Review of the speech: Advance Along the Road of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, by Zhao Ziyang

Review of the speech: Advance Along the Road of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, by Zhao Ziyang

By, Pedro Lara de Arruda.

This document refers to the speech pronounced by the just-elected Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mr. Zhao Ziyang, on the concluding ceremony of the 13th Party Congress, which happened in Beijing from October the 25th to November the 1st of 1987. To better contextualize the importance and political conjuncture of the decisions expressed through this speech it's necessary to bear in mind that this Party Congress was a fairly open one, which counted on the participation of 1,936 full delegates and 61 specially invited delegates at a time when the party membership was of 46 millions according to official data.

Preceding the specific announcement which we are gonna analyze, there were other sections which settled the ideological basis of the ideas defended by Ziyang and also strengthened his political stability to carry on with such measures. Important to quote, 175 members and 110 alternate members were elected in the early sections of the 13th Central Committee. The newly elected Central Advisory Commission comprised 200 members and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection consisted of 69 members. The First Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee elected Zhao Ziyang, Li Peng, Qiao Shi, Hu Qili and Yao Yilin to form the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau. Zhao Ziyang was elected general secretary of the Central Committee and Deng Xiaoping was elected chairman of the Central Military Commission. Chen Yun was selected as chairman of the CPC Central Advisory Commission and Qiao Shi as secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Concerning the main ideas of Ziyang final speech, which he review here, one big effort was to evaluate the achievements since China passed through the paradigmatic shift of power from Mao to Deng. Framed by a theory of the primary stage of socialism and the basic lines of the Party at that stage, Ziyang presented a very positive retrospect for the modernization achievements so far (which, nonetheless, recognized the huge structural gaps still to be overcame). On doing so, he pointed that 'a correct understanding of the present historic stage of Chinese society was of primary importance for building socialism with Chinese characteristics', and that it was the essential basis on which to formulate and implement correct lines and policies'.

Implicit on the aforementioned defense of the historical reference to the built up of the concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics were, both, a positive view on the modernization trends carried on since 1976 and the recognition that Socialism with Chinese characteristics should keep being the reference for this modernization.

Settling more precise politics to develop the modernization through the socialism with Chinese characteristics he officially set forth a 'three-step' economic development step (which, however, have already been previously mentioned in many times by Deng Xiaoping and Ziyang himself). The three-steps referred on the formal definition given in this speech were: 'First, to double the 1980 GNP to solve food and clothing shortages; second, to quadruple the 1980 GNP by the end of the century to achieve a relatively good standard of life for the people; and third, to basically complete the nation's modernization, raise the per capita GNP to that of intermediate-level developed countries and improve people's standard of living'.

In view of such project of modernization the main task assumed in this same speech were all clearly committed to 'accelerate and deepen such reforms'. On the economic field the restructuring call aimed at changing some technical and operational mechanisms of management of enterprises towards more efficient liberal models.

The speech also mention the necessity of advancing those reforms aimed at improving efficiency on the fields of planing, investment, materials and goods, finance, banking and foreign trade. Such tasks were to be be accomplished through some equally innovative paths launched by this speech, like, for instance, measures to promote some separation between the Party and the State, the improvement of the legal system and the reform of the civil service structure, as well as the aforementioned modernization of the State apparatus as a whole.

Behind all those modernization and reforms strategies, as well as behind the very three-steps themselves, was the market-oriented notion of establishing the basis for a large commodity based planed economy which, however claimed to be pursued through moderation and gradation, ended up being exaggeratedly conservative on the field of liberalizing the civil and political rights at the same extend that it was extremely radical on the market-oriented economy. The misreading of gradualism as being the excess of conservative civil and political restrictions mixed with radical market-oriented economic policies is, to a great extend, the main force that two years latter would drive to the Tiananmen Square incidents leading to Ziyang fall.