The earliest modernization was capitalization, and Marx and Engels explained the reason as “do not want to perish”. With the intensification of capitalism’s internal contradictions, modernization tends to be socialized, and two different and mutually opposing models have emerged, the Western European capitalist model and the Soviet socialist model. The modernization of old China is doomed to “lose at the starting line”. It was not until the Chinese people won the new democratic revolution under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and established the People’s Republic of China that China’s modernization truly “stands on the starting line” and starts the Chinese path to modernization. Due to historical reasons, New China has obtained a new starting mode of modernization, forming the starting point of Chinese path to modernization. The reform and opening up enabled China to seize new opportunities, and Chinese path to modernization began to accelerate. After socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the new era, Chinese path to modernization began to flourish. Chinese path to modernization provides a new choice for mankind to realize modernization. Although this is related to China’s national conditions and special historical opportunities, it still has certain world historical significance and can provide useful inspiration for other countries to complete their modernization tasks.

Editor: Zhong Yao、Zheng Yifan

From:Economic Review Journal.2023.No.1.