Studies of Xi thought guide China's future, drive modernization

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has approved the establishment of 10 research institutes to study and interpret Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and studying the leader's thought will guide the future development of the country, said experts.

The research centers and institutes, set up to study and interpret Xi Jinping's thought, were established by the CPC Central Committee's Party School, the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, the municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai, Guangdong Province, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China, said an official statement provided to the Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

With strong academic credentials, the new research centers and institutes will be able to play an important role in the study, promotion and interpretation of Xi's thought, according to the statement.

His ideas are the essence of thoughts and experiences concluded by the people and the Party from the last decade, thus it is of strategic significance in guiding and understanding China and even the world's modernization progress, said Zhou Shaolai, senior fellow and director of the political theory study section at the Institute of Political Science under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Of these ten approved institutes, most are located in universities and other educational institutes. Zhou explained that learning Xi's thought can better help to raise students' political consciousness and realize their ambition to contribute to the country's development.

Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the Chongqing Committee, said in recent years China has witnessed a rise in patriotism among students.

Chinese students are greatly inspired by every aspect of China's achievements in recent years, and thus they are willing to have this opportunity of systematically learning Xi's thoughts, Su said.

Seeking solution

The trend to establish research centers on Xi's thought was set by People's University of China, which established the first such center on October 25.

Qin Xuan, professor at People's University's School of Marxism Studies and director of the research center, said at its opening ceremony that the center's top priority would be to master the essence of Xi's thought and conduct deeper theoretical research into terms like "new era" and "new contradiction," Guangming Daily reported.

Xi said in the work report of the 19th Party National Congress that "As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved. What we now face is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life."

Xi's thought has important and realistic significance in guiding China's future, thus establishing such research can help solve China's problems and explore China's future, Wu Bo, a research fellow at the Academy for Social Sciences Evaluation under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

We need to research why and how the development is unbalanced and inadequate, and how we can fix it, Wu said.

At a symposium on Friday, Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, called for the inclusion of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in college textbooks and classes as well as the cultivation of talent who can help spark national rejuvenation, Xinhua reported.