A New Path Ahead: Chinese Modernization 

Author: Dai Mucai 

Paperback, 215 pages 

Published by Foreign Languages Press 

Modernization has been a common issue in the development of all countries since the 20th century. However, as the global modernization movement developed, different countries and regions diverged in their modernization paths and models. 

In A New Path Ahead: Chinese Modernization, the author Dai Mucai, an expert in theoretical research on the Chinese path to modernization and a professor at the School of Marxism of Tsinghua University, elaborates on why the Chinese path to modernization is unprecedented in history, its originality and unique features, what it means to the world, and how to build a socialist modernization in a country with a 5,000-year-old civilization. 

The author begins by discussing the reason for China’s absence from the three industrial revolutions, and the dream of the Chinese nation since modern times. In 1840, the Chinese nation embarked on its own path to modernization and went through various reforms and revolutions, from the Westernization Movement to the Reform Movement of 1898, the Revolution of 1911 which ended the imperial rule in China, and the New Democratic Revolution led by the Communist Party of China, the victory of which eventually led to the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. 

Chapter two recalls the history of the self-reliant Chinese path to modernization, from the proposal of industrialization during the New Democratic Revolution to the “Four Modernizations” – the goals to strengthen agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, and then a Chinese-style modernization since the commence of reform and opening-up in 1978, and finally, Chinese modernization in the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

This is followed by an analysis of the reasons for China’s progress in socialist modernization from 1978. The major reason, according to the author, is that China re-established the ideological guideline of proceeding from reality, emancipating people's way of thinking, and seeking truth from facts. And it extensively discussed the principle that practice is the sole criterion for testing the truth and an ideological modernization movement. The abolition of the highly centralized planned economy mechanism and the establishment of a market economy in which the market would play a decisive role in resource allocation was a life-infusing reform for China’s overall socialist modernization. 

Chapter four quotes from the report to the 20th CPC National Congress in 2022 that the Chinese path to modernization “contains elements that are common to the modernization processes of all countries, but it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context.” The transition from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial society is considered as the symbol of modernization and an essential stage of development. For a country or region to achieve modernization, it is necessary to realize socialization in production, marketization in economics, democratization in politics, rationalization in culture, rule of law in society, urbanization in life, and greening in the eco-environment. 

He also explains how Chinese modernization is completely different from Western modernization in terms of the global environment and historical conditions. Chinese modernization is, first of all, the modernization of a huge population. It has always valued peace and harmony among nations, with prosperity for all. The essentially socialist nature of Chinese modernization determines that it must realize all-rounded human development and orchestrate material and cultural-ethical advancement. It is also a modernization where humans and nature live in harmony. 

The significance of Chinese modernization to the world is also explained. As an ancient civilization with a rich culture and a history of more than 5,000 years, China’s unique cultural traditions, history and national conditions have determined that the pathway to China's modernization cannot be like other countries’ modernization. The CPC integrated the basic tenets of Marxism with the essence of the traditional Chinese culture to adapt Marxism to China’s realities and increase its appeal. 

Today Chinese modernization has become an indispensable part of world modernization, changing and influencing the global landscape and the modernization of societies. China is committed to building a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation, a world of universal security through joint contribution and shared benefits, and a world of common prosperity through mutually beneficial cooperation. It will also be an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, and a clean and beautiful world through green and low-carbon development. 

In conclusion, the author points out that the Chinese path to modernization, a path to common prosperity for a population of more than 1.4 billion, or one-fifth of the world’s total, has created a new model for human advancement, and expanded the channels for other developing countries to achieve modernization.