China's reform roadmap from 2029 to 2049

I'm Robert Lawrence Kuhn and here's what I'm watching: China's roadmap to 2029, 2035, and 2049, three milestone dates in the country's long march to the Chinese Dream, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation - the grand goal set by President Xi Jinping and just affirmed by the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Everyone who wants to understand China must understand Party announcements, especially those summarizing critical plenums. Those who dismiss Party statements as "turgid Party-speak" miss an opportunity to discern insights. Let's go.

According to authorities, "The holding of the plenary session highlights the strong determination and strong sense of mission of the Party Central Committee, with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, to carry out reforms to the end. It is a reaffirmation of what flag to raise and what path to take in the new era and on the new journey. This is of great and far-reaching significance for advancing the construction of a strong nation and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization."

To analyze major Party policies, I seek to distinguish what strikes me as novel and fresh, even if nuanced and subtle, from the oft-repeated, unchanging principles, such as upholding the Party's overall leadership, promoting high-quality development, ensuring the people's wellbeing and protecting the environment, among others.  

What I found sufficiently different to qualify as significant were the following:

* Using the term "grave" as well as "complex" to describe the international environment and the arduous tasks of advancing reform and development and ensuring stability at home.

* Upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, which encourages new thinking by seeking to ensure that it does not undermine core ideology.

* Taking institution building as a main task, which stresses organizational continuity as opposed to individual fiefdoms.

* Exercising law-based governance on all fronts, which makes it clear that there are no exceptions.

* Applying systems thinking, which recruits a modern management system and best practices.

The content-heart of the third plenum communiqué has a parallel structure, each section beginning with either "It was stressed…" or "It was stated…" I do not believe these introductory phrases were accidentally appended, nor do I believe that the order of sections happened at random. Here are a few examples.

* It was stressed… Party ideological commitment.

* It was stressed… review and apply valuable experience in order to deepen reform comprehensively.

* It was stated…  a high-standard socialist market economy guarantees Chinese modernization.

* It was stated… high-quality development is a primary task.

* It was stated… integrated urban and rural development is essential to Chinese modernization.

* It was stated… opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization.

The list goes on. Overall, there were 17 "It was stated…" and 5 "It was stressed…". 3 of the "stresses" refer to the Party, one to deepening reform and one to peaceful development.

The full "Resolution" of the third plenum consists of 15 parts and 60 articles, divided into three major sections.

The first section expounds the significance and requirements of further comprehensively deepening reforms and promoting Chinese modernization.

The second section takes economic system reform as the driving force in all fields and aspects.

The third section talks about strengthening the Party's leadership over reforms.

The "Resolution" puts forward more than 300 reform measures: some are improvements and some are new.

Although "common prosperity" is not stressed or even stated - likely because some would interpret it as anti-private sector - it is implicitly present in "integrated urban and rural development" and the "people's wellbeing."

Regarding China's roadmap and those three dates, I find great significance. 2049, the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, has long been the aspirational target for the full realization of Chinese modernization. 2035, set at the 19th CPC National Congress, is the aspirational target for when China will "basically" realize socialist modernization; and 2029, set at this third plenum, gives a tight, five-year timetable for implementing all the reforms required to achieve the 2035 and 2049 goals.

It is this 2029 date that is particularly interesting, because it now establishes the temporal criteria by which officials will be held accountable. It represents how profoundly President Xi is committed to "basically" realizing socialist modernization by 2035. This should not be taken lightly.

I'm keeping watch. I'm Robert Lawrence Kuhn.

Script and Presenter: Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Producer: Yang Yutong

Video Editor: Xiao Qiong

Graphic Designer: Qi Haiming

Executive Producer: Sun Lan

Chief Editor: Li Shouen

Supervisors: Xiao Jian, Adam Zhu

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