The suffix 化 works like English '-ize' or '-ification': 现代化 (modernize), 国际化 (internationalize), 工业化 (industrialize), 简化 (simplify). It can function as both a verb and a noun.
culture
四个现代化 ('Four Modernizations') was a key policy goal in China from the late 1970s, covering agriculture, industry, defense, and science and technology.
