Understanding socialism with Chinese characteristics

The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) was held from October 16-22, 2022. The CPC National Congress re-elected President Xi Jinping to lead the world’s most populous nation and the second biggest economy. The 20th Congress was themed holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implementing the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, carrying forward the great founding spirit of the party, staying confident and building strength, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude and striving in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.

The 20th National Congress of the CPC attracted the attention of many political analysts and mainstream media some of whom questioned the integrity of the electoral system that is used in China. Some critics especially the proponents of the western-style liberal democracy state that the electoral system is flawed. However, it can be counter argued that western-style liberal democracy is not the only suitable electoral system that should be applied globally.

This is because different countries such as China have their own unique histories, political experiences and political cultures that are totally very different from those political cultures and experiences in the western world. So it is very imperative that China, as a superpower and an influential actor in world politics use its own electoral and political system that resonates with her own political environment, culture and experiences. So it is within this context that the country has adopted the use of socialism with Chinese characteristics as a political system together with its related electoral system. It is important to note that socialism with Chinese characteristics has worked very well in China as the country has achieved massive socio- economic transformations over the past decade, since CPC’s 18th National Congress and the country has become a very important actor in global political and economic affairs. When delivering a keynote report at the national congress, President Xi highlighted socio-economic progress that China has made under socialism with Chinese characteristics as a political system. President Xi stated the poverty alleviation success where a total of 832 impoverished counties and close to 100 million poor rural residents have been lifted out of poverty and among them, more than 9.6 million poverty-stricken people have been relocated from inhospitable areas.

Another important milestone highlighted in the report is that the country’s GDP for the past 10 years has grown exponentially from 54 trillion Yuan to account for 18.5% of the world economy, up 7.2% points. At the same time, the country has remained the world’s second largest economy and its per capita GDP has risen from 39,800 Yuan to 81,000 Yuan. China also ranks highest in the world when it comes to grain output, which has ensured food and energy security for more than 1.4 billion of its citizens. Furthermore the report states that the number of permanent urban residents has grown by 11.6 percentage points to account for 64.7% of the population, China’s manufacturing sector is the largest in the world as are its foreign exchange reserves and that China has built the world’s largest networks of highspeed railways and expressways and made major achievements in building airports, ports and water conservancy, energy, information, and other infrastructure.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has improved the life expectancy which has reached 78.2 years, its per capita disposable annual income has risen from 16,500 Yuan to 35,100 Yuan and most importantly, more than 13 million urban jobs have been created each year on average over the past 10 years. China ranks among the largest in the world when it comes to provision of education, social security and healthcare systems.

President Xi rightly states that these are the kinds of achievements that have allowed the country to make historic strides in making education universally available, bringing 1.04 billion people under the coverage of basic oldage insurance and ensure basic medical insurance for 95% of the population. This is in addition to building more than 42 million housing units in run-down urban areas and more than 24 million dilapidated rural houses been rebuilt, thus marking a significant improvement in housing conditions in both urban and rural areas. Last but not least, the report shows that in China the number of Internet users has reached 1.03 billion and the government has ensured a more complete and lasting sense of fulfillment, happiness and security for its people and has made further progress in achieving common prosperity for majority of its citizens.

Internationally China has become a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions and leads the world in total volume of trade in goods, and it is a major destination for global investment and a leading country in outbound investment. Through these efforts, the country has advanced a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth. China has made great strides in international relations. In September 2021, President Xi unveiled the Global Development Initiative aimed at supporting developing countries in poverty alleviation, public health and other issues that will bring renewed attention to the immediate challenges that threaten the international community to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals. The development initiative is in addition to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which is a strategy initiated by the People’s Republic of China that seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.

China’s international relations is also visible in the African continent through Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which is an official forum between China and African states which acts as the primary multilateral coordination mechanism between African states and China and this is viewed as a cooperation platform within the Belt and Road Initiative.

All these are a clear testimony that China has made strides domestically and internationally under the socialism with Chinese characteristics political system. The socio-economic growth and being an important actor in shaping global affairs in economy, diplomacy, peace and security clearly demonstrate that the political system of the socialism with Chinese characteristics is working very well for China in a very unique way.