Party committees study Mao’s books

Communist Party of China (CPC) committees in many cities are studying the books of Chairman Mao Zedong, a move hailed by experts as part of the momentum leading up to the 19th National Congress of the CPC that will help implement future Party policies.

CPC committees in several provinces and municipalities, including East China’s Fujian, South China’s Hainan and Guangdong, Southwest China’s Sichuan and North China’s Tianjing are studying On Contradiction and On Practice, which were written by Mao, new China’s founding father, in 1937 after the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression began in 1931, Shanghaibased Jiefang Daily reported Wednesday.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the publication of these two books.

Mao wrote these books because China entered a “news stage” with the war, the newspaper said, adding that the books aimed to provide officials a world view and methodology of Marxism, and to form a new consensus within the Party.

Zhang Xixian, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, told the Global Times that this is meant to welcome the forthcoming 19th National Congress of the CPC. “Looking back at history is also important for the building of a better society,” Zhang said.

The 19th National Congress is important to the key stage of “building a moderately prosperous society in an all-around way and socialism with Chinese characteristics,” thus unifying the Party members’ thinking is vital at the moment, he said.

“Theories written in the books say that specific conflicts should be analyzed to identify the major conflicts in our society, and lay the philosophical foundation for the contemporary world,” Zhang said.

CPC members and government officials around China, especially those at the grass-roots level, are also studying Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, in preparation for the national congress.