Full Text of Hu Jintao's speech at CPC anniversary gathering

At this moment when we are marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, we cherish the memory of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun and other proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation who contributed so much to China's revolution, development, and reform and to the founding, consolidation, and growth of the CPC. We cherish the memory of revolutionary martyrs who gave their lives in founding, defending, and building New China. We also cherish the memory of all the forerunners who struggled tenaciously for the independence and liberation of the Chinese nation in modern times. Their tremendous contributions to China and the Chinese nation will go down in the annals of history.

On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, I wish to pay high tribute to workers, farmers, and intellectuals throughout China, to the democratic parties, people's organizations, and patriotic figures from all walks of life, and to the People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police Force, and public security police. I would also like to extend sincere greetings to our compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan and to overseas Chinese. Lastly, I wish to express cordial thanks to all the foreign friends and people of other countries who are friendly to the Chinese people, and view favorably and support China's revolution, development, and reform endeavors.

Comrades and Friends,

We have embarked on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, formed a system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and established a socialist system with Chinese characteristics. These achievements made over 90 years of endeavors, innovation, and enrichment, should be valued, upheld on a long-term basis and continuously built upon by our Party and people.

The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only way for China to achieve socialist modernization and create decent lives for its people. In taking the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should, under the leadership of the CPC and bearing China's basic national conditions in mind, pursue economic development as the central task, uphold the Four Cardinal Principles, be committed to the reform and opening up policy, free and develop the productive forces, strengthen and improve the socialist system, promote the socialist market economy, socialist democracy, an advanced socialist culture, and a harmonious socialist society, and make China a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious modern socialist country.

The system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics is sound, which guides the Party and people in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as they advance along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Party has consistently integrated the basic tenets of Marxism with the specific conditions of China, and it has made two great theoretical achievements in the historical process of adapting Marxism to China's conditions. One is Mao Zedong Thought, which represents the application and development of Marxism-Leninism in China. Mao Zedong Thought has resolved in a systematic way the issue of how to accomplish the new-democratic revolution and socialist revolution in China, a big semi-colonial and semi-feudal country in the East, and made painstaking effort to explore the issue of what kind of socialism China should build and how to build it, thereby making new and creative contributions to enriching Marxism. The other theoretical achievement is the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This is a scientific theoretical system consisting of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development and other major strategic thoughts. It has systematically addressed a series of significant issues, such as what kind of socialism China, a large developing country of over one billion people, should build and how to build it; what kind of party we should build and how to build it; and what kind of development China should achieve and how to achieve it. The system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics represents the continuation and development of Mao Zedong Thought.