Socialism with Chinese characteristics

Socialism with Chinese characteristics (Chinese: 中国特色社会主义; pinyin: Zhōngguó tèsè shèhuìzhǔyì; Mandarin: [ʈʂʊ́ŋ.kwǒ tʰɤ̂.sɤ̂ ʂɤ̂.xwêɪ.ʈʂù.î] ^ⓘ) is a term used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to encompass its political theories and policies.

The term was first established by Deng Xiaoping in 1982 and was largely associated with Deng's overall program of adopting elements of market economics as a means to foster growth using foreign direct investment and to increase productivity (especially in the countryside where 80% of China's population lived) while the CCP retained both its formal commitment to achieve communism and its monopoly on political power. In the party's official narrative, socialism with Chinese characteristics is Marxism adapted to Chinese conditions and a product of scientific socialism. The theory stipulated that China was in the primary stage of socialism due to its relatively low level of material wealth and needed to engage in economic growth before it pursued a more egalitarian form of socialism, which in turn would lead to a communist society described in Marxist orthodoxy.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics consists of a path, a theoretical system, a system, and a culture. The path outlines the policies guiding the CCP. The theoretical system consists of Deng Xiaoping Theory, Three Represents (Jiang Zemin), Scientific Outlook on Development (Hu Jintao), and Xi Jinping Thought. According to CCP doctrine, Xi Jinping Thought is considered to represent Marxist–Leninist policies suited for China's present condition while Deng Xiaoping Theory was considered relevant for the period when it was formulated. The term is seen by proponents as representing the Sinicization of Marxism.