Beijing, 3 Mar (Xinhua) --

Hand in hand on the road to modernization

-- Keynote speech at the high-level dialogue between the Communist Party of China and world political parties

(Beijing, March 2023, 3)

General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of the People's Republic of China

Xi Jinping

Distinguished leaders of political parties,

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

It is a pleasure to meet with you to discuss the important proposition of "The Road to Modernization: The Responsibility of Political Parties".

The process of human social development has twists and turns, and the process of exploring the road of modernization in various countries is full of hardships. In today's world, multiple challenges and crises are intertwined, the world economy is struggling to recover, the development gap is widening, the ecological environment continues to deteriorate, the ghost of the Cold War mentality is still lingering, and the process of modernization of human society has once again come to the crossroads of history.

Polarization or common prosperity? Material supremacy or material and spiritual coordination? Fishing or living in harmony with nature? Zero-sum game or win-win cooperation? Copy the model of other countries or develop independently based on their own national conditions? What kind of modernization do we really need? How can it be modernized? In the face of this series of modernization questions, political parties, as an important force leading and promoting the modernization process, have the responsibility to answer. Here, I would like to make a few comments.

-- We must adhere to the concept of putting the people first and highlight the people's nature in the direction of modernization. The people are the creators of history and the most solid foundation and the deepest force for promoting modernization. The ultimate goal of modernization is the free and comprehensive development of the human person. Whether the road of modernization can eventually be pursued and stable depends on whether or not we adhere to the people-centered approach. Modernization should not only look at the indicators and data on paper, but also on the happiness and well-being of the people. Political parties should anchor the people's yearning for a better life, conform to the people's desire for civilization and progress, strive to achieve material prosperity, political clarity, spiritual prosperity, social stability and ecological pleasantness, so that modernization can better respond to the people's demands in all aspects and multi-level needs, not only enhance the well-being of the present generation, but also protect the rights and interests of future generations, and promote the sustainable development of human society.

——We should uphold the principle of independence and self-determination and explore the diversity of modernization paths. Modernization is not a "patent" of a few countries, nor is it an either-or "single-choice question", and it cannot be simply the same, "copy and paste". To move towards modernization, a country must not only follow the general law of modernization, but also base itself on its own national conditions and have its own characteristics. What kind of modernization suits them best, their own people have the most say. Developing countries have the right and ability to independently explore their own path of modernization based on their own national conditions. We must persist in placing the development of the country and the nation on the basis of our own strength, firmly grasp the destiny of national development and progress in our own hands, respect and support the independent choice of the people of all countries on the path of development, and jointly draw a new picture of the modernization of human society with a hundred flowers blooming.

——We must establish a sense of integrity and innovation and maintain the continuity of the modernization process. In the face of various new problems, new situations and new challenges encountered in the process of modernization, political parties must dare to assume responsibilities and dare to act, break through the shackles of ideology and concepts, eliminate the shortcomings of systems and mechanisms, explore ways to optimize methods, constantly achieve innovative breakthroughs in theory and practice, and inject a steady stream of powerful vitality into the process of modernization. We should work together to promote the reform and construction of the global governance system, promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction, and promote the modernization of human society in the continuous promotion of equal rights, fair opportunities and fair rules.

-- We must carry forward the spirit of self-reliance and enhance the universality of the results of modernization. Mankind is a community of common destiny in which both prosperity and loss are lost. Any country pursuing modernization should uphold the concept of unity, cooperation and common development, and take the road of joint construction, sharing and win-win results. The countries that are ahead should genuinely help others develop. Blowing out someone else's lamp doesn't make yourself brighter; Blocking the way of others will not allow you to go further. We must persist in sharing opportunities and creating the future together, jointly expand the "cake" of human social modernization, strive to make the achievements of modernization more and more equitably benefit the people of all countries, and resolutely oppose maintaining the "privilege" of their own development by suppressing and curbing the modernization of other countries.

-- We must maintain a vigorous and enterprising attitude and ensure the firmness of modern leadership. Modernization will not fall from the sky, but will be carried out by carrying forward the spirit of historical initiative. As the leading and driving force of the cause of modernization, the values, leadership level, governance ability, spiritual outlook, and will quality of a political party are directly related to the future and destiny of national modernization. The winner is strong. Political parties should closely integrate their own construction with the modernization of the country, work hard, act courageously and resolutely, surpass themselves, and ensure that they always have confidence, will, and ability to cope with the challenges of the times, answer the propositions of the times, echo the expectations of the people, and lead the direction and gather strength for the continuous advancement of the modernization process.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

Realizing modernization has been the dream of the Chinese people since modern times. The history of the Communist Party of China for more than 100 years of uniting and leading the Chinese people to pursue national rejuvenation is also a history of constantly exploring the road of modernization. After several generations of unremitting efforts, we have embarked on the path of Chinese-style modernization.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed that the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation should be comprehensively promoted with Chinese-style modernization. Chinese-style modernization is a modernization with a huge population, common prosperity of all the people, harmony between material and spiritual civilization, harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and taking the path of peaceful development Chinese. We will adhere to the correct direction, correct theory, and correct path without wavering, and will not follow the evil path of changing the banner. We will always closely link our own destiny with the destiny of the people of all countries, strive to provide new opportunities for world development with new achievements in Chinese-style modernization, provide new impetus for mankind's exploration of the road of modernization, and make new contributions to the theoretical and practical innovation of human social modernization.

The Communist Party of China will be committed to promoting high-quality development and promoting global development and prosperity. We will accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, continuously expand high-level opening up, continue to relax market access, and make the door open wider and wider. With the advancement of China's modern industrial system construction, we will provide more and better Chinese manufacturing and Chinese creation for the world, and provide the world with a larger scale of Chinese market and Chinese demand. We will firmly support and help developing countries accelerate their development, realize industrialization and modernization, and provide Chinese solutions and Chinese strength for narrowing the gap between the North and the South and achieving common development. We are willing to work with political parties of all countries to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, accelerate the implementation of global development initiatives, cultivate new momentum for global development, and build a global development community.

The Communist Party of China will be committed to upholding international fairness and justice and promoting world peace and stability. Chinese-style modernization does not follow the old path of colonial plunder, does not follow the crooked path of national strength and hegemony, and follows the right path of peaceful development. We advocate bridging differences through dialogue and resolving disputes through cooperation, resolutely oppose all forms of hegemonism and power politics, and advocate the spirit of unity and win-win thinking to address complex and intertwined security challenges, so as to create a security pattern of fairness and justice, joint construction and sharing. The world does not need a "new cold war", and provoking division and confrontation under the banner of democracy is itself a trampling on the spirit of democracy, which is unpopular and endlessly harmful. China's modernization is the growth of the world peace force and the growth of the international justice force, no matter how far it develops, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion.

The Communist Party of China will be committed to promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and promoting the progress of human civilization. The modernization path with different characteristics of different countries and regions in the world today is rooted in the rich and diverse inheritance of civilizations. All kinds of civilizations created by human society are shining brightly, accumulating a rich foundation and endowing them with distinctive characteristics for the modernization of all countries, and have made important contributions to the modernization process of human society across time and space and national boundaries. As a new form of human civilization, Chinese-style modernization will greatly enrich the hundred gardens of world civilization by learning from other civilizations around the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

"One flower alone is not spring, a hundred flowers bloom in the spring garden." Today, when the future and destiny of all countries are closely linked, the inclusive coexistence and mutual learning of different civilizations play an irreplaceable role in promoting the modernization of human society and prospering the hundred gardens of world civilization. Here, I would like to present the Global Civilization Initiative.

-- We should jointly advocate respect for the diversity of world civilizations, adhere to civilization equality, mutual learning, dialogue and tolerance, and transcend civilizational barriers through civilizational exchanges, transcend civilizational conflicts through mutual learning among civilizations, and transcend civilizational superiority through civilizational tolerance.

-- We should jointly advocate and promote the common values of all mankind, peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom are the common pursuit of the people of all countries.

——We should jointly advocate attaching importance to the inheritance and innovation of civilization, fully tap the epochal value of the history and culture of all countries, and promote the creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional cultures of all countries in the process of modernization.

——We should jointly advocate strengthening international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, explore the construction of a global network of dialogue and cooperation among civilizations, enrich the content of exchanges, expand cooperation channels, promote the mutual understanding of people of all countries, and jointly promote the development and progress of human civilization.

We are willing to work with the international community to create a new situation of people-to-people exchanges, cultural integration and people-to-people ties in all countries in the world, so that the gardens of world civilization will be full of vitality.

The Communist Party of China will be committed to strengthening exchanges and cooperation between political parties and working together to walk the road of the world. We are willing to deepen exchanges with political parties and political organizations in various countries, continuously expand the points of convergence of ideas and interests, help build a new type of international relations by establishing a new type of political party relationship, and help deepen and expand the global partnership by consolidating and improving the global political party partnership. The Communist Party of China is willing to continue to work with political parties and organizations of other countries to exchange experience in governing the party and the country, join hands on the road of modernization, and make strides on the road of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

The journey of modernization of human society will inevitably encounter ups and downs, but the future is bright in the end. The Communist Party of China is willing to work with all parties to bring together the modernization cause with different characteristics to become a torrent of the times that promotes world prosperity and progress, and roll forward and develop sustainably in the long river of history!

Thank you!