Promoting the Scientific Development Concept

Abstract

For the past nine months, Hu Jintao and other leaders have been promoting a new approach to development called the “scientific development concept.” This approach aims to correct the presumed overemphasis in recent years on the pursuit of increases in gross domestic product (GDP), which encourages the generation of false figures and dubious construction projects along with neglect for the social welfare of those left behind in the hinterland. Identified as a “people-centered” approach to development, the scientific development concept has been extended to leadership practices in general, including the recruitment of talent and the administration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Although leaders associated with Jiang Zemin, such as Secretariat head Zeng Qinghong, have endorsed the scientific development concept, Zeng in particular has appeared to demur at some of its central notions. At a minimum, this divergence points to the difficulty of defining “social development” as opposed to “mere” economic development; at a maximum, it suggests continuing tensions within the leadership.