Speech at the Symposium on Commemorating the 110th Anniversary of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's Birth.

Speech delivered by Xi Jinping at the Symposium on the 110th Anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's Birthday on August 20, 2014. Contained in in Selection and Compilation of Important Documents since the 18th National Congress (Vol. 2). The Speech reviewed Deng Xiaoping's great achievements in his whole life and summarized Deng Xiaoping's outstanding contributions to China's revolution, construction and reform. The speech pointed out: Deng Xiaoping's life was a glorious life, a life of battle and a great life, he was recognized as an outstanding leader, great Marxist, proletarian revolutionist hailed by the whole Party, the army and the people from all ethnic groups. He was also an outstanding far-sighted thinker, statesman with high prestige, military strategist, a long-standing communist fighter, the chief designer of China's socialist Reform and Opening-up and modernization, the pioneer of the path of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the main creator of Deng Xiaoping Theory.

During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, Deng Xiaoping rendered outstanding merits for the national independence and people's liberation, and was one of the founding fathers of the People's Republic of China. Deng resolutely solved a series of major issues confronting the Party and the country, leading the Party and the Chinese people to blaze a trail and reach a new stage of development. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, Deng Xiaoping made outstanding contributions to the successful completion of the socialist revolution and greatly contributed to the exploration of a suitable path of socialist construction in China.

Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the CPC was held in December 1978, under guidance of Deng Xiaoping, the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts was re-established, resolutely fought against the wrong practice and formulation of "taking class struggle as the key link”, determined that the focus of the whole Party’s work should be shifted to the work of socialist modernization construction, he designed and led the Reform and Opening-up initiative and the modernization drive with a view to improving the well-being of the Chinese people, all of which marked a great turning point and far-reaching significance in the history of the Party. Deng Xiaoping was the core of the second generation of the Party's central leadership in the new period of Reform and Opening-up and has made historic contributions to the creation of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Under Deng Xiaoping's guidance, our Party systematically summarized the historical experience since the founding of New China, solved the two major interrelated historical issues of: firstly, the scientific evaluation of comrade Mao Zedong's historical position personally and scientific system of Mao Zedong Thought and secondly the establishment of the correct path of China’s socialist modernization.

Deng Xiaoping's contribution not only changed the historical destiny of the Chinese people, but also changed the course of the world's history. As Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao pointed out, without Deng Xiaoping, it would be impossible for the Chinese people to blaze a new trail, a new situation wherein the path of Reform and Opening-up and the bright prospect of socialist modernization could be started. Xi Jinping called on the whole Party: in order to commemorate Deng Xiaoping we need to learn from his lofty character and unyielding belief in the great ideal of communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, by studying his noble character, his firm belief in the lofty ideal of communism and conviction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, learn from his great passion for the people, learn from his persistent theoretical quality of being practical and realistic, learn from his political courage of constantly exploring and innovating, and from his breadth of vision embodied in his strategic thinking, and learn from his selfless and broad-minded attitude.

The most important theoretical and political legacy bequeathed to us by Deng Xiaoping is the socialism with Chinese characteristics that the Party and the people created under his leadership and the Deng Xiaoping Theory that he founded. Deng Xiaoping's thinking and practice are prominently marked by a firm belief in the principle of proceeding from reality in everything we do, taking the national and international situation into consideration, and by adherence to the CPC’s principles of seeking truth from facts, independence, and the mass line. Deng Xiaoping's noble, distinctive and unique revolutionary style will inspire us to move forward on the journey to achieve the goal of “Two Centenary goals” and the Chinese Dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.