Reform is the Second Revolution of China

The important judgements on the nature and significance of reform made by Deng Xiaoping after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee. Deng Xiaoping pointed out that reform is a comprehensive and profound revolution. If we want to change the backward productive forces to a large extent, we must definitely change the relations of production in many ways, change the superstructure, and change the management mode of industrial and agricultural enterprises and the state administration over them so as to meet the needs of modern economy.

In December 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee decisively corrected the “leftist” guiding ideology of “taking class struggle as the key link”, decided to shift the work center of the Party and the state to economic construction, and established the political line of focusing on economic construction and wholeheartedly engaging in socialist modernization.

Since then, China has entered a new historical period of Reform and Opening-up. On December 13, Deng Xiaoping pointed out in his speech “Emancipate the Mind, Seek Truth from Facts and Unite as One in Looking to the Future” delivered at the Central Working Conference: “If we don’t implement reforms now, our modernization and socialist cause will be ruined.” In 1984, when Deng Xiaoping met with German Chancellor Kohl, he clearly pointed out that: “We regard reform as a revolution that is certainly different from the Cultural Revolution.” In March 1985, Deng Xiaoping further stated in his meeting with Nikaido Susumu, vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, that “reform is China’s second revolution”. This is something of great necessity and significance, although it is risky. The reason why reform is China’s second revolution is that the reform is profound and extensive. Reform also means to liberate productive forces.

Deng Xiaoping pointed out that reform shares the same nature with the revolution in the past, because both aim to remove obstacles in the development of social productive forces and get China out of poverty and backwardness. Revolution is to liberate productive forces, and reform does the same thing. Overthrowing the reactionary rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism and liberating the productive forces of the Chinese people is a revolution, so we can say that revolution means liberating the productive forces. After the establishment of the basic socialist system, it is necessary to fundamentally change the economic system that constrains the development of productive forces, establish a socialist economic system full of vitality, and promote the development of productive forces. This is reform, so reform also liberates productive forces. It is in this sense that reform can also be called revolution. Reform is a fundamental change to the original planned economic system. It is not a tinkering with the details of the original economic system but a fundamental change in the economic system.

The establishment of a socialist market economic system will inevitably involve an all-round reform in various fields such as enterprise system, planning, finance, banking, price, management, circulation and distribution. As Deng Xiaoping said, we have to make not only major technical reforms but also major institutional and organizational reforms in all economic fronts. Reform is a comprehensive and systematic project. The reform of economic system will inevitably affect all areas of superstructure and as it deepens, changes will definitely take place in the overall social structure. China’s reform started from the countryside. After the Third Plenary Session of the 12th CPC Central Committee, the focus of the reform shifted from the countryside to the town and reform was made in various fields. So the reform was fully rolled out in both the countryside and the town, both the economic system and political system, both the scientific and technological system and educational system, and various management systems.

Reform is a profound change involving people’s interests, lifestyle, working methods and concepts. The deepening of reform definitely entails the adjustment of people’s interest pattern and interest-based relationships, thus affecting everyone’s vital interests. Deng Xiaoping stressed that the reform of production relations and superstructure would not be smooth, since they involve the vital interests of a large number of people and will face various complicated situations and problems and many obstacles. The change of economic life and political life will inevitably impact people’s traditional working style, mental state, thinking mode, values, etc., and will definitely require people to change some traditional concepts formed under the planned economy that do not meet the requirements of modernization and socialist market economy. The difference between the reform, as China’s second revolution, and the first revolution, is that the reform is not a fundamental change in the social system but a self-improvement and development of the socialist system. Because reform is not to deny the socialist system but the specific system that was formed due to subjective and objective factors in the historical process of establishing the socialist system but still constrains the development of productive forces.

Reform is to develop socialism and better adhere to socialism. Deng Xiaoping repeated stressed that the general purpose of our reform was to help consolidate the socialist system, consolidate the Party’s leadership, and develop productive forces in the socialist system under the Party’s leadership.

We must always adhere to the two fundamental principles of socialism in making reforms. One is that public ownership is the mainstay, and the other is common prosperity. The basic principle in reforming the political system is that we must never copy the western political system. Something negative will pop out in making reforms, but as long as we have a clear head and correct measures, it will not do harm to socialism.

Deng Xiaoping stressed that to ensure that China’s policy on Reform and Opening-up would not lead to capitalism, two conditions shall be guaranteed. For one thing, diverse sectors of the economy shall be developed but the proportion of socialism shall dominate; for another thing, we must always educate the people ideologically and politically to adhere to the Four Cardinal Principles. These two conditions cover such two aspects as the economic basis and superstructure. It will not work if either of them can not be guaranteed. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping, given China’s basic national conditions and characteristics of the times and the special stage when the reform enters the “deep water zone” and “critical period”, responded to the new requirements of the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, put forward a series of important reforms, profoundly answered a series of major theoretical and practical questions in the development of the cause of the Party and the state under the new situation, and continued to write a new chapter in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Deng Xiaoping’s assertion that reform is China’s second revolution has theoretically and practically solved the problem of the development driving force of the socialist society that was not completely solved in Marxism and the international communist movement. Under the guidance of this important thought, we should adhere to the Party’s basic line, constantly emancipate our minds, and continue to promote Reform and Opening-up in breadth and depth, thus making Reform and Opening-up the most distinctive feature in China into the new era.