(2) From the perspective of economic system. The basic economic system with public ownership as the main body and multiple ownership economies developing together has been formed, and the socialist market economic system has been initially established, which has injected great vitality into economic development. According to the spirit of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee on improving the socialist market economic system, reforms in various fields are continuing. At the same time, we must see that the socialist market economic system is not perfect, the institutional and institutional obstacles that affect development still exist, and the reform faces deep-seated contradictions and problems. How to deepen the reform according to the requirements of implementing Scientific Outlook on Development and building a harmonious socialist society, and provide institutional guarantee for comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, is still a major issue we are facing.
(3) From the perspective of people's lives. The people's living standards have generally reached a well-off level, and the most outstanding progress has been made in combating poverty in the world. The continuous reduction of Engel's coefficient in urban and rural areas marks the upgrading of consumption structure and the improvement of quality of life. The income of urban and rural residents has further increased, and the level of clothing, food, housing, transportation and use has continued to improve. The initial establishment of the urban and rural minimum living security system has saved the poor from hunger and cold. At the same time, we should see that what we are realizing at present is a well-off society with low level, incomplete and unbalanced development, which often covers up the huge differences in income and living standards of different social classes on average. In addition to the more than 20 million poor people in rural areas who are included in the subsistence allowances, tens of millions of people are still at a low level of food and clothing, and more than 20 million poor people are included in the urban subsistence allowances. Urban and rural residents still have many difficulties in education, medical care and health care. Ensuring a prosperous life for all depends not only on economic growth, but also on economic and social policies that take into account the interests of all parties.
(d) From the perspective of coordinated development. Due to the gradual deepening of comprehensive rural reform, agricultural tax, animal husbandry tax and specialty tax have all been abolished, the policy of supporting agriculture and benefiting farmers has been continuously strengthened, and rural development has maintained a good momentum. Due to the implementation of the strategy of developing the western region, supporting the revitalization of the old industrial bases in Northeast China and the rise of central China, the trend of widening regional development gap has been curbed. At the same time, we should see that the characteristics of China's urban-rural dual economic structure are still obvious, and the situation of weak agricultural foundation and backward rural development has not changed. The differences in development foundation, location advantages and natural endowments determine that regional disparities will exist for a long time, and unbalanced development is still a prominent contradiction.
(5) From the perspective of democratic political construction. Political system reform has been actively and steadily promoted throughout the reform process, socialist democracy has been continuously developed, a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics has basically taken shape, the enthusiasm and initiative of people's political participation have been continuously improved, and the political system has generally adapted to the requirements of economic and social development. At the same time, we should see that there are still many links in China's political system that need to be improved and developed. These imperfections are incompatible with the requirements of expanding people's democracy and economic and social development, and need to be solved by continuing to deepen political system reform.
(6) From the perspective of cultural construction. Driven by rapid economic development, great achievements have been made in cultural construction, and people's cultural life has become more colorful. At the same time, it should be noted that the overall level of cultural construction and the level of China's economic development are not suitable for China's international status and cannot meet the needs of the people. With the improvement of material living standards and the deepening of reform and opening up, people's spiritual and cultural needs are increasingly strong, and the independence, selectivity, variability and differences of people's ideological activities are obviously enhanced. Building an advanced socialist culture, carrying forward Chinese culture and building the spiritual homeland of the Chinese nation are historical tasks that run through the whole process of building a well-off society in an all-round way and modernization.
(7) From the perspective of social construction and management. Driven by the development of various economic sectors, socialist market economy and opening to the outside world, social vitality has been significantly enhanced. Education at all levels and types has developed rapidly, the employment problem has been well solved, a social security system adapted to the socialist market economy has been established, and remarkable achievements have been made in social undertakings. At the same time, we should see that social development still lags behind economic development, and there are still many problems to be solved urgently in people's livelihood. Under the new situation of profound changes in social structure, social organization form and social interest pattern, social construction and social management are facing many new topics.
(8) From the perspective of opening to the outside world. China has changed from a closed and semi-closed economy to an open economy. China's accession to the WTO marks a new stage of opening to the outside world, and China's booming economy is playing an increasingly important role in the world. At the same time, it should be noted that China is still a developing country, and the pressure of economic and technological advantages of developed countries will exist for a long time, and its ties with the international community will become increasingly close, and the risks will also increase. Forming new advantages in participating in international cooperation and competition in the fierce international competition puts forward higher requirements for coordinating domestic development and opening up.
The above shows that China's economic and social development has indeed entered a new stage. Thanks to the unremitting efforts since the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up, profound and significant changes have taken place in China from productivity to production relations, from economic base to superstructure, especially economic development, which has attracted worldwide attention. The life of more than one billion people has achieved a historic leap from insufficient food and clothing to a well-off society as a whole, and has entered a new development stage of building a well-off society in an all-round way since the 20th century. At present, many stage features of China's development are the stage features of building a well-off society in an all-round way. To promote development and reform under the new situation, we must deeply understand and accurately grasp these stage characteristics.
The above situation also shows that China is still in the primary stage of socialism from the perspective of the big development stage. Building a well-off society in an all-round way is an important development stage in the great development strategy of realizing modernization in three steps in the primary stage of socialism. Fundamentally speaking, the stage characteristics of China's current development are the concrete embodiment of the basic national conditions in the primary stage of socialism in the new century and new stage. A deep understanding of this point is of great significance for implementing the party's line, principles and policies and promoting reform, opening up and modernization.
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China is still in the primary stage of socialism and will be in it for a long time, which is a whole and overall judgment of China's national conditions from the social nature and social development stage. To build socialism with China characteristics, we should proceed from the reality of China, first of all from the greatest reality.
The so-called primary stage of socialism, in short, is the underdeveloped stage of socialism. China entered socialism under the condition of very backward productive forces, and it is bound to go through a long primary stage of socialism and realize industrialization and modernization of developed countries under capitalist conditions. From the completion of socialist transformation in the middle of the 20th century to the realization of modernization in the middle of the 20th century, at least 100 years is the primary stage of socialism. This is an insurmountable historical stage to realize socialist modernization in economically and culturally backward China.
Since the reform and opening up in China, the economy has been growing rapidly and the country has undergone historic changes. However, it has not fundamentally got rid of underdevelopment and still has obvious characteristics of the primary stage of socialism. Mainly manifested in:
First, the historical task of industrialization has not been completed, and it is still in the middle stage of industrialization as a whole. China's industrialization and modernization, economically, include dual tasks: promoting traditional industrialization and catching up with the trend of new technological revolution in the world. At present, China's industrial structure is backward and its growth mode is extensive. The transformation of agriculture and the whole rural economy with modern science and technology is only preliminary, and there are still a lot of backward equipment in use in many aspects of industrial production, circulation and other social and economic life. Compared with developed countries, there is still a big gap in scientific and technological level, national education and cultural quality.
Second, the development between urban and rural areas and between regions is very uneven. Although the country has taken many policy measures to promote coordinated development, the trend of widening gap has not been fundamentally reversed. We still need unremitting efforts from restraining the gap from expanding to gradually narrowing it. The contradiction of unbalanced development will exist for a long time.
Third, the situation of urban-rural dual economy has not fundamentally changed. Since 1990s, especially since the beginning of the new century, the urbanization process has been accelerated, and the urbanization rate reached 43.9% in 2006. According to the current development trend, it is estimated that it will reach about 60% in 2020, which will exceed the world average, but it is still significantly lower than the developed countries. At present, the urbanization rate in the world has exceeded 50%, and it is generally above 80% in developed countries. It is predicted that the world urbanization rate will exceed 60% in 2030.
Fourth, although China's economic aggregate has risen to the fourth place in the world, its per capita GDP is only US$ 2,000, which still ranks behind the world and belongs to a low-and middle-income country. A large total indicates that the country's economic strength is relatively large, and a small per capita indicates that it is still a relatively poor country. The backwardness of productive forces fundamentally determines the limits of improving people's living standards and social welfare.
The backwardness of productive forces also fundamentally determines that China's current socialist system is not perfect. Establishing the socialist market economy system is a great pioneering work, but the practice of realizing the organic combination of socialism and market economy is still very preliminary and needs to continue to advance in exploration. To improve the socialist market economic system, we should not only continue to eliminate the disadvantages of the planned economic system, but also pay more attention to solving the internal contradictions and problems of the market economic system itself in the process of progress. It is a long-term and arduous historical task to deepen the reform of political system according to the national conditions in the primary stage of socialism in China, promote the institutionalization, standardization and proceduralization of socialist democratic politics, and provide political and legal system guarantee for the long-term stability of the party and the country. After the establishment of the basic economic system and political system in the primary stage of socialism, it is still necessary to deepen the reform, strengthen the system construction, and gradually find the specific form of production relations that meets the requirements of the development of productive forces and the specific form of superstructure that meets the requirements of the change of economic base.
After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in the process of summing up historical experience, the theory about the primary stage of socialism was gradually formed. The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of China systematically expounded the issue of the primary stage of socialism, and the 14th, 15th and 16th National Congresses of the Communist Party of China reiterated and emphasized the issue of the primary stage of socialism, constantly enriching and developing the theory of the primary stage of socialism. The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China reiterated that the basic national conditions of China will remain in the primary stage of socialism for a long time, and repeatedly stressed that we should base ourselves on the basic national conditions of the primary stage of socialism when expounding major issues. This is because it is the key to correctly put forward and implement the party's theory, line, principles and policies and the fundamental basis for promoting reform and planning and development. Looking back at history, one of the fundamental reasons why we made serious mistakes in socialist construction before the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was that some tasks and policies, including some institutional arrangements and development goals, were divorced from the basic national conditions in the primary stage of socialism. One of the fundamental reasons for the success since the reform and opening up is to correct the wrong ideas and policies that have gone beyond the stage, carry out fundamental reforms on the system and system that do not meet the requirements of the primary stage of socialism, and strategically adjust the development goals and steps; At the same time, resolutely resist the wrong idea of giving up the basic socialist system and ensure the correct direction of reform. In the new stage of development, to implement the Party's line, principles and policies, we must uniformly understand and accurately grasp the basic national conditions that China will remain in the primary stage of socialism for a long time.
The first thing is to adhere to the Party's basic line in the primary stage of socialism and fully understand and correctly handle the relationship between "one center" and "two basic points". Since China's socialism is called the primary stage, the most fundamental reason is the underdeveloped productive forces, and the contradiction between the people's growing material and cultural needs and backward social production is the main social contradiction, then we must take economic construction as the center and take development as the top priority of the party in governing and rejuvenating the country. This is the fundamental requirement for the prosperity and long-term stability of our party and country. The Four Cardinal Principles are the foundation of the country, the political cornerstone for the survival and development of our party and country, and the most important political guarantee for modernization. Reform and opening up is the road to a strong country and the source of vitality for the development and progress of our party and country. Without reform and opening up, there would be no Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Therefore, the report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized: "We must persist in unifying the economic construction as the center and the four cardinal principles and the two basic points of reform and opening up with the great practice of developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and we must never waver." The practice of nearly 30 years has repeatedly proved the extreme importance of this "unification". If we don't pay attention to this "unity" and only emphasize one aspect and ignore the other, we will make mistakes of one kind or another.
It will take more than ten years to achieve the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way, and it will take decades to basically realize modernization, which is a long way to go. As for consolidating and developing the socialist system, it needs the unremitting efforts of several generations, a dozen generations or even dozens of generations. We have made great achievements, but there is still a long way to go. Since the beginning of the new century, historical progress has been made in development and reform, and the economy has been growing rapidly, and applause is endless. However, we must always keep a clear head, see the long-term prospects and arduous tasks, be prepared for danger in times of peace, overcome blind optimism, guard against arrogance and rashness, and do all the work well. This is also the profound intention of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to re-emphasize the primary stage of socialism.
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Human society is a historical process of continuous development. The division of social development stages is one of the basic methods of Marxist understanding of society. Engels put it well: "Our theory is not a dogma, but a clarification of the development process that includes a series of interrelated stages." The theory of the primary stage of socialism is the great achievement of Marxism in China, and it is in a fundamental position in Socialism with Chinese characteristics's theoretical system.
The development and perfection of the socialist system is a long historical process. The primary stage of socialism is a fairly long historical development stage, and it will inevitably go through several specific development stages, and different stages will show different stage characteristics. This dynamic development process is a process of local qualitative change caused by quantitative change accumulation, and then a new local qualitative change caused by new quantitative change accumulation on a new basis. It is also a process of socialism from underdeveloped to developed and from immature to mature. Without a clear understanding of the basic national conditions that China will remain in the primary stage of socialism for a long time, it is impossible to grasp the reality of China from the overall situation and the overall situation, and it is impossible to see the general direction; Without changes in specific stages of development, it is possible to make a holistic and overall fuzzy judgment on the primary stage of socialism, and it is difficult to implement a big development strategy. Only by firmly grasping the primary stage of socialism and carefully analyzing the specific characteristics of different stages can we correctly judge the mainstream and direction of China's social development and formulate correct development strategies and policies accordingly. The strategic deployment of realizing modernization in three steps and the strategic decision of building a well-off society in an all-round way in 20 years are examples of creatively dividing social development into stages.
Since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee has put forward Scientific Outlook on Development and other major strategic ideas and adopted a series of corresponding principles and policies, all of which are correct decisions made according to China's economic and social development entering a new stage and adapting to the periodic changes of China's development. The report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China comprehensively analyzed the stage characteristics of China's current development, further enriched the understanding of building a well-off society in an all-round way and the primary stage of socialism, thus enriching and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics Theory. According to this correct understanding, this strategy will surely lead China to new victories in reform, opening up and modernization.