Are we well-off? Ask the country folk. We must recognize that agriculture is the short leg in the "Synchronization of the Four Modernizations" and the countryside is the weak link in the building of a moderately prosperous society.
—Speech given by Xi Jinping at the Central Rural Work Conference, December 23-24, 2013
Are We Well-off? Ask the Country Folk
—Helping rural residents boost income
The Chinese word for "moderate prosperity" appears in a line from the Book of fin: "The Empire has been consolidated; China shall enjoy moderate prosperity." The word hearkens back to the Confucian ideal of a society in which governance and education are carried out with integrity and the people enjoy peace and prosperity. The term came to refer more generally to a society that is peaceful and moderately well-off. Today, the term "moderate prosperity" is often used in reference to China's goal of achieving a certain level of socio-economic development.
When China's policy of reform and opening up was first launched, the economy languished with per capita GDP around USS 200, far below the international poverty line at the time. Deng Xiaoping took into account the feeble economy, along with the issue of China's unwieldy population size, when designing the strategic goals and steps of China's plan for modernization. Therefore, instead of aiming to achieve the "Four Modernizations," Deng took a more realistic view and sought to establish a "moderately prosperous society" by the end of the 20th century. He further set forth what was called the "three-step" development strategy. The strategy proposed doubling the GNP by the end of the 1980s and ensuring that the people would have adequate food and clothing; doubling the GNP once more by the end of the 1990s, thereby raising per capita GDP to US$800-US$1,000 and achieving moderate prosperity overall; and quadrupling the GNP in the first 30-50 years in the 21st century to match the level of moderately developed countries and achieve modernization in general. From then on, a "moderately prosperous society" has become a stock phrase referring to a society in which everyone is able to enjoy a relatively comfortable standard of living.
In the ensuing years, the first two steps of Deng's objective materialized according to plan. However, the level of prosperity that China had achieved by the turn of the century -- a per capita GDP of US$ 1,000 -- was still quite low and incomprehensive. As such, the CPC adopted a strategic mission of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. By 2010, a full decade ahead of schedule, China had realized the third step of Deng's strategy with a per capita GDP of US$ 4,000. Amid all of the economic upsurge, however, issues such as unbalanced socio-economic development and unequal distribution of wealth have put a damper on the goal of building a moderately prosperous society.
Xi Jinping's remark that we must look at the country folk to determine whether we are prosperous is richly textured, as it is rooted in both the past -- as a continuation of Deng Xiaoping's "three-step" strategy of development -- as well as the present. Xi's point is that, in our conception of a moderately prosperous society, we must take into account both total economic output as well as quality of life; both the size of the "cake" as well as the way it is cut and distributed; both the "averages" as well as the "majority." Xi's comments show that the Party has sharpened its understanding of a moderately prosperous society.
China's economic achievements are a present-day marvel. We should by all means find encouragement in the growing number of wealthy individuals as we continue to realize Deng's vision -- that is, to allow some individuals to become prosperous faster than others so that they can help promote the progress of those that lag behind, until all become prosperous. Yet, we must never forget that the purpose of allowing some to become prosperous before others is to promote the progress of those that lag behind, with the ultimate aim of bringing benefit and prosperity to all. Therefore, we must not grow complacent in the face of our present economic achievements, but must carry on with even greater resolve to realize our vision of common prosperity.
The answer to the question 'Are we well-off?' is found by observing the state of the 'country folk.' During China's revolutionary war years, the CPC was able to carry out its revolutionary campaign of national rescue and reconstruction by relying on the support of the common people. The Huaihai Campaign ended in victory thanks to country folk faithfully pushing along their handcarts to support us. The rapid urban development in China today provides reason to rejoice, of course, but more attention needs to be focused on underdeveloped areas, the countryside in particular. A nation's development ought to be balanced and bring benefit to all of its people. In China, the rural population makes up the vast majority of the total population, which means that China can only experience true prosperity to the extent that its rural population is prosperous.
Having served as a Party Branch secretary in the countryside, Xi Jinping has a keen understanding of China's rural life and carries the issues of villages and villagers close to his heart. The objective of "developing agriculture by means of science and technology" and rural urbanization is to enable villagers to reap tangible benefits. The only way a society can live up to the name of "moderate prosperity in all respects" is if such prosperity is a reality in the lives of its country folk.
(An excerpt from XI JINPING: WIT AND VISION -- SELECTED QUOTATIONS AND COMMENTARY, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2015)
