Party's theoretical innovation has led to China's achievements, study session told

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has expounded on the latest vision on exploring new frontiers in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, calling for unremitting efforts to deepen the understanding of the Party's theoretical innovation.

The vision, which followed up on major Party theories put forward at the epochal 20th CPC National Congress in October, marked the latest efforts by the Party's central leadership to push forward the integration of the tenets of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture, analysts said.

Xi presented the vision while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee — the Party's core leadership — on Friday. The session's participants listened to a lecture given by Li Wentang, vice-president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, before sharing their views.

During the session, Xi said the fundamental reason that the CPC has been able to lead the people to accomplish arduous tasks — achievements that were inconceivable for any other political force in China — is that it has mastered the scientific theory of Marxism, and has constantly promoted theoretical innovation in light of new realities.

He attributed the success of the CPC and socialism with Chinese characteristics to the fact that Marxism works, particularly when it is adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

Xi emphasized the need to attain even richer outcomes in theoretical innovation in the new era and on the new journey. He also warned that the soul of Marxism and the root of China's fine traditional culture can never be abandoned, saying that doing so would lead to catastrophic mistakes.

Wang Feng, an associate professor at the School of Marxism at Beijing Normal University, said the timing of the session, which was held one day before the 102nd anniversary of the Party's founding, showed the unprecedented emphasis from the Party's core leadership on adapting Marxism to the needs of the times.

The session was held weeks after Xi chaired a symposium in Beijing, at which he stressed the need to build a modern Chinese civilization and carry forward the nation's fine traditional culture.

The general secretary reiterated on Friday the importance of reinvigorating the fine elements of the traditional culture with Marxism and endowing them with new content, as well as enriching Marxism with the great spirit and abundant wisdom of the Chinese nation.

He also called for a broad horizon in theoretical studies in order to learn from and borrow all fine outcomes of civilizations in human society, saying that efforts to innovate and develop the Party's theories must be built upon "the aggregate of human knowledge".

He underscored that advancing theoretical innovation must be based on actual practice, and efforts must be made to discover, develop and test the truth through practice.

He Yun'ao, a professor who researches history and traditional cultural heritage at Nanjing University, said that Xi's call for efforts to discover, develop and test the truth through practice can be seen as parallel to the argument that "practice is the sole criterion for testing truth", which was advocated by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in China's reform and opening-up.

"Only by drawing theories from practice, applying theories in practice and using the practice to test theories can the Party move forward based on the pattern of history and ensure its adherence to the spirit of science," the professor said.

Professor He also said that efforts to integrate the tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture will not only help revive the cultural elements that led to glories in the nation's history, but also build up national unity in the process of Chinese modernization.

Xi also stressed on Friday the significance of pooling wisdom on theoretical innovation from the people, saying that creative practices of the people serve as an inexhaustible source for innovation in Marxist theories.