When historians look back at the early twenty-first century, they may well identify Xi Jinping’s articulation of ‘Modernization with Chinese characteristics’ as one of the defining frameworks of our time, a comprehensive reimagining of what it means for a civilization to achieve prosperity while remaining true to its own character and values.

In the decades since Deng Xiaoping launched China’s reform and opening-up policy, the nation has undergone a remarkable transformation. Yet under Xi Jinping’s leadership since 2012, China has articulated a distinct vision that moves beyond simply catching up with the West. The concept of Chinese modernization has emerged as a central pillar of Xi’s governance philosophy, representing an attempt to chart a development path that remains true to Chinese political structures while achieving prosperity and global influence.

At the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2022, Xi formally elevated Chinese modernization to the status of a guiding ideology. This framework represents more than economic development. It encompasses social governance, environmental sustainability, technological advancement, and cultural revival, all under the firm leadership of the Communist Party.

Xi’s conception rests on five distinctive characteristics that differentiate it from Western modernization models. First, it emphasizes the massive scale involved, modernizing a population of 1.4 billion people, larger than the combined population of all developed countries. This unprecedented demographic challenge necessitates innovative solutions that cannot be replicated from the experiences of smaller nations.

Second, Chinese modernization prioritizes common prosperity over the unfettered wealth accumulation that characterized early Western industrialization. Xi has made reducing inequality a signature concern, implementing policies to redistribute wealth through taxation and social programmes. This reflects a fundamental belief that modernization must benefit the many, not just the few, ensuring that rural........

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