CPIM General Secretary Prakash Karat meets Senior Chinese communist party leaders

Liu Yunshan (R), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Prakash Karat, general secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M)

A senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Liu Yunshan on Thursday (20th June) met with a delegation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, reviewed this year's meetings between leaders of China and India, saying they reached important consensus on consolidating the bilateral strategic partnership.

China and India are developing countries each with more than 1 billion population and the most important task for both countries is development, Liu said.

The Chinese people are committed to realizing the "Chinese dream" of national rejuvenation, which means state wealth and people's happiness, Liu said, adding it is also the dream of peace, development, cooperation and common prosperity.

The CPC would like to work with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to promote the development of the two countries and enhance the people's welfare, Liu said.

Prakash Karat, general secretary of the CPIM, said India and China are the world's two biggest developing economies.

There is huge potential for China and India to work together in both bilateral sphere and the international field, Karat said.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) would like to work more closely with the CPC on sharing experiences on state governance and promoting the growth of party-to-party and country-to-country relations, Karat said. Prakash Karat is leading the delegation for a week-long visit in China.  The other members of the delegation are: A K Padmanabhan (Polit Bureau member), Jogendra Sharma (Central Secretariat member), P Madhu and Rama Das (Central Committee members).

On Wednesday the delegation led by Prakash Karat met with  Vice President Li Yuanchao
Li, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said during the meeting that China and India are close neighbors and their relationship has made new progress since the beginning of this year.

He said the two sides need to work hard to push their strategic cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity to a higher level.

Noting that left wing parties like the Communist Party of India (Marxist) play an important role in safeguarding China-India friendship, Li said he hopes the party can strengthen contact with the CPC to promote stable and healthy development of the two countries' relationship.

Karat stressed the significance of developing the relationship and said his party will make unremitting efforts in this regard.

(Source : Peoples Daily)

China's new communist leadership

Xi Jinping (C), Li Keqiang (3rd R), Zhang Dejiang (3rd L), Yu Zhengsheng (2nd R), Liu Yunshan (2nd L), Wang Qishan (1st R) and Zhang Gaoli (1st L) attend the first plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

A new generation of top Chinese leaders took the stage on Thursday in one of the world's most important power transitions, taking the helm of the ruling party of the world's second-largest economy and the most populous country.

Xi Jinping was sworn in as general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), leading the seven-seat Political Bureau Standing Committee.

The other six members of the top leadership of the Party's central leading organ are Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli.

They were elected at the first plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee following the CPC's 18th National Congress. [ Their election marked a smooth top leadership transition following the 16th national congresses of the Party in 2002.

The smooth transition suggests that the Party is moving steadily towards an established norm regarding the handing over of power, which will be crucial for sustained stability and development of the country, analysts observed.

"The new leaders are not ossified or conservative. Their election will ensure that China will continue with both reforms and the socialist path with Chinese characteristics, as they have witnessed, participated in and benefited from reform and opening-up," said Xie Chuntao, a professor of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

The leaders made their debut upon their election at the Great Hall of the People under the spotlight of hundreds of reporters from across the world.

Xi said they will take "the relay baton passed on to us by history" and make continued efforts to achieve the renewal of the Chinese nation. "We will rally and lead the whole Party and the people in making continued efforts to free our minds, carry out reform and open up," Xi said.

Xi noted that the Party faces many severe challenges and that there are many pressing problems within the Party, citing corruption, a separation from the people and bureaucracy.

Amid global economic uncertainties and domestic complaints over the wealth gap, corruption and environmental woes with rising calls for deepened reform, analysts said China will face more challenges in the years to come.

FROM THE PEOPLE

The seven Standing Committee members of the Political Bureau have witnessed and endured China's vicissitudes and hardships over the last six decades, including the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

Xi and Li were born in the 1950s, while the other five were born in the mid- to late 1940s.

Xi, Li, Zhang Dejiang and Wang toiled in communes and villages during the Cultural Revolution, when millions of high school graduates were sent to rural areas to receive "re-education" from peasants and help with rural development. It was during their re-education that Xi and Li received their first official titles. Acting as the Party branch secretaries of their respective production brigades, they got the chance to learn administration at the grassroots level.

Yu worked as a technician at a radio factory in the city of Zhangjiakou in north China's Hebei province for a few years, while Liu was a teacher before becoming a reporter at the Xinhua News Agency. Zhang Gaoli was a craneman and loader at an oil company in south China's Guangdong province after graduating from university.

Such experiences, analysts observed, gave them keen insight into China's situation and helped them understand the people's woes and expectations.

Xi previously said that he received a great deal of guidance from two groups of people: the old generation of revolutionaries and the village people in Shaanxi, his ancestral home where he received seven years of "re-education."

GOVERNANCE EXPERIENCE

As observed by Professor Xie, the new generation of leaders have shown "capacity in controlling overall situations and tackling complicated emergencies" and "are well prepared for challenges and ready to take opportunities."

All of them boast rich governance experience, climbing the Party cadre echelon step by step. Over his 40-year-long career, Xi left his footprint in both the comparatively underdeveloped inland and rural areas, such as a commune in Shaanxi province and Zhengding county in Hebei province, as well as the more prosperous coastal Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and the country's financial and economic hub of Shanghai.

Most of the new leaders have experience in governing frontier regions for reform, while others are familiar with the situation in underdeveloped central and west regions.

Analysts said the lineup will help the collective leadership to consider matters from an overall perspective when making decisions.

In addition, as a result of long years of experience as local governors, they have also cultivated a down-to-earth work style.

"Do it now" is Xi's motto. He always warns officials to perform services while keeping in mind that their official titles are in the hands of the people, instead of within their own grasp.

THEORETICAL GROUNDING, GLOBAL VISION

Unlike their predecessors, the new leaders grew up in a peaceful time, which offered them a chance to receive better education than previous generations.

Notably, they received a complete and systematic education on the mainstream ideology of socialism, which had a formative effect on their views and values, said Dai Yanjun, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

The seven leaders have diverse higher learning backgrounds, varying from engineering to humanities.

Xi holds a doctorate of law from the prestigious Qinghua University, where he also received education in chemical engineering after he returned to Beijing from Shaanxi. Li studied law at the elite Beijing University after he ended "re-education" in Anhui province. He later received a doctoral degree of economics from the university.

These education opportunities equipped the leaders with a firm theoretical grounding. Xi has urged officials at various levels to "read some history" and learn to "seek the correct orientation and path from history."

As witnesses and participants in ongoing globalization, the new leaders also have a broad vision and know how to deal with the international community.

Xi Jinping made a successful visit to the United States in Feburary this year. In a written interview with the Washington Post before his tour, the vice president said, "The vast Pacific Ocean has ample space for China and the United States."

As vice premier, Li Keqiang visited the three European nations of Spain, Germany and Britain in January 2011. Prior to his visits, he wrote three articles that were published in influential newspapers in the countries, stating China's development orientation.

Another vice premier, Wang Qishan was described by former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson as a man who "enjoys philosophical debates and has a wicked sense of humor."

RIGHT FORMULA

According to the CPC's constitution, a Central Committee is elected at a national congress, which is held every five years. The Central Committee, usually with more than 300 full and alternate members, then elects its Political Bureau and the bureau's Standing Committee.

More than 2,300 delegates to the national congress on Wednesday elected the 18th CPC Central Committee through secret ballots, who then voted on the Political Bureau and its Standing Committee on Thursday.

Previously, a meeting of leading cadres was held in Beijing in May to nominate candidates of the Political Bureau and its Standing Committee.

In the eyes of Huang Yebin, a delegate to the Party congress, the new generation of leadership are "energetic, trustworthy and with both integrity and capacity."

"I'm sure they will lead the nation to a prosperous society," Huang said.

The CPC's National Congress was a widely watched agenda this year for "one of the world's most important power transitions" that followed it, as some foreign media said.

Two authors co-published a comment in the Financial Times on Monday, which said that China "has developed the right formula for choosing political rulers that is consistent with China's culture and history and suitable for modern circumstances." Daniel Bell and Eric Li, a professor of political theory at Qinghua University in Beijing and a Shanghai-based venture capitalist, wrote in the British newspaper, "The Chinese political system has undergone significant change over the past three decades and it comes close to the best formula for governing a large country.

"It (Chinese regime) should be improved on the basis of this formula, not western style democracy," they observed.

NEW FACES IN POLITICAL BUREAU

In addition to the seven Standing Committee members, the Political Bureau has another 18 members. Among them, Liu Yandong, Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang are serving their second term in the central leading organ.

Liu Yandong

 Liu, 67, is also a state councilor. She holds a doctoral degree of law. Li is also a doctor of law. He was previously a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. He is 62.

Wang, 57, is Party chief of Guangdong Province. He previously worked in Chongqing. He is a master of engineering.

The new members of the bureau are: Ma Kai, Wang Huning, Liu Qibao, Xu Qiliang, Sun Chunlan, Sun Zhengcai, Li Jianguo, Zhang Chunxian, Fan Changlong, Meng Jianzhu, Zhao Leji, Hu Chunhua, Li Zhanshu, Guo Jinlong and Han Zheng.

Among the new faces, eight were born around 1949, the founding year of New China. State Councilor Ma Kai is 66. The master of economics previously led the National Development and Reform Commission.

Sun chunlan

Sun Chunlan from Fujian Province is currently the only woman Party chief in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Her entry added one more woman member to the Political Bureau. Liu Yandong was the only woman in the central leading body. Sun is 62.

Li Jianguo, 66, is vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The senior legislator is a Chinese language and literature graduate.

Meng Jianzhu, 65, is a state councilor and also minister of public security. He holds a master's degree of engineering.

Li Zhanshu is director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee. He was previously Party chief of Guizhou Province. He is 62. Beijing Party chief Guo Jinlong received a physics education in university, and previously worked in Tibet for 11 years. He is 65.

Fan Changlong, 65, and Xu Qiliang, 62, are two members from the army. The two generals are both vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission. They began service in the 1960s.

Seven new faces are under the age of 60. Wang Huning, 57, was previously a member of the Central Committee's Secretariat. Before he started a political career, he was a professor of the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai.

Sichuan Province Party chief Liu Qibao, 59, is a master of economics. He previously worked at the Communist Youth League of China, served as deputy secretary-general of the State Council and deputy editor-in-chief of the People's Daily. He has also worked in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Zhang Chunxian, 59, is Party chief of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He holds a master's degree in management. He worked in Hunan Province before he was transferred to Xinjiang.

Zhao Leji, party chief of Shaanxi Province, previously worked in Qinghai, a plateau province with adverse natural condition, for 27 years. The philosophy graduate from Beijing University is 55.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng is a master of economics. He is 58.

Notably, the Political Bureau has two members who were born in the 1960s -- Sun Zhengcai and Hu Chunhua.

Sun, also 49, is a doctor of agronomy. The Party chief of Jilin Province was previously minister of agriculture. Hu, 49, is Party chief of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He volunteered to work in Tibet after graduating from university, and stayed there for about 20 years. He worked at the Communist Youth League of China before going to Inner Mongolia.

The plenum also elected the Secretariat of the Central Committee, which includes Liu Yunshan, Liu Qibao, Zhao Leji, Li Zhanshu, Du Qinglin, Zhao Hongzhu and Yang Jing. It is observed that the new leading echelon has rich governance experience at provincial levels, and they also boast good education backgrounds, with more than 10 doctors and masters, whose majors vary from economics, politics and law to agronomy and management.

Their experience and education backgrounds will help push China towards greater progress, observers said. Liu Xiangting, a resident at Dashilan, a community near Tian'anmen in downtown Beijing, said the emergence of a new leading team indicates that China will enjoy greater development momentum. 

 "I hope the new leaders will care for our livelihoods, boost development and keep themselves clean," said Liu.

(Source : Xinhua)

Xi Jinping elected general secretary of Communist Party of China

Comrade Xi Jinping was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee at the first plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Thursday morning.

Other members of the newly elected Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee are Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan, and Zhang Gaoli.

Xi Jinping was also named chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Military Commission. Fan Changlong and Xu Qiliang were named vice chairmen of the CPC Central Military Commission.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xi Jinping (C) and the other newly-elected members of the Standing Committee of the 18th CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Li Keqiang (3rd R), Zhang Dejiang (3rd L), Yu Zhengsheng (2nd R), Liu Yunshan (2nd L), Wang Qishan (1st R), Zhang Gaoli (1st L) meet with journalists at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

The following is the list of the Political Bureau members of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee : Xi Jinping, Ma Kai, Wang Qishan, Wang Huning, Liu Yunshan, Liu Yandong (female), Liu Qibao, Xu Qiliang, Sun Chunlan (female), Sun Zhengcai, Li Keqiang, Li Jianguo, Li Yuanchao, Wang Yang, Zhang Chunxian, Zhang Gaoli, Zhang Dejiang, Fan Changlong, Meng Jianzhu, Zhao Leji, Hu Chunhua, Yu Zhengsheng, Li Zhanshu, Guo Jinlong and Han Zheng.

Resolution on CPC Central Committee report placed at the 18th Party congress

The following is the full text of Resolution of the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China on the Report of its Seventeenth Central Committee adopted at the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China on November 14, 2012:

The Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China approved the report delivered by Comrade Hu Jintao on behalf of the Party's Seventeenth Central Committee. Holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics and following the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, the report analyzes the developments and changes in the international and domestic environments, reviews our work in the past five years and the historic achievements we have made in the course of our endeavors since the Sixteenth Party Congress, and establishes the historical position of the Scientific Outlook on Development. The report sets forth the basic requirements for winning new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the goals of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and deepening reform and opening up in an all-around way. It lays out an overall plan for advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and sets forth explicit requirements for making Party building more scientific in all respects. The report also draws up a grand blueprint for completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and accelerating socialist modernization and charts the course for making continued progress in the cause of the Party and country. It is the crystallization of the wisdom of the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups in China. It is a political declaration and a program of action for the Party to rally and lead the people of all our ethnic groups in winning new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics. The report is a guiding Marxist document.

The congress held that the underlying theme set forth in the report is of great importance to the Party leading the people in building on our past success and carrying forward our cause with determination. The whole Party must hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, free up the mind, implement the policy of reform and opening up, pool our strength, overcome all difficulties, firmly march on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strive to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The congress stressed that at present, as the global, national and our Party's conditions continue to undergo profound changes, we are faced with unprecedented opportunities for development as well as risks and challenges unknown before. The whole Party must keep in mind the trust the people have placed in us and the great expectation they have of us. We must aim higher and work harder and continue to pursue development in a scientific way, promote social harmony, and improve the people's lives so as to complete the glorious and arduous tasks bestowed on us by the times.

The congress applauded the work of the Seventeenth Central Committee. Over the past five years since the Seventeenth Party Congress, we have marched boldly on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, overcome numerous difficulties and risks, achieved new success in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and made new and major achievements in all fields of our work.

The congress endorsed the Seventeenth Central Committee's basic review of our endeavors over the past ten years since the Sixteenth National Congress. It held that we have firmly seized and made the most of the important period of strategic opportunities for China's development, successfully met major challenges, and brought socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new stage of development. It also held that we have consolidated and developed the cause of reform and opening up and socialist modernization and raised China's international standing, and that all this shows the superiority and vitality of socialism with Chinese characteristics and has enhanced the pride and cohesiveness of the Chinese people and nation.

The congress stressed that the most important achievement in our endeavors in the past ten years is that we have developed the Scientific Outlook on Development and applied it by making courageous theoretical innovations on the basis of practice and developing closely interconnected new ideas and viewpoints on upholding and building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Scientific Outlook on Development was created by integrating Marxism with the reality of contemporary China and with the underlying features of our times, and it fully embodies the Marxist worldview on and methodology for development. This theory provides new scientific answers to the major questions of what kind of development China should achieve in a new environment and how the country should achieve it. It represents a new level of our understanding of the laws of socialism with Chinese characteristics and reaches a new realm in the development of Marxism in contemporary China. The Scientific Outlook on Development is the latest achievement in developing the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and it is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Communist Party of China and a powerful theoretical weapon for guiding all the work of the Party and country. Together with Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development provides the long-term theoretical guidance the Party must adhere to.

The congress pointed out that over the past 90-plus years, relying firmly on the people and adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to China's conditions and the underlying trend of the times, our Party has pursued its own course independently. The Party, enduring untold hardships and sufferings and paying various costs, achieved great success in revolution, development and reform, and created and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, thus fundamentally changing the future and destiny of the Chinese people and nation. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics are the fundamental accomplishments made by the Party and people in the course of arduous struggle over the past 90-plus years. We must cherish these accomplishments, uphold them all the time and continue to enrich them. To achieve new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics under new historical conditions, we must have a firm grasp of the following basic requirements: We must maintain the people's principal position in the country, continue to release and develop the productive forces, persevere in reform and opening up, uphold social fairness and justice, strive for common prosperity, promote social harmony, pursue peaceful development and uphold the leadership of the Party.

The congress held that basing ourselves on China's actual economic and social development, we should work hard to meet the following new requirements while working to fulfill the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects set forth at the Sixteenth and Seventeenth National Congresses of the Party. They are: The economy should maintain sustained and sound development; people's democracy should be expanded; the country's cultural soft power should be improved significantly; living standards should be fully raised; and major progress should be made in building a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society. To complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, we must, with greater political courage and vision, lose no time in deepening reform in key sectors and resolutely discard all notions and systems that hinder efforts to pursue development in a scientific way. We should set up a well-developed, scientific, standardized and effective framework of systems and ensure that operating institutions in all sectors are fully functioning.

The congress endorsed the plan made in the report for promoting socialist economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress in China. The congress emphasized the need to speed up the improvement of the socialist market economy and the change of the growth model and make development based more on improved quality and performance; and to fire all types of market participants with new vigor for development, increase motivation for pursuing innovation-driven development, establish a new system for developing modern industries, and create new favorable conditions for developing the open economy. This will make economic development driven more by domestic demand, especially consumer demand, by a modern service industry and strategic emerging industries, by scientific and technological progress, by a workforce of higher quality and innovation in management, by resource conservation and a circular economy, and by coordinated and mutually reinforcing urban-rural development and development between regions. Taking these steps will enable us to sustain long-term development and promote harmonized development of industrialization, IT application, urbanization and agricultural modernization. The congress required us to keep to the socialist path of making political advance with Chinese characteristics, promote reform of the political structure and make people's democracy more extensive, fuller in scope and sounder in practice. We should ensure the unity of the leadership of the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country and law-based governance; and in order to guarantee the fundamental position of the people as masters of the country and reach the goal of enhancing the vitality of the Party and country and keeping the people fully motivated, we should expand socialist democracy, improve the system of socialist consultative democracy, improve community-level democracy, accelerate the building of a socialist country based on the rule of law, establish a sound mechanism for conducting checks and oversight of the exercise of power, and thus advance socialist political progress. The congress stressed the need to make steady progress in developing a strong socialist culture in China. We should keep to the goal of developing an advanced socialist culture, create a new surge in promoting socialist culture and bring about its great development and enrichment, increase China' s cultural soft power, and get culture to guide social trends, educate the people, serve society, and boost development. The congress emphasized the need to strengthen social development by improving the people's wellbeing and making innovations in management. In order to uphold the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people with high priority given to ensuring and improving the people's wellbeing, we should improve the people's material and cultural lives, bring as much benefit as possible to them, resolve as many difficulties as possible for them, intensify efforts to improve the basic public service system, strengthen and make innovations in social management, and boost the building of a harmonious socialist society. The congress called for making great efforts to promote ecological progress. We should raise our ecological awareness of the need to respect, accommodate to and protect nature, incorporate ecological progress into all aspects and the whole process of advancing economic, political, cultural, and social progress, intensify protection of the ecosystem and the environment, work hard to build a beautiful country, and achieve lasting and sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The congress emphasized the importance of responding to China's core security needs, following the three-step development strategy for modernizing national defense and the armed forces, intensifying efforts to accomplish the dual historic tasks of military mechanization and full IT application and building strong national defense and powerful armed forces that are commensurate with China's international standing and meet the needs of its security and development interests.

The congress highlighted the need to fully and faithfully implement the principle of "one country, two systems," under which the people of Hong Kong govern Hong Kong and the people of Macao govern Macao and both regions enjoy a high degree of autonomy. We must both adhere to the one-China principle and respect the differences of the two systems, both uphold the power of the central government and ensure a high degree of autonomy in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and both give play to the role of the mainland as the staunch supporter of Hong Kong and Macao and increase the competitiveness of the two regions. We must adhere to the principle of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems," consolidate and strengthen the political, economic, cultural and social foundation for the peaceful growth of the relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, open a new horizon in advancing the peaceful growth of these relations, and work with our compatriots in Taiwan to safeguard and build the common home of the Chinese nation, so as to create even better conditions for achieving peaceful reunification.

The congress endorsed the report's analysis of the international situation and the guiding principles it sets forth for China's diplomacy. The congress stressed that China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, firmly pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, unswervingly stay on the path of peaceful development, and unwaveringly follow a win-win strategy of opening up. We should be firm in our resolve to uphold China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and stay committed to growing friendship and cooperation in all fields with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We should work to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity, and are ready to work with the people of other countries to unremittingly promote the noble cause of peace and development for mankind.

The congress stressed that, facing the new developments, the progress in our cause and the expectation the people have of us, we should comprehensively carry out the great new undertaking of Party building in an innovative and reform-driven way and make Party building more scientific in all respects. All Party members must heighten their sense of urgency and sense of responsibility and focus on strengthening the Party's governance capacity, advanced nature and purity. We must put people first and exercise governance for the people. We should continue to free up our minds, carry out reform and innovation, and uphold the principle that the Party should supervise its own conduct and run itself with strict discipline. We should make all-around efforts to strengthen the Party theoretically and organizationally, improve its conduct, fight corruption, uphold Party integrity and improve Party rules and regulations. We should enhance our capacity for self-purity, self-improvement, self-development and self-innovation and build the Party into a learning, service-oriented and innovative Marxist governing party. By taking these steps, we can ensure that the Party is always the firm leadership core guiding the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The congress underscored that combating corruption and promoting political integrity is a clear-cut and long-term political commitment of the Party and a major political issue of great concern to the people. We must make unremitting efforts to combat corruption, promote integrity and stay vigilant against degeneration. We should pursue a distinctive Chinese approach to combating corruption and promoting integrity. We should persist in combating corruption in an integrated way, addressing both its symptoms and root causes, and combining punishment and prevention, with emphasis on the latter. We should advance in an all-around way the establishment of a system of combating corruption through both punishment and prevention and see to it that officials are honest, the government is clean, and political integrity is upheld.

 The congress emphasized that centralized leadership of the Party is the source of its strength and a fundamental guarantee for China's economic and social development, ethnic unity and progress, and enduring peace and stability. The more complexities the Party faces and the more arduous the tasks it undertakes, the more imperative it is for the Party to strengthen its discipline and uphold its centralized leadership. This will enable the whole Party from the leadership to the ranks to advance in unison as a great force.

The congress stressed that to live up to the people's trust in and expectation of us and stand new tests under new historical conditions, the whole Party must be keenly aware of potential dangers, be modest and prudent, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and remain clear-headed. We must be innovative in our thinking, uphold truth and correct mistakes, and always maintain energy and drive. We must follow the guidance of the fundamental purpose of the Party, trust and rely on the people, and always put them above everything else. We must heighten our sense of mission, be realistic and pragmatic, defy difficulties and work hard, and preserve the political integrity of Communists.

The congress called on all Party members and the people of all ethnic groups in China to hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, rally more closely around the Party Central Committee, strive to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, continue to win new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics, and make joint efforts to create an even brighter future for the Chinese people and nation.

(Source ; Xinhua)

18th Party Congress of Communist Party of China Concludes

 The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) concluded in Beijing on Wednesday morning, after a new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection were elected.

Delegates to the congress also passed resolutions on the report of the 17th CPC Central Committee, the work report of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and an amendment to the CPC Constitution. "The congress elected a new central committee of the Party and replaced older leaders with younger ones," Hu Jintao said in a closing address to 2,307 delegates and specially invited delegates at the closing session in the Great Hall of People in central Beijing.

"We are convinced that all the decisions and plans adopted and all the achievements made at the congress, which are of major current and far-reaching historical significance, will play an important role in guiding the all-around development of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the great new undertaking of Party building," he said. Jiang Zemin, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang were present at the closing session, which was presided over by Hu.

The five-yearly congress, which opened on Nov. 8, was held at the decisive stage of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. 

(Source : Xinhua)

CPI(M) Greets CPC on its Eighteenth Congress

The following is the text of the greetings sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on November 5, 2012 on the occasion of its 18th  Congress

Dear Comrades,

THE Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) extends its warm fraternal communist greetings to the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China. We hope that the deliberations of this Congress will further consolidate the process of socialist construction in China.

The 18th Congress of the CPC is taking place at a crucial juncture. The entire world is reeling under the affects of global economic crisis. Unemployment, poverty, inequalities and hunger are on the rise. What has started as corporate insolvency has now got converted into full fledged sovereign insolvency. Many countries in Euro zone are under severe duress. The very sustainability of European Union is now under question.

Imperialism is trying to come out of this crisis by transferring the burdens of the crisis on to the people of the third world countries. It is using all the means at its disposal – military, economic, political – to ensure that it retains its hegemony over the world. People in many of the countries, both the developed and developing, are coming out in protest against the increasing burdens on their livelihoods.

US has identified Asia-Pacific region as crucial to sustain its hegemony. As the recent documents of the US show, it is planning to deploy 60 per cent of its naval force in the Asia-Pacific region. NATO is expanding its influence to many regions of the world. The involvement of NATO forces in the war in Afghanistan, in Libya and now in Syria all point to the growing aggressiveness of imperialism to control the world natural resources. It is in such a complex international situation that the 18th Congress of the CPC is taking place.

The CPI(M) has been keenly following the developments taking place in China. It notes the impressive economic advances made by China. The measures adopted by the CPC for ensuring harmonious development of the Chinese society, reduce the income inequalities and fight corruption and other alien tendencies are watched with immense interest.

The 18th Congress of the CPC is being held at a crucial stage of China's endeavour in building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round manner while facing the challenges of deepening reform and opening-up and accelerating the transformation of economic development pattern. The CPI(M) is confident that the deliberations of the 18th Congress of the CPC will facilitate the further growth and consolidation of socialism in China, upholding the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The CPI(M) is confident that the relations between the peoples of China and India will continue to improve and this, in turn, will contribute to bringing peace and stability in the region. The continuing close fraternal relations between the CPI(M) and the CPC, we are confident, will be further strengthened in the future, contributing to this process.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) once again wishes the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China all success and conveys its fraternal greetings to all delegates.

18th CPC National Congress: A crucial event for China

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China set to kick off on Nov. 8 will provide a crucial window into the direction of China in the next five years or a longer period. In this election year for many countries, the world is paying close attention to the CPC’s latest moves, and is curious to know how it will judge the situation, continue to lead China along the path of peaceful rise, and influence global landscapes.

At present, the world economy hit hard by the global financial crisis is still struggling to recover, and China is entering a new historical stage of transforming its economic growth model, deepening reforms, and building a well-off society in an all-round way after more than 30 years of miraculously rapid economic growth thanks to the Reform and Opening-up. The 18th National Congress of the CPC will be a crucial event concerning China’s fate.

Over the past 30 odd years of rapid economic growth, particularly since the 16th and 17th CPC national congresses, China has gained a raft of titles such as “the world’s most populous country,” “the world’s second largest economy,” “a new member of the World Trade Organization,” “the world’s factory,” “a stabilizer of the world economy,” “a new engine for the world economic recovery,” and “the world’s largest exporter and second largest importer.” CPC national congresses have become the crucial links guiding and promoting China’s development and changes.

China is facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, it aims to build an all-round well-off society by 2020, or the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Party, so the time after the 18th CPC National Congress will be particularly crucial. The CPC enjoys a solid foundation for governance and massive public support, and has continued to promote the Reform and Opening-up. China is still in the middle of industrialization, informationization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, and thus has huge potential for steady development and peaceful rise. 

On the other hand, the country is also facing many difficulties and problems, including increased economic downward pressure. Authoritative research institutions said that China was approaching the end of the miraculous era of nearly double-digit growth. There are still certain systematic and structural problems affecting the long-term healthy development of Chinese society and economy, and the reforms in certain key areas remain timid.

At the 18th national congress, the Party needs to figure out how it will draw on past invaluable experience, open up a path of innovation, meet the people’s needs, solve problems concerning the people’s vital interests, and introduce more suitable policies at the macro and micro levels for improving the people’s living standards.

China is faced with new challenges in handling relations with the big countries, developing countries and its neighbors. In the era of economic globalization, China must map out a new strategy to continue the road of peaceful development, meanwhile avoiding risks and seizing opportunities. Now, China occupies such an important status in the world that a slight change will impact the entire world.

In the face of new problems and challenges, as well as new situation and expectation, China will develop new measures and methods on the occasion of convening the 18th National Congress of the CPC, preparing for further development.

People are looking forward to the convening of the 18th National Congress of the CPC because it may mean the new beginning of a great revolution to China and even the world.

(Source : Xinhua)

CPI(M), CPC to promote stronger India-China relations

Anantha Krishnan (The Hindu)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of China have agreed to strengthen exchanges and to work together to promote the development of India-China relations, officials from both parties have said.

Sitaram Yechury, member of the Polit Bureau of the CPI(M), held talks with senior CPC officials, including China's top diplomat and State Councilor Dai Bingguo here on Thursday.

Mr. Dai told Mr. Yechury China wanted to increase mutual trust with India and take forward bilateral ties “from a long-term strategic standpoint”, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Bilateral relationship had maintained “a good momentum of development and faces unprecedented advancement opportunities,” added Mr. Dai, who is also a member of the CPC's Central Committee and is China's highest-ranked official on foreign policy issues.

The Chinese diplomat said as the “two biggest emerging and developing countries”, India and China needed to strengthen communication and cooperation and help promote “the overall competitiveness and influence of developing countries”.

In recent years, the CPC has pushed forward party-to-party exchanges with Indian political parties from across the political spectrum, inviting officials from the Congress and more recently, hosting BJP president Nitin Gadkari in January.

The CPC, however, has particularly close historical ties with the CPI(M). Mr. Yechury said the CPI(M) “valued its traditional friendship with the CPC” and was ready to expand exchanges “to promote a sound and stable development of India-China relations”.

“The Communist Party of India hopes to play a positive role in maintaining the good development of bilateral relations and help further ties between the two sides,” Xinhua quoted Mr. Yechury as saying.

The CPC's journey to reinvigorate China

Meng Na, Cheng Zhiliang, Wang Li, Huang Yan - What started as a humble group of over 50 idealistic Chinese has swollen into an 80-million-strong political party, ruling over the world’s most populous country. The first National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Shanghai in July 1921. Thirteen delegates, including Mao Zedong, representing over 50 Party members nationwide, attended the meeting, which marked the founding of the CPC. After nine decades, China has become the world’s second-largest economy under CPC leadership. With foreign exchange reserves totalling 3 trillion U.S. dollars, China has become the largest creditor of the United States. China also boasts the world’s largest banking, petroleum and telecommunications companies by market value. The Communist Party of China has brought this country with a civilization of over 5,000 years back to the centre of the international arena. In the meantime, nevertheless, the country is facing challenges. For instance, the per capita GDP is still around the world’s 100th. Corruption still runs rampant in some areas. Where will the Communist Party of China (CPC) lead China to and what are the implications of China’s development to the world? The questions have grabbed a great deal of attention and have been the subjects of much debate. Sometimes history and what is happening presently indicate the future. Solid organizational construction In September 1927, Mao Zedong decreed that every company in the revolutionary army should have a Party branch, with a commissar to give political instruction to the company. This military rearrangement gave the CPC absolute control over its military forces and is considered to have had a profound impact upon the Chinese revolution. Today, such Party branches are not only established in the Party’s strongholds, like army, governments, universities and state-owned enterprises, but private enterprises and foreign-owned enterprises. The Roche R&D Center China (RRDCC), located in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, established its own Party branch in 2007. The branch currently has over 20 Party members, most of whom are researchers with postgraduate or doctorate degrees. “We notify all of our staff through the company’s intranet when the Party branch organizes activities or meetings. Our foreign boss even attends sometimes,” said Hong Di, the company’s Party branch secretary. The RRDCC believes that the Party members who work for the company have helped it to develop and grow. An increasing number of foreign-owned enterprises in China’s economically prosperous coastal cities are also forming their own Party branches. For instance, Suzhou, a city in east China’s Jiangsu Province, is home to more than 6,000 foreign-owned enterprises, over 1,000 of which have established their own Party branches. Private enterprises are creating their own branches as well. In east China’s Zhejiang Province, where private businesses have flourished, about 66,000 private enterprises have established their own Party branches. The Party constitution stipulates that “primary Party organizations may be formed in enterprises, rural areas, government organs, schools, research institutes, communities, social organizations, companies of the People’s Liberation Army and other basic units where there are at least three full Party members.” By the end of 2010, the CPC had had over 3.892 million grassroots Party organizations, through which the CPC fulfils effective leadership to the country. Prof. Zheng Yongnian, director of East Asia Institute of the National University of Singapore, said that “the successful ruling of the CPC lies in its strong mobilization mechanism.” For instance, China’s success in holding Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai World Expo, as well as the efficient reconstruction in earthquake-affected areas could be attributed to the Party’s strong mobilization mechanism and its solid organizational system,” said Mr. Zheng. Sinicization of Marxism The salvoes of the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 brought the theory of Marxism-Leninism to China. Starting from the May 4th Movement in 1919, the Chinese working class began to cut a striking figure as an advanced social force in the country. In 1921, the CPC emerged just as the times called in the process of applying Marxism-Leninism in the Chinese workers’ movement. Before the 90th anniversary of the CPC’s founding, about 1 million copies of a new book on the history of the Communist Party of China (1949-1978) have been sold since being published on Jan. 11. The book, focusing on the 1949-1978 period, came 20 years after the first book, which documented the history from the birth of the CPC in 1921 to the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The first book was reprinted at the same time and had sold about 766,000 copies as of this May. “The most essential experience we have drawn from the Party’s history is to always persist in integrating the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism with the specific situation in China, and unswervingly follow our own development road,” said Qin Gang, professor with the Department of Marxism Theory of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee. The first generation of the collective leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Mao Zedong at the core and the second generation of the collective leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Deng Xiaoping at the core led the Party in persisting in closely combining the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism with China’s concrete practice, resulting in the formation of Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory. To strengthen the Party building, Jiang Zemin proposed the important theory of “Three Represents” — the Party should represent the development trend of China’s advanced productive forces, the orientation of China’s advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China. Along with the rapid economic and social development, the development mode, featuring “high investment, high consumption, high pollution with low efficiency”, challenged the country’s ecological environment and sustainable development, therefore General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Hu Jintao proposed “Scientific Outlook on Development,” which puts people first and calls for comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development. This year, a book, translated as “Why and How the CPC works in China,” compiled by Xie Chuntao, professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, is becoming a bestseller. The book tries to seek an answer for why the CPC can maintain vitality 90 years after its founding and more than 60 years after it came to power. One chapter of the book explains why the Communist Parties in the former Soviet Union and East European countries lost their ruling status, while China has not and will not. Four reasons are given by the book with “CPC always exploring its own development road” topping the list. Other three reasons include: it is reform and opening-up that have been changing the country’s fate; the Party and the country put reform, development and stability into overall consideration; and the CPC always attaches great importance to the Party building. Poverty alleviation Unlike other political powers, the CPC has never sought external expansion during its development and rise, preferring to focus on improving the country’s domestic situation. To that end, one of the CPC’s greatest successes has been its alleviation of poverty. The CPC has eliminated hunger for many people in China, ensuring the Party’s long-term support from the Chinese people. Yan Hongchang, a 63-year-old farmer from the village of Xiaogang in east China’s Anhui Province, said he was told by villagers of his parents’ generation that life in the region was miserable in the 1920s because of the scourge of warlords and bandits. Without proper water control facilities, floods on the nearby Huaihe River plagued the village for many years. Many people were forced to leave their homes, turning to a life of begging. During the War of Liberation, the villagers, who were then under the regime of the Kuomintang, were eagerly expecting a victory for the CPC, which had promised to give the peasants land and provide them with food. The villagers of Xiaogang were right to expect a win from the CPC. They, like most poor peasants across the country, were given land in 1949. Their lives continued to improve until the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a time of turbulence during which many Chinese suffered extraordinary hardships. “Without enough food to go around, everyone in my family had to go out to dig up edible wild herbs,” Yan said. In 1978, Yan and other villagers in Xiaogang signed a contract to secretly distribute the village’s farmland among all of the village’s households, which was illegal at the time. The secret plan proved to be effective. In 1983, Yan’s family harvested more than 10 tonnes of grain from 2 hectares of farmland, allaying their fears of starvation. Yan did not expect that their adventurous move would later lead to the creation of a household contract responsibility system in rural China, which greatly emancipated productive forces in rural areas. China had 26.88 million people living below the country’s poverty line in 2010, compared with 250 million living in absolute poverty in 1978. It is a great success, considering that 925 million people in the world still suffer from hunger. However, the Party now faces the challenge of ensuring that the country’s citizens live relatively comfortable lives and achieve common prosperity. Socialist market economy Shen Pengfei, a 29-year-old resident of Shangrao County in east China’s Jiangxi Province, is used to seeing supermarket shelves spilling over with merchandise. As a young person accustomed to carrying around cash, he can barely comprehend the way goods used to be purchased in China. His mother Chen Guolan, now 56 years old, bitterly recalls the grain and clothing coupons that she and her countrymen had to use in the old days. Ms. Chen, a retired saleswoman, said that coupons were part of daily life in the years of China’s planned economy, when shortages of goods made life difficult. China imposed a state monopoly on the purchase and sale of goods during the shortages; everybody had to use a combination of cash and coupons to purchase daily necessities. Long lines in front of stores were commonplace. “In the old days, there were food coupons to buy beans, salt and meat; clothing coupons to buy fabric and cotton, and other coupons for soap, matches, coal and gas,” said Ms. Chen, who still keeps hundreds of the coupons. Integration into the world Foreign big names in politics, business and academia are no stranger to podiums at cadre schools of the CPC, but as the country grows interdependent with the outside world, their previously occasional lectures have become a compulsory course in the curriculum. In June, David O. Beim, professor of the Columbia Business School, held a course on global financial crisis at the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong, a national cadre school in Shanghai. The course, “China’s Economic Future under a Global Perspective,” was the longest one in a three-week financial training program for 50 middle-level officials from China’s financial regulators, financial institutions, and state-owned enterprises under the central government. The course resonated with programme members so well that questions were raised one after another and discussions went over class time. Some of the members even asked the professor to continue the course at night. The reason for employing foreign expertise is straightforward, as acting vice president of the academy Feng Jun put it, “In a globalized world, a globalized outlook is essential for competent cadres of the CPC.” CPC cadres are also going abroad for studies. It has become common for cadres in coastal areas to go on foreign study trips and many of the recently promoted cadres in provinces in the Yangtze River and Zhujiang River deltas have at least a half year of foreign study experience. In the country’s western regions like Chongqing and Gansu, more officials are being sent abroad for advanced studies of subjects that are important to local development, such as public administration, environmental protection and tourism administration. Throughout this year, about 300 Shanghai government officials and corporate executives will receive tailor-made training programmes from the Harvard Business School, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and business and education schools of the Columbia University. CPC is a “learning-minded” party that encourages its members to expand their knowledge in all fields, including science, economics and culture. By stressing its learning-minded ethos, the CPC exemplifies a contemporary ruling party, said Robert Lawrence Kuhn, an international investment banker and the author of How China’s Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China’s Past, Current and Future Leaders. The year 2011 not only marks the 90th anniversary of the CPC’s founding, but the 10th anniversary for China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Over the past decade since its accession to the WTO, China has fully honoured its commitments by abolishing all domestic laws and regulations incompatible with WTO rules and giving foreign companies national treatment. Just as Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said, at a forum to mark the 10th WTO entry anniversary in January, the WTO entry was a “courageous and tough choice,” but was “the right choice” and a landmark event in China’s reform and opening up. China’s foreign trade soared after the WTO entry, providing momentum for its economic development. Presently, China is the world’s largest exporter and second largest importer. Globalization is an irreversible trend. China felt the pinch of the global financial crisis as well in year 2008. To address its impact and maintain the steady and relatively fast growth of the economy, China quickly adjusted its macroeconomic policies, put in place a package plan to boost domestic demand and stimulate economic growth. As a result, China’s economy in 2009 and 2010 maintained steady and relatively fast growth and contributed to the economic recovery of the region and the world. “China, under the leadership of the CPC, has provided its own political and economic model to the world. It is an important contribution to the international community,” said Prof. Zheng Yongnian. China is now facing challenges as well, such as transforming the economic development mode, bridging the yawning income gap, maintaining the social stability and harmony. That will be new contributions to the world, if the challenges are overcome, said Mr. Zheng. From Mao Zedong proposed “to clean the room thoroughly before inviting guests” in 1949 to China’s current solemn commitment of following the path of peaceful development, China’s foreign policies always attract a great deal attention from the outside world. “It can be expected that China will reiterate the themes of peace, development and cooperation in its foreign relations. Simultaneously, it will also prefer other countries to be more sensitive to handling issues that China considers to be its core interests,” said Mr. Zheng. “Development is the absolute principle.” Deng Xiaoping said so during his famous inspection tour of south China in 1992. The motto has been working and will still work. It is expected that under the leadership of CPC, China in future will seek more balanced development, or say scientific development in domestic issues, while continuing to seek peaceful development in international affairs. The country’s planned economy worked for some time, but its flaws created obstacles for China’s development. The mixed functions of government and enterprises, egalitarianism in distribution, and other problems resulted in low industrial efficiency, low agricultural output and stagnant living standards. China officially abolished grain coupons in 1993, a milestone in its shift from being a planned economy to being a market economy. “Considering the situation at that time, going with a market-oriented economic system was necessary to reform the economic system,” said Ma Zhihui, head of the economics research institute of the Jiangxi Provincial Academy of Social Sciences. The CPC explicitly stated that it would create a socialist market economy at its 14th National Congress in October 1992. Observers believe this reflected the CPC’s flexibility and innovation at the time. In dogmatic views of communism, market economies are considered to be specific to capitalism. Even discussing market economics was taboo at one time. However, when late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping conducted an inspection tour of south China in 1992, he said “planned economies are not equivalent to socialism, because there is also planning under capitalism. Market economies are not equivalent to capitalism, because there are markets under socialism as well. Planning and marketing are both economic means.” Mr. Deng, who is widely regarded as the chief architect of China’s period of reform and opening-up, greatly boosted efforts for the reformation of China’s economic system with his remarks. However, the creation of a market economy under China’s existing socialist structure was an arduous task. “There were no examples to follow. The CPC was learning and exploring during the process. It combined foreign experiences that were absorbed in the early days with China’s condition at the time. Through continuous reforms and improvement, it found a path suited to China’s national condition and development,” said Ding Yuanzhu, deputy director of the Department of Policy-Making Consultation of the Chinese Academy of Governance. A main feature of the country’s socialist market economy is the joint impact of the government and the market itself. In socialist market economies, the government uses macro-level control mechanisms to restrain the spontaneity and blindness of the market. This feature allowed China to withstand the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis, Mr. Ding said. “The facts have shown that it is a path of success,” said Zhang Liqun, a research fellow specializing macro-economics at the Development Research Center of the State Council, China’s Cabinet. The creation of a socialist market economy had an incredible effect on the country’s development. China’s GDP ballooned from 2.4 trillion yuan in 1992 to 39.8 trillion yuan in 2010. China’s international status and the living standard of its people improved accordingly. However, some economic experts have said that market-oriented reforms in some key areas have yet to be completed. They say that the CPC needs greater wisdom and a broader vision in order to allow the country to continue to develop in the face of complicated international situations. “The root cause of some of the problems that China now faces is the inadequacy of market-based reforms, which has left systemic problems unsolved. It is important to improve the way these reforms are designed, including market system reforms,” Mr. Ding said. In the past, various social and economic systems in China were reformed from bottom to top. However, today’s grassroots-level governments might lack the momentum to make reforms in this fashion, Mr. Zhang Liqun said. He said that reforms in taxation, income distribution and the relationship between the government and the market can only come from the top. Mr. Zhang is also concerned about the success of the transformation of China’s economic development pattern. “If the transformation fails, China’s development will slow down. Social conflicts will sharpen, creating less room for development,” he said. Chang Xiuze, a researcher at the Macroeconomics Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the transformation of China’s development will depend on the reform of its economic system and mechanisms. After three decades of experience in reform, Chinese authorities are aware of the defects of traditional economic systems and how to reform them. Recently proposed reforms will penetrate deeper and become institutionalized as the CPC vows to push forward reform in all areas with “greater resolution and courage” over the next five years. Experts believe that the CPC has the ability to draw on collective wisdom in the face of challenges, adapt to changes and implement its decisions with efficiency. Despite the challenges facing it, the CPC will advance its reforms by using a practical, flexible and open-minded style of governance. Mr. Zhang Liqun said the country’s socialist market economy is not a fixed mode pursued by the CPC. “It is a path of reform that is meant to keep pace with the times. Deep-rooted problems will be solved through reforms when the time comes,” Mr. Zhang said. “The success of the socialist market economy is an important contribution to the world. It was made by the Chinese people under the CPC’s leadership,” said Prof. Xie Chuntao in the book Why and How the CPC Works in China.
Xinhua