Along the Socialist Path with Chinese Characteristics

On October 25, 1987, Zhao Ziyang made a report on behalf of the 12th Central Committee of the Party to the 13th National Congress of the Party. Contained in Selection and Compilation of Important Documents since the 13th National Congress (Vol.1)

The congress report is divided into seven parts:

(1) Historical achievements and the current tasks before us. It has been a period of 9 years from the time of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee through the 12th National Congress to the present congress. During the seven years, on the basis of the great achievements scored in socialist construction since the founding of the People's Republic of China, we have opened up a new period of development in the Party's history, and profound changes have taken place in the country. By concentrating on economic development, we have brought about sustained, stable growth in the national economy. During the past nine years the gross national product, state revenues and the average income of both urban and rural residents have all approximately doubled. To guarantee the smooth progress of economic development and of reform and the opening to the outside world, our Party has led the people in an enormous effort to achieve success in the fields of politics, ideology, culture, national defense, foreign affairs and so on. The results obtained have been notable. Nine years' practice has proved that our Party is truly a great, glorious and correct Party and that the line followed since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee is a correct, Marxist line. The report declares that the central task of the current congress is to accelerate and deepen the reform.

We shall analyze our experience, uphold and develop the line followed since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, define the basic policies for future economic development, economic structural reform and political structural reform, and decide on basic principles for strengthening Party building as we carry out reform and the open policy. By fulfilling these tasks correctly we shall do much to promote unity within the Party and between the Party and our people of all nationalities, and to ensure our continued advance along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

(2) The primary stage of socialism and the basic line of the Party. A correct understanding of the present historical stage of Chinese society is of prime importance for building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and it is the essential basis on which to formulate and implement a correct line and correct policies. China is currently in the primary stage of socialism. There are two aspects to this thesis. Firstly, the Chinese society is already a socialist society. We must persevere in socialism and never deviate from it. Secondly, China's socialist society is still in its primary stage. We must proceed from this reality and not jump over this stage. It is not the initial phase in a general sense, a phase that every country goes through in the process of building socialism. Rather it is, in a particular sense, the specific stage China must necessarily go through while building socialism under conditions of backward productive forces and an underdeveloped commodity economy. It will be at least 100 years from the 1950’s when the socialist transformation of private ownership of the moans of production was basically completed, to the lime when socialist modernization will have been in the main accomplished, and a comprehensive legal system and a stable social environment.

Proceeding from the realities of the primary stage of socialism, we should identify six with long-term significance: we must concentrate on modernization; we must persist in a comprehensive reform; we must adhere to the open policy; we must vigorously develop a planned commodity economy with public ownership playing the dominant role; we must endeavor to build democracy on the basis of stability and unity; under the guidance of Marxism we must endeavor to build a society with an advanced culture and ideology. The report points out that the basic line of our Party in building socialism with Chinese characteristics during the primary stage of socialism is as follows: to lead the people of all our nationalities in a united, self reliant, intensive and pioneering effort to turn China into a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and modern socialist country by making economic development our central task while adhering to the four cardinal principles and persevering in reform and the open policy.

(3) The strategy for economic development. The report points out that Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, we have been carrying out a strategic plan for economic development. This plan involves three steps. The first step is to double the GNP of 1980 and solve the problem of food and clothing for our people. This task has been largely fulfilled. The second step is to double it again by the end of this century, thus enabling our people to lead a fairly comfortable life. The third step is by the middle of the next century to reach the per capita GNP level of moderately developed countries. This all these years belong to the primary stage of socialism. This stage is different from both the transitional period, in which the socialist economic basis was not yet laid, and the stage in which socialist modernization will have been achieved. The most important task at present is to make a success of the second step. To this end, we must attend to the following three major tasks: Firstly, to give first priority to the expansion of scientific, technological and educational undertakings so as to push forward economic development through advances in science and technology and improved quality of the work force. Secondly, to maintain a rough balance between total demand and total supply and rationally adjust and reform the structure of production. Thirdly, to open wider to the outside world and constantly expand economic and technological exchange and cooperation with other countries.

(4) Restructuring the economy. The report points out that the socialist economy is a planned commodity economy based on public ownership. This is the Party's scientific summation of the socialist economy and an important contribution to Marxism, and it is also the theoretical basis for our reform of the economic structure. In this connection, several basic concepts need to be clarified. Firstly, the essential difference between the socialist and capitalist commodity economics lies in the form of ownership on which they are based; Secondly, planning should be done according to the principle of commodity exchange and the law of value; and thirdly, the operating sphere of planning and the market covers the whole society. In general, the new economic operation mechanism should be “the state regulating the market, and the market mechanism guiding the enterprises.” At present, our main task in deepening the reform is to change the managerial mechanisms of enterprises and, with that end in view, to institute supporting reforms in the systems of planning, investment, allocation of materials, finance, monetary affairs and foreign trade.

There are six specific measures according to the principle of separation of ownership and management rights; invigorating enterprises owned by the whole people by separating ownership from managerial authority; promoting horizontal economic ties. The formation of horizontal economic ties is an inevitable trend in the development of large- scale socialized production and of a socialist commodity economy; speeding up the establishment and improvement of a socialist market system; gradually improving the macro-economic control system based mainly on indirect control of enterprises; developing an economy with different types of ownership in tandem, with public ownership remaining predominant; and adopting diverse forms of distribution, with distribution according to work remaining predominant, and determining a correct policy in this regard.

(5) Reforming the political structure. The report pointed out that the deepening of the ongoing reform of the economic structure makes reform of the political structure increasingly urgent. China is a socialist country under the people's democratic dictatorship, and its basic political system is good. However, there are major defects in our system of leadership, in the organizational structure and in our style of work. The purpose of reforming the political structure is to promote what is beneficial and eliminate what is harmful and to build a socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics. Therefore, we shall never abandon them and introduce a Western system of separation of the three powers and of different parties ruling the country in turn. The long-range goal of reform is to build a socialist political system with a high degree of democracy and a complete set of laws, a system that is effective and full of vitality. The immediate objective of reform is to institute a system of leadership that will help to raise the efficiency, increase the vitality and stimulate the initiative of all sectors of society. To solve these problems, we should start with the following seven aspects: separating the Party and government; delegating powers to lower levels; reforming working institutions of the government; reforming government organs; reforming the personnel system related to cadres; establishing a system of consultation and dialogue; improving a number of systems relating to socialist democracy; and strengthening the socialist legal system.

(6) Strengthening Party building while carrying out reform and opening policy. Since Party building has always been closely connected with the Party's basic political line, all Party work in the new period must ensure the implementation of this line. We must adapt ourselves to the tremendous change and do a good job of building this great Marxist Party of ours. Only thus can our Party, sound and strong remain in the forefront of reform and the modernization drive, a vigorous Party that has the courage to undertake reform, a Party that is strictly disciplined, honest and fair-minded in performing its functions, a Party that serves the people with outstanding success by selecting and appointing talented, capable people.

(7) Striving to win new victories for Marxism in China. The report points out that China has been going on for more than 60 years. During this time there have been two major historic leaps. The first leap took place during the New-Democratic Revolution, when the Chinese Communists, after repeated experimentation and learning by trial and error, found a way to make revolution based on China's particular conditions and led the revolution to victory. In the second leap, that emerged after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, by analyzing both the positive and negative experience of the 30-plus years since the founding of the People's Republic and studied the development experiences of other countries and the world situation, the Chinese communists found a way to build socialism with Chinese characteristics, thus ushering in a new period of socialist development in the country. The report holds that socialism with Chinese characteristics is the product of the integration of the fundamental tenets of Marxism with the modernization drive in China and is scientific socialism rooted in the realities of present-day China. It provides the ideological basis that serves to unite all the Party comrades and all the people in their thinking and their action. It is the great banner guiding our cause forward. The report clearly set out that in these historical circumstances, the growth of the productive forces is the immediate and decisive criterion.

During the period of socialist construction, developing the productive forces has therefore become our central task. Whatever is conducive to this growth is in keeping with the fundamental interests of the people and is therefore needed by socialism and allowed to exist. In these historical circumstances, the growth of the productive forces is the immediate and decisive criterion. The report also summarized twelve aspects of the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. It preliminarily answered the basic questions in respect to the stage, task, motive force, condition, layout and international environment of our socialist construction, and planned the scientific track for our progress.