Can we speak of a new social formation in China?
The authors commemorate and analyze the mileage of 40 years of reforms in China, focusing particular attention on recent events: the 19<sup>th</sup> National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 1<sup>st</sup> Session of the 13<sup>th</sup> National People's Congress. Following our discussion of these events, the authors conclude that China has entered a new phase of development. A new original social system is now under construction, and Chinese specifics have gained integrity as an independent project of social development that serves as an alternative to the Western mode.