When the world was watching the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to see China’s direction in the future, which would impact the rest of the world as well, China Today spoke with three men who have been promoting exchanges between China and the West. They gave their perspectives on the report President Xi Jinping tabled at the opening of the week-long conference in his capacity as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. They also analyzed what has made the 101-year-old Party so successful in propelling China to historic growth.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 16, 2022. Photo by Yue Yuewei / Xinhua
Addressing Crises: From Climate to Communication
Alistair Michie, Secretary General of the British East Asia Council, is a public diplomacy expert. He is also an old friend of China and a recipient of the Chinese Government’s Friendship Award, the highest state honor for foreigners. In 2012, when he was invited to attend a foreign experts’ symposium, he became the first Briton to brief Xi Jinping, who was newly elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. Since then, Michie has been a frequent visitor to China, committed to advancing exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between the Chinese and British and building a global understanding of China.
Michie has a warm anecdote to share. This summer, fourth graders from the Francis Holland School, an international school for girls in London, wrote to President Xi Jinping, telling him about their worries over climate change and how they felt leaders should take immediate action. To their joy, in April, Zheng Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the U.K. brought them a reply from the Chinese president.
Xi had written that rivers and mountains are as important as, if not more than, silver and gold. “The world is a beautiful and precious place, full of resources that we must protect,” said the letter. “The children of the world must work together to ensure that the future is safe.”
Michie says China’s action in tackling climate change shows global leadership on an issue critical for sustainable survival and the development of future generations. The report to the 18th CPC National Congress has a new chapter on promoting an ecological civilization and creating a green China. “Many researchers have noticed this change,” he said. The new chapter stands out as the structure of the reports to the Party’s national congresses usually follows a fixed pattern. It says China will develop solar and wind energy and electric vehicle technologies. Between the 18th and 19th CPC national congresses in 2012 and 2017, respectively, China emerged as a global leader in clean and renewable energy. The report to the 19th CPC National Congress highlighted building a “beautiful China” with strong policies to create a sustainable environment and tackle climate change.
This time, the report reiterates pursuing green development and promoting harmony between humanity and nature, and speeding up planning and developing new energy sources. Also, it says China will get actively involved in global governance in response to climate change.
Analyzing the report, he notes the three major events of the past decade it mentions: the centenary of the CPC in 2021; the completion of the first “centenary goal,” that is, the eradication of absolute poverty and completion of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the CPC’s centennial; and the start of a new journey to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects.
From the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, to the reform and opening-up policy rolled out in 1978, and the dramatic development of China over the past decade, the CPC has led the nation on an extraordinary journey of innovation. The new policies prove the massive change in the mindset of the Party, a testament to its capability to adapt and innovate. China has modernized at a speed and scale unprecedented in human history. And as it travels toward becoming the largest economy, its growth has had a positive impact on all.
History will judge the success of the CPC that has shown its outstanding capability to adapt and innovate and to lead the people to breakthroughs and achievements in different stages of development.
However, he has a caveat: China must tell its stories better. “President Xi has repeated his calls for China to better tell its story to the world on many occasions. It does provide an opportunity for China to undergo a mindset change toward international communication.” With the world moving in a very dangerous direction, toward conflicts and away from consensus, it is crucial to solve the communication crisis as fast as possible.
Alistair Michie, Secretary General of the British East Asia Council
Understanding Chinese Democracy
Stephen Perry is chairman of both the London Export Corporation and the 48 Group Club in London that promotes trade between China and the U.K. He has inherited the mantle of his father Jack Perry, who founded the 48 Group Club and visited China with a group of like-minded people in the 1950s, a visit described as an “ice-breaking trip” by President Xi. Stephen Perry has witnessed the development of China from a poor and weak country to the world’s second largest economy.
What does he think of China’s political system and democracy? China and the West have very different political systems and forms of democracy. China follows a multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under the leadership of the CPC. It is different from the two-party or multi-party system in the West, and therefore, has been criticized by some Westerners. “China’s form of governance has taken a lot from the Chinese history and is adapted to China’s own national condition.” Perry thinks the report made it clear that the CPC will adhere to its path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics and develop a whole-process people’s democracy. “It is Chinese democracy, which has never followed the liberal democracy some speak of in the West.”
These days, he says more and more people are talking about China’s success in eradicating absolute poverty, which has brought huge changes in people’s lives. “It is a transformation faster and deeper than anything else in the world. This comes from the leadership of the Party and the system that China uses.”
He thinks if China did not have democracy, as some in the West allege, it would have been impossible to bring about such “earth-shaking changes in people’s lives.” When looking at democracy in China, we should not use the Western mindset but accept that China has its own unique form, “The CPC is adept at formulating phased development plans and leading the Chinese people to achieve national rejuvenation and social progress.”
Stephen Perry, Chairman of the London Export Corporation and the 48 Group Club
The report also emphasizes that China remains committed to its fundamental national policy of opening up to the outside world. It will seek to create new opportunities for the world with its own development and contribute its share to building an open global economy that delivers greater benefits to all.
According to Perry, the Chinese concepts, such as a high-level opening up, mutual benefit and win-win results, are also a major part of building a community with a shared future for humanity. The Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative have blazed a new trail for global development and the inclusiveness has encouraged emerging markets, developing countries and smaller nations to participate. “It is another innovation in global governance,” he said.
China is also providing innovative solutions to tackling climate change, food and energy crises. It led the world in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and shared the international community with lessons and experience it has gained.
“Some are worried by China’s proposals and thus oppose China’s solutions,” he said. These people need to study the policies of the CPC in a systematic manner. China is innovating not only in science and technology, but also in its own system. The CPC emphasizes “Party self-reform” and this has enabled it to maintain its vitality in the face of challenges.
Under the leadership of the CPC, China never seeks to establish hegemony or impose its own will on others in the international community. The CPC is urging all countries to stay committed to shared values and meet today’s global challenges with solidarity. The report specifically says, “The Chinese people are ready to work hand in hand with people across the world.”
Toward More Balanced, High-Quality Development
Fabio Massimo Parenti, associate professor of international studies at the International Institute Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy, is also a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing. His field is international politics and economy. He has also studied the CPC’s pursuit of its own development path and the CPC’s efforts in building a fairer and more equitable international order.
Fabio Massimo Parenti, associate professor at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute in Florence, Italy
He says the CPC national congress is of great significance because “China remains the engine of the world economy and the global community hopes the new guidelines will present a continuity.” He mentions the Belt and Road Initiative as a driver of global growth. “It offers opportunities for real economic development of different world regions, centers on dialogue and mutual respect, and favors re-balancing geopolitics.” This re-balancing can effectively contain U.S. hegemonism and is particularly important for non-aligned countries, whose populations in aggregate account for the majority of the world’s total. “It is no coincidence that the number of countries applying to join the Belt and Road [Initiative] has grown steadily, despite attempts by the West to discredit it,” he said.
Parenti is impressed by the CPC’s success in leading China to finish the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, or the first centenary goal. Moreover, the CPC has put forward a new development philosophy, increasingly focusing on more balanced and sustainable development. He gives examples. China no longer puts the number of growth rate first, but emphasizes the quality of development. It has formulated a series of major regional strategies for overall development, such as making more preferential policies for the less developed western provinces to catch up with the developed eastern provinces. The government has formulated the strategy of rural revitalization to bridge the gap between urban and rural development.
With the arrival of the digital revolution era, technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of Things, have been developed and put into use in new scenarios, such as agriculture, improving production and profitability. At the same time, the government is pursuing balance between economic development and natural environment protection, so that natural resources and biodiversity are well protected.
While seeking its own development, the CPC is also participating in global governance, and promoting world peace and development. It is providing public goods for global governance and promoting coexistence among civilizations through dialogue. “This is the opposite of what Western policies offer today, which ultimately pursue dominance at all costs,” he said.
