Try to make a better life for the people

Two questions have always popped up when I do interviews with the US media. In what way has Communist rule in China over the past 70 years been a success? And, strategically what is China’s intention?

To put it simple, the economic prosperity and social stability in China is good proof that what the Communist Party is doing in China works well for the country, and the nation’s foremost strategic intention is for its people to have a better life.

But it takes an understanding of Chinese history to get a full appreciation of the answers. The five millennia of Chinese civilization have endowed today’s China with the cultural DNA tracing as far back as the teachings and the values developed and disseminated by Confucius and other wise men.

This proud ancient civilization, however, had been invaded, exploited and oppressed by foreign powers in the last two centuries or so, especially since the Opium War in 1840, which has left a deep impact on the mindset of the Chinese nation.

So for more than 100 years, generation after generation of Chinese people have toiled hard to modernize their country, and to rejuvenate an ancient civilization. In other words, we are contriving to have an ancient civilization modernized while still keeping some of its essential elements and its own tradition.

It was against this backdrop that the Communist Party of China was founded in 1921. It was born in China, grew out of Chinese soil, but with “imports” from Marxism, which originated in the developed world.

From the very beginning, this party has not just tried to copy all those specific conclusions of Karl Marx, but endeavored to adapt them to the Chinese reality. It has thus always been invested with Chinese characteristics, and inherited the essence of Chinese culture and tradition.

It is fair to say that historically and from the perspective of its performance, the Communist Party of China is way different from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or of some other countries. It is very Chinese.

Throughout history people have always been pursuing happiness, equality and freedom and other good things, and they do so by following different paths, in different ways, while choosing to believe in different ideologies or philosophies.

I think trial and error should be encouraged when it comes for people in different countries to exploring their own ways of running their country, achieving modernization, economic development, freedom for the people and building their country strong, prosperous.

It is possible that some countries may fail while others are more successful. China has, in the long course, withstood many setbacks, including the tumultuous “cultural revolution” between 1966 and 1976. But on the whole, it has gradually found a system, a path for its development that has worked well for the country.

Over the last 70 years, especially over the last four decades since China launched reform and opening-up, China has grown into the world’s second-largest economy, lifted 800 million people out of poverty, and in recent years, contributed about one-third to the global economic growth.

So the success in China is solid proof that what the Communist Party is doing in China works well for China.

And its progress will never stall. In his speech at a grand rally to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1, President Xi Jinping called for continued efforts to achieve the “two centenary goals” and national rejuvenation.

The first centenary goal is to build a moderately prosperous society in all aspects on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China in 2021. The second goal is for a strong socialist modernized country by 2050.

As President Xi has announced to the world, “the aspirations of the people to live a better life must always be the focus of our efforts,” China’s strategic intention is very simple: we want our people to have a better life.

I have long appreciated the famous saying of President Abraham Lincoln that “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth”.

I believe that in serving the fundamental and common interests of the two peoples, both governments have more to gain in cooperation, and even more to lose in conflict.

All in all, we are not here to challenge or try to replace any other country, let alone seeking global dominance or hegemony.

After all, China’s intention and efforts to make its people have a better life would be in no way against US interests.

Instead, a prosperous and stable China, while benefiting itself, has also served other countries well, including the United States. This has been proven right time and again in the past four decades of engagement between the two countries and will continue to be the case in the future.