and fraud, and protect people's personal rights, property rights, and right to dignity. We will improve the system of public psychological services, and cultivate self-esteem, self-confidence, rationality, composure, and optimism among our people. We will strengthen the system for community governance, shift the focus of social governance to the community level, leverage the role of social organizations, and see that government's governance efforts on the one hand and society's self-regulation and residents' self-governance on the other reinforce each other. 

7. Effectively safeguarding national security 

National security is the cornerstone of peace and stability of our country, and safeguarding it is in the fundamental interests of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups. We will improve our national security strategy and policy, guarantee China's political security, and take coordinated steps to ensure security in all areas. We will improve our national security system, strengthen legal measures to enhance national security, and enhance our capacity for forestalling and fending off security risks. We must rigorously protect against and take resolute measures to combat all acts of infiltration, subversion, and sabotage, as well as violent and terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, and religious extremist activities. We will strengthen efforts to raise awareness of national security among all Party members and all the people, and create a strong synergy of the whole society to safeguard national security. 

Comrades, 

Meeting the fundamental interests of all our people is the ultimate yardstick for judging all the work of our Party. The issues of concern to the people, be they big or small, should be handled with utmost care and attention. We must start by addressing issues of public concern, start by delivering the outcomes that satisfy public needs, and work without rest to lead our people in pursuing a better life. 

IX. Speeding Up Reform of the System for Developing an Eco-Civilization, and Building a Beautiful China 

Man and nature form a community of life; we, as human beings, must respect nature, follow its ways, and protect it. Only by observing the laws of nature can humanity avoid costly blunders in its exploitation. Any harm we inflict on nature will eventually return to haunt us. This is a reality we have to face. 

The modernization that we pursue is one characterized by harmonious coexistence between man and nature. In addition to creating more material and cultural wealth to meet people's ever-increasing desire for a better life, we need also to provide more quality ecological goods to meet people's ever-growing demands for a beautiful environment. We should, acting on the principles of prioritizing resource conservation and environmental protection and letting nature restore itself, develop spatial layouts, industrial structures, and ways of work and life that help conserve resources and protect the environment. With this, we can restore the serenity, harmony, and beauty of nature. 

1. Promoting green development 

We will step up efforts to establish a legal and policy framework that promotes green production and consumption, and promote a sound economic structure that facilitates green, low-carbon, and circular development. We will create a market-based system for green technology innovation, develop green finance, and spur the development of energy-saving and environmental protection industries as well as clean production and clean energy industries. We will promote a revolution in energy production and consumption, and build an energy sector that is clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient. 

We will encourage conservation across the board and promote recycling, take action to get everyone conserving water, cut consumption of energy and materials, and establish linkages between the circular use of resources and materials in industrial production and in everyday life. We encourage simple, moderate, green, and low-carbon ways of life, and oppose extravagance and excessive consumption. We will launch initiatives to make Party and government offices do better when it comes to conservation, and develop eco-friendly families, schools, communities, and transport services. 

2. Solving prominent environmental problems 

We will get everyone involved in improving the environment and address environmental issues at the root. We will continue our campaign to prevent and control air pollution to make our skies blue again. We will speed up prevention and control of water pollution, and take comprehensive measures to improve river basins and offshore areas. We will strengthen the control of soil pollution and the restoration of polluted soil, intensify the prevention and control of agricultural pollution from non-point sources, and take measures to improve rural living environments. We will improve the treatment of solid waste and garbage. 

We will enforce stricter pollutants discharge standards and see to it that polluters are held accountable. We will improve our systems for assessing the honesty and accuracy of claims about performance in environmental protection, for mandatory release of environmental information, and for imposing rigorous sanctions in cases of environmental violation. We will establish an environmental governance system in which government takes the lead, enterprises assume the main responsibility, and social organizations and the public also participate. We will get actively involved in global environmental governance and fulfill our commitments on emissions reduction. 

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