By Guo Jiping, People’s Daily
“All we do is to pursue happiness for the Chinese people, rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and the common good for the world.”
That’s how Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, explains the original aspiration and mission of the Chinese communists, which also indicates that the centennial journey of the CPC is a glorious chapter that belongs to not only China, but also the world.
The past 100 years since the founding of the CPC proved that the Party is always a constructor of world peace. From raising the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, to advocating a concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, China has always adhered to peaceful development. The country has promised to never seek hegemony, expansion, or a sphere of influence. Nor will it ever engage in an arms race.
The past 100 years proved that the CPC is always a contributor to global development. Since its founding in 1949, especially in the past four decades of reform and opening up, China has opened its arms to embrace the world, providing more opportunities of market, investment and growth for the rest of the world in a bid to achieve common development. The country’s contribution to world economic growth has been standing at around 30 percent for years.
The past 100 years proved that the CPC is always a protector of international order. On the basis of respecting the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, China has worked to promote the reform of the global governance system, and enhanced cooperation on tackling climate change, cyber security and counter terrorism with concrete actions. The country announced to peak carbon dioxide emission before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, which means it will realize carbon neutrality from carbon peaking in the shortest time in global history.
Studies indicate that the ratio of developed countries among all the countries in the world has never exceeded 20 percent since the industrialization began. In the second half of the 20th century, around 10 percent of the developed economies quit the developed list, and only five percent of the developing countries made it into the developed group. Many scholars hold that the modernization of the “third world” is a turbulent process in which fierce conflicts might happen.
Under the leadership of the CPC, China’s modernization features distinctive characteristics. It is advancing for a huge population, and pursues common prosperity of all Chinese people, coordination between cultural and ethical progress and material progress, and harmony between man and nature. It also follows a path of peaceful development.
The Chinese practice has created a miracle of rapid economic development and a miracle of long-term social stability, which is rarely seen in the world. It has tackled the “Tocqueville problem” that troubled Western historians, and explored a political governance model that is able to actively adapt to and guide changes, and always stay stable.
Today, the CPC is leading 1.4 billion Chinese people to fully build a modern socialist China. Its significance lies not only in how many people China’s modernization covers, but also in that it proves there is more than one way leading to human modernization.
China has shown the world that countries can have their own models of development using their own historical experiences, said former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
From only around 50 members during the early days of its founding, to a party that boasts over 91 million members, the CPC has maintained its original aspiration despite the hardships it has experienced. Today, as China constantly expands its international influence, how to precisely and objectively perceive the CPC is becoming a practically significant topic. Many scholars have emphasized that the CPC has clear goals in every phase of its development, and adjusts its policies in accordance with the changes in domestic and international situations to satisfy the needs of the Chinese people. A report by John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University found that the Chinese people’s overall satisfaction toward the Chinese government under the leadership of the CPC exceeds 93 percent.
History has never ceased its steps toward the future. The CPC will, as always, work hand in hand with all parties, to make newer and greater contributions to building an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.