The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) concluded its Third Plenary Session in Beijing from July 15 to 18, 2024. One of its principal objectives was studying the issue of further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese Modernization.
The CPC unanimously decided to call upon the Chinese People to unite behind President Xi Jinping, striving with collective wisdom and strength towards building China into a modern socialist country on all fronts, through a process of Chinese Modernization.
This comes at a time when much of the western world is falling apart by mostly self-ignited and auto-propelled conflicts and proxy-wars, “sanctioning” countries left and right, those which do not conform to the hegemon’s wishes.
While the West is self-destructing, China is “modernizing” and opening-up its outlook and activities to the rest of the world; one could say as a helping hand to seek global harmony and peace, while at home unifying behind a stable and economically sound China.
The Central Committee (CC) also stressed that the reform mechanism must remain committed to the Fathers of Revolution, i.e., to Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and the implementation of President Xi Jinping’s thoughts on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.
The Belt and Road Initiative – This philosophy is already in the process of being implemented. In fact, the outlook, opening-up and peaceful inclusion of the rest of the world, had already started in 2013 with President Xi’s Initiative of the Belt and Road (BRI).
The BRI, so far, has signed over 200 cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations. It spans the globe with at least six nation-connecting transportation infrastructure schemes, via land, sea, and air, through Eurasia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
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In concrete, President Xi, on behalf of the Central Committee, confirmed the work of the Political Bureau since the second plenary session of the 20th CC.
Essentially the act of Modernizing and Opening-up includes,
at home:
- Implementation of the “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy”, meaning promoting and deepening economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological advancement, under law-based self-governance.
- Supporting broad and country-wide security and high-quality development.
- Ensuring people’s wellbeing, social stability, protecting the environment; as well as further development of national defense and the armed forces.
- Advancing work related to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan; and
internationally:
- Pursuing international diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
Direct Diplomacy – Under the latter, what comes to mind is Chinese mediating conflict resolution between Iran and Saudi Arabia, that led to the establishment of diplomatic relations of the two countries in March 2023.
BRICS and Global South – Another Chinese initiative in cooperation with Russia is the expansion of the BRICS to the currently BRICS+5, which is expected to be further enlarged by perhaps five to ten nations, during the upcoming BRICS summit, hosted by Russia during their next summit in Kazan in October 2024.
BRICS under the leadership of China and Russia will soon engulf most of the Global South which comprises some 70% of the world population.
This is part of China’s Modernization with a national, as well as international, and peaceful platform. Modernization is also aiming at de-dollarized currencies, for example, a common BRICS trading currency, strengthening the Global South, gradually moving it away from the fangs of the western dollarized economy.
The western dollarized monetary system has become a worldwide Ponzi-scheme, that over the past few decades has grown to become a power-grabbing system, able to strangle and penalize countries seeking their sovereign self-rule, rather than submission to the western hegemonic powers.
These moves of modernization and opening-up – with Chinese characteristics – are peaceful, non-aggressive and non-expansive, with each partner within the Global South and within the BRICS, maintaining her own sovereign autonomy, and their own sovereign monetary system.
Market economy – the steady advance of modernization will lead China into a high-standard market economy, while maintaining democracy in a strong socialist culture.
The expansion of the market economy will concentrate on the BRICS / Global South, as well as the ASEAN nations, in particular the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement, comprising fifteen countries (Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam), accounting for nearly 30% (2.3 billion) of the world’s population (8.1 billion), and almost 30% (US$ 29.7 trillion) of the World’s GDP (2024 world GDP projected at US$ 105 trillion).
The RCEP is expected to be the world’s largest free trade agreement by 2030.
Public versus Private Sector Development – the CC also concluded, as part of China’s modernization, to consolidate and develop the public sector, but equally and unswervingly encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector, i.e., the private sector.
Economic entities under all forms of ownership must have equal access to factors of production in accordance with the law, compete in the market on equal footing, to be protected by law as equals, thus enabling entities under different forms of ownership to complement each other and to develop side by side. The concept is to unify national markets and refine the systems underpinning the market economy.
The reform process includes assessing implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), leading smoothly to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030).
The Reform Process is expected to be completed when the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2029.
The new era has already begun. It will continue building China into a modern socialist country by the middle of the century; a China advancing peacefully into higher level of long-term governance at home, and providing diplomatic assistance internationally for those nations or societies that want to benefit from China’s aura and experience of peaceful development and coexistence.
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An abridged version of this article was published by Global Times.
Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).
Peter is a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing. He is also Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
Featured image is from The Cradle
