Grid workers set power transmission lines in Dalu Town, Qionghai City, Hainan Province, on April 18, to ensure a green power supply for local economy and society. Photo: IC PHOTO

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As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, so has China’s economic development. Xi Jinping Thought on Economy, representing a major innovation in contemporary Marxist political economy, has systematically responded to a series of major issues regarding the fundamental guarantees, core stance, historical positioning, guiding principles, development paths, and salient themes of China’s economic development in the new era. 

Xi Jinping Thought on Economy embodies both rigorous scientific reasoning and a sincere commitment to the people. These two dimensions—scientific insight and people-centeredness—are deeply and indivisibly unified. 

People-centeredness as value pursuit of scientific principles

Rooted in China’s national conditions and the country’s ongoing reform and development practices, Xi Jinping Thought on Economy addresses emerging challenges in both the domestic and global economies. It identifies new patterns and characteristics and distills practical experience into a coherent economic framework. As General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping stated: “We must review and refine the achievements we have made in recognizing underlying laws through the process of economic development, and elevate our practical experience to the level of systematized economic theories. By doing so, we will constantly open up new frontiers for Marxist political economy in contemporary China, and contribute Chinese wisdom to the discipline’s innovation and development.” 

Xi Jinping Thought on Economy offers a profound understanding of the economic laws that underlie socialism with Chinese characteristics. It provides a scientific analysis of the new dynamics, structures, and transformations shaping China’s economy and society in the new era. Guided by this theoretical framework, China has been able to recognize and respond to shifts in the domestic and international environments with precision and foresight. This has enabled the country to pursue proactive reforms and steer its economy steadily through turbulent waters—achieving results that have garnered global attention. 

Marxism is, in essence, a people-centered philosophy. CPC theory originates from the people, serves the people, and aims to improve their lives. The people’s creative practice is an inexhaustible source of theoretical development. As General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must stand firmly with the people, respond to their wishes, respect their creativity, and pool their wisdom to develop theories that they like, accept, and adopt and that become powerful tools guiding them in understanding and changing the world.”

As a sound theoretical system grounded in scientific methodology, Xi Jinping Thought on Economy upholds the mass line, relying on the people as the foundation for development and placing their interests above all else. 

The people’s stance is the fundamental political stance of Marxist parties. From the 18th to the 20th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has continuously enriched and advanced the people-centered development philosophy. As he remarked, “the Chinese Dream is, in the final analysis, the dream of the people; so we must rely firmly on them to realize it, and we must steadily deliver benefits to them.” In economic terms, this means that the pursuit of development must begin and end with improving people’s wellbeing, promoting holistic individual growth, and advancing steadily toward the goal of common prosperity. 

Scientific principles reflect people orientation

Xi Jinping Thought on Economy integrates the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture. It is rooted in the imperative to address real and urgent challenges in the current phase of China’s economic development—such as persistent disparities in regional and urban-rural development, and the pressures many citizens face in securing employment, education, healthcare, childcare, eldercare, and housing. By reaffirming the country’s unwavering commitment to the path of common prosperity, the thought articulates the fundamental stance underpinning China’s economic development and carries forward the value ideals of Marxism.

Guided by worldviews and methodologies of dialectical and historical materialism, Xi Jinping Thought on Economy offers a systematic framework for understanding economic phenomena and resolving economic issues. It distills and synthesizes the regularities observed in China’s economic growth and operations, reflecting the CPC’s deepened grasp of economic laws in the new era and thereby affirming its scientific character.

The people-centered orientation of Xi Jinping Thought on Economy is embedded within its scientific nature, and first manifests in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s consistent emphasis on respecting economic laws in the process of development. As he appealed: “We should respect the objective laws governing the economy. Economic operations have their underlying laws. Fully respecting these laws, leveraging the role of the market, and removing man-made obstacles are a sure way to raise productivity, boost trade, and revitalize businesses.”

In addressing imbalanced development, he highlighted the need to “follow economic and objective laws, tailor measures to local conditions, provide differentiated guidance, see differences for what they are, and avoid applying a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Promoting high-quality development is an intrinsic requirement for sustaining healthy, long-term economic development, for responding to the evolving principal contradictions in Chinese society, for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and for aligning with economic laws. 

Marxism is a theory rooted in practice, and its emphasis on practicality is what distinguishes it from other schools of thought. Xi Jinping Thought on Economy is both a scientific distillation of China’s economic experience and a powerful intellectual tool for guiding the nation’s pursuit of high-quality development, its response to major risks and challenges, and its comprehensive efforts to build a modern socialist country in all respects. Its scientific rigor and people-centered vision are integrated in the practice of socialist economic construction.

Zheng Jiwei is a professor from the School of Marxism at Renmin University of China. 

Edited by CHEN MIRONG