Continuing to promote cultural prosperity, build a culturally strong nation, and construct a modern Chinese civilization at this new starting point is our new cultural mission in the new era.

Assuming a new cultural mission underscores our Party’s historical responsibility to promote the prosperity of Chinese culture and create a new form of human civilization. We must deeply study and implement Xi Jinping’s Thought on Culture, adopt an unrelenting and pioneering spirit, and better shoulder this new cultural mission. In the course of our endeavors and practices toward building a strong socialist culture and constructing a modern civilization for the Chinese nation, we should demonstrate a fresh outlook and achieve new accomplishments.

Connecting the past and the present, the new cultural mission is a profound call of our times.

Culture is a vital force for the survival and development of a nation.

The call to “shoulder a new cultural mission” is a solemn declaration made by General Secretary Xi Jinping from the perspective of carrying forward the Chinese civilization and from the strategic vantage point of the Party and the country’s overall development. It underscores the profound sense of historical responsibility, unwavering sense of mission, and deep-rooted concern for the people held by contemporary Chinese Communists.

On June 1, 2023, during his inspection of the Central Main Branch of the National Library of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “In times of prosperity, we should promote cultural development. In our era, with a prosperous nation and a peaceful and stable society, we have both the aspiration and the capability to carry forward our national culture. We must do this important task well.”

Throughout more than 5,000 years of long history, generation after generation of Chinese sons and daughters have blazed new trails and opened up uncharted territories, creating a splendid civilization—the only one in the world that has endured uninterrupted and evolved into a nation-state to this day. The best way to inherit our history is to create new history; the greatest tribute we can pay to human civilization is to forge a new form of human civilization.

Only by embracing a new cultural mission, carrying forward the historical cultural heritage, and ensuring that the most fundamental cultural genes of the Chinese nation are aligned with contemporary culture and harmonized with modern society can we compose a brilliant cultural chapter for the new era and the new journey ahead.

“My motherland and I are like the sea and a single wave…” The song soared through the Donghu Cultural Square in Jinzhou, Liaoning.

In August 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping, who was conducting an inspection tour in Liaoning, visited this place and pointed out: “Chinese-style modernization is a modernization that coordinates both material and spiritual civilization.”

Providing the people with abundant spiritual nourishment is not only an inevitable requirement for meeting their new aspirations for a better life, but also an essential component of Chinese-style modernization. Only by firmly anchoring ourselves to the goal of enabling the people to enjoy a more fulfilling, richer, and higher-quality spiritual and cultural life—by satisfying their spiritual needs, broadening their spiritual horizons, and enhancing their spiritual strength—can Chinese-style modernization truly shine with greater brilliance and radiate a warmer underlying tone.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping has creatively incorporated cultural confidence into the “Four Confidences,” describing it as “a more fundamental, deeper, and more enduring force in the development of a country and a nation.”

Today, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered a critical stage. Only by embracing a new cultural mission—revitalizing China’s outstanding traditional culture and seamlessly integrating it with revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture in the new era—can we ensure that this rejuvenation endeavor is sustained by an inexhaustible spiritual impetus.

Keeping pace with the times, the new cultural mission points out the direction for the advancement of Chinese culture.

“Contemporary Chinese Communists and the Chinese people should—and certainly can—shoulder the new cultural mission, engage in cultural creation through practical innovation, and achieve cultural progress through historical advancement!”

In the report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping first put forward the significant proposition of a “new cultural mission.”

In June 2023, at the Symposium on the Inheritance and Development of Culture, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly articulated “fourteen emphases” regarding cultural development and proposed the major task of building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation, thereby charting the course for creating a new culture that is uniquely suited to our era.

A new cultural mission ignites a myriad of vibrant forces driving the flourishing development of culture—

The strength of a nation and a people is always underpinned by the flourishing of its culture. The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation requires the development and prosperity of Chinese culture as a prerequisite.

Under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, cultural undertakings in the new era are thriving, and the innovative and creative vitality of the entire nation is bursting forth in full force.

The new cultural mission calls upon us to continue delving deeply into and elaborating on the essence of China’s outstanding traditional culture, promoting its creative transformation and innovative development. In this way, cultural relics housed in museums, heritage sites spread across our vast land, and writings preserved in ancient texts will increasingly resonate with the hearts of the people, driving China’s cultural development toward a vibrant and prosperous future.

A new cultural mission, uniting powerful forces to build a culturally strong nation—

A thriving culture ensures a prosperous nation; a strong culture makes a nation strong.

On this great journey of the new era, it is precisely because we possess cultural self-confidence and pride that we have the steadfastness to stay true to the right path, the motivation to forge ahead with determination, and the vitality to embrace change and innovation.

The new cultural mission calls upon us to stand firmly on the axis of culture, grasp the interplay among history, the present, and the future, consolidate the common ideological foundation for the unity and struggle of the entire Party and all Chinese people, and firmly safeguard the spiritual lifeline of the Chinese nation. We must unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, use cultural confidence to lead the building of a culturally strong nation, and provide powerful value guidance, cultural cohesion, and spiritual impetus for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese dream.

A new cultural mission calls for the commitment to building a modern Chinese civilization—

In Anyang, Henan, the Yin Ruins lie along the winding Huan River.

In October 2022, during his inspection here, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The purpose of this visit is to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese civilization—drawing on the wisdom of the past for the present—and to provide valuable insights for better building a modern Chinese civilization.”

For thousands of years, the Chinese nation has followed a path of civilizational development that is distinct from that of other nations and ethnic groups. The profound and time-honored Chinese traditional culture has consistently nurtured the sustained development of the Chinese nation.

The new cultural mission inspires us to distill the spiritual hallmarks of China’s outstanding traditional culture and to showcase the cultural essence within it that possesses contemporary value and global significance. We are called upon to explain and promote to the world more outstanding cultural treasures that embody Chinese characteristics, reflect the Chinese spirit, and encapsulate Chinese wisdom, thereby contributing to the building of a modern Chinese civilization in the course of advancing Chinese-style modernization.

Reviving the ancient in the new—this new cultural mission calls for a new sense of historical responsibility.

Not long ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered his 2024 New Year’s message, saying with deep emotion: “The dawn of civilization at Liangzhu and Erlitou, the enduring legacy of oracle-bone inscriptions from Yinxu, the cultural treasures of Sanxingdui—the continuous thread of our nation’s heritage carried on by the National Library of China... In this vast and profound China, how long our history is, how immense our civilization is—this is the very foundation of our confidence and the source of our strength.”

As we embark on a new journey, continuing to promote cultural prosperity, build a culturally strong nation, and construct a modern civilization for the Chinese nation, it is even more crucial that we deeply grasp the vital role of culture in leading social transformation and demonstrate a proactive sense of historical responsibility.

To better shoulder our new cultural mission, we must uphold the spiritual qualities of self-confidence and self-reliance—

In July 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the new building of the Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan. “After seeing it, my sense of national pride has doubled—after all, we’re talking about 5,000 years of Chinese civilization! And I’m even more eager to see further discoveries and excavations that will shed light on an even longer chapter of Chinese civilization,” said the General Secretary.

The outstanding traditional Chinese culture, nurtured over more than five thousand years of civilizational development, and the revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture, born from the great struggles of the Party and the people, provide us with a powerful spiritual foundation that enables us to stand tall among the world’s nations.

By firmly upholding cultural confidence, persisting in taking our own path, and using Chinese principles to distill and summarize China’s experiences—elevating these experiences into a coherent Chinese theory—we can achieve spiritual independence and self-reliance, thereby continuously strengthening the spiritual forces needed to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

To better shoulder our new cultural mission, we must uphold an open and inclusive broad-mindedness—

On September 23, 2023, President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, hosted a banquet to welcome international guests who had come to China to attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. Musical pieces such as China’s “Tea-Picking Dance,” Syria’s “Flower in a Dream,” and Nepal’s “Silk Fluttering” were performed, weaving together a symphony that celebrates the beauty of diverse civilizations living in harmony.

Since ancient times, Chinese civilization has been renowned worldwide for its openness and inclusiveness, continuously rejuvenating itself through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations. We must adopt an even broader vision, engage in cultural exchanges with all countries on an even wider scale, and proactively learn from and draw upon the outstanding achievements of all civilizations around the world, thereby enabling Chinese culture to better reach out to the world.

To better shoulder our new cultural mission, we must uphold the integrity and vigor of staying true to our principles while embracing innovation.

The Hongshan Site, known as “Venerating Dragons and Valuing Jade,” and the Liangzhu Site, hailed as a “Sacred Land of Civilization”... In May 2023, the digital art exhibition “Why Civilization—Exhibition of Achievements from the Project to Trace the Origins of Chinese Civilization” went online. The ancient scenes of civilization have burst forth with new vitality.

Only by upholding orthodoxy can we stay on the right path and avoid making disruptive mistakes; only through innovation can we seize the pulse of our times and lead them. On this new journey in a new era, only by adhering to both orthodoxy and innovation—transforming through inheritance and transcending through learning—can we enable the profound and rich Chinese civilization to radiate an even more captivating brilliance and continuously forge new glories for Chinese culture.

By adhering to Xi Jinping’s Thought on Culture as our guiding principle—using culture to advance our undertakings, nurture the foundations of our nation, establish our hearts through culture, and forge our souls with culture—we will surely be better equipped to shoulder our new cultural mission and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through the flourishing and prosperity of our culture.