- The Guardian
- Issue #2048
Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China. Photo: Xinhua
The Communist Party of China (CPC) kindly invited the CPA to participate in the online forum of the CPC in dialogue with World Political Parties high-level. Four CPA members of the Central Committee joined the event held on 15th March 2023. The more than 650 attendees listened to contributions by President Xi Jinping outlining China’s path to modernisation and proposal for a Global Civilisation Initiative. Several other presidents made contributions including Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega. and other high level participants from across the continents.
Full text of President Xi Jinping’s keynote address:
Leaders of political parties from around the world,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
It gives me great pleasure to join all of you for the discussion on “Path Towards Modernisation: The Responsibility of Political Parties.”
The history of human development is full of twists and turns. Similarly, the journey of each country to explore the path to modernisation is also arduous. In today’s world, multiple challenges and crises are intertwined. The global economic recovery remains sluggish, the development gap is widening, ecological environment is deteriorating, and the Cold War mentality is lingering. Humanity’s modernisation process has once again reached a crossroads of history.
Polarisation or common prosperity? Pure materialistic pursuit or coordinated material and cultural-ethical advancement? Draining the pond to catch the fish or creating harmony between man and nature? Zero-sum game or win-win cooperation? Copying other countries’ development model or achieving independent development in light of national conditions? What kind of modernisation do we need and how can we achieve it?
Confronted with these questions, political parties as an important force steering and driving the modernisation process are duty bound to provide answers. Here, I wish to share some of my observations.
We must put the people first and ensure modernisation is people-centred. The people are the creators of history and are the strongest bedrock and force in advancing modernisation. The ultimate goal of modernisation is people’s free and well-rounded development.
For a modernisation path to work and work well, it must put the people first. Modernisation is not only about indicators and statistics on paper but more about the delivery of a happy and stable life for the people. With a focus on the people’s aspirations for a better life and further progress of civilisation, political parties should strive to achieve material abundance, political integrity, cultural-ethical enrichment, social stability, and secure and pleasant living environments so that modernisation will better address the concerns and meet diversified needs of the people. In this way, modernisation will promote the sustainable development of humanity by not only increasing the wellbeing of this generation but also protecting the rights and interest of future generations.
INDEPENDENCE AND DIVERSITY
We must uphold the principle of independence and explore diversified paths towards modernisation. Modernisation is not “an exclusive patent” of a small handful of countries, nor is it a single answer question. It cannot be realised by a cookie cutter approach or simple “copy and paste.” For any country to achieve modernisation, it needs not only to follow the general laws governing the process, but more importantly consider its own national conditions and unique features.
It is the people of a country that are in the best position to tell what kind of modernisation best suits them. Developing countries have the right and ability to independently explore the modernisation path with their distinctive features based on their national realities.
We must develop our country and our nation with our own strength, and we must maintain a firm grasp on the future of our country’s development and progress. We should respect and support the development paths independently chosen by different peoples to jointly usher in a new prospect for humanity’s modernisation that is like a garden where a hundred flowers bloom.
We must uphold fundamental principles and break new ground and ensure the continuity of the modernisation process. In the face of various new issues, conditions and challenges in the modernisation process, political parties should boldly take on responsibilities and excel in their work.
HUMANITY’S SHARED FUTURE
We should break the shackles of stale thinking, remove institutional barriers, explore new methods and new approaches, and break new ground in theories and practices to instil unceasing dynamism into the modernisation process. We should work together to reform and develop the global governance system and make the international order more just and equitable as we advance humanity’s modernisation in an environment of equal rights, equal opportunities, and fair rules for all.
We must help others to succeed while seeking our own success and ensure all can enjoy the outcomes of modernisation. Humanity lives in a community with a shared future where we rise and fall together. For any country to achieve modernisation, it should pursue common development through solidarity and cooperation and follow the principles of joint contribution, shared benefits, and win-win outcome. The frontrunners should sincerely support other countries in their development.
One will not be seen in a more favourable light after blowing out others’ lamp; nor will they go farther by blocking others’ paths. We should share opportunities, create a future together and make the pie of humanity’s modernisation bigger to ensure more people enjoy the outcomes of modernisation in a fairer way. We stand firmly opposed to the practice of preserving one’s own development privilege by suppressing and containing other countries’ endeavour to achieve modernisation.
We must forge ahead with enterprise and ensure firm leadership over modernisation. Modernisation does not fall into our lap automatically. It is the result of hard work with the strong historical initiative. Political parties are the leading and driving force for modernisation. Their values, ability to lead and govern, ethos, willpower and character have a direct bearing on the orientation and future of the modernisation process. As an ancient Chinese philosopher said, “He who conquers himself is strong.”
Political parties should integrate party building with national modernisation, forge ahead with enterprise and resolve, and excel themselves. In this way, they will have the confidence, determination, and capability to respond to the challenges and questions presented by the times, meet people’s expectations, and steer the course and marshal strength for the modernisation cause.
CHINA’S REJUVENATION
Ladies and gentlemen,
Friends,
Achieving modernisation is a dream that the Chinese people have strived to fulfil since modern times. The journey of over 100 years that the Party has traversed to unite and lead the Chinese people in pursuing national rejuvenation is also an exploration of a path towards modernisation. Thanks to the unremitting efforts of generation after generation, we have found our own path to modernisation.
The 20th National Congress of the CPC has proposed advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation. Chinese modernisation is one of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development. It is rooted in our national conditions and also draws on the experience of other countries.
It carries the imprint of history and traditional culture and also contains modern elements. It delivers benefit to the Chinese people and also advances common development of the world. It is a sure path for us to build a stronger nation and realise the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is also a path we must take to seek progress for humanity and harmony for the entire world.
We will stay committed to the right direction, right theories, and the right path. We will not veer off course by changing our nature or abandoning our system. As our own future is closely connected with that of other countries and peoples, we will strive to provide new opportunities for world development, add new impetus to humanity’s exploration of paths towards modernisation and make new contributions to the theory and practice of humanity’s modernisation as we make new progress in Chinese modernisation.
The CPC will continue to pursue high-quality development and promote global growth and prosperity. We will accelerate the building of a new development paradigm that promotes high-standard opening up and steady expansion of market access. China’s door will only open wider. As we further modernise our industrial system, we will provide the world with more and better products made and created in China, and with a Chinese market of a larger scale and stronger demand.
We will continue to support and help developing countries in their pursuit of faster development, industrialisation and modernisation and offer Chinese solutions and strength for narrowing the North-South gap and achieving common development. The Communist Party of China stands ready to work with political parties of all other countries to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, accelerate the solid implementation of the Global Development Initiative, foster new drivers for global development and build a global community of development.
The CPC will continue to safeguard international fairness and justice and promote world peace and stability. In advancing modernisation, China will neither tread the old path of colonisation and plunder, nor the crooked path taken by some countries to seek hegemony once they grow strong. What China pursues is the right course of peaceful development. We seek to settle differences through dialogue and resolve disputes through cooperation.
We firmly oppose hegemony and power politics in all their forms. We advocate solidarity and win-win mentality in handling complex and intertwined security challenges to set up a fair and just security architecture that is built and shared by all. The world does not need a new Cold War.
PEACE AND JUSTICE
The practice of stoking division and confrontation in the name of democracy is in itself a violation of the spirit of democracy. It will not receive any support. What it brings is only endless harm. A modernised China will strengthen the force for world peace and international justice. No matter what level of development China achieves, it will never seek hegemony or expansion.
The CPC will continue to promote inter-civilisation exchanges and mutual learning and advance the progress of human civilisations. Around the world, countries and regions have chosen different paths to modernisation, which are rooted in their unique and long civilisations.
All civilisations created by human society are splendid. They are where each country’s modernisation drive draws its strength and where its unique feature comes from. They, transcending time and space, have jointly made important contribution to humanity’s modernisation process. Chinese modernisation, as a new form of human advancement, will draw upon the merits of other civilisations and make the garden of world civilisations more vibrant.
GLOBAL CIVILISATION INITIATIVE
Ladies and gentlemen,
Friends,
A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden. As the future of all countries is closely connected, tolerance, coexistence, exchanges, and mutual learning among different civilisations play an irreplaceable role in advancing humanity’s modernisation process and making the garden of world civilisations flourish. Here, I wish to propose the Global Civilisation Initiative.
We advocate the respect for the diversity of civilisations. Countries need to uphold the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilisations, and let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes, and coexistence transcend feelings of superiority.
We advocate the common values of humanity. Peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom are the common aspirations of all peoples. Countries need to keep an open mind in appreciating the perceptions of values by different civilisations, and refrain from imposing their own values or models on others and from stoking ideological confrontation.
We advocate the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilisations. Countries need to fully harness the relevance of their histories and cultures to the present times, and push for creative transformation and innovative development of their fine traditional cultures.
We advocate robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. Countries need to explore the building of a global network for inter-civilisation dialogue and cooperation, enrich the contents of exchanges and expand avenues of cooperation to promote mutual understanding and friendship among people of all countries and jointly advance the progress of human civilisations.
We are ready to work together with the international community to open up a new prospect of enhanced exchanges and understanding among different peoples and better interactions and integration of diversified cultures. Together we can make the garden of world civilisations colourful and vibrant.
The CPC is committed to strengthening exchanges and cooperation with other political parties to pursue the just cause together. We are ready to deepen interactions with political parties and organisations in other countries to expand the convergence of ideas and interests. Let us leverage the strength of a new type of party-to-party relations for the building of a new type of international relations and expand global partnerships by fostering stronger partners with world political parties.
The CPC stands ready to share governance experience with political parties and organisations of other countries so that together we can make big strides on the path to modernisation toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
There are bound to be setbacks on humanity’s journey to modernisation, but the future is bright. The CPC is willing to work with all of you to ensure that different modernisation drives form a mighty force driving prosperity and progress of the world and forge ahead nonstop in the long river of history!
Thank you.
