1. Changes in the underlying trends of the times as the foundation and premise of my thoughts

Those familiar with Chinese politics know that the CPC is China's core leadership in reform and development. According to the Constitution of the CPC, the Party agencies of highest authority are the National Congress and the Central Committee (members of the latter being selected by the former). Thus, every time a National Congress or Central Committee convenes, decisions must be made on reform and development. Furthermore, we know that in China, a great amount of theoretical research (especially on policy) usually occurs around the time that the National Congress and Central Committee convene. Here, I relate how my thoughts on economic globalization and the peaceful rise of China have evolved on a timeline centered on National Congresses.

We must begin with the time period between October of 1987 (13th CPC National Congress) and October of 1992 (14th CPC National Congress). At that time, I was working at the then China Center for International Affairs under the State Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Before that, I had worked at the Research Office of Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. The first time I came across the issue at hand was in April of 1988, and I spoke on it at an international forum: “The world has embarked upon a period of massive transition symbolized by a wave of reform and adjustment on the global scale.”The reason for this is that multipolarity had begun to emerge globally and could not be stopped, and the overall structure of the world as established after World War II would be difficult to maintain. Pressed by a series of major imbalances in the global economy, the social systems and economic structures of various countries would also be difficult to maintain. The revolution of new technology was only beginning to unfold, and it was posing nations greater challenges than they had ever faced. Thus, I believed that this would “bring about yet another great transition to the overall structure of world strategies that were established after World War II, and such transition is to be related to the future of the world and every nation during the 21st century.”(1) Furthermore, I believed contemporary China was also experiencing a huge, unprecedented social transition. Later, I stated in an essay entitled “Massive Transformation, Becoming Reacquainted,” “China, a nation of one billion people that has fallen behind economically and culturally, must achieve national rejuvenation while carrying out modernization and comprehensive reform in the face of developments taking place at the end of the 20th century and the first part of the 21st century. This is a social transition based on socialism that China has never seen before.”(2) I also proposed this: “As for speaking of the times, Deng Xiaoping once pointedly stated that peace and development are two great themes for the world of today. He also stated that the global ‘East-West issue’ is one of peace, and the ‘North-South issue’ is one of development. This is extremely important for us in scientifically understanding these times.”(3) In fact, for all aspects of the wave of reform and adjustment on the global scale mentioned above, the basic premise lies in the fact that the theme of the times, as Deng pointed out, has already transitioned into one of peace and development. This could be said to have been the starting point of the next 30 years of my research work.

On August 7, 1988, I systematically discussed “the current rise in the wave of reform and adjustment on the global scale” in a published article. Despite not mentioning the term “globalization” at the time, what I had written about was indeed economic globalization. I stated that there were five major factual foundations for this rising wave: The first was that the US and the Soviet Union acknowledged that adverse economic difficulties resulted from long-term military buildups and that the focus of their competition would turn from the military to comprehensive national power, especially in the areas of economy and technology. Second was the strategies that the US was currently debating, such as reforms and adjustments to the structures of the economy, industry, and companies in the US and Western countries, as well as reforms in such areas as administration, taxes, and government spending so as to eliminate“administrative barriers” that hindered market operation and economic development. Third was the new trend toward integration and the G7, symbolizing a major shift and reconfiguration in authority regarding the world economy, and also symbolizing that capitalism was breaking past the limits set by the economic reforms carried out by nations, all of which were developing toward enhancing international cooperation. The fourth was that the Soviet Union and most other socialist countries in Eastern Europe were working hard to propel economic, political, and social reforms and overcome rigidity. The fifth was that developing countries (some including newly industrialized countries) and a large number of low-income countries/regions carried out different reforms and adjustments based on their own specific needs, and a race to gain freedom from poverty through economic and social development was thus initiated. In particular, I pointed out that “a large number of facts show that in many important respects, the reforms and adjustments made in countries with different social systems and at different levels of development, in fact, had many things in common, which could and should allow them to put aside their minor differences to seek common ground.”(4) One of these areas of common ground was the emergence of a better-developed“cross-national economy” in the fields of national industrialization, modernization, and the commercialization and socialization of production. It is thus clear that the new “great transition” in the global economy and politics of that time was what later became known as “globalization.”Moreover, I stated that countries with different social systems and at different levels of development trending toward international cooperation did not mean the end of conflicts or competition; rather, it was the beginning of a “great race” (or “great war”) for comprehensive national power.

I pointed out that reform had already been going on in China for ten years, coinciding nicely with the new wave of reform and adjustment taking place on the global scale, and that China was thus an important component to this global wave. Regarding the outlook for this new trend, I believed it was the peace and development spoken of by Deng Xiaoping. I also stated this was “a great, historical trend on our winding path of existence.”(5)

In fact, before the 13th CPC National Congress and during the related preparation and drafting work, I carried out a systematic investigation and work assigned by the CPC Central Committee on the issues of the primary stage of Chinese socialism and socialist market economies. While working on these items, I personally felt the Central Committee's insistence holding to Deng Xiaoping's assessment of peace and development as the theme of the times in handling major international issues and in seizing the opportunity to bring the economies of China and the world closer together on the foundation of concepts regarding the primary stage of Chinese socialism and socialist market economy. By doing so, China's economic development was greatly promoted. As a theoretician for the CPC, I was very excited, and it further cemented my understanding of China's relationship with the international community.

After the 14th CPC National Congress in 1992, I held the position of executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, and my main task was to equip the whole Party with Deng Xiaoping's theory on socialism with Chinese characteristics. In September of 1997 before the 15th National Congress, I was made executive vice president of the School of the Central Committee of the CPC (the Central Party School). During the 15th National Congress, Deng Xiaoping Theory was linked to Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought as a guiding principle of the Party, and it was written into the Party Constitution. During a speech at the Kennedy School of Harvard in December of the same year, I stated that Chinese people will remember Deng Xiaoping because he is the symbol of the CPC's initial focus on modernization and the beginning of a never-before-seen phase of development, both of which occurred during the reform and opening up as China became linked to economic globalization instead of economic separatism.

When the Asian financial crisis erupted in 1998, I gained a clearer understanding of the duality of economic globalization and the path China was on. At that time, I wrote, “We have already been on a bright path of independently developing socialism with Chinese characteristics while actively participating in economic globalization.”(6) While leading instruction reform at the Central Party School and writing teaching material oriented toward the 21st century, I stated, “The world is undergoing a great transition, of which the major source is the economy. … The current, worldwide transition includes a transition in the theme of the times, the rise of a revolution in new technology and industry, rapid development in the world market and a huge transformation in the structure of the world economy. It also includes a consistent trend of multipolarity for the world and a new wave of economic globalization.” I was able to say this as a result of what we had learned from the Asian financial crisis, this being the first time I spoke on the outlook for the new wave of economic globalization.(7)

As for how China developed itself during such global transition, I further affirmed, “Over the past 20 years since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, China has seized all available opportunities, proceeding along a new path linked to economic globalization instead of economic separatism while independently developing socialism with Chinese characteristics,” and I consistently used this wording all along.