Insisting on a people-centred approach is a contemporary interpretation of the position of the marxist people and a fundamental value underlying the steady modernization of china. Insisting on the need to focus on economic construction is the basic route of the party, it captures the economic construction of this “bottle nose”. Other efforts could be better carried out if development was the first priority. General secretary xi emphasized that “people at the centre is our fundamental idea of governance” and that “economic construction at the centre is the key to a prosperous country”. The party's “recommendations” of the 20th plenum of the 4th session, in elaborating the guiding philosophy of economic and social development during the “fifty-five” period, stated that “maintenance of economic construction” is “fundamental to meeting the growing needs of the people for a better life”. The people-centred approach is linked and mutually reinforcing with the economic construction-centred approach. It fosters objective patterns and the organic integration of social objectives, social subjects and historical provisions in the movement for social contradictory development. It highlights the high degree of consistency between regularity and purpose, and serves together the grand blueprints of the socialist cause of the new era。
People-centred development thinking based on fundamental social contradictions
People-centred is the political expression of marxism on the philosophical content of people as subjects of history, practice and values。
The view is that the practice of human beings contributes to the development of fundamental social contradictions, that human beings are capable of solving fundamental social contradictions, that the purpose of human practice affects the course of fundamental social contradictions, and that the fundamental orientation of the movement towards fundamental social contradictions is to achieve the full development of human freedoms. In material production, spiritual creation and social activities, social movements are usually characterized by the dynamic, social and historical nature of the human being as the subject of practice. The objective and prescriptive unity of the basic social paradoxes with the fundamental, practical and dynamic nature of the human person has contributed to social development and the creation of human civilization. In a socialist society, the main objective organic unity of the fundamental contradictions of society is typical of the following。
The inherently prescriptive nature of the people as the historical subject of society provides the economic and social basis for a people-centred approach. As the historical subject of society, the history of society is an inherent attribute of its own development, which is essentially the history created by the masses in social practice. The contradictory movements of productivity and productive relations, economic fundamentals and superstructures are fundamental drivers for the generation and development of human historical activity. The fundamental contradiction of socialist society remains the contradiction between productivity and productive relations, the economic base and the superstructure. Today, the public-owned economy is the main economic component of our country, and the multi-ownership economy is the economic component inherent in our initial phase of socialism. Under socialist conditions, these economic components have a people's identity. Thus, the basic economic system of socialism lays the economic foundation for people to become social subjects. General secretary xi stated: “we must insist on respect for the laws of social development and respect for the unity of the historical identity of the people”. The objectivity of the social development norms is achieved through the main practices of the people, whose activities are carried out by following the objective patterns of social development. The economic relationship of the socialist society is the fundamental vehicle of the socialist social development paradigm, which makes the fundamental contradiction of the socialist society a reality of the social shape of the people as the subjects of society, thus laying down the premises and foundations for the fundamental direction and political purpose of social development and determining the status of the people as subjects of the historical development of society。
The intrinsic logic of the people as the fundamental driving force of social development has established a position of practice for people at the centre. The movement of fundamental contradictions in socialist society is the fundamental driving force for the development of socialist society. In the course of the history of human social development, the fundamental driving force of historical development resulting from the fundamental contradictions of society is expressed and realized through the practice of human subjects. “the history of the development of the vast chinese nation is written by the chinese people! The great and deep chinese civilization was created by the chinese people! The chinese people have nurtured the new chinese spirit! The great leap of the chinese nation from standing up and being rich to being strong was fought by the chinese people!” in socialist society, the fundamental driving force of the fundamental contradictions of society is expressed through the practice of the subjects of the people. The people are the creators of the material and spiritual wealth of society, and the labour practices of the people create the preconditions for material production development. At the same time, the social activities of the people provide the basis for productive work and livelihood for the creation of spiritual wealth. The people are therefore the great driving force and the ultimate determining force of social change. The restructuring of productive relations required by productivity development, the changes in the upper layers of architecture required by fundamental changes in the economy and even their replacements are reflected and realized through the historical subject of the people. The population constantly promotes the development of productivity and changes in social relations in the production process, thus reflecting deeply the pattern of social movements in historical development。
The value of the people as a purpose of development lays the foundation for people-centred values. Social contradictions create social conditions for the full development of the human person in the process of constantly promoting productive development and changes in social relations. In a socialist society, the people are not only the subjects of practice in economic and social development, but also of value in economic and social development. The idea of people-centred development, which runs through the whole process of the movement of productive and productive relations, economic fundamentals and architectural contradictions at the upper levels, has brought about the organic integration of objective fundamental social paradoxes with people's subjects and autonomy in the great practice of the new era and has resulted in the organic unity of the regularity and purpose of social development. The secretary-general of xi stated that “leading people to create a better life is a constant goal of our party”. Our party's adherence to the people-centred approach is to take advantage of the objective patterns of the fundamental social paradox movement, to achieve the people's interests and to lead the socialist cause forward and ultimately to the full development of the human being by promoting productive relations and a better match between productivity, upper-level construction and the economic base。
Since the beginning of the new era, the idea of people-centred development has further consolidated the status of the people, embodying the essence of the fundamental contradictions of society and highlighting the main features of the fundamental contradictions of the socialist social movement. The systematic interpretation of such important concepts as “the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people” and “the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, and the people, the。
Economic construction is at the centre of understanding based on major social contradictions
The main social paradox is the one that has a dominant and decisive role to play at a particular stage of social development and is essentially the expression of fundamental social contradictions in different historical periods of social development. The main contradictions in society are the basis for determining the central tasks of the party and the state at a particular stage of history. General secretary xi stressed that “the ability of the party and the people's cause to move in the right direction depends on our ability to know and grasp the main contradictions of society and to define the central tasks”. The fundamental contradictions of society at different historical stages of development and in different social conditions vary in their manifestations and solutions, thus creating major social contradictions that determine the central task of social development at different stages of history。
Focusing on economic construction is the central element, key safeguard and key path to resolving the main social contradictions of the early stages of socialism. According to marxism, material production is the basis for the existence and development of human society and productivity is the ultimate determinant of social development. The primary objective of the transformation of the world is the natural world, and material production is the most direct practice of human beings in connection with nature and of changing natural patterns. In many human practices, economic construction is the core vehicle and the main route to material production. For my country, which has been in the early stages of socialism for a long time, the focus on economic construction is undoubtedly the fundamental underpinning of its development and the fulfilment of the material and cultural needs of its people。
As we enter a new era, the main contradictions in our society translate into a contradiction between the growing needs of the people for a better life and the uneven development. In a complex and difficult internal and external situation, my country has consistently focused on economic construction and has achieved great achievements of worldwide visibility. My country's gross domestic product (GDP) climbed from about $5. 2 trillion in 2012 to over $1. 4 trillion in 2025, with the economy growing at the highest rate among the major economies and maintaining its contribution to world economic growth at around 30 per cent for many years, the most stable and reliable source of economic development in the world. The country's industrial structure continues to upgrade, the pace of building modern industrial systems is accelerating, and the industrial sector has accelerated the shift from factor-driven, investment-driven to innovation-driven development-oriented, to high-end, intelligent and greening. In 2025, the share of value added in high-technology manufacturing industries above scale increased to 17. 1 per cent. My country is not only the only country in the world to have all the industrial clusters of the united nations industrial classification, but also the global “driver” of manufacturing. In the new scientific revolution and industrial transformation, our country has implemented innovative-driven development strategies that have achieved significant results in areas such as human space, artificial intelligence, fifth generation mobile communications; new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic products “new three types” transcend the development landscape ... These achievements are ample proof that economic construction is at the centre of much stronger practice in the new era。
The transformation of the main social contradictions of the new era requires that economic construction play a more fundamental and central role, providing solid material support and motivation in all areas. General secretary xi said: “we have also highlighted the need to focus on economic construction and to play a catalytic role in economic institutional reform. This means that the main aspect of the fundamental contradiction of our society at this stage will be captured, with the focus on development.” this important discourse provides scientific guidance for us to grasp the demands of the new era of economic construction-centred development. A holistic approach to development centred on economic construction can contribute to the development of both hard power, such as infrastructure improvements and industrial upgrading, and soft power, such as the optimization of public services and improved governance. For example, in our country, financial capital, private capital flows to vital areas of livelihood through policy guidance, market regulation, etc. Play an important role in supporting micro-businesses, helping rural areas to recover, safeguarding the needs of priority groups and promoting the development of livelihoods。
Central to economic construction is the party's strategic choice for the precision of the main contradictions in society in the early stages of socialism. Economic construction plays a fundamental role in meeting the material needs of the people, generating higher levels of social demand, and fostering synergies in various fields. This is determined first and foremost by the main contradictions of socialist society and also by the fundamental status of economic construction in the development of the country. China's social development practices have demonstrated that by firmly holding on to the economic construction of the centre, it will be possible to manage and promote the whole picture of modernization, and that the whole process of modernization will be undermined if it is removed from the centre。
Following the pattern of social contradictions and profoundly grasping the organic unity between people-centred and economic construction-centred
People-centred is derived from the basic paradox of social movements, the value of the kernel throughout the socialist construction process, and the value of modern chinese construction. Maintaining a people-centred approach is fundamental to the nature, purpose and direction of our economic and social development. The focus of economic construction is on historical and stylistic claims that focus on the main contradictions of society. The specific manifestations of the main social contradictions in different historical periods determine economic construction as the basic way to break them, with distinct practical attributes and milestones. The organic link between people-centred and economic construction-centred shows that the party's central tasks and work follow both the basic patterns of human social development and the different stages of development demand, and that it is our party's accurate grasp and creative application of the patterns of socialist social conflict movements. The dialectics between the two are mainly as follows:
There is an organic unity between the two which is compatible with the “subject-object”. The practice of people-centred economic construction is highlighted, and the people-centred orientation ensures that economic construction-centred values are always directed towards people's primacy. The high-quality development of an economy centred on objective people-centred support is a material prerequisite for ensuring the overall development of the subject, enabling it to land and fulfil its needs. The secretary-general of xi stressed that “it is imperative that development depends on people and that development results are shared by people”. This requires a fundamental measure of human development as an object, both to prevent “human deprivation” and to guard against the alienation of “human servitude”. In keeping with a people-centred approach, it is necessary to respond precisely to human needs in the production, promotion and distribution of goods, to respect human values, to safeguard human rights and interests, to ensure that the development of goods remains at the service of the human person and to achieve a virtuous circle of “human beings for all their goods”. Focusing on economic construction is the course and objective element for the promotion of our economic and social development. According to general secretary xi, “to promote the progressive development of the productivity of our society and to promote the unity of the ever-increasing enrichment and comprehensive human development”. Through the practical results of economic construction, people-centred content has been enriched and the concept of people-centred purposes has been translated into a sense of people's perceived access and happiness. For example, at the end of 2025, with the opening of shaanxian-yangau iron, our high iron business miles exceeded 50,000 kilometres, the world's largest and most advanced high iron network, twice as far as the world's other countries combined. Its significance lies not only in the fact that technological breakthroughs and the scale of business miles are ahead of the world, but also in the fact that fast-growing high irons significantly reduce the passage time between the central and western regions and the eastern regions, allowing smoother movement of factors across regions and promoting a new pattern of industrial collaboration between regions; and in responding with quality services to people's aspirations for a better life, making business, tourism, and family visits easier, directly improving the quality and efficiency of life of hundreds of millions of people. This is the vivid practice of people-centred infrastructure development。
The two have an organic, integrated and mutually reinforcing “power-guarantee” nexus. People-centred is the central engine driving development. People's needs are the most durable and reliable engine for development. The people's quest for a better life, from satisfying to expecting a higher quality of life, continues to generate new consumer demand and market space to provide a sustained demand engine for economic construction. According to general secretary xi, “domestic demand is the basic driving force of china's economic development and a necessary requirement to meet the growing needs of the people for a better life”, “making domestic demand the main engine of economic growth and the anchor of stability” has revealed the core logic of people's needs as an internal engine of economic development. Objective patterns of economic development are embedded in the productive needs of millions of people. The real demand for business excellence, farmers' desire for increased revenue and people's expectations for well-being is the source of economic development. At the same time, economic development is central to providing economic security for people's well-being. It builds economic foundations through economic development and provides an indispensable material premise for people-centred values. General secretary xi stated that “development is the foundation and key to solving all problems in the country”. The improvement of public services such as education, health care and the improvement of the ecological environment and the optimization of social governance require financial, technical and resource support for economic development. A people-centred approach without guarantees of economic construction would lose its real foundation. Optimizing the allocation of resource elements brought about by economic development would also allow resources, such as human, material and technological resources, to shift more efficiently towards the areas of public services, ecological protection and social governance and to address resource bottlenecks in development. Thus, people-centred efforts are constantly being made to inject value-driven energy into the construction of the economy and to develop it in order to promote higher-quality, more efficient, equitable, sustainable and safer development; economic-building is the centrepiece of the transformation of the economic model and the upgrading of the industrial structure, creating the material base and platform for development for a better life for the people; and people's needs are taking on a new dimension, giving new impetus to economic construction. They are empowered and mutually reinforcing in the dialectic of “power-guarantee” and continue to contribute to overall economic and social progress。
There is an organic unity of purpose-means that complements each other. People-centred identification of the core goals of “what to achieve” and economic construction-centred responses to the critical path of “how to develop”. On the one hand, the fundamental purpose of economic development is to benefit the people and to enable the vast majority of workers to share in the fruits of change. It is essentially in order to achieve the well-being of the entire population and, ultimately, the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the population that economic construction is centred, which coincides with a high degree of unity and depth in the pursuit of the goals of economic construction. This unity and alignment translates into tangible life change for millions of people. For example, between 2012 and 2025, the per capita disposable income increased from $165,510 to $433,377, while the relative income gap between urban and rural residents decreased from 2. 34 to 2. 31 in 2025, reflecting the full extent of the development gains centred on economic construction. Economic construction, on the other hand, provides solid practical support for a people-centred approach by addressing development contradictions and empowering people to improve their lives. For example, the expansion of the total economy has created more jobs, accompanied by a sustained growth in the country's total economy, with more than 12 million new jobs in towns and cities being stabilized each year since the fourteenth fifth anniversary, with more full employment in large developing countries with a population of more than 1. 4 billion; regional disparities having been reduced by coordinated regional development, urban-rural integration and development; faster economic growth in the central and western regions than in the east; faster income growth in rural areas than in urban areas for many years in succession; and the transformation of resource advantages from projects such as the “east and west” “west east transmission” into development advantages, guaranteeing equal access to development opportunities; and so on. The focus on economic development is both a people-centred orientation and a practical path to human development. Thus, people-centred is a value base centred on economic construction, which is a people-centred path requirement。
There is an organic and integrated link between the two “principle-routing”. In the process of modernization, there would be a corresponding course of principle. The principles of capital dominance, individualism and the logic of power in the modernization of the west have characterized colonial expansion, hegemonic monopolies and plunder. China's people-centred approach to modernization, with economic construction as its main focus, has created a new path to modernization in the post-states. General secretary xi stressed that “the ultimate success and stability of the modern path depends on the insistence on people-centred approaches”. On the one hand, maintaining a people-centred approach calls for capital logic based on the people's dominant position and comprehensive development of the people, while actively pursuing the productive attributes of capital as an important factor of production, revitalizing capital through market-based reforms, enabling technological innovation, industrial upgrading and employment expansion, and exploring a way to modernize capital for the benefit of the people. For example, the national chamber of commerce and industry's national corporate social responsibility report (2025) showed that, by the end of 2024, there were 235,000 private enterprises in the country participating in the “treasure of tens” initiative, with industrial investments amounting to $123 trillion, benefiting 1619,000 villages, and that private enterprises had become an important force in the strategy for rural renewal. On the other hand, insisting on economic construction as a centrepiece calls for the modernization of the country through endogenous development, abandoning the old modern path of western colonization and plundering and firmly moving away from the path of peaceful development. China's approach to modernization is strategically based on the country's mega-markets. It drives high-quality economic development through industrial upgrading and consumer expansion within the country, while promoting infrastructure connectivity and capacity cooperation through equitable and mutually beneficial international trade and the establishment of high-quality “one-way” cooperation, helping countries and regions to upgrade their industries and revitalize their economies. Thus, a people-centred approach and an economy-building approach are essential requirements for the unification of china’s modern values and laws, and an important asset for china’s success in moving out of the new path of modernization, providing a model of practice that can be drawn upon for the modernization of the post-states。
A critical period of china-based modernization to achieve people-centred and economic-centred organic reunification
The “fifty-five” period was a critical period for the fundamental modernization of socialism to be solid and comprehensive. The secretary-general of xi stated that: “assisting on economic construction, the concept of new development is being implemented in a comprehensive and accurate manner, with a view to achieving effective qualitative and quantitative growth and promoting sustained and healthy economic development and overall social progress”. This fully reflects my country's firm determination to concentrate on strong domestic economies in the face of increased world instability, a serious challenge to the international economic and trade order and a more complex and intense game of power; to further clarify the strategic considerations of achieving qualitative and effective upgrading with reasonable growth in volume, with “cakes” as a well-defined economic development orientation; and to integrate both domestic and international dimensions to ensure decisive progress towards basic socialist modernization. During the crucial period of the modernization of socialism, the people-centred and economic-building-centred dimensions were given a more contemporary and innovative dimension, making their organic unity closer and more relevant, as illustrated by the following。
To uphold the organic unity of people's supremacy and high-quality development. The secretary-general of xi stated: “assisting on a people-centred approach to development, the promotion of the well-being of the people, the promotion of comprehensive human development, and steady progress towards common prosperity are the starting and entry points for economic development. At no time should we forget that this fundamental position must be firmly maintained in the deployment of economic work, in the formulation of economic policies and in the promotion of economic development.” the primacy of the people and the adherence to high-quality development are principles that must guide economic and social development during the “155” period. Among them, the promotion of high-quality development is the subject of adherence to the primacy of the people. The concept of people-centred development must be integrated throughout the 15th and 55th development cycle, in all areas and links. At the same time, the “fifty-five” period continued to focus on the promotion of high-quality development, with the development of new qualitative productivity as the key focus, with a view to achieving substantive breakthroughs in science, technology and innovation, the cultivation of new dynamics and the optimization of economic structures。
Improving the organic integration of livelihoods and the development economy. General secretary xi stressed that “economic and social development are mutually reinforcing and must be coordinated. The improvement of the livelihood of the people must be a priority for social development and the development of the economy must be accompanied by a steady improvement in the quality of life of the people.” economic development is a prerequisite for improving the livelihood of the population, while sustained improvement in livelihoods can boost domestic demand, stimulate new economic growth points and expand space for development. Economic and social development in the “155” period is about bringing together the real economy and the new quality of productivity, securing employment, increasing incomes and securing the material and material base of the population; at the same time, expanding the quality of the supply of people, boosting consumption, optimizing public services, releasing effective demand to drive the upgrading of the supply, and achieving development and people's livelihoods。
Sustainable and healthy economic development is integral to the overall progress of society. In the “fifty-fifth” period, both the development of new qualitative productivity, the growth of the real economy, the strengthening of the dynamism and reliability of the domestic cycle and the promotion of sustained and healthy economic development, as appropriate, and the stimulation of cultural innovation throughout the nation, the enhancement of social civilization, the acceleration of a comprehensive green transformation and the promotion of the full development of the human person and the common prosperity of the entire population have taken firm steps. This series of deployments is directed towards the construction of high-quality development that combines economic development with social progress, material enrichment with spiritual enrichment, and gives a lasting impetus to china's modernization, with a steady push towards national renewal。
During the crucial period of the “fifty-five”, the organic integration between people-centred and economic construction needs to be achieved in several ways。
Further comprehensive and deeper reforms should give new impetus to economic and social development. In the two key directions of economic development and the needs of the people, institutional building is the main focus of further comprehensive reform. Focus on the construction of a high-level socialist market economy and the removal of institutional barriers to high-quality development by accelerating the improvement of the institutional mechanisms for the marketing of factors, harmonizing the rules of the market base system, etc. Enhanced effectiveness evaluation of policy implementation, sound management mechanisms of expectations, optimization of high-quality comprehensive development performance appraisal, stabilization of market confidence and convergence of development consensus. At the same time, it is determined to plan and carry forward reforms in the interest of the people, to establish a sound system and to optimize and innovate institutional mechanisms. Greater respect for the status of the people's subjects, with their high quality of life and full development as the fundamental values, and with the sense of access, happiness and security of the entire population as the criteria for institutional assessment, will make institution-building truly rooted in the needs of the people, focusing on the dire needs of the population and providing a solid guarantee for responding to people's expectations, breaking down their sufferings and guaranteeing their well-being。
A new bridge between the economy and livelihoods with high levels of technological innovation. The promotion of high-quality development requires the acceleration of high-level technological self-reliance. The power of technology is indispensable for economic excellence and the improvement of livelihoods. Science, technology and innovation are key links between economic growth and improved livelihoods. By breaking through core technologies and generating new and dynamic industries, sti drives the transformation of economies from scale expansion to quality efficiency, leading to industrial upgrading and higher quality of economic development. At the same time, science, technology and innovation make people's lives easier, more inclusive and better served through technology. For example, telemedicine, ai-aided diagnostic techniques break geographical limits and allow people in remote areas to share quality medical resources; intellectual education platforms, individualized learning systems promote balanced allocation of educational resources; and so on. The improvements in people's lives brought about by science, technology and innovation can stimulate the consumption potential of the population and inject internal momentum into economic development; and the rise in demand in the field of human life can also contribute to the evolution of science, technology and innovation, creating a virtuous cycle of economic empowerment and self-reliance。
New directions for high-quality development with high-quality living. The core of the high-quality life of the new era is a comprehensive upgrading from “are there” to “are there good” in order to keep high-quality development in the direction of people's high-quality needs, to allocate resources and to optimize paths. It can be advanced from four dimensions. One is to direct industrial development around the needs of the population, such as biomedicine, smart medicine, etc., around health needs; and green buildings, smart homes, etc., to meet the needs of living. The second is directed towards the equalization of resources for the allocation of public services, such as focused rural modernization of agriculture, the gradual improvement of rural infrastructure, the accessibility of public services and the comfort of the habitat. Third, distributional reforms are guided by common wealth goals, such as widening access to property income for the population and expanding the size of middle-income groups. Fourth, a green, low-carbon transition is geared towards a clear development model, such as strict control of high-energy and high-emissions projects, to advance the value of ecological products and to enable people to enjoy a high quality of life in green water mountains。
A new breakthrough in high-quality development with efficient governance. In may 2025, during his visit to henan, general secretary xi stated: “bearing a new chapter of china's modernization with high-quality development and efficient and effective governance”. Efficient and effective governance is mainly achieved through the systematic optimization of governance systems and the overall enhancement of governance capacity to achieve the maximum governance effectiveness of high-quality economic development and improved well-being of people, with more focused investment in governance resources. This requires the strengthening of innovation-driven governance during the “155” period, the refinement of basic research input mechanisms that combine competitive and stable support, the building of an integrated educational science and technology development landscape and the building of new qualitative productive development foundations. Strengthening factor allocation governance, by promoting efficient allocation of resources across various elements, allowing operators to participate more efficiently in economic activities and accumulating a material base for equitable distribution. To strengthen coordinated governance by improving mechanisms for consultation, optimizing the integration of resources, and promoting efficient interaction between the government and enterprises, the government and social organizations, so as to stimulate the ownership and participation of the population, encourage the orderly participation of all parties in social governance and strengthen the social governance base。
(scientific unit: chinese institute of socialist thought for the new age of china, beijing
Daily people's journal (04. 03. 17, 2026)
