CPC experience provides models for political parties
The Communist Party of China’s experience in ruling the Party and country are worth learning from, said delegates from African political parties at the Third China-Africa Political Parties Theoretical Seminar.
The seminar, which began on Wednesday in conjunction with the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, was attended by 60 representatives of political parties from some 20 African countries.
Abdulrahman Omari Kinana, secretary-general of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, currently Tanzania’s ruling party, spoke highly of the economic and social achievements China has made in the past years and expressed willingness to cooperate with China and other countries to build a community with a shared future.
Kinana said African countries have adopted similar guiding principles and agendas to work for, rely on and share development achievements with people, as the CPC has done with reducing poverty. African political parties have also proposed and formulated plans on development and poverty reduction.
“It’s a huge challenge to improve the quality of life of our people, and we have been working really hard on it in the past decade,” he said. “It is our duty to learn from China and the CPC’s experience as well as successful examples.”
Kinana said poverty reduction and economic development are the priority as Africa is the least developed continent, with over 60 percent of the population living in poverty. “Under the current situation, we must cooperate with China because we are about to go the way China has passed.”
As secretary-general, Kinana said his party needs to follow the CPC’s example on how to maintain stability as one generation passes the torch to the next and how to maintain political stability and keep solving problems that affect people.
“The key to Africa’s prosperity is to realize an orderly succession of our state leaders. We ought to prepare the young generation so that they can take over the country from elder generations,” he said.
Kinana also said Cham Cha Mapinduzi should learn from the CPC on fighting corruption, eliminating conceit and self-satisfaction, and improving working efficiency.
Bokary Treta, president of the Rassemblement de Mali party, created by a former Malian prime minister in 2001, agreed to further promote the training program for party members.
“The seminar said that we need to ensure discipline within the party, enhance the governing capability, and boost communications among party members. We can borrow China’s democratic centralism to improve our leadership,” he said.
The exchange with the CPC gave inspiration to have a policy to make the communication seminar an institutional and regular forum, which will enable multilateral communication on governing methods and leadership. “This is an very important platform that can further strengthen bilateral, even multilateral cooperation. “
Treta suggested promoting the concept of building a community with a shared future through politics to raise people’s awareness and ultimately reach the goal of gaining national benefit.
Ana Rita Sithole, member of the Polibureau of Mozambique Liberation Front, the ruling party of the country, said the strong desire for cooperation between China and Africa could break through the barrier brought by their great geographical distance.
She said people need to stick to the principle of jointly discussing and building whether they are facing opportunities or challenges.
China has made social and economic improvements under the leadership of the CPC, which also has consequences for the development and progress of Africans, since it shows that China is not walking toward development alone but together with other nations as well, Sithole said.
“Cooperation is the right way to build the community with a shared future,” she said. “We will keep our faith and enhance the relationship with China for a better future.”
Soon after the conclusion of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last month, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the site of the first national congress of the CPC together with the other members of the newlyelected Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau.
The 19th CPC National Congress drove home the message that China is at a great historic turning point. But Xi cautioned, no matter how far the Party has come, it should never forget where it has come from and what its purpose is.
The CPC has always been a party of deeds, not words. The history of the Party and development of China indicate the Party was created by history, and has been creating history. It has distinguished itself from other political parties in the world with its outstanding ability to make long-term plans, and more importantly, carry out those plans.
The Party’s plans serve not only the Chinese people, but also the whole world. The Party has never concealed its global vision since its first national congress in Shanghai — though only 13 delegates attended the meeting in 1921 which was not reported by any media — after leading China to become the world’s second-largest economy and lifting nearly one-fifth of the world’s population out of poverty, it is time for the Party to materialize its vision for the future with actions.
The nation will mark the 40th anniversary of the reform and open-up in 2018, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2019, the realization of a moderately well-off society in 2020, and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party in 2021.
These anniversaries serve as milestones to look back on what has been achieved over the past decades and highlight that the bright prospects for the Party and the country in the new era cannot be attained without reform, innovation and determination.