Research works displayed at the conference Photo: Zhu Gaolei/CSST

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On April 1, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) convened a press conference in Beijing to unveil 22 notable research findings.

Zhang Yuyan, deputy director of the Academic Division of International Studies at CASS and director of CASS’s Institute of World Economics and Politics, provided an overview of The Report on the International Situation (2023) as compiled by the academic division. The report offers a comprehensive analysis of economic, political, social, and diplomatic dynamics, alongside significant events and risks, across major countries and regions worldwide in 2022. Building upon this analysis, the report outlines projections for global development trends in 2023. Many forecasts pertaining to China-US relations, global economic recovery, political tensions in hotspots, extreme weather events, and natural disasters have been substantiated. 

Chen Guangjin, lead editor of the Society of China Analysis and Forecast (2024) and director of the Institute of Sociology at CASS, stressed China’s overachievements in economic development, employment, per capita income growth, consumption, education equity, and social security in 2023, marking a key period in Chinese modernization. New forms of employment were highlighted. New business models adopted by e-commerce platforms and the sharing economy at large bolstered demand for labor on the upstream and downstream of industrial chains, facilitating rich and diverse job creation.

“For a period to come, the basic tendency of economic recovery and long-term growth remains unchanged, and the foundation underpinning high-quality development remains solid,” asserted Li Xuesong, deputy lead editor of the Analysis and Forecast of China’s Economic Situation (2024), and director of CASS’s Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics. Looking ahead to the period spanning from now until 2035, China continues to possess substantial growth potential, underscored by advantageous dividends both in terms of labor quantity and quality. These inherent advantages are poised to catalyze high-quality economic development, generating significant room for capital formation, while total factor productivity is anticipated to remain at elevated levels. 

CASS Member Zhuo Xinping, author of the Research on Religious Trends in the Contemporary West: ‘New Age’ Movement, Feminist Theology, and Postmodernism, noted that since the 1960s, shifting religious trends in the West have been interwoven with scientific and technological breakthroughs, economic development, social transition, and political reconstruction. Generally, these religious trends are characterized by integration into Western society across the board, a more open and inclusive intellectual and theoretical system, unprecedentedly vigorous political participation across society, and weakening consciousness of religious organization. 

The year 2023 is unusual in the history of Chinese rule of law, as the Constitution’s material role as the nation’s fundamental law was brought into further play, said Mo Jihong, author of the Constitutional Logic and Constitutionality and director of the Institute of Law at CASS. The book constructs the logic of the Constitution and the basic theoretical system of its constitutionality from the perspectives of ontology, operational theory, and institutional theory. A series of profound theories on core issues are put forward, including the logic of the Constitution and pertinent studies, its explanation, application, and implementation, the Constitution and human rights protection, exercise of state power in compliance with the Constitution, and constitutional review. 

“The rule of China organically integrates Chinese paths, practices, experiences, and theories, creating new forms of human political advancement and providing fertile soil for the construction of China’s independent knowledge system,” remarked Zhang Shuhua, lead author of The Rule of China: Institutional System and Governance Efficacy and director of the Institute of Political Studies at CASS. Examining the history and logic of development over the past 75 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, with a particular focus on the 40-odd years since reform and opening up, the book responds to the major issue of how the socialist political system with Chinese characteristics has offered powerful political assurance and institutional guarantees for rapid economic growth, the thriving of the Party and state’s cause, and long-term social stability. 

According to Zhang Yi, lead editor of Deepen Study on the Modernization of National Governance and director of the National Institute of Social Development at CASS, modernizing China’s system and capacity for governance largely determines the dynamism and quality of Chinese modernization, the building of a leading country across multiple dimensions, and national rejuvenation. Through a variety of theoretical lenses, the book systematically elaborates on the achievements made thus far and outlines future directions for modernizing the system and capacity for governance. It advocates for increased research efforts in key areas such as comprehensively deepening reform, leveraging institutional dividends, and coordinating the operation of state apparatuses.  

Edited by CHEN MIRONG