Historic Achievements
General Secretary Xi observed in his speech, “We established the Party’s basic line for the primary stage of socialism, resolutely advanced reform and opening up, overcame risks and challenges from every direction, and founded, upheld, safeguarded, and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, thus bringing about a major turn with far-reaching significance in the history of the Party since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This enabled China to transform itself from a highly centralized planned economy to a socialist market economy brimming with vitality, and from a country that was largely isolated to one that is open to the outside world across the board. It also enabled China to achieve the historic leap from a country with relatively backward productive forces to the world’s second largest economy, and to make the historic transformation of raising the living standards of its people from bare subsistence to an overall level of moderate prosperity, and then ultimately to moderate prosperity in all respects.”
Xi Jinping walks with the recipients of the July 1 Medal, the Party's highest honor, into the venue of the award ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 29, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Tao)
Theoretical Innovation, Source of Vitality
Xi said in his speech that at the fundamental level, the capability of our Party and the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics are attributable to the fact that Marxism works. He emphasized, “Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded; it is the very soul of our Party and the banner under which it strives. The Communist Party of China upholds the basic tenets of Marxism and the principle of seeking truth from facts. Based on China’s realities, we have developed keen insights into the trends of the day, seized the initiative in history, and made painstaking explorations. We have thus been able to keep adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, and to guide the Chinese people in advancing our great social revolution.”
The evolution of the CPC has been apparent in its adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to China’s specific realities over different periods — from Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development, through to the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The Party’s flair for theoretical innovation constitutes a main reason for the CPC’s enduring vitality.
An art performance titled "The Great Journey" is held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the National Stadium in Beijing on the evening of June 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
China Today’s interviews with various leaders of foreign political parties reveal their shared opinion that it is the CPC’s theoretical innovation through Marxism that has spurred the country’s development. They also deem this to be the CPC’s great contribution to the international socialism cause.
The policies of Western countries may swing and shift based on election cycles, but the CPC’s governance has avoided such unnecessary turbulence, so guaranteeing the long-term consistency of the state's fundamental policies. The CPC is adept at making long-term strategic plans based on the people's interests, setting goals for each stage of development, and translating blueprints into reality.
When talking about his first visit to China in 2002, CPB International Secretary John Foster recalled CPC members speaking with him about China’s goals in the coming 20 years. Foster is greatly impressed at how the goals that the CPC outlined during his visits had indeed all been successively achieved.
From the victory of eliminating absolute poverty to the completion of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, China has realized its goals, step by step. Shortly after taking office as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping raised the notion of the Chinese Dream of realizing national rejuvenation. New strategic plans for China’s development over the ensuing 30-plus years were laid down in 2017 at the 19th National Congress of the CPC. The report of the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in 2020 comprehensively took into account China’s 14th five-year development plan and long-range goals through to the year 2035.
As Nobel laureate economist from the United States Robert Engle observed, while China makes five-year plans for the next generation, Americans plan no further ahead than the next election.
CPC’s Contribution to the World
Xi emphasized in his speech that the Party cares about the future of humanity, and wishes to move forward in tandem with all progressive forces around the world. China has always worked to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development, and preserve international order. “On the journey ahead, we will remain committed to promoting peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, to an independent foreign policy of peace, and to the path of peaceful development. We will work to build a new type of international relations and a human community with a shared future, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative through joint efforts, and use China’s new achievements in development to provide the world with new opportunities,” Xi said.
“Long live the great unity of the people of the world” — so extols the giant slogan on the Tian’anmen Rostrum in Beijing, making manifest to the world the values that the CPC pursues. The CPC is a party that strives for both the well-being of the Chinese people and human progress.
From the perspective of the development of human society’s political civilization, the CPC’s success in helping China to become ever more prosperous and strong offers the rest of the world a useful reference for party building and state governance. Former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo said in his article “China's Economic Advance Gives Hope to the Developing World” that there are many lessons Africa can learn from China’s incredible story of development, but the main one, perhaps, is how to realize the strengths of your real assets and build an economy around them. Secretary-general of the Socialist Party of Egypt Ahmed Bahaa El-Din Shaaban said in his article “Great Achievements Secured by the CPC” that there is much to be learned from the CPC’s pioneering experience, but for the Arab world that of self-reliance and independent development are most important.
In 1954, the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai led a delegation to the Geneva Conference held at the Palais des Nations in Switzerland. It marked New China’s first appearance on the global political stage as one of the world’s five major countries. The Chinese delegation made an important contribution to the peaceful settlement of the Indochina issue. In 2017, also at the Palais des Nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled “Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind,” in which he called on all countries to follow a path of peaceful development, and to pursue common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security.
Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said in an interview with People’s Daily in 2019 that in today’s world only constructive dialogue can contribute to harmonious global development, and that China’s wisdom was a source of great inspiration in that respect. In an interview with Xinhua in 2018, British scholar Martin Jacques remarked that China has raised a new possibility, that is, of abandoning the law of the jungle, hegemonism, power politics, and the zero-sum game and replacing them with win-win cooperation, co-construction, and sharing.
Xi Jinping attends the CPC and World Political Parties Summit and delivers a keynote speech in Beijing on July 6, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)
On the occasion of the CPC’s centennial anniversary, many overseas political parties and state leaders have sent congratulatory letters. According to Guo Yezhou, vice minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in the eyes of foreign politicians, the CPC has five predominant characteristics. They are: aptitude for theoretical innovation; being people-centered; the ability to improve self-construction and maintain vitality; strong leadership; and global vision. Those party and state leaders commended the Belt and Road Initiative for its role in fueling global economic development, facilitating international cooperation in fighting COVID-19, and building a community with a shared future for mankind. They believe that the public good of thoughts that the CPC provides has instilled confidence and hope in today’s turbulent world.
“The human race is an integral community and the planet Earth its homeland. In the face of common challenges, no person or country can remain insulated. The only way out is to work together in harmony with one accord. Political parties, as an important force behind human progress, need to set the right course forward and shoulder their historic responsibility to ensure the people’s wellbeing and pursue human progress,” noted Xi in his keynote speech delivered at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit via video link in Beijing on July 6.