China’s President Declares Economic Success Top Goal

President Yang Shangkun, in a speech marking the 80th anniversary of China’s revolution against imperial rule, declared Wednesday that economic development outranks all other goals. The survival of socialism in China depends on success in this field, he said.

“All other work should be subordinate to and serve the central task of economic development, and under no circumstances should we allow other work to interfere with or override the central task,” Yang, 84, declared at a rally at a suburban Beijing sports stadium. “We must think and act clearly and never lose the grip on economic construction.”

Yang’s stress on economic development, rather than ideology, may be useful to younger leaders trying to introduce new market-oriented reforms. The speech itself, and heavy coverage given to it by state-run media, also appeared to reflect Yang’s growing weight as the most energetic of the clique of octogenarian leaders that holds supreme power in China.

Senior leader Deng Xiaoping, 87, who has not made a public appearance since February, is believed to be increasingly frail. Although Deng still exercises great influence over top-level personnel decisions and fundamental policies, he no longer plays any role in the day-to-day running of the government. Yang, who has a strong military base, appears to wield power second only to Deng.

In an apparent response to the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union, Yang quoted Deng as declaring that the pursuit of socialism here is “a process of struggle, as well as a process of persuasion and education, but in the final analysis we must convince the people who do not believe in socialism by the results of our development.”

Yang endorsed a continuation of the Communist Party’s political dictatorship and a stress on political stability.