Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for greater efforts to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the requirement in an instruction on the project of studying and developing Marxist theory in the new era.

A work meeting on the project of studying and developing Marxist theory was held in Beijing.

As the brief of the meeting points out, the project is of strategic importance to the Party’s ideological and theoretical development. Over the past 20 years, researchers taking part in it have produced a large number of high-quality research results, playing an important role in promoting the Party’s innovative theories and consolidating the guiding role of Marxism in the field of ideology.

Researchers have been tasked with providing guidance for ‘redefined’ Marxism’s implementation in the new era

In the new era, the participants in the project should continue to further intensify the systematic and academic research and interpretation of Marxism, enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of their learning and the application of their research findings, and promote the Party’s innovative theories to become more pertinent to the practical needs of advancing the country’s high-quality development and the national modernisation.

In their research, they are expected to base their work on the needs of the Party and the nation, carry on Chinese cultural heritage, and build a solid academic foundation for the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

They need to conduct in-depth research on major issues in the process of advancing national modernisation, accelerate the construction of an independent knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences, cultivate high-quality theoretical talents, and make greater contributions to promoting the sinicisation and modernisation of Marxism.

The instructions Xi has recently made on the project profoundly explain its status and role, clarify the task requirements of adhering to the right path and innovation to promote the study, research and publicity of the Party’s innovative theories, and provide important guidance for the project’s implementation in the new era.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to strengthening the Party with effective ideological work and innovation of theories. And Xi has published a series of important expositions on strengthening the study and development of Marxist theory, profoundly answered the directional and fundamental issues of adhering to and developing Marxism, and systematically explained the direction, goals, basic principles, fundamental tasks and key tasks of the study and development of Marxist theory.

The project, as required, should focus on improving the pertinence and effectiveness of studies and researches, deepening the systematic research and interpretation of Marxism and the actual conditions of China.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2024