What is modernization?Modernization is often understood as the process of transitioning from a traditional or primitive society to a modern society. Modernization is a historical process. Its definition and meaning are different for different people, countries and regions. Different countries and people pursue modernization to achieve different goals. And the definition and meaning of modernization change with time.The debate on modernity and modernization, however, is unending and thought-provoking.At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2022, President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, announced that China will advance national rejuvenation through the Chinese path to modernization.Chinese modernization is socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. It combines the common characteristics of modernization, as seen in other countries, with unique Chinese characteristics. Chinese modernization is a modernization for a huge population, aims to achieve common prosperity for all the people, balance material and cultural-ethical progress, promote harmony between humanity and nature, and pursue peaceful development. More important, the path China has chosen to achieve modernization is based on the countrys national conditions.The essential requirements of Chinese modernization are as follows: Upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing high-quality development, developing whole-process peoples democracy, enriching the peoples cultural lives, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future, and creating a new form of human advancement.The theory of the Chinese path to modernization is not only important for charting Chinas future direction but also for highlighting the common features of different countries journeys toward modernization.To build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, China has adopted a two-step strategic plan: Basically realize socialist modernization from 2020 through 2035; Build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful from 2035 through the middle of this century.The exploration of Chinese modernization is a historical process to build upon past achievements and break new ground. Since its founding over a century ago, the Communist Party of China has made pursuing modernization one of its key goals. Since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, the CPC, led by Chairman Mao Zedong and other first-generation leaders, emphasized the importance of economic development in the pursuit of modernization and building a great socialist country.However, the arduous task of achieving modernization rapidly evolved since the launch of reform and opening-up in 1978. Former leader Deng Xiaoping set clear goals for the four modernizations and outlined the phases to achieve them, including building a moderately well-off society (xiaokang). Successive CPC leaders, such as Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, steadfastly carried forward this great endeavor.By the end of 2020, China achieved the first centenary goal by eradicating extreme poverty and building xiaokang, which coincided with the centenary of the founding of the CPC. In fact, China eradicated extreme poverty a decade ahead of 2030, when the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals are to be realized. That China achieved the goal of eradicating extreme poverty despite the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic speaks volumes about the CPCs commitment to achieve the SDGs. In the new era under President Xi Jinpings leadership, China lifted about 100 million people, including the most vulnerable groups, out of extreme poverty from 2012 to 2020.In total, since the launch of reform and opening-up, China has lifted about 800 million people out of extreme poverty, contributing to 70 percent of global poverty reduction.Chinas development journey has progressed from standing up to becoming prosperous and strong. In this new era, President Xi Jinping has rightly emphasized that the main task of the CPC is to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization by the middle of this century.Being the worlds largest developing country with a population of more than 1.4 billion and the second-largest economy, Chinas path to modernization has far-reaching implications for the world. As Marsela Musabelliu, executive director of the Albanian Institute for Globalization Studies, wrote in an op-ed for China Daily, Chinese modernization and high-quality development have created new opportunities for other countries to intensify their own modernization efforts.The impact of the Chinese path to modernization can be seen through various initiatives that China has launched, Musabelliu wrote. Over the years, China has established multilateral platforms that foster interactions among institutions, people and governments. One prominent example is the Belt and Road Initiative, which, after a decade of development, has become a powerful engine for global growth, contributing to infrastructure upgrading in countries involved in the initiative.In fact, China has also launched the Global Development Initiative, which focuses on poverty eradication and sustainable development, and the Global Security Initiative, which aims to achieve common and comprehensive security, as well as the Global Civilization Initiative, which promotes equal dialogue between civilizations. As such, by deepening cooperation with China and leveraging their own comparative advantages, developing countries can make their economies stronger and more resilient, while charting their respective paths to modernization.In this context, Ahmed Bahaa El-Din Shaaban, secretary-general of the Egyptian Socialist Party, has said Beijing is on the way to realizing the goals of the Belt and Road Initiative and realizing its second centenary goal of developing China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful. Indeed, future generations will benefit from this development initiative, as it aims to end exploitation, plunder and political oppression of the developing world, and build a world of prosperity and peace. Adil Abdul-Mahdi, former Iraqi prime minister, expressed his desire to seize the historic opportunities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative to help boost Iraqs economic development.On the other hand, Ong Tee Keat, a former deputy speaker of the Malaysian Parliament and former transport minister of Malaysia, has said the complementarity between the Global Development Initiative and the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 in areas such as regional security, economic development, and socio-cultural exchanges will contribute to strengthening relations between the worlds second-largest economy and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.Former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan Djoomart Otorbaev, too, has emphasized the vital role that Chinas development plays in the economies of Central Asia.Chinas modernization and the views of experts like those mentioned above have been compiled by China Daily into a book, Unique Path, Global Impact Chinas Exploration of Its Own Modernization Path Has Far-reaching Effects. Published by the China Intercontinental Press, the book brings to readers the valuable opinions of the authoritative contributors from China and many other countries on the Chinese path to modernization.Hopefully, the book will help more friends from around the world to gain a better understanding of the significance of the Chinese path to modernization for the rest of the world.China Daily is grateful to the contributors and hard-working editors who have created this valuable and resourceful book.