The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held from July 15 to 18, was a very important meeting convened on the new journey of the new era, at which the Communist Party of China unswervingly held high the banner of reform and opening up and focused closely on advancing Chinese modernization and further comprehensively deepening reform. The most important outcome of the plenary session was the deliberation and adoption of the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese Modernization (hereinafter referred to as the Resolution). Anchored to the goal of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035, the Resolution focuses on deploying major reform measures for the next five years. With more than 20,000 Chinese characters, 15 parts, 60 articles, and more than 300 important reform measures, the Resolution lays out strategic measures for further comprehensively deepening reform and serves as a general mobilization and general deployment for advancing comprehensive deepening of reform in both breadth and depth on the new journey of the new era. How should we understand and implement the spirit of the plenary session and these reform measures? Starting today, the program Focus Interview launches a series of reports titled Holding High the Banner of Reform and Opening Up, with the first episode interpreting the great significance of further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization.

　　On July 18, 2024, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China closed in Beijing. The theme of this Third Plenary Session was further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization.

　　Qu Qingshan, President of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee: "Since reform and opening up in 1978, there have been three 'Third Plenary Sessions' in our Party's history that have attracted great attention and been very important. The first was the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party held in 1978, which ushered in a new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization and was epoch-making; the second was the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Party held in 2013, which opened a new journey in the new era of comprehensively deepening reform and advancing reform through systematic overall design and was epoch-making; the third is the just-concluded Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party, which will write a new chapter of the times for further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization and is also epoch-making, and will surely go down in the annals of the Party and the people."

　　Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, in the face of a severe and complex international environment and the arduous and heavy tasks of domestic reform, development, and stability, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has united and led the whole Party, the entire military, and the people of all ethnic groups across the country to realize the transformation of reform from partial exploration and ice-breaking breakthroughs to systematic integration and comprehensive deepening, achieving historic changes, systematic reshaping, and holistic reconstruction in many fields. Comprehensively deepening reform has scored historic and great achievements and written a brand-new chapter in Chinese modernization.

　　Qu Qingshan: "Looking back on more than 40 years of reform and opening up, we can clearly see that reform and opening up is an important magic weapon for the cause of the Party and the people to catch up with the times in great strides, the only way to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, a crucial move that determines the fate of contemporary China, and also a crucial move that determines the success or failure of Chinese modernization. We have been able to catch up with the times in great strides because of reform and opening up; since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the reason we have been able to enable the Party and the country to achieve historic achievements and undergo historic changes is also reform and opening up; to achieve modernization and build our country into a great modern socialist country, we cannot do without reform and opening up even more."

　　Chinese modernization has been continuously advanced in reform and opening up, and will surely open up broad prospects in reform and opening up. The present and the period to come are a crucial period for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization. In the face of the complicated international and domestic situation, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and the new expectations of the people, we must consciously place reform in a more prominent position and continue to push reform forward.

　　Qu Qingshan: "This is an inevitable requirement for upholding and improving the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of China's governance system and governance capacity, an inevitable requirement for implementing the new development philosophy and better adapting to changes in the principal contradiction in our society, an inevitable requirement for adhering to a people-centered approach and enabling the fruits of modernization to benefit all the people more and more fairly, an inevitable requirement for responding to major risks and challenges and promoting the steady and far-reaching development of the cause of the Party and the country, an inevitable requirement for promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and winning strategic initiative amid the accelerated evolution of changes unseen in a century, and an inevitable requirement for deeply advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era and building a stronger and more powerful Marxist party. In summary, the great significance of further comprehensively deepening reform can be stated in one sentence: to provide strong impetus and institutional guarantees for Chinese modernization."

　　For further comprehensively deepening reform, where should reform go and how should it be carried out? The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party proposed that the general goal of further comprehensively deepening reform is to "continue to improve and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China's governance system and governance capacity."

　　Huang Shouhong, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Research Office of the State Council: "The general goal of further comprehensively deepening reform embodies the strategic deployment made at the 20th National Congress of the Party, closely follows the theme of Chinese modernization, demonstrates the successful experience of Party leadership over reform in planning and promoting reform around the central task of the Party, and is also an enrichment and development of the general goal of reform proposed at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Party."

　　The Resolution points out that by 2035, China will have fully built a high-standard socialist market economy, the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics will be more complete, the modernization of China's governance system and governance capacity will be basically achieved, and socialist modernization will be basically achieved, laying a solid foundation for building a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of this century.

　　The Resolution also proposed the "seven focuses": focusing on building a high-standard socialist market economy, focusing on developing whole-process people's democracy, focusing on building a socialist cultural power, focusing on improving the quality of people's lives, focusing on building a beautiful China, focusing on building a China at a higher level of safety and security, and focusing on improving the Party's leadership level and long-term governing capacity.

　　Huang Shouhong: "In the general goal of further comprehensively deepening reform, the phased reform goals for 2035 and the sub-field reform goals of the 'seven focuses' have been clarified, and the requirement to complete the reform tasks proposed in the Resolution by 2029 has been made clear, forming, under the command of the general goal, a complete target system with both general and specific goals and a combination of general and specific goals, as well as a timetable, road map, and task list for advancing reform."

　　The Resolution put forward more than 300 important reform measures in total, all of which involve the levels of systems, mechanisms, and institutions. Some of them are improvements and upgrades of past reform measures, and some are newly proposed reform measures based on practical needs and pilot explorations.

　　Huang Shouhong: "Goals are direction, goals are guidance, and goals are motivation. We have confidence and a firm foundation for achieving the general goal of reform because we have many notable political and institutional advantages, rich reform experience accumulated over a long period, a solid material foundation, and the support and endorsement of the broad masses of the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping's navigation and wise leadership are our greatest confidence, greatest foundation, and most reliable backbone for achieving the general goal of reform."

　　The Resolution highly evaluates the successful practice and great achievements of comprehensively deepening reform since the new era, and at the same time, with the "six persistences," profoundly summarizes the valuable experience of reform and opening up, especially of comprehensively deepening reform in the new era: upholding the Party's overall leadership, adhering to a people-centered approach, upholding integrity and innovation, taking institution building as the main line, upholding law-based governance in all respects, and adhering to a systematic approach.

　　Tian Peiyan, Deputy Director of the Central Policy Research Office: "Upholding the Party's overall leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the successful advancement of China's reform and opening up. Party leadership must run through the entire process and all aspects of reform and opening up to ensure that reform always advances in the correct political direction. Adhering to a people-centered approach is the fundamental stance of reform. We must respect the principal position of the people and their pioneering spirit, adhere to the principle that reform responds to what the people call for, be good at pooling the wisdom of the people and coalescing public support, and enable the fruits of reform to benefit all the people more and more fairly."

　　Upholding integrity and innovation means unswervingly upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics, keeping pace with the times, conforming to practical development, highlighting problem orientation, and advancing theoretical innovation, practical innovation, institutional innovation, cultural innovation, and innovation in other aspects from a new starting point.

　　Tian Peiyan: "Upholding integrity and innovation is the inherent requirement of reform. Upholding integrity means adhering to the correct path that conforms to the laws of historical development, fearing no risks, being confused by no interference, maintaining the strong resolve not to change the path or alter the aspiration, and unswervingly upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics; innovation means changing reality and removing obstacles with indomitable courage and boldness, promoting reform to continuously achieve new breakthroughs, advancing along the logic of historical progress, and developing in line with the trend of the times."

　　The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics embodies the major achievements and historical experience made by the people under the leadership of the Party, carries the Party's political ideals, political goals, political programs, and strategies and tactics, reflects the essential features of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is an advanced system with distinctive Chinese characteristics, obvious institutional advantages, and strong capacity for self-improvement.

　　Tian Peiyan: "Taking institution building as the main line is a distinctive feature of comprehensively deepening reform in the new era. Experience shows that institutional advantage is a country's greatest advantage, institutional competition is the most fundamental competition between countries, and when institutions are stable the country is stable, and when institutions are strong the country is strong. We must strengthen top-level design and overall planning, carry out both destruction and construction with construction first and destruction later, consolidate fundamental institutions, improve basic institutions, and innovate important institutions."

　　To further comprehensively deepen reform, we must uphold law-based governance in all respects and must adhere to a systematic approach.

　　Tian Peiyan: "Adhering to a systematic approach is the scientific thinking method of Marxism and also the scientific thinking method and working method of reform. We must make overall plans and adopt dialectical measures, properly handle major relationships that bear on the strategic overall situation of Chinese modernization, such as those between the economy and society, the government and the market, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, and development and security, and continuously enhance the systematicness, holism, and synergy of reform."

　　The principles of the "six persistences" have not come easily and are extremely precious. They must be unwavering in the practice of reform and must be continuously enriched and developed.

　　Huang Shouhong: "History is created by strivers, pioneers, and the brave. We must not only be promoters and doers of reform, but also pioneers and willing oxen of reform, anchor to the reform goals, keep to the reform direction, uphold integrity and innovation, and with the determination to carry reform through to the end, an indomitable spirit, the boldness to be the first, and a style of hard work and solid effort, strive to write a new chapter of reform and opening up on the new journey of the new era."