Editor's note: Clean governance, economic prosperity and an equitable society are the aspirations of the Chinese people for a better life and also the fundamental goal of the Chinese nation's development and progress. Pan Wei, an international politics professor with Peking University, comments in Guancha.cn:

The "great rejuvenation" of the Chinese nation means China should first enjoy economic prosperity, but any prosperity without the support of clean governance and an equitable society will be difficult to sustain.

Forty years of reform and opening-up have resulted in a rapid increase in household wealth in China. and its economic growth is the envy of many around the world. However, the country's rapid economic development and progress have come at a huge price, such as an ever-widening gap between the rich and poor and consequently, the accumulation and emergence of various social contradictions. While there are some people that have become much richer, others still face great livelihood pressures, including housing and healthcare, children's education and care for the elderly. The lack of balanced development has also increasingly become a bottleneck to the country's sustainable development. Thus, there have been growing calls for the country to work out a version 3.0 of its socialist theory for the new era to better promote the realization of the country's three major pursuits.

Of the three goals, the equalized development of society is the priority as only equalized development can lay a solid foundation for a thriving economy and clean governance in a sustainable manner. To this end, the country should first promote equalized development of medical resources and then education, housing and services for the aged. A country with healthy and better-educated people will have greater innovation potential and a sharper competitive edge in a globalized era with ever-fiercer competition. If the consumption potential of China's huge population is unleashed, that would offer the largest driving force and most sustainable guarantees for China's economic prosperity.

The curtain has already opened on President Xi Jinping's new era. And version 3.0 of Chinese socialism offers a bright future for the Chinese nation through a series of ongoing and new reforms to promote social equality, economic prosperity and clean governance.