[About the Expert]
Fang Guangshun, doctoral supervisor of Liaoning University, expert obtaining special government allowances of the State Council.
Q: Good morning, Professor Fang， welcome to Liaoning International Communication Center. Today, we would like you to talk with us about the topic of “adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times” in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC.
A: Hello everyone, I’m Fang Guangshun. The second chapter of the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC is “A New Frontier in Adapting Marxism to the Chinese Context and the Needs of the Times”. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and our country are founded and thrive. So how to understand this concept? I think, first of all, we should talk about what is “adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.”
Adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times means integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture, applying the basic principles of Marxism to solve practical problems in contemporary China, and constantly making theoretical summaries and explorations to promote innovative development on the original basis. In response to the questions posed by China, by the world, by the people, and by the times, we will advance theoretical innovation on the basis of practical experience, raise theoretical development to new heights and achieve a new breakthrough in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times.
Q: Why does the Communist Party of China continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times?
A: It is the basic position and consistent practice of Chinese Communists to continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times. The history of the Communist Party of China over the past century is a history of continuously making theoretical innovations and adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. In the past century since the foundation of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era were successively established. Chinese Communists are keenly aware that only by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture and only by applying dialectical and historical materialism can we provide correct answers to the major questions presented by the times and discovered through practice and can we ensure that Marxism always retains its vigor and vitality.
It is a very difficult thing to explore and innovate in practice, form new theories and thus guide new practice. In the new era and new stage, the Communist Party of China is leading the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, while facing more complex situations and more arduous tasks. The more complex the situation is and the more arduous the task is, the more it is necessary to stay alert and determined theoretically and politically. Therefore, we must continue to make theoretical exploration and innovation, dare to say what has never been said and do what has never been done, and use new theory to guide new practice. We should keep developing new thinking, new approaches, and new ways to effectively resolve problems.
Q: Today and in the near future, how will the Communist Party of China continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times?
A: The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC points out that “it is the solemn historical responsibility of today’s Chinese Communists to continue opening new chapters in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.” In the new era, the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC also gives specific method for how to better shoulder this historical responsibility: “to keep advancing theoretical innovation on the basis of practical experience, we must, first of all, gain a good command of the worldview and methodology of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and adhere to and make good use of its stances, viewpoints, and methods.” The specific method is to adhere to “6 musts”, that is, we must put the people first, must maintain self-confidence and stand on our own feet, must uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, must adopt a problem-oriented approach, must apply systems thinking, and must maintain a global vision. The “6 musts” are the summary of the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. They are carried out in all aspects of this thought and all the Party’s practices on national governance in the new era. And they are the basic points that the Party must always adhere to when it continues to make theoretical innovations on the basis of practice.
At the same time, the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC points out that “to uphold and develop Marxism, we must integrate it with China’s specific realities” and “must integrate it with China’s fine traditional culture”. The two “integrates” profoundly illustrate the internal mechanism of Marxism’s innovative development in China, and demonstrate our Party’s scientific understanding of the development of Marxism, and the great original contribution made by contemporary Chinese Communists to upholding and developing Marxism.
