Wu Li： Four Great Achievements of the Communist Party of China from an Economic Perspective

Four Great Achievements of the Communist Party of China

from an Economic Perspective*

 Wu Li

Research Fellow of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies,

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

In his major speech at a ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping reviewed the great achievements of the CPC in uniting and leading the people in making in the four historical periods, with the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as the focus. Economic development is the foundation of national rejuvenation, and the liberation and development of productive forces has always been the main task of the CPC. The four great achievements can be more profoundly understood by looking at the centennial Party history from the perspective of economic development.

During the new-democratic revolution, the productive forces were severely constrained and China’s economy was under the heavy pressure of the ‘three big mountains’ of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. The national bourgeoisie, the petty bourgeoisie, the working class and the peasant class were under multiple exploitation and oppression, and not only were their normal production and business operations hindered, but even their most basic rights of survival were not guaranteed. To achieve national rejuvenation, we must first overthrow the reactionary rule of the ‘three big mountains’ and completely liberate the productive forces. After the defeat of the Great Revolution in 1927, the CPC took up the important task of leading the democratic revolution on its own. Having grasped the main contradictions in Chinese society, the CPC carried out land reform, confiscated bureaucrat capital and protected national industries and businesses, which responded to the requirements of the development of the productive forces and won the support of the people. On this basis, the CPC united and led the people, with the dauntless spirit that Mao Zedong expressed when he wrote, ‘Our minds grow stronger for the martyrs’ sacrifice, daring to make the sun and the moon shine in the new sky,’ in persistently carrying out and finally completely overthrowing the ‘three big mountains’ and established the People’s Republic of China.

The more history develops, the more it proves that the thoroughness of the new-democratic revolution has great and far-reaching significance for contemporary China. Against the background of the division of the global sphere of influence between the United States and the Soviet Union, the CPC resisted the pressure and resolutely unified the mainland, abolishing all imperialist privileges in China, so that the Chinese nation could truly choose its own path of development, which was extremely rare at that time. Looking at the countries that became independent after World War II, they were unable to develop independently because they were not free from the control of the Great Powers, or they were constrained in every way because they failed to completely eliminate their old domestic forces. The heroic CPC and Chinese people, with the most thorough democratic revolution and removed feudalism, bureaucrat capitalism and all the foreign economic forces that had been pinned down on the Chinese nation in modern times, thus removing the obstacles to the liberation and development of the productive forces and the independent economic development of the Chinese people. In this sense, the great achievements of the new-democratic revolution are enough to be recorded in the history of the development of the Chinese nation and the history of human civilization.

During the socialist revolution and construction, the main task of economic development was to complete industrialization. In choosing the path of industrialization, how to determine which to develop first, agriculture, light industry or heavy industry, was the primary problem before the CPC. At that time, China needed heavy industry to develop a strong national defense to protect national security, and it also needed heavy industry to provide equipment and raw materials for agriculture and light industry. Therefore, the CPC established the industrialization strategy of giving priority to the development of heavy industry. However, heavy industry was characterized by large investment scale and long investment cycle, and as a backward agricultural country at that time, China could only accomplish this task by pooling the limited resources of the whole country. Under the new democratic system, the scattered small peasant production and individual private economy were obviously not enough to accomplish the task, so a more extensive and profound social change was required. Therefore, the plan to carry out socialist transformation, originally scheduled for 10 to 15 years later, was advanced to start gradually from 1953, i.e. to unify the scattered agricultural, handicraft, and capitalist industrial and commercial production and operation activities to benefit state-led industrialization. By 1956, China had basically established a single public ownership system and a planned economy, and all people were united in socialist industrialization. Under the conditions of poverty, the CPC led the people in becoming self-reliant and striving for improvement, and finally establishing an independent and complete industry and economy, and achieving such cutting-edge national defense breakthroughs as the nuclear bombs, missiles and the artificial earth satellite, thus laying a solid foundation for national rejuvenation.

Looking back on this section of history today, we can feel its great significance more deeply. With an independent and complete industry, China had the endogenous power of development, the ability to learn and digest all the world’s advanced scientific and technological achievements, and the ability to achieve internal economic circulation under extreme conditions, thus grasping the initiative of independent development and dealing with risks. In addition, this period saw the establishment of socialist public ownership and a strong state-owned economy, which assumed the role of leading the direction of development and stabilizing society in economic development during reform and opening up. In this sense, the great achievements of the socialist revolution and construction period are enough to be recorded in the history of the development of the Chinese nation and the history of human civilization.

During the period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, the main task of economic development was to catch up with the world’s advanced level and improve people’s lives in the process of development. After completing the task of laying the foundation of industrialization, the single public ownership system and the planned economy were no longer effective in promoting better and faster development of productive forces. How to mobilize the enthusiasm for development while ensuring the advantages of the socialist system tested all countries in the socialist camp. The CPC united and led the people in proceeding from the basic conditions of economic backwardness, grasped the central work of economic development and adopted ‘reform and opening up’ as the key move to determine the future of contemporary China. On the one hand, China implemented reform and opening up, bravely broke through the ideological and institutional dogma, and boldly adopt all economic systems that are conducive to the development of socialist productive forces, such as contract management, private and foreign invested economy, and the market economy. In addition, we adhered to the Four Cardinal Principles and overcame the challenges of risks from various areas. Guided by the line of ‘one central task, two basic points,’ the CPC united and led the people in emancipating their mind and forging ahead. They blazed a socialist path with Chinese characteristics and established a socialist system with Chinese characteristics. They established basic economic system whereby public ownership is dominant and economic entities under diverse ownership forms develop side by side, the income distribution system whereby distribution according to work is dominant and multiple forms of distribution coexist, and the socialist market economy. They mobilized all positive factors to the maximum extent, achieved a historic breakthrough from a relatively backward productive force to the second largest economy in the world, realized a historic leap in people’s living from inadequate subsistence to general moderate prosperity and moved toward moderate prosperity in all respects.

Looking back on this section of history today, we can feel more deeply the difficulty of creating, adhering to, defending and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. The CPC was able to pursue development as its top priority in governance, firmly held on to economic development, and continuously improved people’s lives in the course of development, so that people could share the fruits of development, thus creating the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. In addition, the CPC expanded opening up and integrated into the world. It learned from all advanced technologies and experiences with an open mind, and at the same time, it has been able to firmly assert its self-confidence and insist on socialism with Chinese characteristics even though its development level has lagged behind significantly, thus providing the institutional guarantee full of new vitality and material conditions for rapid development for national rejuvenation. At present, the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics are becoming more and more evident, which testifies to the strategic determination and foresight of the CPC. In this sense, the great achievements during the period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization are enough to be recorded in the history of the development of the Chinese nation and the history of human civilization.

As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era, the internal and external conditions of economic development have changed. Domestically, China has put an end to the growth pattern featuring large-scale and high-speed extensive growth and the growth pattern must change to high-quality and efficient intensive growth, which requires more efficient institutional arrangements and greater efforts in scientific and technological innovation. In addition, the problems of absolute poverty, overcapacity, debt risk and environmental pollution accumulated by the traditional development model also need to be solved. Internationally, along with industrial upgrading, the relationship between China and developed countries in the industrial chain and the value chain has changed from complementary at the beginning of reform and opening up to competitive, which has led to increased instability and uncertainty in the external environment. Facing the complex and severe situation at home and abroad, the CPC has united and led the people in boosting self-confidence and self-improvement, maintaining the correct political direction and breaking new ground. The Party has made the strategic judgment that economic development has entered the new normal and put forward the vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development. China has adhered to and improved the basic economic system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has let the market play a decisive role in allocating resources, and ensured that the government fulfils its functions in a better way. It has promoted supply-side structural reform, eliminated backward production capacity, and created a business environment conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation. It has broken through the scientific and technological and institutional bottlenecks that limit development. It has won the three major battles against poverty, major risks, and pollution, and improve the eco-environmental protection system, achieve the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society, and transformed the economy from high-speed growth to high-quality development. In addition, China has steadily responded to the economic and trade frictions with the United States, expanded a high level of opening up, improved the systems for maintaining national security, and made national rejuvenation become a historical inevitability.

The world’s economic history shows that the process of leapfrogging from a middle-income to a high-income economy is full of risks. Industrial upgrading, scientific and technological research, wealth distribution, social governance, external shocks and a series of other issues are complexly intertwined, and the ruling parties of most countries are unable to cope with them, causing the country’s development to be stagnant. Crossing the middle-income trap requires the ruling party to have a strong ability to exercise overall leadership and coordinates the efforts of all. Since the 18th National Party Congress, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Secretary General Xi Jinping at the core, the CPC has coordinated efforts on the great struggle, the great project, the great cause and the great dream. It has united and led the people in overcoming a series of major risks and challenges, achieved the first centenary goal and made clear the strategic arrangements for the second centenary goal. This has provided a better institutional guarantee, a more solid material foundation and a more active motivation for national rejuvenation. This great achievement is enough to be recorded in the history of the development of the Chinese nation and the development of human civilization.

Over the past hundred years, the CPC has united and led the people in continuously liberating and developing the productive forces and strengthening the economic foundation for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. A deeper understanding of the four great achievements of the century from the economic perspective can make us more firmly support the CPC, more dearly cherish the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and more clearly understand the direction of future advancement.

* First published in Marxism and Reality, No.4, 2021.