刘奇葆：我们走在正确的道路上（中英对照）

解码中国道路

Decoding the Chinese Path

我们开创了独具特色和优势的制度文明

We have created an institutional civilization that boasts unique features and advantages.

随着中国发展奇迹越来越受关注，在国际上的影响越来越大，“解码中国”成为国际社会的热门话题。中国为什么能？中国共产党为什么能？这样的问题，总能引起人们广泛的思考。道路和制度紧密相连，道路的成功离不开制度的保障。中国选择自己独具特色的制度，是大浪淘沙的结果。近代以来，中国试穿了各种各样的“鞋子”，甚至想照搬西方制度的“飞来峰”，但最终都没有成功。直到中国共产党诞生之后，才从根本上改变了这一切。我们党带领人民通过艰辛奋斗实践，在探索中找到了中国特色社会主义道路，形成了中国特色社会主义理论体系，确立了中国特色社会主义制度。与其他制度相比，我们这套制度在许多方面都具有显著优势，体现了一种独具特色和优势的制度文明。

As the miracle of China’s development has received increasingly high levels of attention and China’s international influence has continued to grow, “decoding China” has become a popular topic of discussion among the international community. How has China done it? How has the Communist Party of China done it? Questions such as these have frequently been the subject of much thought.

The path a country takes and the system it employs are closely linked to one another. Without the right system to support it, the success of a path would be impossible. China’s unique system was derived from a process of “washing away the sand to reveal the gold.” Since the advent of modern times, China has tried on “shoes” of all shapes and sizes. At one point, it even sought to copy the system of the West. None of these, however, resulted in success. It was not until the birth of the Communist Party of China that things really began to change. Through their bitter explorations, the Chinese people, led by the Communist Party of China, have discovered the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics; formulated its theoretical framework and established the Chinese socialist system. Compared with other systems, China’s system has shown marked advantages in a number of areas, being demonstrative of an institutional civilization with unique features and advantages.

比如，科学高效的决策和执行。一个国家的决策能力和执行效率，是衡量其制度优劣的重要尺度。朝令夕改，什么事也干不成。阿富汗前总统卡尔扎伊说：“如果阿富汗有机会重新选择的话，一定会走中国式的发展道路。因为它行动高效，决策果断，以结果为导向。”这道出了中国制度的一个突出优势。我们的制度，能够着眼人民整体利益和国家长远发展，科学及时决策、高效有力执行，把持续性与开拓性有效地结合起来。每一个“五年发展规划”的制定，都经过各方面磋商和咨询，几上几下、上下结合，最后形成共识、作出决定。在集中力量办大事、解难事中，我们的制度更展现出强大的执行力。抗击汶川特大地震等巨灾过程中，党中央一声令下，全国上下立即行动，迅速汇聚起抗灾救灾的磅礴伟力，在较短的时间里重建起新的家园。

First, our system is highly rational and effective with regard to decision-making and enforcement. The capacity of a country to make decisions and enforce them constitutes an important criterion for gauging the merits of that country’s system. Nothing can be achieved when decisions are made one minute and then changed the next on a whim. In a recent interview, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that if Afghanistan had the opportunity to choose again, it would certainly choose a Chinese-style path of development. This was because it was highly effective in taking action, resolute in its decision making, and results-oriented. These remarks shed light on one of the most prominent advantages of China’s system. Our system is able to focus on the overall interests of the people and the long-term development of the country. It ensures that decisions can be made rationally and promptly; enforced efficiently and effectively; and that a balance of continuity and innovation can be attained. Each of China’s Five-Year Plans, for instance, is formulated through a process of consultations among all interested parties, with opinions being conveyed upwards and then fed back downwards time and again until a consensus is reached and a decision is made.

The huge capacity of China’s system for action is even more evident in cases where we are able to pool national strength to carry out major undertakings and overcome major adversities. During our response to the devastating Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2008, for instance, the entire country rushed into action upon the calls of the CPC Central Committee, and this quickly culminated in a disaster relief effort of monumental proportions. As a result, we were able to mount an effective reconstruction effort within a relatively short period of time.

比如，广泛有效的人民民主。我们的民主是人民民主。有事好商量，众人的事情由众人商量，找到全社会意愿和要求的最大公约数，是人民民主的真谛。我们实行人民代表大会制度这个根本政治制度，实行中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度、民族区域自治制度以及基层群众自治制度等基本政治制度。人民通过选举、投票行使权力和人民内部实行广泛多层制度化的协商民主，是我国社会主义民主政治的两种重要民主形式。这样的民主形式，不仅有完整的制度程序，而且有完整的参与实践，有利于保证党领导人民有效治理国家，有利于人民持续参与日常政治生活，有利于人民依法实行民主选举、民主决策、民主管理、民主监督，有利于加强社会各种力量的合作协调。相比之下，以多党制、三权鼎立为主要特征的西式民主，日益暴露出其弊端和局限性。一些西方学者也承认，近年来西式民主正面临深刻危机，民主制衡演变为权力掣肘，党派博弈绑架国家利益。一些国家盲目“移植”或“被输入”西式民主，反而陷入无休止的政权更迭和社会动荡，造成“民主之殇”。只有扎根本国土壤、汲取充沛养分的民主制度，才最可靠、也最管用。对此，我们要保持清醒头脑，保持政治定力，不能舍本逐末、邯郸学步。

Second, our system boasts extensive and effective people’s democracy. Our democracy is people’s democracy. Solving problems through consultation, addressing the concerns of the many through the consultation of the many, and finding common ground with regard to the wishes and demands of society as a whole – these are the essential aspects of people’s democracy. China implements a fundamental political system of people’s congresses, and a set of basic political systems which include the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC; the system of regional ethnic autonomy; and the system of community-level self-governance. Our country’s socialist democracy is realized through two key forms: on the one hand, the people exercise their rights by participating in elections and casting their votes; and on the other, people enjoy a multi-level institutionalized consultative democracy on an extensive basis. These forms of democracy are not only supported by complete institutional procedures; they also feature complete participation in practice. They are conducive to ensuring that the Party is able to lead the people in effectively governing the country; that the people are able to engage in day-to-day political activities on a sustained basis; that the people are able to participate in democratic elections, decision-making, management, and supervision in accordance with the law; and that the cooperation and coordination of various social forces can be strengthened.

In contrast, the flaws and limitations of Western-style democracy – which is primarily characterized by the multi-party system and the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers – are becoming increasingly evident. Even some Western scholars have acknowledged that Western-style democracy has experienced a profound crisis in recent years, with the balancing function of democracy becoming an impediment to the exercise of power and contention between rivaling parties holding national interests to ransom. Some countries which blindly “transplanted” Western-style democracy, or which had it “infused” from the outside, have been plagued by repeated changes of government and social turbulence, resulting in the “death of democracy.” There can be no democratic system more reliable or effective than one that is rooted in a country’s soils and preserved by the rich nutrients drawn therefrom.

Therefore, it is important that we stay clear-headed and maintain our political resolve on this issue. We cannot afford to neglect what is basic in favor of what is trivial, or to imitate others at the expense of what makes us unique.

比如，层层历练的选贤任能。经过长期探索，我们形成了广纳群贤、充满活力的选人用人机制，广泛把各方面优秀人才集聚到党和国家各项事业中来。各级领导干部走上领导岗位，都要通过严格的组织考察、民主推荐、竞争选拔等程序，都经过了时间的考验和实践的锤炼，都有着多岗位的基层历练和出色的工作业绩。走红网络的卡通视频《领导人是怎样炼成的》，对此作了生动展示。现在，“中国功夫”式的长期锻炼选贤任能，正得到世界上越来越多有识之士的认可。

Third, our system allows for the selection and appointment of people whose moral character and competence have been put to the test at various levels of office. Over the course of long-term explorations, we have developed a vibrant mechanism for the selection and appointment of competent people with sound moral character, which allows us to enlist outstanding talents from all walks of life to the various causes of the Party and state. Before assuming posts of leadership, officials at all levels are required to undergo a rigorous process that consists of official evaluation, democratic recommendation, and competitive selection. All officials in leading posts have been tested over time and tempered through the course of their work; they all have gained a broad range of work experience and an outstanding record at low-ranking posts. The tests that leading officials must undergo were vividly depicted in the short animation How Leaders Become Leaders, which took the web by storm. Now, the Chinese “Kung-fu” style practice of selecting and appointing people whose moral character and competence have been tempered on a long-term basis is increasingly receiving recognition from people of insight around the world.

比如，市场和政府“两只手”协同发力。我国实行的是社会主义市场经济体制，其显著特点就是既注重发挥市场作用，又注重发挥政府作用，使“看不见的手”与“看得见的手”都用好。这一制度安排，既遵循市场经济的一般规律，又弥补市场调节的盲目性、自发性和滞后性等缺陷，把市场作用和政府作用很好地结合起来。依靠这个制度，我们拿出了令世人惊叹的“社会主义市场经济成绩单”。而世界上一些国家，脱离本国实际套用新自由主义开出的药方，实行完全放任的自由化、私有化和市场化，结果跌入发展“陷阱”难以自拔。根据实践拓展和认识深化，我们党提出了“使市场在资源配置中起决定性作用和更好发挥政府作用”的重大理论观点，对市场和政府关系作出了新的科学定位。这必将推动我国经济体制改革不断深化，把社会主义市场经济体制的优势进一步发挥出来。

Fourth, our system allows the “invisible hand” of the market and the “visible hand” of the government to work together as one. China practices a socialist market economy whose most distinguishing feature is the joint emphasis on the role of the market and that of the government. In other words, it seeks to make good use of both the “invisible hand” and the “visible hand.” This institutional arrangement not only observes the general rules of the market economy, but also makes up for its deficiencies such as blindness, spontaneity, and hysteresis. In doing so, it effectively links together the role of the market and that of the government. Relying on this system, we have presented the world with stunning performances of our socialist market economy. Some countries, in contrast, have turned to the cure prescribed by neoliberalism, indulging in all-out liberalization, privatization, and marketization in spite of their local realities. As a result, these countries have descended into a developmental trap from which they find it hard to escape. With the broadening of our experience and the deepening of our understanding, our Party has proposed the critically important theory of “enabling the market to play the decisive role in the allocation of resources and the government to exert its role more effectively.” With this, we have scientifically redefined the relationship between the market and the government. This will surely help the constant deepening of China’s economic reform and bring the advantages of the socialist market economy further into play.

习近平总书记在庆祝全国人民代表大会成立60周年大会上的重要讲话中，鲜明提出了评价一个国家政治制度民主、有效的重要标准。对照这些标准，我们以实践中的决定性进展，交出了令人信服的答卷。实践证明，中国的制度具有巨大优势、韧性、活力、潜能，丰富和发展了人类社会的制度文明。有国外学者指出，西方的发展模式正还原为地区性发展模式，中国制度的成功，开启了各种制度并存、竞争的多元时代。就连“历史终结论”的提出者福山也认为，中国模式有一些重要优势是西方民主制度不具备的，人类思想文明宝库应为中国留有一席之地。

In his speech to mark the 60th anniversary of the National People’s Congress, General Secretary Xi introduced an important criterion for judging whether or not the political system of a country is democratic and effective. According to this criterion, the decisive progress that China has made constitutes a convincing performance. Facts have demonstrated that China’s system, with its huge advantages, tenacity, vitality, and potential, has added to and developed the institutional civilization of human society. Some overseas scholars have pointed out that the Western model of development is currently reverting back to its original state as a regional development model. The success of China’s system has ushered in a new era of plurality in which different systems exist side by side and compete with one another. Even Francis Fukuyama, known for his “end of history” theory, suggests that the Chinese model has important advantages not found in the democratic systems of the West, and that a place should be reserved for China in the treasure trove of human thinking.