OneofthebiggeststrengthsoftheChinesesystemisitsfocusonlongviewandstrategy_GuangmingOnlineOneofthebiggeststrengthsoftheChinesesystemisitsfocusonlongviewandstrategyPhototakenonMarch4,2022showstheGreatHallofthePeopleinBeijing,capitalofChina.(Photo/Xinhua)GiventhesuccessoftheChineseeconomicmiracle,thepopularityofthegovernmentamongthepeople,andthegeneralsatisfactionwiththedirectionofthecountry,itisastoundinghowlittleattentionispaidtotheCPC’sapproachtogovernance.TheCPC’stopleveltheoryistheguidingprincipleforconcretepolicies;localprogramsseektoimplementoverarchingstrategicobjectivesidentifiedbythecentralleadership,similartohowlocalmanagersinlargecorporationsaimtocombinelocalsuccesswithoverarchingstrategicgoals.Thisistheonlypossibilitywhichcanexplain,whywhichsomanyformerCPCtargets,goals,andstrategicoutlinesaremetandoftenexceeded,overmanydecades.Oncewerealizethattheorydoesmatter,thequestionbecomes:whichtheoryisthemostrelevant,asCPCtheoriesongovernancearevastandcomplicated.TheXiJinpingThoughtonSocialismwithChineseCharacteristicsforaNewEraalonehasbeenarticulatedinseveralthickbooksinoriginalspeeches,nottomentionthevastbodyofliteratureforinterpretationandeducation.Luckilythereareafewconceptswhichstandoutandguidevirtuallyallotherprinciples.OneofthemostimportantconceptsofSocialisminChinahasbeenthefocusontheso-calledPrincipalContradictioninChineseSociety(hereafter:PC).Thisisamacro-levelanalysisofChinesesociety,condensedintoonesentencewithtwosidesthatareoppositetoeachother.Marxistswillrecognizetheconceptofdialecticmaterialismwhichstatesthatdynamicopposingforcesdrivesocialchange.ThePCrarelygetschanged,asitaddressesthetypeofmajorchallengewhichcanonlybechangedoverdecadesofhardwork.Butwhenitgetschanged,Chinesewouldsay“itsetshigherdemandforsocialinnovationofpolicydevelopment”,whichobjectivelymeanspolicy,politics,andsocietywillmoveinanewdirection,althoughthelong-termgoaldoesn’tchange.AchangeofdirectionbutnochangeofgoalsoundslikeanoxymoroninEnglish,wheredirectionandgoalareoftenusedinterchangeably,butitmakessenseifonerealizesthatthestartingpositionfromwhichthegoalisapproachedhaschanged.Ifpeoplethinkofdevelopmentasalinearprocess,allstepsbetweensettingagoalandreachingitareinthesamedirection,atmostwithsomedeviationinthespeedofchange.Butlifeisn’tlinearandChinesearemastersinnon-linearthinking:onemaybeapproachingatargetwellonthreedimensions,butthensomenewdimensionsstarttobecomeincreasinglyimportant,whichsimplyhadn’tbeenrelevantinthepast.Wheneveryoneispoor,inequalityisn’tanimportantissue.Butoncesomepeoplegetrich,whichisgreat,financialinequalitystartstobecomeincreasinglyimportant,orthequestionwhethertofocuseconomicproductiononimprovingbasicneedsorproducingluxurygoodsandhowtomakethatdecisionetc.ThisisperhapsoneofthebiggestadvantagesChinahasovertheWest:TheChinesesystemhaslong-termgoals,butithasalwaysbeenandremainsveryflexibleintheshortterm,inordertomovesocietytowardsthosegoals.Everysolutiontomajorproblemswillinevitablyleadtonewchallengesonnewdimensionsofanalysis.Failuretoadaptwillonlyexacerbatethoseproblems.TheUSismiredinextremeinequality,butthepoliticalsystemallowsforpoliticstomakeeconomicchangesalmostexclusivelyviainterestrates,taxrates,subventionsandwelfare.Noneofthesetoolscanaddresstheincreasingdeindustrialization,thefactthatasmallgroupofbillionairescontrolvirtuallyallthemedia,theincreasingpovertyinthemiddleclass,orthegrowthofanimpoverishedclass,tonamejustafewchallenges.WhattheUSdidinthepasttobecometheworld’slargestsuperpowerdoesn’tcontainthetoolsforthenewproblemsthathavearisensince.ComparethistoChinain2017,whenthemostrecent“PrincipalContradiction”wasdefinedas:“aconflictbetweenunbalancedandinadequatedevelopmentontheonesideandthepeople’sever-growingdesireforabetterlifeontheother”.Productionisnotcalledweakanymore,butrather“unbalancedandinadequate”.Theconceptofequalityisbroughtbackintothehighestlevelofprioritybyincludingunbalanceddevelopmentintheproblemside.Andthewishofthepeoplesideisrewordedfromsimplymaterialandculturalneedstoamuchmorecomprehensiveneedforabetterlife.ThepreviousPCdefinitionhadalmostexclusivelyfocusedoneconomicgrowth,andmanyyoungpeopleintheWesthaveknownChinaonlyasasuper-fasteconomicgrowthengine,wherealmostanythingwaspossibleifonejustbringsinmoneyand/ortechnology.Becauseatthetime,Chinalackedbothmoneyandtechnologyandhadsetthegoaltochangethat.Fortheverylongterm,Chinahastwocentenarygoals,tofullyeradicateextremepovertyby2021–whichhasbeenachieved–andtobecomeamodern,strongsocialistcountryby2049.Nothinginthatlongtermgoalhaschangedin2017.Butasthefacts,the“startingposition”havechanged,somustthedirectiontogetthere.Atsomepointthosewhowereallowedto“getrichfirst”haveto“taketheothersalongwiththem”.Thatwasalwaystheidea,butnowthissecondpartbecomesmoreimportant.ItquicklybecomesevidenthowspotontheanalysisofthePCisforChina,andisn’tthesamesituationeventrueintheWest?Thericharegettingricher,GDPgrowthalmostfullygoestothetop10wealthy(orevenjustthe1),whilethebottom50increasinglyquestionthevalsueofGDPgrowth,asitdoesn’tbringthemanybenefitatall.Furthermore,China’sdefinitionof“balanced”includesnotjustthebalancebetweenrichandpoor,butalsobetweenmanandnature,betweenpresentandfuturegenerations.Thefocusonunbalanceddevelopmentevenworksintheinternationalsphere,asthecontradictionbetweentherichdevelopedcountrieswhichconsumefarmoreresourcespercapitathantheplanetcansustainandthepoorandpoorestcountrieswhichneedeconomicgrowthtofeedandeducatetheirpeopleevenifitmeanssacrificingenvironmentalresourcesandcausingpollution.GettingbacktothefulldefinitionofthePC,there’sasecondhalfwhichalsohaschangedtonowread“theneedofthepeopleforabetterlife”.Thisreflectspeople’schangingdemandsandexpectationsafterdecadesofrapideconomicgrowthandalsochangesinthesecurityenvironment.Whenpeoplewereextremelypoor,bringingfactoriesin,despiteever-so-lowsalaries,wasalreadyanimprovement.Nowadays,forexample,richandverywelleducatedyoungChinese–manyofwhomhavestudiedortraveledabroad–comparetheircircumstancestothebestconditionstheUSandEuropehavetooffertorichpeople.Thesuccessfuleradicationofabsolutepovertymeansnobodyworriesaboutfoodandshelteranymore.Therefore,manyotheraspectslikegoodeducation,cultureandentertainment,cleanairandwater,beautifulcitieswithgreenparksareseenasincreasinglyimportantforthepeople.Infact,thisnewPCissoobviouslytruethatonemustaskifitisn’tatruism:isthePCastatementwhichissogeneralandsovaguethatthere’snocircumstanceinwhichitisn’tcorrect?Butindeed,itisn’t-becausewhenwethinkofcountriesatadevelopmentstagelikeChina20,30or50yearsago,likeIndia,somecountriesinAfrica,orAfghanistan,itwouldbewrongforthemtofocusonequalityandinclusivenessrightnow.Whenpeoplearehungry,it’salmostcrueltotalktothemaboutenvironmentalism.Whenmothersdon’tknowhowtofeedtheirkids,theirmosturgentneedisfood,notgenderdefinitions.OneofthebiggeststrengthsoftheChinesesystemisindisputablyitsfocusonlong-termplanningandstrategy.Butit’simportanttorealizethatthislong-termthinkingalsoentailsastarkrealismaboutwhatiscurrentlypossible,averystrictprioritizationoftheoveralldirection,whilemaximizingresponsivenessforlocallevelleadershiptolocalneedsandcapabilitiesinareasonablemanner.Inthelongterm,anysocietycanbuildareallybeautifulplaceonearth,buttodemandthateverythingbemadeperfectinstantly,isblindutopismandoftenachievesthecontraryofwhat’sintended.TheChineseconcentrationonthePChelpsapartyof90millionindividualmembersprovideguidanceto1.4billionpeople.Thelong-termgoalisbuildingChinaintoamodernsocialistcountrythatisprosperous,strong,democratic,culturallyadvanced,harmoniousandbeautifulby2049.Butsuchanambitiousgoalsetforsuchalongtimespancanhardlyguidedecision-makersatalllevelsduringtheirdailywork.TohavethefocusonthePCisonetoolforbreakingthelong-termgoaldowninto“digestiblepieces”,beforeconcreteshort-termmeasures,plans,tactics,andtargetsarederived.IfonehopestounderstandchangesinChinesepoliticsovertherecentfiveyearsandmanyyearstocome,researchingthePCcanbeagoodstart.ThisrequiresChinawatchersandChinaexpertstodroptheirblindersregardingCPCtheoryandadmitthatChina’sdevelopmentandsuccessdidn’tjust“happen”asa“coincidence”orsimpleconsequenceofdiligentpeople.Manycountrieshavediligentandintelligentcitizensinlargenumbers,butonlyChinahasthetheoreticalandpracticalframeworkdevelopedandimplementedbytheCommunistPartyofChina.ContributedbyHaraldBuchmann,SwissPoliticsandEconomicsAnalyst,IntellisiaSeniorResearchFellowEditor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.