Independent Media’s foreign editor Shannon Ebrahim speaks to Chinese Ambassador to SA Chen Xiaodong as the Communist Party of China marks its 100th anniversary.
Q: On July 1, China held a grand ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech at the ceremony has received wide attention from the international community as well as South Africa. What do you think are the key points in President Xi Jinping’s speech for the outside world to observe China’s future development?
A: July 1, 2021 marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on which day China formally announced the realization of the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This means that we have brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty in China. General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech at this important historical moment is of great significance to China and the world at large.
Through the mirror of history, we can find where we currently stand and gain foresight into the future. This is the main thread that binds together all of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech. To hold this grand ceremony is to learn from the Party’s centenary journey, its achievements and to figure out how China succeeded in the past, and how we can continue to succeed in the future. General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward experience and recommendations on nine fronts that will guide China’s future development. The experience and recommendations are the best channels through which the outside world can observe and understand China, which can be summed up in five “upholds”:
First, we must uphold the full leadership of the CPC and advance the new project of Party building. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that China’s success hinges on the Party. The leadership of the CPC is not self-appointed. It is the choice of history and the people, and has been proven correct by history and reality.
The Covid-19 pandemic and transformations rarely seen in a century have become interwoven with one another. Facing these challenges, the CPC has led China to win the tough battle of poverty alleviation as well as pandemic prevention and control. This is the best testimony to the strong leadership and cohesion of the CPC.
Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded. On the new journey, China will continue to adapt the basic tenets of Marxism to China’s specific realities and its fine traditional culture and develop the Marxism of contemporary China and in the 21st century. We will continue to guide China's development with Xi Jinping’s “Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, and realize the second centenary goal.
To forge iron, one must be strong. An important reason why the Party remains so vital and vibrant despite having undergone so many trials and tribulations, is that it practices effective self-supervision, and full and strict self-governance.
We must strengthen the Party’s organisational system, work hard to train high-caliber officials who have both moral integrity and professional competence, remain committed to improving Party conduct, upholding integrity, and combating corruption.
Second, we must uphold the people-centred philosophy of development and ensure that the fruits of development benefit the people more. This country is its people; and the people are the country. As we have worked hard to establish and consolidate CPC’s leadership over the country, we have in fact been working to earn and keep the people’s support.
With these words, General Secretary Xi Jinping affectionately summed up the flesh-and-blood ties between the CPC and the people. The Party has in the people its roots, its lifeblood, and its source of strength. The Party has always represented the fundamental interests of all Chinese people. It stands with them through thick and thin and shares a common future with them. The party has no special interests of its own – it has never represented any individual interest group, power group, or privileged groups. On the journey ahead, China will continue to practice a people-centered philosophy of development and better achieve common prosperity. We will develop whole-process people’s democracy, safeguard social fairness and justice, and resolve the imbalances and inadequacies in development, and the most pressing difficulties and problems that are of great concern to the people.
Third, we must uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics and follow a path suited to China's national conditions. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a fundamental achievement of the CPC and the people. It is the right path for China to achieve national rejuvenation. To follow one's own path is a historical conclusion reached by the CPC in its century-long struggle. It is also a cause that developing countries in Africa are working hard to pursue.
On the journey ahead, the CPC and the Chinese people will adhere to Xi Jinping’s “Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, and walk a new path of modernization with Chinese characteristics.
China must deepen reform and open up across the board, ground our work in this new stage of development, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy, and foster a new paradigm of development.
China must promote high-quality development and build up our country’s strength in science and technology, and continue to govern based on the rule of law.
China must promote harmony between humanity and nature, and take well-coordinated steps toward making our people prosperous, our nation strong, and our country beautiful. At the same time, we are also eager to learn what lessons we can from the achievements of other cultures, and welcome helpful suggestions and constructive criticism. We will not, however, accept lecturing from those self-appointed preachers.
Fourth, we must uphold the principle of win-win co-operation and work for the building of a community with a shared future. The CPC cares about the future of humanity, and wishes to move forward with all progressive forces around the world. China has always worked to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development, and preserve international order.
In 2017, when members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee met with Chinese and foreign journalists, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared: “Together with the people of all countries, China will actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and continue to make new and greater contributions to the lofty cause of peace and development for mankind.”
As China’s diplomacy moves forward with great success, the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has become increasingly prominent in its value and significance. Against the backdrop of mounting challenges and increasing risks, this concept has undoubtedly pointed out the right direction and injected power into action in an uncertain world.
On the journey ahead, China will continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and remain committed to promoting peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, to an independent foreign policy of peace, and to the path of peaceful development. China will work to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind, promote high-quality Belt and Road co-operation through joint efforts, and use China’s new achievements in development to provide the world with new opportunities.
The Party will continue to work with all peace-loving countries and people to promote the shared human values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom. China will continue to champion cooperation over confrontation, to open up rather than closing our doors, to focus on mutual benefits instead of zero-sum games, and to oppose hegemony and power politics.
Fifth, we must uphold China's core interests and resolutely advance the process of peaceful reunification. Peace, concord, and harmony are ideas the Chinese nation has pursued and carried forward for more than 5 000 years. The Chinese nation does not carry aggressive or hegemonic traits in its genes.
We will stay true to the letter and spirit of the principle of One Country, Two Systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong, and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy. We will ensure that the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao, and implement the legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for the two special administrative regions to safeguard national security.
While protecting China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, we will ensure social stability in Hong Kong and Macao, and maintain lasting prosperity and stability in the two special administrative regions. We will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and advance peaceful national reunification.
Over the past few decades, the CPC has led economic and political reforms in China, which has achieved unprecedented growth and become the world's second largest economy. What major achievements do you think have changed the destiny of the Chinese people during this period?
As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, all the struggle, sacrifice and creation through which the Party has united and led the Chinese people over the past hundred years have been tied together by one ultimate aim – bringing about a rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This has been the greatest of the Chinese nation’s dreams since modern times. The CPC has united and led the Chinese people to forge ahead on the road of pursuing their dreams.
It only took China decades to complete the industrialisation process which developed countries have traversed for hundreds of years. China becomes the world’s second-largest economy with comprehensive national strength, scientific and technological strength, and defence strength.
Our cultural and international influence has also increased significantly. The destiny of the Chinese people has been undergoing profound changes. The most important achievements of this period can be summed up in three “creates”.
First, the CPC has created great achievements in the socialist revolution and construction. The CPC united and led the Chinese people in bloodsoaked battles, achieved national independence and liberation, and established a new China where the people are the masters of the country. New China established the basic political system of the People’s Congress system, established the basic political systems such as the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under the leadership of the CPC, the system of ethnic regional autonomy, and the system of grassroots autonomy for the masses. The broad masses of the people fully enjoy the protection of the constitution and laws, democratic elections, democratic consultations, democratic decision-making, democratic management, democratic supervision and other rights.
The people exercise their rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association within the bounds of the Constitution and legal norms, and extensive human rights with the right to survival and the rights to development as the core are fully guaranteed.
Different from frequent political unrest such as regime change, social divisions and violence in some countries, Chinese society has maintained long-term stability and China has built the world’s largest social security system, with basic medical insurance covering more than 1.3 billion people. The security index of the Chinese people is 98.4%, which makes China one of the most secure countries in the world.
The Chinese people’s satisfaction with the CPC and the government reached 93.1%, one of the highest levels in the world, according to a survey by the Ash Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Second, the CPC has made great achievements in reform, opening up, and socialist modernisation. The CPC created, persisted, defended, and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has achieved a historic transformation from a highly centralised planned economic system to a vibrant socialist market economic system, from a closed and semi-closed system to all-round opening up, from a relatively backward situation to a historic breakthrough into the world’s second largest economy, and from insufficient food and clothing to a moderately prosperous society in general and towards a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Under the leadership of the CPC, China has become the world’s largest manufacturer, the largest trader in goods, the largest holder of foreign exchange reserve, and the second-largest destination as well as source of foreign direct investment in the world.
Over the past 40 years, the average annual contribution rate of China’s economic growth to world economic growth has reached about 18%, and in recent years it has been as high as about 30%. China has become the number one engine of world economic growth.
Third, the CPC has created great achievements in building socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. Over the past four decades and more, China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty, accounting for over 70% of global poverty reduction in the same period. China has achieved the poverty reduction goals set out in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.
At this important moment of the centenary of the founding of the CPC, China has achieved comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty. The first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects has been realised as scheduled. China is now marching toward the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that from 2020 to 2035, China will basically realise socialist modernisation. From 2035 to the middle of this century, China will become a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful. The Chinese people, united and led by the CPC, are marching toward rejuvenation with indomitable spirits.
We are also eager to learn what lessons we can from the achievements of other cultures
* This is part one of a two-part interview.