On May 16, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech delivered on May 17, the 11th High‑Level Academic Forum on Chinese Modernization and Chinese Political Science, organized by the School of Public Administration, was successfully held at the Auditorium of Fangfei Building, Xianlin Campus, Nanjing Normal University.Present at the forum were experts and scholars from prestigious universities and research institutions across China, including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, Sun Yat‑sen University, Xiamen University, Jilin University, Northeast Normal University, National University of Defense Technology of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, University of International Business and Economics, China University of Mining and Technology, Central China Normal University, Anhui University, South China Normal University, Yunnan University, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Tianjin Normal University, Henan Normal University, Jiangsu Normal University, Guizhou Normal University, Northwest University of Political Science and Law, Zhejiang Gongshang University, and Party School of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.Also in attendance were chief editors and senior reviewers from authoritative newspapers and academic journals such as Guangming Daily, Contemporary World and Socialism, Study & Exploration, Journal of Political Theory Research, Jiangsu Social Sciences, and Chinese Social Sciences Today.Gathering together, the participants focused on the academic mission and development path of political science in the new era, and conducted in‑depth discussions on the core categories and practical approaches of the theme Chinese Modernization and Chinese Political Science.

The opening ceremony of the forum was presided over by Xu Kaiyi, Dean of the School of Public Administration at Nanjing Normal University, and Gu Jilin, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Public Administration, delivered an opening speech.He pointed out that as the 15th Five-Year Plan period is a crucial stage connecting the past and the future, political science shoulders the historic mission of building an independent knowledge system with Chinese characteristics and explaining the academic logic of China’s Governance.The political science discipline at Nanjing Normal University should not only meet the theoretical needs of China’s political development in the new era but also respond to the practical demands of Chinese-style modernization. It strives to inject strong impetus into the development of the university and the progress of the school during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.He expressed the hope that the School of Public Administration would take this forum as an opportunity to fully absorb valuable suggestions from experts and scholars, jointly promote innovation and practice in political science research, and wished the forum a complete success.

The morning session was divided into two phases. The first phase was chaired by Professor Zhao Hui of Nanjing Normal University.Professor Gao Jian from Tianjin Normal University focused on How Habermas Constructs the Theory of Deliberative Democracy, analyzed key concepts such as the public sphere and lifeworld, and proposed the deconstruction of employment positions by technology.Professor Yang Haijiao from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, based on the positive interaction between security and development from the perspective of national governance, emphasized that political science research should be grounded in China’s reality, build an independent knowledge system, and provide academic support for coordinating development and security.Professor Sang Yucheng from Fudan University pointed out that artificial intelligence is subtly influencing political decision-making and changes in the labor structure: the former is mainly reflected in the weakening of territorial management and the dissolution of traditional national governance boundaries, while the latter drives the substitution of labor positions and the emergence of tensions in employment demand.Professor Zhou Guanghui from Jilin University argued that national size is an important variable in coordinating development and security; the advantages of a large country lie in providing security, reducing risks, and enhancing resilience, which offers insights for understanding the evolution of political order.Professor Han Dongxue from Tsinghua University, drawing on the case of the indigenization of political science in Japan, reflected on the cultural consciousness essence of China’s independent knowledge system: adhering to the integration of Marxism with fine traditional culture, perfecting human nature through public communication, and realizing human liberation.Professor Yan Jirong from Peking University, with the theme Intellectualization of Governance in China, analyzed that its core issue lies in the breakthroughs of China’s practice in addressing the paradox of public choice and the logic of innovative collective action.

The second phase of keynote speeches was presided over by Professor Li Lifeng from Nanjing University.Professor Cheng Zhuru from Shanghai Jiao Tong University focused on whole-process people’s democracy. On the basis of distinguishing its conceptual relationship with people’s democracy and socialist democracy, he put forward the basic practical experience of continuously expanding the orderly participation of the people.Professor Chen Guoquan from Zhejiang University, based on the concept of broad-sense government, analyzed the party attributes and government attributes of China’s public administration subjects, as well as the differences between centralized governance and bureaucratic governance, and pointed out the four major systemic risks inherent in broad-sense government.Professor Zhu Renxian from Xiamen University held that institutional modernization is the core dimension and key support of Chinese-style modernization, exerting multiple functions including direction guarantee, order construction, motivation generation, and efficiency transformation.Professor Zhang Mingjun from Shanghai Jiao Tong University explored the logical starting point for the independent knowledge production of Chinese political science. Through a comparison of Chinese and Western power structures, he specifically interpreted China’s political development path of party first, state later.Professor Jin Taijun from Anhui Normal University centered on the relationship and advantages of planning-based governance and the national governance system, constructed a four-level institutional guarantee system, and explored feasible approaches to effective governance in complex environments.Researcher Chen Jing’an from Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences emphasized the necessity of reconstructing the logic of public service provision in ethnic regions, and proposed a two-wheel conjugation, multi-dimensional resonance model to actively address structural imbalances and efficiency coupling dilemmas, so as to achieve high-quality development and high-level security in ethnic areas.Professor Dai Changzheng from University of International Business and Economics revealed the mechanism by which national governance practices construct national identity from the perspective of spatial politics, namely, by reconstructing the four dimensions of space—physical, institutional, social, and cultural-psychological—to reshape the people’s national identity and political order.

Two parallel sub-forums were held in the afternoon session.The first sub-forum was presided over by Wang Jin, Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary World and Socialism.The scholars who delivered presentations are as follows:Professor Fang Shengju from Yunnan University: Coordinative Governance: An Effective Strategy for National Governance in the New Era.Professor Zhang Shiwei from Northwest University of Political Science and Law: The Political Science Knowledge System in Establishing and Consolidating the Civilizational Subjectivity of Chinese-Style Modernization.Professor Li Lifeng from Nanjing University: Multiple Constructions of Marx’s Concept of “Class”: A Problematic Reflection.Professor Liu Wei from Wuhan University: Public Opinion Absorption and Governance Transformation: The “Expression–Response” Mechanism in China’s Democratic Politics.Professor Xiong Yihan from Fudan University: Conceptualization and Theorization of Traditional Political Wisdom.Professor Yang Jian from Anhui University: Potential Energy Drive and Scene Anchoring: The Generative Logic of Local Governments’ Forward-Looking Policy Responses During the Technological Boom—A Multi-Case Study of Policy Diffusion Based on OpenClaw “Lobster Farming”.Professor Liu Lirui from Party School of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China: “Affairs of All People Discussed by All People” — Deliberative Democracy with Chinese Characteristics.Professor Chang Yijun from Yunnan University: Identity-Based Politics: The Political Formation of Contemporary China.Professor Zhang Dengwen from Northeast Normal University: Cross-Level Governance: The Operational Mechanism for Solving Difficult Public Governance Issues Through the Leading Cadres’ Contact System.Associate Professor Zhang Zhenbo from Nanjing Normal University: Control Right Allocation and the Shift in Regulated Officials’ Behavioral Preferences—An Institutional Analysis of the Governance Effects of Vertical Environmental Reform.

Sub-Forum II was presided over by Gong Cunlei, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Study & Exploration.The following scholars delivered presentations:Professor Wan Xiaohong from South China Normal University: Trump 2.0’s World Order and Sino‑U.S. Strategic Competition.Professor Chen Huasen from Guizhou Normal University: Community Politics Integrating Rights Politics—A Spatial Political Analysis of the Modernization of the Chinese Nation Community.Professor Chen Junya from Central China Normal University: The Grassroots Logic of Coordinating Development and Security: Generating Cooperative Order Through Development.Professor Wang Yibao from China University of Mining and Technology: How Institutional Strength Translates into Governance Effectiveness—An Analysis Based on Data of Security Perception Transformation in 36 Cities Nationwide.Professor Ma Xuesong from Jilin University: From Idea to Order: Paradigm Shift and Capacity Building of Global Governance Initiatives.Professor Ge Tengfei from National University of Defense Technology: The Structure of International Trust from the Perspective of the International System.Professor Zhang Hao from Sun Yat‑sen University: On the Distinctive Features, Unique Advantages and Practical Path of the CPC’s Governance Through Planning—Taking the Five‑Year Plans as an Example.Professor Han Wanqu from Henan Normal University: Balanced Decentralization and Centralization: The Adjustment Approach to the Regulation of Chinese Think Tanks.Associate Professor Yang Yuanhao from University of International Business and Economics: The People’s Livelihood Dimension of National Security.Associate Professor Yu Hongbo from Nanjing Normal University: A Behavioral Political Science Study of the Concepts of“the People”and“Citizens”.

This forum centers on the major proposition of Chinese-style modernization, guiding academic circles to respond to the questions of the times and fulfill academic missions. Boasting fruitful achievements, it fully demonstrates the cultural confidence and academic responsibility of political scholars in the new era, and contributes to the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese political science.The School of Public Administration, Nanjing Normal University hosted the first high-end academic forum on political science in 2013. Having run for 11 sessions to date, the event has evolved into a flagship initiative for the university’s political science discipline development, academic exchanges and talent cultivation, earning widespread recognition and positive reputation across academia.