Cultivating Pragmatic Work Style - China-Honduras Ties - China-ROK Tensions - A New Era for Philosophy & Social Sciences in China
Hi folks,
Before we get to today’s edition, let me cover two stories from over the weekend.
First on Saturday, the big front-page news in the paper was around Xi Jinping’s remarks during a fact-finding trip to survey the work of border management and control and the development of border troops in Inner Mongolia.
Xi “stressed that it is necessary to implement the Party's thought of strengthening the army in the new era, implement the military strategic policy in the new era, grasp the characteristics and laws of border defense work, strengthen the overall development of troops, improve border defense and control capabilities, and strive to forge the ‘Great Wall of Steel’ for defending the country and defending the border, so as to make greater contributions to the PLA’s centennial goal.” 他强调，要贯彻新时代党的强军思想，贯彻新时代军事战略方针，把握边防工作特点规律，加强部队全面建设，提高边境防卫管控能力，努力锻造卫国戍边钢铁长城，为实现建军一百年奋斗目标作出更大贡献.
“Xi Jinping said that governing the country requires that one must secure the borders, border defense work is a major issue in governing the country and safeguarding the country. It is related to national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the overall situation of reform, development and stability and the overall situation of foreign affairs work, and the great cause of building a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is necessary to fully recognize the significance of doing a good job in border defense, strengthen the sense of mission and responsibility, and guard the border and strengthen defense for the Party and the people.” 习近平强调，治国必治边。边防工作是治国安邦的大事，关系国家主权和领土完整，关系改革发展稳定大局和对外工作全局，关系强国建设、民族复兴伟业。要充分认清做好边防工作的重要意义，强化使命担当，为党和人民守好边、固好防.
“Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to attach great importance to building and controlling the armed forces ideologically and politically, persistently use the Party's innovative theory to forge the soul, strengthen political discipline, mass discipline, foreign affairs discipline and ethnic and religious policy education, and ensure integrity, cohesion and high degree of unity among the border troops.” 习近平指出，要高度重视从思想上政治上建设和掌握部队，坚持不懈用党的创新理论凝心铸魂，加强政治纪律、群众纪律、外事纪律和民族宗教政策教育，确保部队纯洁巩固和高度集中统一.
“It is necessary to closely follow the missions and tasks, strengthen troop training and preparations, and enhance the adaptability and effectiveness of combat capability building. It is necessary to speed up the pace of information-based border defense and border control capabilities, transform the pattern/mode in which border defense duties are performed, and improve the efficiency of border control.” 要紧贴使命任务加强练兵备战，增强战斗力建设适应性和实效性。要加快信息化戍边控边能力建设步伐，转变边防执勤方式，提高边境管控效能.
It is necessary to pay close attention to administering the army according to law and strictly, strictly observe military discipline, innovate the education and management methods of the troops, and do a good job in the implementation of regular basic tasks to ensure the order, security and stability of the troops. It is necessary to strengthen the training of front-line soldiers and strengthen the construction of border defense professionals. 要狠抓依法治军、从严治军，严格军规军纪，创新部队教育管理方式，抓好经常性基础性工作落实，确保部队秩序正规、安全稳定。要加强一线带兵人培养，加强边防专业人才队伍建设.
The second story worth noting was Xi’s call with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. There has been much talk about the venue for the upcoming BRICS summit in August being shifted out of South Africa, after the ICC warrant against Vladimir Putin. Bloomberg reported that:
“An inter-ministerial committee led by deputy President Paul Mashatile that’s looking into the repercussions of a Putin visit met this week to finalize a report on the government’s options, according to a person familiar with its deliberations who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Legal opinions sought by the government didn’t identify any potential loopholes around the ICC warrant, they said. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana urged officials at the meeting to deal with the matter urgently to calm the markets, and is in favor of the BRICS summit moving to China, the person said. A spokesperson for the finance ministry referred Bloomberg’s request for comment to a cabinet spokesperson, who didn’t immediately respond. China isn’t a member of the ICC, meaning Putin could travel there without fear of arrest. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor in a phone call this month that his nation is prepared to support South Africa in hosting a successful BRICS summit. Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong met with South African Police Minister Bheki Cele in Beijing on Thursday, Xinhua reported. China is ready to work with South Africa to strengthen security at the BRICS summit and elsewhere, and push for the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations, the news agency cited Wang as saying.”
The Xinhua report on the call between Xi and Ramaphosa says:
“Xi said China and South Africa are both important major developing countries and the two enjoy special friendly relations like brothers. China-South Africa relations are of important strategic significance to safeguarding the common interests of developing countries and guiding China-Africa solidarity and cooperation, Xi said. He said this year marks the "Year of South Africa" for BRICS, and the development of bilateral relations is facing important opportunities. China is ready to work with South Africa to upgrade bilateral relations, build a high-level China-South Africa community with a shared future, jointly practice genuine multilateralism, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and make the international order more just and equitable. China, Xi said, supports South Africa, as the rotating chair, in successfully hosting various BRICS cooperation activities this year.”
The report added:
“The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. Ramaphosa said that South Africa supports China's position paper on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and hopes that relevant parties could resume negotiations at an early date. A peace delegation consisting of leaders of six African countries, including South Africa, will visit Russia and Ukraine to push for an end to the crisis as soon as possible, he added. Xi told Ramaphosa that China's position on the Ukraine crisis has been consistent, which is to promote peace talks. The Chinese leader said that he hopes all parties will build up favorable conditions for solving the crisis through dialogue, adding that it is a good thing that President Ramaphosa and leaders of relevant African countries formed a peace delegation to visit Russia and Ukraine. It is also hoped that peace-loving countries worldwide which uphold justice can make a rational voice to promote peace talks, Xi said.”
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily's edition on Monday, June 12, 2023.
Page 1: There are two stories about books comprising Xi’s speeches. First, there’s a new publication which covers Xi’s speeches on the work related to women and children as well as the work of women's federations. Second, the fourth volume of Governance of China has been published in French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Japanese and traditional Chinese.
Next, there’s a Zhong Yin commentary, which discusses the issue of the Party’s work style. The article takes off from Xi’s comments during his visit to Inner Mongolia. Xi had talked about promoting a “pragmatic style,” “frugality” and “incorruptibility.” The article says that the issue of work style is related to the “life and death” of the Party’s rule.
It adds that “at present, China’s development faces new strategic opportunities, new strategic tasks, new strategic stages, new strategic requirements and a new strategic environment, and the risks and challenges to be dealt with, the contradictions and problems to be solved are more complex than before. The greater the risks, the more the challenges, and the heavier the tasks, the more necessary it is to strengthen the Party's work style, inspire fighting spirit, establish a positive image, and win the hearts of the people.” 当前，我国发展面临新的战略机遇、新的战略任务、新的战略阶段、新的战略要求、新的战略环境，需要应对的风险和挑战、需要解决的矛盾和问题比以往更加错综复杂。风险越大、挑战越多、任务越重，越要加强党的作风建设，以好的作风振奋精神、激发斗志、树立形象、赢得民心.
“Party members and cadres should consciously use Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to transform their subjective world; deeply understand the important ideological requirements of firming up their ideals and beliefs, elevating their ideological realm, and strengthening Party spirit; be adept at applying this important ideology to promote comprehensive and strict Party governance in depth; always maintain a clear and firm resolve to address the unique challenges faced by the Party and to tackle the prominent issues related to ideological and organisational impurities. 广大党员干部要自觉用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想改造主观世界，深刻领会这一重要思想关于坚定理想信念、提升思想境界、加强党性锻炼等一系列要求，善于运用这一重要思想深入推进全面从严治党，时刻保持解决大党独有难题的清醒和坚定，解决思想不纯、组织不纯方面存在的突出问题.
The piece further says that in order to promote a pragmatic work style, one must focus on investigation and research. “Investigation and research is the foundation of planning, the key to achieving success, and the basic skill to do a good job.” This is followed by highlighting Xi as an exemplar, who has based his work on investigation and research. It says that Xi has “taken the lead in setting an example” and has been “leading by example, by doing things by himself”; he has used “vivid and profound research” and “set a shining example for the whole Party to attach importance to research, conduct in-depth research and be good at research.” 习近平总书记率先垂范、以身作则、亲力亲为，用一次次生动而深刻的调研，为全党重视调研、深入调研、善于调研树立了光辉典范.
The piece then says:
“Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres, should dive down to the frontlines, adhere to the problem orientation, enhance their awareness of issues; they should look at both ‘high-rise buildings’ and ‘shady hutongs’, and use the Party’s innovative theory to study new situations and solve new problems. It is necessary to conduct research in areas and units that face numerous difficulties, where public opinions are concentrated, and where work seems stagnant. Sincerely listen to the voices of the masses, truly reflect their wishes, truly care about their hardships, accurately understand their hopes and anxieties, accurately grasp the situation, identify the problems correctly, and propose practical solutions, and promote ideological emancipation, great improvement of ability, great change of work style, and great implementation of work.” 广大党员干部特别是领导干部要扑下身子、沉到一线，坚持问题导向，增强问题意识，既看“高楼大厦”又看“背阴胡同”，运用党的创新理论研究新情况、解决新问题。要多到困难多、群众意见集中、工作打不开局面的地方和单位调研，真诚倾听群众呼声、真实反映群众愿望、真情关心群众疾苦，准确了解群众的所忧所盼，真正把情况摸清、把问题找准、把对策提实，推动思想大解放、能力大提升、作风大转变、工作大落实.
The other important element of pragmatic work style discussed is focussing on practical work. This means:
Being down-to-earth, working hard, not being swayed by fantasies or empty rhetoric.
Being sincere, studious and respectful of the reality, and not to violate the law, or act blindly or recklessly
Being realistic and pragmatic and paying attention to practical results; and not to simply go through the motions or act in a manner that is fancy/showy but ineffective (although this does not convey the import of the idiom 花拳绣腿. The coolest explanation that I read for this was “pugilistic wankery”.)
广大党员干部要脚踏实地，埋头苦干，不驰于空想，不骛于虚声；要笃实好学，尊重实际，不违背规律，不盲目蛮干；要求真务实，注重实效，不做表面文章，不耍花拳绣腿.
Finally, a report informing that since 1999, a total of more than 400 billion yuan in student loans has been issued, with over 20 million students from families with financial difficulties being supported.
Page 3: First, there are two reports related to China-Honduras ties. Qin Gang Qin Gang attended the inauguration ceremony of the Honduran embassy in Beijing. Xinhua says:
“Qin said the establishment of diplomatic ties on the basis of the one-China principle has opened a new era of China-Honduras relations. Noting that bilateral relations got off to a strong start over the past two months, Qin said that the rapid development of bilateral relations has fully proved that adherence to the one-China principle is recognized by the international community, reflects the trend of the times and the aspiration of the people, and serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples.” — Comment: What a polite way of saying that agreeing to Beijing’s political priorities will bring economic gain.
The other report is on the first China-Honduras high-level business meeting being held in Beijing. 200 political and business delegates from both sides attended. Xinhua reports:
“China and Honduras have different resource endowments and economic complementarity, said Zhang Shaogang, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. There are massive potential and broad development prospects for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, added Zhang. He called on joint efforts from enterprises of the two countries to introduce more high-quality Honduran products to the Chinese market, continuously expand the scale of bilateral trade, increase local employment, and enhance people's welfare.”
The report informs that Melvin Redondo, vice minister for economic integration and international trade of Honduras, talked about the country's trade and investment environment and the advantages of its products. Global Times’ report informs that “on Monday, Honduras and China will sign an agreement to establish two working groups to promote the signing of an FTA and cooperation between enterprises.” The report quotes Fredis Cerrato, Honduran minister of economic development, as saying that:
“At present, cooperation intentions and progress between the two countries' business communities are mainly concentrated in the agricultural sector, such as exports to China of Honduran coffee, white shrimp, melon and other agricultural products…in the next stage, Honduras looks forward to further expanding cooperation with China in the areas of investment, energy, telecommunications and infrastructure.”
Finally, there’s a report informing us that the Finland Chamber of Commerce’s new report paints an optimistic picture about the Chinese economy. The report cites a business confidence survey conducted by Business Finland, saying that nearly 80% of the companies surveyed expect to further increase their turnover, profitability and investment in China this year.
Some other key foreign affairs related reports, which are not in the paper today
1. Defense minister Li Shangfu met with Narongphan Jitkaewtae, commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, on Saturday in Beijing. Xinhua says: “Against the backdrop of the Asia-Pacific currently facing some security challenges, China is willing to jointly maintain regional stability with Thailand and ensure lasting security in the region, Li said. Narongphan expressed appreciation and firm support for the Chinese side's important role in maintaining regional security and stability, and pledged joint efforts to continue advancing the relations between the two countries and militaries.” Li also reportedly said that there are plans this year for various joint exercises between the two countries, including ‘Assault 2023’ and ‘Peace and Friendship 2023’.
2. China-South Korea tensions are on the rise. First, a couple of days ago, South Korea’s foreign ministry summoned China’s ambassador to protest comments he made accusing Seoul of tilting towards the United States and away from China. South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin on Friday warned Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming over his “senseless and provocative” remarks made during a meeting with South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, a key rival of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol. The ministry accused Xing of violating diplomatic protocols and interfering with South Korean domestic politics, reported Al Jazeera. The report added:
“When asked about the criticism, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the current challenges in Chinese-South Korean relations are ‘not caused by China’. ‘It is part of Ambassador Xing’s job to have extensive engagement with the ROK [South Korean] government, political parties and people from all walks of life, exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest and share China’s position and concerns,’ he said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.”
Further in response to this, China summoned the South Korean envoy to “issue a ‘stern’ warning,” reports SCMP. The report adds that “assistant foreign minister Nong Rong met South Korean ambassador Chung Jae-ho in Beijing to ‘lodge representations’, and called on Seoul to ‘reflect deeply on the problems’ in bilateral ties and ‘take them seriously’, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday. ‘[We] hope South Korea will move in the same direction with China, and work together with the Chinese side to make positive efforts to promote the healthy and stable development of relations between the two countries,’ the statement quoted Nong as saying.”
3. Xinhua reports that “China's central bank on Friday said that it has renewed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Argentina. The deal has a scale of 130 billion yuan (about 18.28 billion U.S. dollars), or 4.5 trillion Argentine peso. It will be valid for three years, according to the People's Bank of China.”
Page 9: There’s a report from an academic discussion on how philosophy and social science workers can better undertake the academic responsibility of answering questions facing China, the world, the people, and the times?
Tan Tieniu, Secretary of the CPC Nanjing University Committee, calls for philosophy and social science workers to “base themselves on China's reality and earnestly study and solve major problems facing the country’s development.” He wants them to pursue “independent innovation and take root in Chinese soil” to nurture an “independent knowledge system.” 广大哲学社会科学工作者只有立足中国实际，认真研究解决我国发展中的重大问题，不断提高自主创新能力，扎根中国大地做学问，才能为我国哲学社会科学建构自主的知识体系贡献智慧和力量.
He argues that “in the process of development, Chinese philosophy and social sciences have learned and introduced a large number of western academic concepts, categories, propositions and theories. Consequently, some scholars have tended to deny China's own academic traditions and follow the western academic trend. However, philosophy and social sciences are the summation of experiences of specific countries or regions at a certain historical stage. If applied to address problems in other countries or regions, the results often prove to be incompatible with the local context. Especially for a large developing country like China, there is no ready-made experience to follow on major issues such as how to realise modernisation, and foreign theories cannot provide good answers.” 在世界现代化浪潮中，由于中国传统学术和西方学术在源流、体系上有较大差异，我们自身的知识积累和学术创造能力较为薄弱，我国哲学社会科学在发展过程中学习和引进了大量西方学术概念、范畴、命题、理论。有些学者因此否定中国自己的学术传统，跟在西方学术后面亦步亦趋。然而，哲学社会科学是特定国家或地区在一定历史阶段上的经验总结，如果套用于解决其他国家或地区的问题，结果往往会水土不服。特别是对于中国这样的发展中大国来说，诸如如何实现现代化这样的重大课题，没有现成经验可循，国外理论不可能解答好.
He later adds:
“Our country has a unique history, unique culture and unique national conditions. To answer China's question, we must have our own coordinates, positions, attitudes and opinions instead of following others…Take modernization theory, for example. Many people in the international academic circles equate modernization with Westernization and believe that modernization can only take place in the soil of Western culture. However, Chinese-style modernization led by the Communist Party of China has presented a new picture of modernization and provided a new understanding of the modernization of mankind. With the successful promotion and expansion of Chinese-style modernization, we have formed a series of new concepts, new categories and new expressions, breaking the Western monopoly on modernization theory and discourse. Chinese scholars should focus on Chinese-style modernization, serve the overall development of the cause of the Party and the country, constantly expand their theoretical vision, research methods and discussion space, and constantly promote the innovation of knowledge, theory and methods of modernization.” 我国有独特的历史、独特的文化、独特的国情，解答中国的问题，不能跟在别人后面依样画葫芦，必须有自己的坐标和立场、态度和主张...以现代化理论为例。国际学术界很多人将现代化等同于西方化，认为现代化只能在西方文化土壤中发生。中国共产党领导的中国式现代化，展现了现代化的新图景，形成了人类对现代化问题的崭新认识。随着中国式现代化的成功推进和拓展，我们形成了一系列新概念新范畴新表述，打破了西方对现代化理论和话语的垄断。中国学者理应聚焦中国式现代化，服务党和国家事业发展大局，不断拓展理论视野、研究方法和论域空间，不断推进现代化的知识创新、理论创新、方法创新.
Tan also wants scholars to adhere “to the guiding position of Marxism and thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which is 21st Century Marxism”; he wants them to have cultural self-confidence and “get out of the ‘ivory tower’ and actively go to grassroots communities for their research work.
The next scholar whose views are highlighted is Zhang Zongyi from Xiamen University. Zhang’s focus is on disseminating the voice of Chinese scholars to the world. He writes:
“We live in a time full of challenges, but also a time full of hope. In a turbulent and volatile world, how can we promote trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, advance bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation, and jointly foster an international environment conducive to development? How to promote the democratisation of international relations and promote the development of global governance in a more just and reasonable direction? How to strengthen scientific and technological cooperation and jointly explore ways and means to solve important global problems through scientific and technological innovation, so as to better enhance human well-being? How to promote green and low-carbon development, improve global environmental governance and build a clean and beautiful world?...These questions need to be explored and answered in practice and theory.” 我们所处的是一个充满挑战的时代，也是一个充满希望的时代。面对动荡变革的世界，如何推动贸易和投资自由化便利化，推进双边、区域和多边合作，共同营造有利于发展的国际环境？如何推进国际关系民主化，推动全球治理朝着更加公正合理的方向发展？如何加强科技合作，通过科技创新共同探索解决重要全球性问题的途径和方法，更好增进人类福祉？如何推动绿色低碳发展、完善全球环境治理，推动建设一个清洁美丽的世界？……这些问题需要不断在实践和理论上进行探索回答.
China is a part of the world. As an ancient civilisation and a big developing country, answering the questions of the world well will inevitably require us to have a profound historical vision, a broad global vision and a broad mind. While being close to social reality, reflecting practical experience and echoing people's wishes, we will always absorb and learn from all the outstanding achievements of human civilisation with an open and tolerant attitude. It is very important that when we look at the world, we do so with China as a premise. We should keep pushing forward the construction and innovation of discipline system, academic system and discourse system in accordance with the idea of basing ourselves on China, learning from foreign countries, excavating history, grasping the present, caring for mankind and facing the future, and strive to build a comprehensive, all-encompassing, and multi-faceted system of philosophy and social sciences, fully embodying the characteristics, style, and essence of China.” 中国是世界的一部分，作为胸怀天下的文明古国和发展中大国，回答好世界之问，必然要求我们有深邃的历史视野、广阔的世界眼光、海纳百川的胸襟气度，在贴近社会现实、映照实践经验、呼应人民意愿的同时，始终以开放包容的态度吸收借鉴人类文明一切优秀成果。至关重要的是，放眼世界要以观照中国为前提，我们要按照立足中国、借鉴国外，挖掘历史、把握当代，关怀人类、面向未来的思路，不断推进学科体系、学术体系、话语体系建设和创新，努力构建全方位、全领域、全要素的哲学社会科学体系，充分体现中国特色、中国风格、中国气派.
He further talks about the need for interdisciplinary work and the importance of Marxism. He ends with:
“The discourse system, as the external expression of ideological and theoretical and knowledge systems, plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of philosophy and social sciences and in answering the questions of the world well. Ideological knowledge is expressed through concepts and categories. Without mature core categories and theoretical propositions, it is difficult to have a mature discourse system. We should focus on the major problems facing the world development, base ourselves on the development practice of human society, make good use of the beneficial resources of Marxism, Chinese excellent traditional culture and foreign philosophy and social sciences, constantly innovate discourse, be good at extracting distinctive concepts, create new concepts, new categories and new expressions that are easy to be understood and are accepted by the international community, and form independent interpretation power and discourse power. We should not only be able to explain the past, but also explain the present and lead the future, and guide the international academic circles to conduct research and discussion, so as to better describe, explain, present and promote Chinese ideas and propositions to the international community, and make the voices of Chinese scholars heard in the world.” 话语体系作为思想理论体系和知识体系的外在表达形式，是哲学社会科学发挥作用、回答好世界之问十分重要的一环。思想认识是通过概念、范畴来表达的，没有较为成熟的核心范畴和理论命题，就很难有成熟的话语体系。要围绕世界发展面临的重大问题，立足人类社会发展实践，运用好马克思主义、中华优秀传统文化以及国外哲学社会科学的有益资源，不断进行话语创新，善于提炼标识性概念，打造易于为国际社会所理解和接受的新概念新范畴新表述，形成自主的解释权和话语权。不仅要能解释过去，还要能说明现在和引领未来，引导国际学术界展开研究和讨论，从而更好向国际社会叙述、解释、呈现和宣介中国理念和中国主张，向世界发出中国学者的声音.
The next scholar is Zhang Pingwen, president of Wuhan University, who makes the case for science and technology research along with discourse power. Zhang argues that:
“Chinese civilization has a long history, marked by the four great inventions, and for the longest time, ancient Chinese science and technology was at the forefront of the world…A large number of great works from ancient China contain rich contents of philosophy and social sciences and wisdom for governance. These provided an important basis for ancient people to understand and transform the world, and also provided important content for the Chinese civilization, and made a major contribution to human civilization. However, in modern times, owing to China missing out on the wave of technological revolutions, political corruption, frequent wars, and the weakness of its economy and education, China became a backward and beaten semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Some enlightened individuals turned their attention to the West, Some people of insight turned their eyes to the west, from ‘learning from foreigners to control foreigners’ to ‘using Western knowledge for its practical purposes while maintaining Chinese values as the core’, and many people began to study China's social problems with modern social science methods. In particular, the sound of the October Revolution brought Marxism-Leninism to China. By combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China's realities and fine traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Communists have continuously adapted Marxism to Chinese conditions and made it modern, thus profoundly changing the future and destiny of the Chinese people and nation.” 中华文明历史悠久，以四大发明为标志，中国古代科技曾长期领先于世界。中国古代大量鸿篇巨制中包含着丰富的哲学社会科学内容、治国理政智慧，为古人认识世界、改造世界提供了重要依据，也为中华文明提供了重要内容，为人类文明作出了重大贡献。只是在近代，因错过世界科技革命浪潮，加之政治腐败、战乱频仍、经济和教育落后，中国沦为落后挨打的半殖民地半封建社会。一些有识之士把眼光转向西方，从“师夷长技以制夷”到“中体西用”，不少人开始用现代社会科学方法来研究我国社会问题。特别是十月革命一声炮响，给中国送来了马克思列宁主义。中国共产党人把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，不断推进马克思主义中国化时代化，深刻改变了中国人民和中华民族的前途命运.
He then says that the world and China are both going through profound; he presents Chinese scholars with a challenge:
“Can we seize the initiative in cutting-edge fields such as marine science, nanoscience, high-energy physics, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing? The challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, energy resource scarcity, and food security, which are faced by all of humanity, require the wisdom and contributions of Chinese scholars. Similarly, China’s economic development has entered a new normal, and in the face of profound changes in the international environment, how should we implement the new development concept, build a new development pattern, and promote high-quality development? How should we better protect and improve people's livelihood and promote social equity and justice? In the face of the unprecedented once-in-a-century changes taking place in the world, how should foster opportunities amid crises and open up new prospects amid changing situations? In the face of the new situation of exchanges, blending, and confrontation between various ideologies and cultures in the world, how should one enhance the soft power of culture and improve China’s discourse power in the international community? ... All these important issues in China's development need active answers from Chinese scholars.” 海洋科学、纳米科学、高能物理、人工智能、先进制造……这些科技前沿领域，我们能否抢占先机？气候变暖、环境恶化、能源资源短缺、粮食安全……这些全人类共同面对的难题都需要中国学者贡献智慧。同样，我国经济发展进入新常态，面对国际环境深刻变化，如何贯彻新发展理念、构建新发展格局、推动高质量发展？如何更好保障和改善民生、促进社会公平正义？面对世界百年未有之大变局，如何于危机中育先机、于变局中开新局？面对世界范围内各种思想文化交流交融交锋的新形势，如何增强文化软实力、提高我国在国际上的话语权？……这些我国发展中的重大课题都需要中国学者积极作出回答.
For Zhang, philosophy and social science workers must “adhere to the original intention, lead innovation, and continue to introduce high-level research results”. “High-level research universities must also consciously fulfil their mission, give full play to the advantages of profound basic research and interdisciplinary integration…With the continuous innovation and development of knowledge, we have entered the era of ‘big science’ characterised by interdisciplinary integration. In this environment, it is difficult to achieve major breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation and solve complex problems with a single-disciplinary research paradigm and thinking mode. Many major original achievements are rooted in deep basic research and arise from interdisciplinary fields, which become an important source of innovation. We should vigorously promote cross-disciplinary and multi-field research and explore the forefront of innovation…” 回答好重大时代课题，需要广大哲学社会科学工作者共同努力，坚守初心、引领创新，不断推出高水平研究成果。高水平研究型大学也须自觉履行使命担当，充分发挥基础研究深厚、学科交叉融合的优势，积极回应时代挑战...随着知识的不断创新和发展，我们已步入以多学科交叉融合为主要特征的“大科学”时代，单一学科的研究范式与思维模式难以实现科技创新的重大突破和复杂问题的解决。很多重大的原创性成果根植于深厚的基础研究，产生于学科交叉领域，学科交叉成为创新的重要源泉。我们要大力推动跨学科、多领域的交叉研究，探索创新最前沿。– Comment: I can’t say I disagree with him. This makes a lot of sense.
The final academic is Gan Lin, the Secretary of the Party Committee of Sichuan University. He basically talks about having a “people-centred research orientation” and the need to focus on tasks linked to the changed principal contradiction.
“Only when philosophy and social science workers are deeply integrated with the people, always listen to their voices, and have people in their hearts, can they really learn and produce genuine knowledge. Without being connected to the people, philosophy and social sciences will lose their attractiveness, appeal, influence, and vitality.” 哲学社会科学工作者只有深深融入人民之中，时时聆听人民心声，心中装着人民，才能真做学问、做真学问。脱离了人民，哲学社会科学就不会有吸引力、感染力、影响力、生命力.