Chinese president inspects Academy of Social Sciences.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

President Jiang Zemin visited the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on 16 July. He said China should develop not only natural science but philosophy and social sciences as well, using the knowledge acquired in these areas to improve the ideological, ethical, scientific and cultural qualities of the people. Jiang was accompanied on the visit by Ding Guangen, member of the Political Bureau and director of the Publicity Department of the CCP Central Committee, and Wen Jiabao, member of the CCP Central Committee Political Bureau and vice-premier of the State Council. They were received by Li Tieying, another CCP Politburo member and CASS president. Following is the text of a report by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing 16 July: Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] Central Committee, president of the state, and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the work of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences today. Jiang Zemin stressed: To build socialism with Chinese characteristics, it is necessary to make unremitting explorations in theory and practice, to advance new innovative theories on the basis of practice, and to guide practice with developing theories. Philosophy and social sciences play an irreplaceable role in theoretical and practical explorations, and philosophical workers and social scientists are an important, irreplaceable force. We should always attach importance to philosophy and social sciences and accelerate their development.

Jiang Zemin emphasized: Building socialism with Chinese characteristics should be a process of all-round economic, political, and cultural development and a process of all-round building of the material, political, and spiritual civilizations in our country. The development of philosophy and social sciences is an important part of the building of the socialist spiritual civilization and also serves the purpose of promoting the building of the material, political, and spiritual civilizations in our socialist society. We should make great efforts to develop not only natural science but philosophy …