The centenary of the Chinese Communist Party is a unique event on a global scale.
Throughout the history of its existence, this party has gone through many trials and has overcome many problems. Moreover, today the CCP can undoubtedly be called the most successful socialist party that has ever existed.
The summit of the CPC and the leaders of world political parties and think-tanks, which took place on July 6, 2021 and was timed to coincide with the anniversary, was organized at an extremely high level. Even the COVID-19 pandemic, which is one of the greatest disasters of our time, could not prevent that event. The Council of Pacific Affairs was given a great honor to be a part of this event.
Of course, the attention of the audience was riveted on the keynote speech of the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping. His speech was very comprehensive, and touched not only on the CCP itself, but also on the place and role of the CCP and China in the world, both now and in the future. The President of the People’s Republic of China stressed that the future of all the inhabitants of our planet is inextricably linked. All of us, despite the difference of cultures, different languages, and a different appearance – are part of the mankind. The community of the common destiny for mankind, the concept of which China is promoting, perhaps, today is the only project that is most universal and most respectful of the principles of human community. The President of the People’s Republic of China said several times in his speech, that the mission of China and the CCP is not to be the shepherd of nations. It is about being a brother. Just as the elder brother helps the younger ones to take their first steps, the first achievements, the CCP is ready to offer its help to parties and peoples of the whole world. It is an offer of assistance based on a wealth of nation-building experience, on the experience of helping your people overcome inequalities and improve their lives.
At the same time, this assistance is not binding, and China does not insist on it.
This is the most important thing. The Chinese leader also touched upon the issues of world hegemony and the fact that the world order should be based on rules that are binding on everyone. And there can be no exceptions for the privileged. He also said that only the peoples inhabiting their countries should have been able to determine the level of democracy in their countries. Indeed, this is the inalienable right of every citizen of every country. And the presence of democracy in the particular country cannot be determined by the third party, from the outside.
Speaking about the CCP’s successes in nation building, Xi Jinping mentioned that China’s current achievements are only the first step of that process. Moreover, China does not intend to dwell on this, and, as they say, to rest on its laurels. There is no doubt that China will continue to move towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and this movement will be successful.
It should be noted that parties and/or states leaders from all over the world were also invited to speak at the summit. Each of them spoke of both the successes of China and the CCP, the successes of their country, and the future they see for the world. Representatives of all states, even those that had some difficulties in relations with China, were unanimous. They all agreed that the only correct future for humanity is the future of peace and prosperity. In addition, all speakers
expressed confidence that China’s intentions would help to achieve that future.
However, the very idea of a common, equal future, as we see, is being criticized.
Almost immediately, a reproach and challenge to the Western world was found in the speech of the Chinese leader. But is it really so?
The issue of the clash of civilizations, as we know, has a long history. On the one hand, in the Ancient World and in the Middle Ages (and in the Renaissance as well) it was in a sense a natural process. In the end, a series of conquests and migrations shaped our world as it is. But at the same time, there were also shameful phenomena in political thought – for example, the concept of geographical determinism, which brought many troubles to various peoples of the world. Subsequently, the great minds of mankind, such as Toynbee and Huntington, attempted to explain the conflicts of peoples by dividing them into different civilizations, geographically or religiously. But with the era of globalization, such a division has largely lost its meaning. This does not mean that the ideas of a clash of civilizations have lost their significance for world political and philosophical thought. Rather, they were a product of their time, and are now somewhat outdated. And they fail to meet the requirements of the present moment.
Likewise, we have witnessed how the whole world was divided in terms of ideology. However, after the collapse of the USSR, meaning of such division was lost, but now the spectre of this kind of division seems to loom over the world again. Only now are they trying to appoint China and the CCP as a communist scarecrow for Western democracies.
But with all this, it is remarkable that the concept of a single destiny for all mankind itself is an idea that currently has no analogues on a global scale. And this is not some kind of global communism. Rather, it is such a global project, where each country, each nation has its own unique role, like a musical instrument in an symphony orchestra. And without the consonance of voices, the symphony will not be beautiful. It is clear that if we imagine the world order in this way, then it is natural that there are forces that imagine only themselves as the conductor of such an orchestra. But the good point of the music is that a well coordinated, used to playing together orchestra can play without a conductor at all!
And in this sense, the concept of the common destiny of humanity can be a solution to the problems that prevent the planet from living in peace and prosperity. And first of all, it is a security problem in all its meanings. It is clear that every state strives to ensure the quality of life for its residents. This is nothing new. However, this often leads to conflicts. But if the whole world strives for harmony, and everybody understands that we all are inevitably connected, then the existing tensions will decrease. And the released energy can be directed to solving those issues that really need to be solved in the name of the whole planet.
It is clear that it is too optimistic to believe that all controversial issues will be forgotten overnight and the world community will instantly move into a fundamentally new quality. But what is promoting China is good, for the sole reason that China is not just proposing something – it is realizing the proposed projects. The heights that China has achieved in its development under the
leadership of the CCP clearly shows us that these are not empty words. At the same time, it is noteworthy that despite the fact that the «One Belt-One Road» project has already proven its effectiveness in practice, it is still doubted by many countries, considering it to be simply meaningless populism. Moreover, these doubts come from those who call themselves experts on China. Why? Probably China has changed in such a fast way, and those changes were so comprehensive that many experts simply failed to catch up.
No matter that happens it can be assumed that the era of Western globalism is coming to an end. The end of history did not happen. And now the CCP offers us its globalization project based on the universal values of equality and mutual respect. And shall it successful or not depends more on our united efforts than on China.
