FRANKFURT, Germany, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Ninety-eight years after its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has grown into the largest political party across the globe with a membership of 90 million.
Having been long-time observers of the party's governing philosophy and its visions of the world, European politicians and experts said its success hinges upon not only the balance between economic growth and social redistribution, but its unique contributions to global governance.
BALANCING GROWTH AND SOCIAL REDISTRIBUTION
"Undoubtedly, the birth of the Communist Party (of China) and its success of establishing the People's Republic (of China) in 1949 and the development have since transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese people for the better," Robert Griffiths, general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain, has told Xinhua.
Griffiths has been to China for six times and witnessed "the enormous change just in the last 20 years." He said it is a record that Chinese people can be proud of.
Photo taken on June 10, 2019 shows a train running on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in China. (Xinhua/Chogo)
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), less than two years shy of the goal of finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
China has come a long way. It has become the second largest economy in the world, and more than 700 million Chinese people have cast off poverty over the past 40 years.
Jovan Palalic, general secretary of the Serbian People's Party, identified the CPC as "the most important generator of that complete growth of China."
"The CPC has been successfully governing the country, made clear national strategies, achieved economic growth," Palalic said.
By maintaining political stability, China enabled entrepreneurs to develop without obstacles, he added.
Looking back on the course of the PRC, Francesco Maringio, an Italian China expert, noticed two tendencies, which he phrased as "the reduction of domestic wealth inequalities and the reduction of the wealth gap with other countries." Sometimes one of the two tasks was given more attention than the other, he said.
Today, under the guidance of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, the CPC is seeking a balance between the two tendencies: eradicating poverty to build a moderately prosperous society while transforming its economic model to promote the country's development, said Maringio, also head of the foreign affairs department of the Italian Communist Party (ICP).
Some politicians and experts also pointed out the importance of the self-improving nature of the CPC, which never ceases keeping pace with the times.
Palalic said the CPC "fully recognizes modern trends and currents that take place globally, and absolutely implements them, in order to further development of China."
"This is a historic role of the Communist Party of China, and certainly its importance will grow even further over time," he said.
The opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
Palalic's words were echoed by former Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy.
"Chinese politics has been well adapted to new development tendencies. That is how the country could survive difficult periods and take a leading position in the world," said Medgyessy.
One important feature of the CPC's governing philosophy, as Medgyessy put it, is "harmony between change and constancy."
In his views, long-term thinking, such as making plans and concepts for 20 to 30 years, makes its progress predictable. "Stability is very important and gives a feeling of safety both to Chinese people and (to) its international partners."
China's careful balance between economic growth and social redistribution, as well as between central planning and state-owned companies and robust private sector, proved to be successful, although a number of challenges can be expected, said Andras Inotai, a research professor at the Center for Economic and Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Science.
"The critical mass of sustainable stability will be maintained," Inotai said. "Today, it is not only in the interest of China but of the international system as well."
The panel discussion themed "Striving for Better Development of Countries: National Practice and Experience of Political Parties" is held during the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
ALTERNATIVE WAY FORWARD
In 2017, the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting was convened in Beijing.
Maringio considers the platform as a good example of the positive contribution of the CPC to global governance.
It marks a path chosen by the CPC to bring a new kind of relations among political parties around the world, he said, noting that it is an essential part of the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity.
The West witnesses a tendency of giving political centrality to groups of private economic interests, Maringio said, adding that the multilateral global dialogue among the world's parties contributes to inverting such tendency that, if it continues, would lead to plutocracy.
Visions of a community with a shared future for humanity and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have won wide support. As of April, more than 150 countries and international organizations have signed BRI cooperation documents with China.
From 2013 to 2018, trade between China and other Belt and Road countries surpassed 6 trillion U.S. dollars, and China's investment in Belt and Road countries exceeded 90 billion dollars.
Combo photo shows children walking home on a road after school on May 10, 2019 (L) and children climbing ladders to go home on a mountain road on July 4, 2012 in Nongyong Village of Bansheng Township in Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
The BRI is a wonderful example where China intends to tap into its economic growth and resources to help an array of other countries develop their economies and societies, said Griffiths.
China's path of peaceful development is "actually an alternative way forward for our planet, for humanity," Griffiths noted.
There are two types of globalization, he said. What people experienced in most of the time is what he calls "capitalist globalization or imperialist globalization," meaning lowering barriers to Western capital while frequently failing to benefit local people and economies.
"The Chinese concept of globalization appears to be on a different basis, on the basis of mutual lasting benefit, rather than on the basis of super exploitation," he said.
Medgyessy characterized what China intends to achieve as "to be a reliable partner, live in peace, settle disputes in the world by negotiations, have a clear strategy."
"We have to accept that China follows its own way," Medgyessy said. "China is on the basis of multilateralism, competition and free trade. Its foreign policy is not aggressive, but represents its national interests actively and efficiently. Thus, China plays an important balancing role in the world."
Building a new type of international relations and building a community of shared future for humanity are the "most innovative and concrete proposals" of the CPC, said Fabio Massimo Parenti, a professor of international studies at the International Institute Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence, Italy.
China shows the world that it is possible to increase interdependence, do business and enhance cooperation without hegemony, and without military expansion, said Parenti.
Though cultural differences exist, "measured over the whole period of its existence, the Chinese Communist Party has been a great force for progress for the Chinese people and increasingly a force for progress across the world," said Griffiths.
(Video reporters: Liang Xizhi, Pan Geng, Wang Hanying; Video editor: Zhu Cong)
