In order to further study and implement the spirit of General Secretary XI Jinpings speech at the general meetingmarking the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up, the symposium on theoryin celebration of the 40thanniversary was held in SPI on the afternoon of December 26. ZHOU Huilin, member of the Standing Committee and Director of PublicityDepartment of Shanghai Committee of the CPC, attended the symposium and delivered a speech. XU Jiong, Vice Director of Publicity Department of Shanghai Committee of the CPC, presided over the symposium. SHEN Wei,Executive Vice President of SPI and Vice-Director of Shanghai Center for Research onXI Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics fora New Era, read out the list of excellentessays and the names of excellent organizations in celebration of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up in Shanghai.

ZHOUHuilin said that the speech by General Secretary XI Jinping at the general meeting celebrating the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up was the programmatic document guiding the cause of reform and opening-up in the new era, and the new declaration and mobilization order for the re-start of reform and opening-up in the new era. Under the guidance of XI JinpingThoughton Socialism with Chinese Characteristics foraNew Era, theorists ofsocial sciences in Shanghai should systematically summarize the successful experience of reform and opening-up, and provide more powerful theoretical support and practical guidance for its re-start. Greater efforts should be made to study and interpret General SecretaryXIs discourse on reform and opening-up, and continuously deepen the study of the spirit of General Secretary XIs speech. We should work on the reform and opening-up in the new era with the spirit of innovation and invention, engage ourselves with theoretical innovation at a higher level, deepen the summary of reform and opening-up experience, engage in the latest practice of reform and opening-up, strengthen talebt-training and carry out international communication. We should speed up the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics in the spirit of reform and opening-up, make new and greater achievements in adhering to the guidance of Marxism, taking root in Chinese practice, and sticking to openness and accommodation.

At the symposium, the first research bases of Shanghai Center for Research on XI JinpingThought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics fora New Era were licensed,and the secondgroup of invitedresearchers certified.Six units, i.e., the Institute of Marxism, Fudan University, the School of Marxism, East China Normal University, the School of Marxism, Shanghai Jiaotong University, the School of Marxism, Tongji University, theSchool of Marxism, East China University of Politics and Law, and China Institute of Marxism, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, were licensed the first research bases. Thirty-five researchers, including DING Xiaoqiang and YU Kai, were re-invited.

At the symposium, eight speakers, XI Jieren, YIN Desheng, GUO Shengli, YAN Aiyun, WANG Hongzhou, QIU Huafei, GUOQingsong and LIQi, made exchanges and speeches around "the spiritual power that unites Chinese forces in the new era", "the political economy of Chinas development path", and "the mechanism innovation ofChinese urban community governance in the 40 years of reform and opening-up".

The symposium was co-sponsored by the Publicity Department of Shanghai Committee of the CPC, Shanghai Party Institute, Shanghai Research Office of CPC History, the Party Committee of Shanghai Commission on Education and Health Work, Shanghai Federation of Social Science Associations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the Political College of National Defense University, Shanghai Center for Research on XI JinpingThought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics fora New Era, and ShanghaiCenter for Research on Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. More than 300 people attended the symposium, including experts and scholars of social sciencestheories in Shanghai, heads of the publicity departments of districtParty committees, and persons in charge of the publicity departments and the scientific researchmanagement departments of Party committees of colleges and universities.