China’s modernisation: global prosperity or hegemony

The worst outcomes of US trade war are uncertainty and broken trust, which have become prominent features of today’s global order. The debate over whether to use blocs, regionalism, and protectionism to safeguard country’s interests is back in focus. The IMF has warned the world if trade war is not halted immediately, it will lead to severe economic problems for nations and increased misery for individuals. The current trends have compelled IMF to downgrade its predictions for global and US GDP growth rates to 2.8pc and 1.8pc, respectively. The impacts on weaker and developing countries will be more severe and complex. Uncertainty, broken trust and declining GDP growth rates resulting from the trade war have driven governments to seek alternatives.

In this context, China’s modernisation drive has attracted global attention. Many countries hope Chinese modernisation can create new market drivers and avenues to minimise the impact of the trade war, sustain growth, pursue the dream of sustainable development, and contribute to a prosperous world. However, critics of China are trying to portray it as an effort to establish Chinese dominance or hegemony. Therefore, it is essential to decode philosophy and objectives of Chinese modernisation drive. This will help understand and address questions raised by critics and the expectations of various countries.

The vision of Chinese modernisation was formally introduced by President Xi while delivering the report at 19th National Congress of Communist Party of China. He expounded on philosophy, ideology and path to modernisation, the required actions and China’s capabilities to pursue the dream of modernisation. He underscored China would achieve goal of modernisation because China has “self-confidence in the path, self-confidence in theory, self-confidence in the institutions”, and cultural self-confidence to construct modern socialism and a socialist society with Chinese characteristics.

A critical analysis of present-day modernisation highlights two important aspects of the modernisation drive. First, President Xi’s vision is not a random thought, but a well-thought-out and well-constructed vision. He drew lessons from China’s modernisation journey, Chairman Mao’s Ten Great Relationships, Prime Minister Zhou Enlai’s four modernisation goals (agriculture, industry, defence and science and technology) and Deng Xiaoping’s practical theories and practices. He devised implementation instrument by adhering to socialist values, Confucius’s philosophy of shared prosperity, and Tao’s philosophy of harmony.

Second, Chinese path of modernisation and its philosophical underpinnings differ from those of Western modernisation. Chinese modernisation is a blend of good qualities of diverse civilisations and sources of knowledge, such as Chinese civilisations, Western Civilisations, Muslim civilisations, Marxism, capitalism and others. President Xi reiterated the same message while speaking at the 20th National Congress. He said, “Chinese modernisation has adopted some unique features in accordance with ground realities of China, guiding the philosophy of society with Chinese characteristics and China’s commitment to global development and peace”.

Further analysis of President Xi’s vision, speeches and deliberations highlights Chinese modernisation has six distinct characteristics. Chinese modernisation aims to serve a vast population (1.4 billion) greater than developed world’s total population. Therefore, the success of modernisation will shift global dynamics of production, consumption and trade systems. The demand of Chinese people for a wide range of goods, including food, daily-use products, durable goods, technology and more, is expected to increase significantly. This will push domestic and global markets towards innovation, as suppliers must produce more high-quality commodities and products to meet people’s needs. This way, China will become a new land of opportunity for the world.

Common prosperity is the second distinguishing characteristic and core goal of Chinese modernisation drive. The focus is on bringing positive change to lives of ordinary people and building a prosperous society. It serves as the cornerstone of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It promotes social fairness and justice, works towards common prosperity for all, and stands firmly against polarisation between the rich and the poor. To achieve this objective, China is tirelessly addressing regional divides, disparities between urban and rural areas and income distribution gaps. The most prominent example on this front is China’s commitment to developing the Western region, with a special focus on Uyghur Muslims. China will also pursue goal of common prosperity at the global level.

China will pursue a balanced model of modernisation. In President Xi’s world, “Modernisation balances material and cultural-ethical progress. It upholds the core socialist values, strengthens education on ideals and convictions, spreads splendid traditional culture, boosts people’s moral strength and fosters material abundance and the well-rounded development of all”.

China will pursue harmonious modernisation. It will adhere to philosophy of harmony between humans and nature, as well as among humans. President XI said, “When we modernise our country, we strive to synergise material and eco-environmental progress and follow a path of sound development that ensures growth, better lives and a good environment; otherwise, the pressure on resources and the environment will become unbearable.

Chinese modernisation follows a path of peaceful development. For instance, Western countries pursued modernisation by violently exploiting colonies and committed numerous crimes against humanity. In contrast, Chinese modernisation emphasises mutual benefit, strives for a global community with a shared future and aims to deliver peace and development to humankind. China does not physically or economically colonise other countries; rather, it helps nations break the chains of colonisation.

Chinese modernisation will be grounded in the ideology of sharing prosperity, rather than extracting undue benefits or exploiting others. China believes without distributing dividends of development with others, achieving and maintaining prosperity will not be feasible. Therefore, China is actively establishing and reinforcing mechanisms for sharing prosperity.

To this end, China is comprehensively opening its market and economy through initiatives, such as International Import Expo, with tariff-free market access for LCDs, serving as a prime example of this policy, among others. China has also initiated global efforts to support countries in attaining sustainable development and peace, including GDI, BRI, GCI, GSI and the South-South Cooperation Fund, along with numerous initiatives under SCO, BRICS and other frameworks.

China will focus on reforming and modernising governance system, capabilities and capacities. Modernising governance will help make system problem-oriented, goal-oriented, result-oriented, dynamic, inclusive, coherent, advanced and scientifically decision-making-oriented. China will also strive to pursue inclusive and people-centric reforms within global governance system to promote global prosperity.

The above discussion clearly indicates Chinese modernisation strives for a sustainable future by adhering to socialist values and philosophies of sharing prosperity and harmony. It denounces US and Western hegemonic aspirations, superiority complexes, asserting its interests are paramount. It urges people to uphold moral values, environmental principles and common, shared prosperity. It is dubbed an effort to build a prosperous and peaceful world. However, if China compromises on socialist values, Confucius’s philosophy of shared prosperity and Tao’s philosophy of harmony, the drive for modernisation will become a pathway for hegemony. China knows hegemony has an inherent expiration date.

Therefore, China is investing all its efforts in developing a generation of leaders, who embody these characteristics, and keep them at the centre of all policies and actions.