Why is China mobilizing its national strength to promote common prosperity?
What are the indispensable factors in the Chinese approach to achieving common prosperity?
Xin Ming
The Chinese people are a genuine community, and the Chinese people together with their country form a genuine community as well. When the nation and its people prosper, everyone benefits. This is the principle that China upholds.
As human civilizations have developed, material wealth is increasingly being created with unprecedented scale and speed, and there are more and more countries that possess abundant material wealth. Whether these countries are referred to as developed countries or modernized countries, their ability to accumulate material wealth can be said to have peaked considering their production capabilities. However, few of these countries are willing and able to truly promote common prosperity at the national level just like China.
So then why can China mobilize the whole nation to promote common prosperity? What are the indispensable factors in the Chinese approach to achieving common prosperity?
A true community includes all its people
Common prosperity requires a true community, not one that is imagined or pieced together. In Chinese society, the subjects of this community are the Chinese people.
In a modern society, the emergence of diverse interest groups and social classes is an inevitable trend. Particularly in Chinese society, at the nascent stage of socialist development with a socialist market economy, such diversity is expected. This gives rise to a spectrum of values, behaviors, and interests. Recognizing this reality is crucial.
Yet, within Chinese society, these differences are unified under the broader identity of "the Chinese people."
The Chinese society, through individuals identifying themselves as part of the people, is able to find common ground between different groups and allow values and interests to converge, achieving societal unity and commonality in diversity.
What binds the Chinese people into a true community? Firstly, there's a shared homeland—the People's Republic of China (PRC). With the founding of the PRC, the Chinese people stood up and became the masters of the new nation and society. The PRC is not only the shared home for modern Chinese people's production and life but also the most authentic carrier of their shared community. Secondly, there is a shared vision — the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Despite the diversity of social classes and interests in daily life, this dream unites all as one family, merging individual aspirations into a collective goal. Lastly, there's a shared role: masters of the country. While each person may have a unique social standing and occupation, politically, they are all equals, exercising state power through various levels of People's Congresses and managing national and social affairs.
The Chinese society is fundamentally defined by the Chinese people, forming the quantitative foundation of a true community. In the literature of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government, expressions like "the broadest possible majority of the Chinese people" or "over 1.4 billion people" are frequently used to emphasize the substantial numerical representation of the people. A country that fails to represent its societal majority lacks the legitimacy to identify itself as representing the people. Besides, putting "whole" before "people" not only emphasizes their numerical weight but also their collective significance. While individuals can be counted separately, politically they stand united and indivisible.
The Chinese people embody every individual within society. Far from an abstract notion, the collective is composed of concrete individuals. Chinese President Xi Jinping's commitment to leaving no one behind is evident in his efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and to steadily advance common prosperity.
Today's world lacks the economic and social conditions Marx envisioned for a true community, and it's not feasible to directly replicate a nation's political community structure. However, it is both necessary and possible to construct a true community based on existing production capabilities and social systems, and this is referred to as a global community of shared future.
In the same vein, the universal values of Western countries are narrow and hypocritical. However, based on the common aspirations of all the countries and regions worldwide, as well as the more than eight billion people globally, there should be a genuine consensus on values, whether it is the common prosperity for all at the national level or a global community of shared future at the international level.
A rational view of prosperity: Abundance in both material and spiritual life
Societal growth requires not only material development, it also needs spiritual advancement. Without the elevation of civilization at the spiritual level, it is difficult for individuals within the society to achieve true happiness. The concept of common prosperity in the Chinese society has a clear and definite meaning: The people should enjoy abundance in both the material and spiritual aspects of their lives.
Material prosperity serves as the foundation. Without a doubt, achieving common prosperity in the Chinese society requires a significant leap in the country's economic strength, technological capabilities, and overall national power, so as to establish a solid material foundation for the material affluence of every citizen. One of the most direct indicators for China's achievement in this regard is in reaching a new level of per capita GDP, which is now comparable to that of moderately developed countries. According to the World Bank, the threshold for per capita GDP in developed economies is $20,000, with an average level of $48,000. For moderately developed economies, it exceeds $30,000. Referring to China's per capita GDP of $12,700 in 2022, it would need to double or even more in the next 15-to-30 years. Only with such an economic development foundation can corresponding material prosperity be achieved, including an increase in per capita disposable income, further equalization of basic public services, the provision of modern living conditions in rural areas, and a significant increase in the proportion of middle-income groups. Otherwise, the notion of achieving common prosperity would remain a mere fantasy.
Spiritual prosperity is even more crucial as it shapes the caliber of citizens and the civilization's maturity. The spiritual richness of the Chinese people is reflected in the fulfillment of their spiritual needs, fostered by the growth of societal and cultural assets. One should not be enslaved by material possessions, nor should they be subservient to others' desires, for the foundation of the spiritual world lies in the sovereignty of one's spirit.
Above spiritual independence lies spiritual initiative, which refers to the ability to not only embrace and learn from the rich and diverse achievements of world civilizations but also to independently digest and absorb them, transforming them into something new and valuable that is unique to oneself.
The notion of prosperity being both material and spiritual fulfillment represents an idea that could lead to a new form of civilization.
On the one hand, prosperity does not simply mean being more materially wealthy than others, but refers to what an ancient Chinese scholar once said, "When a country's granaries are well-stocked, the people naturally understand behavioral norms and their underlying principles." It signifies the beginning of promoting the elevation of civilization. Prosperity should not be equated with arrogance and bullying through the indulgence of the Matthew's Effect, but rather it should embody the ability and responsibility to benefit the world as a whole. By eliminating confrontation between nations and cultures, breaking free from the zero-sum game of the Thucydides Trap, and transcending the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest, we can achieve shared, inclusive, and win-win cooperation and attain the most precious form of prosperity for human society.
On the other hand, prosperity means not only meeting people's basic needs and guaranteeing a good living environment, but also providing the necessary conditions for individuals to achieve freedom and comprehensive development. The development of modern science and technology, along with the advancement of productive forces, serves as a powerful driving force for human liberation. The transformation of production relations and the reform of governance systems, both nationally and globally, are pivotal in ensuring the full freedom and development of individuals. By transcending societal structures founded on human-object conflict and liberating individuals from "objective external forces," we can achieve the ultimate prosperity: the liberation of humanity itself.
New form of civilization: Unity of prosperity for the people and strength of the nation
The Chinese people are a genuine community, and the Chinese people together with their country form a genuine community as well. When the nation and the people prosper, everyone benefits. This is the principle we uphold. A country that can achieve common prosperity for all must be a strong country, one that not only creates wealth but also preserves it.
The fate of the Chinese people has always closely intertwined with that of their country. After the Opium War in 1840, China's national wealth was ruthlessly plundered, and the people suffered greatly, enduring a turbulent period where their ancient civilization was disregarded. With the founding of the PRC, the Chinese people stood up and the era of being exploited and oppressed came to an end. Through reform and opening up, the country developed, achieving a historic breakthrough from a relatively backward state of productivity to becoming the world's second-largest economy in terms of GDP. People's lives also improved, transitioning from inadequate basic needs to overall well-being, and now striving toward comprehensive prosperity. This represents a historic leap forward.
The prosperity of the people and the strength of the nation are one and the same in the Chinese society. In the early 1980s, the goal of achieving a moderately prosperous society was Deng Xiaoping's vision of Chinese modernization, which later became the first centenary goal for the Chinese society. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, the lives of the Chinese people are transitioning from overall well-being to common prosperity. Consequently, the goal of China's national modernization has also been elevated, shifting from basic modernization to comprehensive modernization and from being a modernized country to becoming a modernized strong nation.
National strength ensures the prosperity of the people. The level of prosperity that a country can achieve is directly related to the country's position in the world. China's commitment to industrial upgrading is aimed at improving its position in the international division of labor, transitioning from relying on labor-intensive low-end industries for basic needs to relying on technological innovation in high-end industries for prosperity. Effectively promoting global governance reform, changing the bullying rules of hegemonic powers, establishing fair and just international rules, and sharing the dividends of global economic and social development all require a strong nation.
The synergy between people's prosperity and national strength paves a new path to rejuvenation and heralds a new form of civilization. The current hype around the Thucydides Trap by some developed Western countries is driven not only by an intention to contain China's rise but also by their genuine fears. Historically, the rise of powerful nations has been associated with plunder and war, with their strength often expressed through power and hegemony.
But China is telling a new story. China, by upholding the global outlook embedded in Chinese civilization, views the world as a global community of shared future and pursues peace, harmony, and mutual respect as fundamental values. In this global vision, it is no longer about survival of the fittest or winner-takes-all. There are no divisions between the center and the periphery, and there are no relationships of dominance between colonial powers and colonies. Every country and every nation can pursue their own development while promoting shared prosperity, achieving win-win outcomes through consultation and collaboration, and working toward collective success.
Therefore, the prosperity of the Chinese people and the strength of China as a nation do not come from exploiting or oppressing the people of other countries, nor from conquering and plundering other nations. Instead, they stem from China's own development and progress, and they contribute to the prosperity of the world. China aims to achieve its own prosperity and, in turn, promote a more prosperous world through its own strength.
The author is Xin Ming, professor at the School of Marxism, Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C (National Academy of Governance)
Editor/ Liu Xian
Translator/ Zhang Rong
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