China's economy has grown steadily, its national strength has been enhanced considerably, and Chinese people's lives -- culturally and materially -- have improved significantly.

China, by the beginning of the new millennium, has realized its objective of quadrupling its 1980 gross domestic product (GDP), and has entered a new stage of building a well-off, socialist society and enhancing its modernization drive.

All the great changes and achievements should be attributed to the Party's adherence to the principle of seeking truth from facts and presenting new ideas in theories.

The Party's integration of Marxism with China's practices and its willingness to constantly present new theories have placed China on the right path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and have given new vitality to China's development.

Since its founding in 1921, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been faced with combining the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism with China's practices.

It is the adherence to the ideological line of seeking truth from facts since the first generation of the Party's collective leadership, led by Mao Zedong, that has led the Chinese revolution to success, led to the founding of new China in 1949 and guided the Chinese people along the road of socialism.

Late senior leader Deng Xiaoping -- core of the Party Central Committee's second generation of leadership, established during the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC in 1978 -- inherited and developed Marxism and Leninism and formulated the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics after reviewing the negative and positive experiences in the development of socialism at home and abroad.

Hence, China was ushered into a new period of vigorous development.

Deng's Contribution

Deng's contributions to the Party's ideological breakthroughs mainly include:

The theory China was in the primary stage of socialism. Based on the fact the productive forces in China have generally remained underdeveloped, Deng held China was in the primary stage of socialism, and that releasing and developing productive forces remained China's central task for a long period of time.

Subsequently, economic development would be China's central task for at least 100 years.

That has resulted in numerous accomplishments. From 1978 to 1989, China's economy maintained an average annual 9.5-percent growth rate.

That laid the solid foundation for China's economy to sustain an annual 9.3-percent growth rate in the following 13 years despite negative international factors.

The theory that socialism can coincide with a market economy. Deng believed planned and market economies were tools that could be adopted by either capitalist or socialist systems of society.

The objective of China's economic restructuring was to establish a socialist market economic system. Integration of China's socialist system with a market economic system, and the perception socialism could adopt a market economy, were important contributions to the scientific socialism theory of Marxism.

The socialist-reform and opening up theories. Deng deemed that to inject vitality into China's development, a profound social reform was needed to root out institutional barriers.

The reform would help improve the socialist system and drive its advancement, while opening up at all levels would enable China to learn and grasp the world's new trends in such fields as science and technology.

Thus, China would be better positioned to cope with the increasingly intensified international competition.

The reform and opening-up policy, based on Deng's theory, has resulted in profound social changes in China, and brought about real benefits to the Chinese people. China's stunning achievements in recent years have been well recognized by the world.

The theory of "one country, two systems." That formula laid a solid foundation for China's smooth resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong, in 1997, and Macao, in 1999.

Such a concept cannot be found in the classical works of either Marx or Lenin. A brainchild of Deng, the theory is, therefore, a development and an ideological breakthrough.

New Century

Profound changes occurred as mankind entered the 21st century. Multipolarization and globalization have developed rapidly. Meanwhile, China entered a stage of building a well-off society.

Jiang Zemin, the core of the Party's new generation of leadership, attached greater importance to bringing forth new ideas in theories.

Addressing the grand ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Party on July 1, 2001, Jiang said, "In terms of theory, Marxism develops with the times."

He asked the Party to promote the spirit of advancing with the times, and to adhere to the principle of bringing forth new ideas in theories.

Jiang's new theories and ideas include:

The "Three Represents" theory. Since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee of the CPC in 1989, the leadership of the Party Central Committee, led by Jiang, has held high the banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory and united the Chinese people to advance along the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Jiang masterminded the "Three Represents" theory, namely, the Party must always represent the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China.

The "Three Represents" theory has inherited and enhanced Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory. It has been a powerful ideological weapon for enhancing and improving the Party's leadership, and accelerating the self-improvement and development of the socialist system.

To lead and rejuvenate the country, the Party should take development as its primary task. Jiang required that, as a party in power, the CPC should shoulder its historical mission of advancing social development in China, and attach great importance to the releasing and developing of productive forces.

Jiang said, to maintain the advanced nature of the Party and give full play to the advantages of the socialist system, the Party should strive to develop advanced productive forces, develop advanced culture and work towards the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China.

The Party should press ahead with the construction of socialist spiritual civilization and promote social advancement in an all-round way.

Jiang has held the Party should concern itself with both the people's practical material and cultural needs, and with improving the overall quality of people.

In light of the Party's requirement for spiritual civilization construction, China has been fruitful in recent years in meeting people's material and cultural needs, and in lifting its people's quality.

With the initial realization of the 9-year compulsory education, the illiteracy rate among people between the ages of 15 and 45 has been reduced to 4.1 percent, down from 10.4 percent in 1989.

At the same time, the consumption orientation has undergone significant changes; people are spending more on housing, tourism and entertainment.

The Party must adhere to the policy of being strict in Party discipline and push forward Party building in an all-round manner.

The Party should stick to an independent foreign policy of peace and build up the structure for China's cross-century foreign diplomacy.

To sum up, ideological breakthroughs of the CPC have injected new vitality into China.

From Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory to the "Three Represents" theory of Jiang Zemin, the Party has demonstrated a deepened understanding of socialism and Marxism.

It is the Party's attitude of seeking truth from facts and its courage to bring forth new ideas in theories that have brought good fortune to China.

The authors are researchers with the Institute of Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(China Daily November 1 , 2002)