Abstract:

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences in 2016 is a landmark text that connects the past and the future in the formation of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. From the current perspective of the systematic and theoretical development of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the overarching proposition of developing philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics put forward in the "May 17 Speech" ultimately points to the construction of China’s independent knowledge system. Following the internal logic of this proposition, to build China’s independent knowledge system, we must take Marxism as the ideological guide, draw awareness of issues from China’s practice, focus on refining iconic concepts and original theories, and establish the independent status of Chinese philosophy and social sciences through discourse communication that integrates Chinese and foreign elements.

Key words: “May 17 Speech”, philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, China’s independent knowledge system, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the Second Combination