Paul TEMBE
China had the attention of the entire global media as it held the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China during the 16 th to 22 nd October. The attention to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was multifaceted in accordance with interests of different nations and regions. However, the principal focus that drew world’s attention to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was the fact China is the 2 nd largest economy in the world.
The second and most profound but not overtly expressed interest were on expectation for the election of President Xi Jinping into his third term in office as the Secretary General of the CPC and the President of the People’s Republic of China.
The 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China marks the third Congress ever since President Xi Jinping ascended to the highest office in the People’s Republic of China.
It is then imperative that one reflects of the 1 st and 2 nd congresses of the CPC that took place with President Xi at the helm. Such a reflection will then lay basis for one to fully understand the 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China Report and its planned trajectory for the next five years and beyond.
In celebration of the successful recently held 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, H. E. Ambassador Chen Xiaodong hosted a High-Level Dialogue to give a report of the congress to high-level South African government representatives including other foreign dignitaries held at the Chinese Embassy in South Africa last Thursday, 27 th October 2022.
Speaking specifically on South Africa – China relations H. E. Ambassador Chen Xiaodong reported that the 20th CPC National Congress drew a blueprint for China's development and made strategic plans. Ambassador Chen pointed out that China’s new development will bring new opportunities for the further growth of China-South Africa relations. He then went on to mention important points that would serve to strengthen South Africa-China relations and how South Africa stands to benefit from closer relations with China, especially as a comprehensive strategic partner to China on the African continent.
First, it is important to strengthen the exchange of experience in governance. The success of the 20th CPC National Congress provides broad space for China and South Africa to strengthen exchanges of experience and connect development strategies. China is ready for more high-level visits, inter-party exchanges and institutionalized exchanges with South Africa. China is ready to share experience in poverty reduction, development and revitalization with you side and to jointly enhance governance capacity through mutual learning.
Second, it is important to deepen win-win cooperation. China will remain committed to developing the real economy, advance new industrialization and a high level of opening up.
China is ready to strengthen practical cooperation with South Africa under BRI and FOCAC, and focus on cooperation in new sectors such as 5G, digital economy, high-tech, e-commerce, smart cities and clean energy. China is ready to work to see more projects under FOCAC’s nine programs implemented here in South Africa.
Third, it is important to enhance international collaboration. China and South Africa are both important developing countries. We have the same or similar views on the international order and global governance. China is ready to continue to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with South Africa and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and our common interests. China will fully support South Africa’s BRICS Chairing next year.
We will work to strengthen BRICS mechanisms and BRICS cooperation in various fields for more concrete results.
On the importance of unity between the two nations Ambassador Chen cited President Mandela who once said, “Together, we can make great achievements”. In China, we also have an old saying, "Going solo is tough, but things are easier when people work together."
In his closing remarks H. E. Ambassador Chen Xiaodong pointed out that China believes that stronger win-win cooperation between the two countries will surely produce greater synergy. The CPC is ready to join hands with the ANC, the SACP and other parties to explore development paths that are in line with our respective national conditions, and to usher in a new era of China-South Africa cooperation and friendship!
The remarks by Ambassador Chen are in accordance with long-term planning and peaceful development continuities witnessed in China’s development. The remarks are a reflection of all past three National Party Congresses of the Communist Party of China aimed at the rejuvenation of the Chinese people, strengthening socialism with Chinese characteristics, promoting the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, embarking on a new journey towards Chinese modernization and building China into a great modern socialist country.
The 18 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in 2012 under the banner of the Rejuvenation of Chinese nation and launching of the anti-corruption campaign. One may safely assume that establishing a platform of strengthening China and its people as a nation marked the beginning of a more bold and confident China that was ready to sit on the table among powerful world nations.
The launch of the anti-corruption campaign set the ball rolling for a strengthened and more transparent form of governance. Both themes and the general report of the 18 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China marked a deeper attention to a people-centred-approach form of governance marking in broader terms the beginning of the towards a realization of the China Dream.
The 19 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017 saw the introduction and inclusion of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the constitution of China. The 19 th National Congress of the CPC marked half a decade of President Xi Jinping at the helm of the CPC and the nation. The Congress also emphasized strengthening socialism with Chinese characteristics, party-building, socialist rule of law, and setting concrete timelines for achieving development goals, such as building a moderately prosperous society and achieving "socialist modernization."
It is imperative to observe that resolution made in the report of the previous national congress were held in place, emulated and strengthened during the 19 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Also pronounced during the 19 th National Congress was the desire and adherence to the blueprint for China to play China to play a more substantial role internationally.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held under strenuous global climate in geopolitical terms. The congress was held at a time when global inflation is reaching new heights and geopolitical balances are being reconfigured. The two imbalances are exasperated by current tendencies towards unilateralism at the expense of undermining past and present efforts towards multilateralism and peaceful development.
The 20 th National Congress of the CPC has declared that China will adhere to basic state policy of opening-up and firmly pursue a win-win opening-up strategy. China in opting for cooperation instead of competition and confrontation aims to establish conditions that will strengthen and support the work of the United Nations as a platform aimed at reaching consensus among different nations including all other multilateral bodies that are meant for establishing and safeguarding harmony and prosperity in the world.
According to the report of 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which laid out main objectives and tasks for the next five years and beyond, “the Chinese people have never been so close to, confident in, and capable of achieving the goal of rejuvenating the Chinese nation.” The report continued to state that’ Chinese modernization, based on exploration by generations of Chinese people and unique to the country’s context, presents a correct path to realizing the Chinese dream. It went on to state that, Chinese modernization offers humanity a new choice for achieving modernization.
Chinese modernization, a key term defining China’s journey to rejuvenation has for the first time been written into a report to the national congress of the Communist Party of China. President Xi
Jinping underscored the “central task” of the CPC, calling for efforts to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts “through Chinese path to modernization.”
The above statement is witness to economic successes by the world’s second-largest economy under the leadership of the Communist Party of China with President Xi at the core. China has within decades achieved economic, technological, and poverty eradication triumphs unprecedented in human history. China is setting clearer vision and targets, and is becoming increasingly aware that the modernization it seeks will not be a mere replica of the Western one since the Chinese path works well.
This is a lesson for all developing nations to make efforts to match all forms of modernity to their own local frames of reference and local conditions. At the opening of the congress, President Xi emphasized the importance of unity among all CPC members in building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization.
However, such development cannot be achieved through any predetermined path or method. It is only through exploration and trial and error where a nation applies adherence to one’s own way that can be deemed pragmatic approach, concluded the President.
President Xi Jinping emphasized that, the success of China’s own modernization efforts serves as a compelling reminder that there is more than one road to achieving modernization, and every nation has the right to pursue its own path to modernization, one that takes into account the specifics of its own history, culture, economy and other factors.
No modernization model can be considered as the only model, nor is there a single standard for modernization that fits all nations.
China as a 2 nd global economy is in a position to safeguard and offer alternative solutions to issues of economic development, environment protection, climate change, common prosperity that will eventually lead to world peace and a community of shared future. China, especially through the 20 th National Congress of the CPC report serves as the word of reason in a world that is set on a precarious path resulting from protectionism and unilateralism.
As china’s route to modernization broadens, the county’s growth prospects that is set to improve and help global community reap additional benefits.
South Africa as a comprehensive strategic partner to China ought to juxtapose China’s successes to its own developmental ideals. China’s per capita disposable annual income has risen from 16,500 yuan to 35,100 yuan over the past decade. In the past ten years China has focused on promoting high-quality development, resulting in a GDP growth from 54 trillion yuan to 114 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world. Over the past decade, China has implemented a people-centered philosophy of development with the aim to improve people’s well-being.
Evidence to the success of people-centered philosophy of development is the creation of more than 13 million urban jobs each year on average and 1.04 billion people now enjoy basic old-age insurance.
President Xi, irrespective of all successes through the entire spectrum of developmental efforts during the last decade has emphasized the importance of self-reform as that is the only strategy to evade the historical cycle of the rise and fall that has marred and destroyed multiple empires and governments in the past. President Xi has pointed out that this was the only way that the Party will manage to never change its nature, its conviction, or its character.
President Xi in elucidating China’s trajectory towards development has stressed out that; “there has never been a manual or ready-made solution for the Chinese people and Chinese nation to turn to as they fought to end the advent of modern times and have moved on toward the bright future of rejuvenation”. The statement ought to be read as a warning against dangers of copy and paste of ready-made solutions that may not be suitable to development in other developing nations. The President concluded that, “every nation has to find its own way and developmental strategies in accordance with its own local conditions.
In conclusion, the 20th National Congress of the CPC stands to strengthen cooperation and benefit deepened people to people relations. Business between China and South Africa is set to grow in strides. South Africa is the biggest trading partner to China with highest trading value on the African continent with trade value of $54bn. The deepening of reform and opening up policy in China will further lead to trade increase to current trade figures with Nigeria at $26bn, Angola $23bn and Egypt $19bn and throughout the African continent.
The projected China-Africa trade increases will lead to closer relations resulting into a more expansive understanding and practices of people to people relations.
South Africa and the continent are set to benefit from an array of resolutions from the 20th National Congress of the CPC. China’s development through Chinese modernization has a trickle-down effect to majority of developing countries allowing them an opportunity to leapfrog into current technologies and systems of production.
In conclusion, Rejuvenation of China through Chinese path to modernization will encourage South Africa to seek solutions from within its own value systems instead of relying on imported and non-productive developmental strategies of the past era.
Core messages or lessons to South Africa and the continent from the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China are as follows; i) rationale of long-term planning and continuities in governance model, instead of the prevailing short-termist tendencies that underlie governance systems elsewhere; ii) adopting and adhering to the people centred approach, that forms a foundation for the Chinese whole-process democracy, instead of the notion of rights without obligations; iii) China is determined and ready to share its successes and prosperity as witnessed from following utterances “China’s modernization path offers inspiration for global peace and development”; “As China develops global community will reap additional benefits”; “Chinese modernization will lead to opportunities developing countries and the world.”
As stated by President Xi Jinping during the 20 th National Congress of the CPC. The above statements allude to possible opportunities emerging from successes from China that stand to benefit the world and especially members of south-south cooperation including South Africa.
The 20 th National Congress of the CPC major takeaways for South Africa and the continent are as follows; i) South Africa and the continent ought to emulate long-term planning witnessed in China as a strategy to maximize the ideals of economic development. South Africa ought to avoid tendencies towards short-term planning at all costs. ii) South Africa ought to insist on obligations that match the rights that its citizens enjoy. Rights without emphasis on obligations have tended to result in tendencies towards entitlement, which in turn impede coherent social cohesion and responsibility.
Tembe is a Sinologist and founder of SELE Encounters.