General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a profound exposition at the symposium on the inheritance and development of culture. The profound significance of the “Two Integrations” underscores: “Why is our socialism different? Why is it vibrant and full of vitality? The key lies in Chinese characteristics. And the essence of Chinese characteristics lies precisely in the ‘Two Integrations.’” “The ‘integration’ has solidified the foundation of our path,” endowing the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics with a broader and deeper historical dimension and enriching its cultural underpinnings. Deeply understanding and grasping General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important remarks is the fundamental guiding principle for us as we embark on a new historical starting point, continuing to promote cultural prosperity, build a culturally strong nation, and construct a modern civilization for the Chinese nation. We must, in accordance with the direction indicated and the requirements put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping, advance the deepening and continuous substantive development of the “Two Integrations” in this new era and on this new journey.

The key to Chinese characteristics lies in the “two combinations.”

Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the dialectical unity of the logical consistency of scientific socialism and the historical logic of China’s social development. Born in the 1840s, Marxism revealed the laws governing the development of human society and transformed socialism from a utopian vision into a science. As the core component of the Marxist theoretical system, scientific socialism has pointed the way forward for the proletariat and oppressed nations and peoples around the world in their struggle for liberation. In modern China, after countless patriotic intellectuals and revolutionaries had made various efforts to find a path to national salvation and survival—all of which ended in failure—the victory of the Russian October Revolution and the establishment of the world’s first socialist state enabled the ideas of scientific socialism to be embraced by the Chinese people. From the moment its founding, the Communist Party of China took the implementation of social revolution as its fundamental political goal and communism as its highest ideal. Through arduous exploration and unremitting struggle, it united and led the people to successfully forge the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Meanwhile, in Chinese culture, ideals such as “When the Great Way prevails, the world belongs to all,” the grand tradition of “harmony among the six regions” and “all under heaven as one family,” the people-centered philosophy embodied in “the people are paramount, the ruler is secondary” and “governance lies in nurturing the people,” as well as the egalitarian notions of “equalizing wealth and reducing poverty” and “reducing the surplus to help the needy”—all these reflect the spirit of the Chinese nation and contain simple socialist elements, providing a cultural foundation for China’s acceptance of Marxism.

In the ongoing historical process of advancing the sinicization and modernization of Marxism, the Communist Party of China, during the period of the New Democratic Revolution, put forward the significant proposition of combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that we must earnestly study China’s historical and revolutionary realities by applying the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods of Marxism-Leninism, emphasizing that this “combination” should be “centered on studying the practical problems of the Chinese revolution” and “drawing lessons from Confucius to Sun Yat-sen.” In the new era of reform and opening-up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping proposed “blazing our own trail and building socialism with Chinese characteristics” and “the Four Modernizations in the Chinese style.” In the new era, General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively put forward the major proposition of “combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s outstanding traditional culture,” stressing that we should focus on the practical problems arising from our country’s reform and opening-up and modernization drive—on the tasks we are currently undertaking—while keeping an eye on the application of Marxist theory, on theoretical reflection on practical issues, and on new practices and new developments. At the same time, he emphasized that “China’s outstanding traditional culture is our deepest cultural soft power and also the fertile cultural ground upon which socialism with Chinese characteristics is rooted,” clearly indicating that the key to the distinctive features of socialism with Chinese characteristics lies precisely in these “two combinations.” The proposal of this major proposition is not only of great significance for adhering to the principle of proceeding from actual conditions, using the “arrow” of Marxism to hit the “target” of the new era in China, and continuously answering questions posed by China, the world, the people, and the times; it is also of great importance for integrating the essence of Marxist thought with the quintessence of China’s outstanding traditional culture and for blending it with the common values that the Chinese people consciously or unconsciously embrace in their daily lives, thereby ensuring that Marxism takes firm root in China. Since the advent of the new era, one important reason why the cause of the Party and the country has achieved historic accomplishments and undergone historic transformations is that we have upheld the “two combinations,” enabling the bright path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics to become ever broader and ever more firmly established. In particular, the proposal of the “second combination” represents yet another great ideological liberation, demonstrating that our Party has reached a new height in its understanding of the Chinese path, theory, and system.

The “Second Combination” extends and broadens the historical depth and cultural foundations of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics did not come easily. This path has been forged through the great practice of reform and opening up, emerged from the sustained exploration since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, stemmed from a profound reflection on the course of the Chinese nation’s development since modern times, and drawn from the inheritance of the Chinese nation’s over 5,000-year-old splendid civilization. It boasts deep historical roots and a broad, solid practical foundation. Moreover, the “Second Combination” has endowed the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics with an even broader and deeper historical dimension, further enriching its cultural underpinnings.

Looking at the development history of the Chinese nation, despite the changes across different historical periods and the succession of numerous dynasties, the inheritance and development of Chinese civilization and the continuous continuation of the Chinese nation through generations have never been interrupted. As the spirit and lifeblood of a nation, culture has been tempered and refined throughout the long river of China’s historical transformations, yet it has become ever more resilient. However, since the Opium War in 1840, China was subjected to constant aggression by Western powers, plunging the country into a state of national decline and cultural devastation. Countless patriotic intellectuals and righteous individuals “strengthened themselves with patriotism and took the salvation of the nation as their own responsibility,” striving to rescue the nation from peril—but all their efforts ended in failure. It was only after Marxism spread widely in China that the ideological liberation of the Chinese people was greatly promoted, giving rise to the Communist Party of China and completely transforming the face of the Chinese revolution. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people successfully completed the tasks of opposing imperialism and feudalism, solemnly declaring to the world that “the Chinese people have now stood up.” At the same time, the Party issued a powerful statement: “We will emerge before the world as a nation endowed with a highly developed culture.” As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The enduring continuity of Chinese civilization over thousands of years—despite repeated hardships and trials—is a miracle of human civilization and the very foundation of our confidence. To firmly uphold cultural confidence is to stay true to our own path.” This requires us to ground ourselves in the great historical and contemporary practices of the Chinese nation, attach great importance to excavating the essence of China’s over five-thousand-year-old civilization, promote China’s outstanding traditional culture, integrate its finest elements with the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and methodology, and unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The outstanding traditional Chinese culture boasts a long history and profound cultural heritage, serving as the crystallization of wisdom from Chinese civilization. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China points out that the outstanding traditional Chinese culture—embracing such principles as “the world for the common good, the people as the foundation of the state, governance by virtue, reforming the old and ushering in the new, selecting talent solely on merit, harmony between heaven and humanity, striving for self-improvement, cultivating virtue to carry the world, upholding trust and fostering amity, showing benevolence toward others and treating neighbors with kindness”—is an important embodiment of the Chinese people’s worldview, outlook on the world, social outlook, and moral outlook, accumulated over long periods of production and daily life. These principles are highly compatible with the values advocated by scientific socialism. These vital elements of the outstanding traditional Chinese culture represent the concentrated essence of the unique value system of Chinese civilization; they are deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people and subtly yet profoundly influence their modes of thinking and behavior. The core socialist values, which we have forged through consolidating value consensus across the Party and society, are a highly condensed and concentrated expression of the core socialist value system. They not only uphold the fundamental principles of scientific socialism but also draw upon the unique value system of Chinese civilization, which has been passed down for thousands of years, and resonate with the outstanding traditional Chinese culture that has become part of the very genetic makeup of the Chinese nation. Thus, these values play a crucial role in firmly guiding us along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics means promoting the coordinated development of material civilization, political civilization, spiritual civilization, social civilization, and ecological civilization. The economic ethics embodied in the outstanding traditional Chinese culture—focusing on enriching the people and improving their livelihoods while balancing justice and profit—are fully aligned with the construction of a socialist market economy. The people-centered philosophy—holding that the state exists for the people and that the interests of the people are the foundation of the state and the country—is consistent with the building of a socialist democratic political system. The spiritual pursuit of cultivating virtue to carry the world and promoting moral integrity is in harmony with the development of an advanced socialist culture. The value orientation of alleviating poverty, helping those in need, ensuring stability and prosperity for the people is in tune with the building of a harmonious socialist society. Moreover, the ecological concept of harmony between heaven and humanity and the coexistence of all things is perfectly aligned with the construction of a socialist ecological civilization. It can be said that the "second combination" has broadened the cultural foundations of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Chinese-style modernization endows Chinese civilization with modern vitality, while Chinese civilization imbues Chinese-style modernization with profound cultural depth.

On the broad and promising path of fully advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization, how to imbue Chinese civilization with modern vitality through Chinese-style modernization and, in turn, endow Chinese-style modernization with profound cultural depth through Chinese civilization—this is a major historical and contemporary issue that calls for continuous exploration as we grasp the “Second Combination.”

“Chinese-style modernization is modernization that carries forward the legacy of an ancient civilization, rather than modernization that seeks to obliterate it.” China’s ancient systems—such as the commandery-county system and the imperial examination system—can provide historical lessons for China’s modern approach to state governance. China’s Four Great Inventions, traditional craftsmanship, and agricultural techniques from ancient times can serve as historical driving forces behind today’s scientific and technological innovation in China. The ancient Silk Road offers valuable historical insights for today’s Belt and Road Initiative. The cultural classics left behind by ancient China are treasures that chronicle the glory of the ancient Chinese civilization; we must do everything possible to protect and cherish them. Chinese-style modernization “is modernization that has grown out of the Chinese land itself—not a mere copy or imitation of other countries’ modernizations.” Under the leadership of our Party, united with all ethnic groups across the country, we have, with a spirit of self-reliance and perseverance and with diligence and courage, completed in just a few decades what took Western developed nations centuries to achieve—the industrialization process. Upholding the principle that “governing a country begins with enriching its people,” we are committed to achieving modernization that ensures common prosperity for all our people. Guided by values that emphasize moral integrity and the balanced pursuit of justice and profit, and driven by the noble aspiration of attaining both material and spiritual abundance, Chinese-style modernization has become a model that harmoniously integrates material and spiritual civilizations. Adhering firmly to the philosophies of “harmony between heaven and humanity” and “the way follows nature,” we are striving to promote modernization that fosters harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Drawing on the wisdom of “being kind to friends and good neighbors” and “harmony without uniformity,” we are making the building of a community with a shared future for mankind a defining feature of Chinese-style modernization, thus ensuring that it remains a path of peaceful development. Chinese-style modernization “is the result of civilizational renewal, not the product of civilizational rupture.” The Chinese nation has always been driven by the spirit of “renewal day by day, ever anew” to advance Chinese civilization through innovation. The unique worldview, values, historical perspective, civilizational outlook, democratic outlook, ecological outlook, and other distinctive features of Chinese-style modernization, along with its great practical achievements, represent a major innovation in both the theory and practice of global modernization, presenting a new vision that differs fundamentally from the Western model of modernization. Chinese-style modernization is adept at drawing nourishment from the outstanding achievements of human civilizations while actively promoting mutual learning and exchange with other civilizations around the world, thereby playing a tremendous role in enriching and flourishing the global garden of civilizations and advancing human civilization as a whole.

Building and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics on the profound foundation of over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization—and combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s outstanding traditional culture—is an inevitable path. This is a systematic insight we have gained in our exploration of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and it is our greatest treasure for achieving success. Only by adhering to the “two combinations” can we profoundly grasp the key essence of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Only by grounding ourselves in the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization can we truly understand the historical inevitability, cultural depth, and unique advantages of the Chinese path, thereby continuously strengthening the foundations of our path and building a modern Chinese civilization.