Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 10, 2025

The Logic of Chinese Path to Modernization and Its World Significance

(Abstract)

Wu Zhicheng

Modernization is a systemic process of transforming social structures and values driven by specific actors across diverse domains. While modernization processes share common elemental components, their varied configurations shape both the universal features of global modernization and the distinctive developmental trajectories of individual countries. To examine the relationship between Chinese path to modernization and global modernization, it is necessary to adopt a dialectical approach that integrates universality and particularity. This requires a focus on the constitutive elements of modernization, analyzing both similarities in their core composition and differences in their practical applications. By synthesizing the dimensions of history, the people, the Party, the state, and society, this paper constructs a theoretically grounded and systematic analytical framework to interpret the logic of Chinese path to modernization. Centered on five key elements, such as starting coordinates, developmental goals, leadership force, institutional vehicles, and practical forms, this framework elucidates the historical logic of “where it began,” the people’s logic of “why it arose,” the Party logic of “what drives it forward,” the state logic of “what sustains it,” and the societal logic of “where it is heading.”