On May 17 in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a symposium on philosophy and the social sciences and delivered a speech.

“A country without advanced development of the natural sciences could not possibly be a leading nation, and neither can a country without booming achievements in philosophy and the social sciences,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said, stressing the unique role of philosophy and the social sciences at a symposium on May 17 in Beijing.

Xi noted that China is undergoing the most profound and widespread social reform in its history. Such unprecedented practices will generate enormous power and broad space for developing theory, he added.
 

Ten influential scholars spoke at the symposium, including Ru Xin, a research fellow and former vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS); Justin Yifu Lin, an economist and professor from the National School of Development at Peking University; Zhong Jun, a research fellow from the Academy of Marxism at CASS; Fan Jinshi, a research fellow at Dunhuang Research Academy; Zhang Weiwei, a professor from the China Institute at Fudan University; Kang Zhen, a professor from the School of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University; Ma Huaide, a professor from the China University of Political Science and Law; Shen Zhuanghai, a professor from the School of Marxism at Wuhan University; Jin Yinan, a professor from the Institute of Strategic Studies at the PLA National Defense University, and Wang Wen, a research fellow from the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.
 

They introduced research advancements in such fields as philosophy, economics, scientific socialism, history, political science, literature, law, Marxist theories and military studies, while offering suggestions on how to promote the innovation and development of philosophy and the social sciences in China.

“President Xi listened to all of our speeches attentively, as he took notes, asked questions and talked with us from time to time. Then he delivered a speech, presenting his overall thoughts on the development of philosophy and the social sciences in China,” Zhang said.
 

Xi also emphasized accelerating the construction of philosophy and the social sciences with Chinese characteristics, which resonated with social sciences scholars.
 

“In his speech, Xi clearly expressed China’s confidence in and awareness of prospering academics and intellectual culture amid its economic rise and boosting its soft power while its hard power is increasing,” Shen said, adding that the president’s speech is a guideline for speeding up the development of Chinese philosophy and social sciences in the new millennium.
 

To that end, Han Zhen, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said it is a priority to answer problems put forward and encountered in the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Problems reflect the undercurrents of an era, so raising the awareness of problems and remaining problem oriented are two prerequisites for exploring the socialist path with Chinese characteristics, he said.
 

“Scholars shouldn’t confine themselves to studies. Instead, they should equip themselves with a strong consciousness of problems and realize that problem solving is the logical starting point for all scientific research,” Han added.
 

For more than a century, the fields of Chinese philosophy and social sciences have been overshadowed by theories from the West. It was through more than 30 years of great reform and opening up practices that the monopoly of the West was broken.

“We should deconstruct the Western discourse system with high theoretical confidence, thus building a contemporary Chinese academic discourse system and empowering Chinese theories to serve the times and benefit the future,” said Zhou Wen, vice-president of Fudan University’s China Institute.

Zhang said that with the peaceful development of China, theoretical innovations in philosophy and the social sciences are needed to break away from Western discourse and foster a system of Chinese style while telling a good story of China and the world. The innovation of basic theory is key to the discourse system, he said.
 

Zhang took his political science research team as an example to further explain his opinion. “Our team is used to—with the junction of theory and experience as a point of departure—organizing and judging the weaknesses of Western political science to ‘break’ the myth while ‘establishing’ our own theory,” he said.
 

“For instance, when questioning the assumptions about rational man and arguments of power that are considered absolute in Western political theory, we discovered some ‘blind spots’ and ‘genetic defects’ in Western institutions. Meanwhile, we made a theoretical summary of successful experiences in China’s development, such as the decision-making mechanism, and distinct strategic planning and execution capacities under the new model of democratic centralism,” he said.
 

“It was our innovation and breakthroughs in basic theory that emboldened and enabled us to challenge Western theory and discourse, and led our prediction that the ‘Arab Spring’ will turn into ‘Arab Winter’ to work,” Zhang added.

Ren Zhong is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.