Strengthening Cooperation Among Political Parties to Jointly Pursue the People's Wellbeing
( 2021.07.06 )
Keynote Address by H.E. Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Central Committee of The Communist Party of China
And President of the People's Republic of China
At the CPC and World Political Parties Summit
Beijing, 6 July 2021
Your Excellencies leaders of political parties,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
It gives me great pleasure to join you, leaders of more than 500 political parties, political and other organisations from over 160 countries as well as the ten thousand and more representatives of political parties and various circles, at this cloud event to discuss the important question of "working for the people's wellbeing and the responsibility of political parties", just as the Communist Party of China (CPC) reaches its one hundredth anniversary. Over the past weeks, more than 600 political parties, political and other organisations from over 170 countries have sent 1500-plus congratulatory messages and letters on the CPC's centenary conveying their goodwill and best wishes. I wish to take this opportunity to express to all of you, on behalf of the Communist Party of China, our heartfelt thanks!
A few days ago, we celebrated the CPC's centenary with a grand gathering. Over the past hundred years, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people in working ceaselessly towards the tremendous transformation of the Chinese nation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong. Over the past hundred years, the CPC has persisted in closely associating the future of the Chinese people with that of other peoples of the world and steered the course of China's development amid the general trend of the world and the currents of the times to promote common development and prosperity of all countries.
The historic achievements the CPC and the Chinese people have made would not have been possible without the generous support of world peoples.
Here, on behalf of the CPC and the Chinese people, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to political parties, peoples and friends of all countries who have cared about, supported and helped the CPC and the cause of revolution, development and reform in China.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
The world today is undergoing profound transformation unseen in a century, amid which the trend of multi-polarity and economic globalisation is experiencing a sea change, and countries are becoming increasingly intertwined, interdependent and interconnected. To cope with COVID-19, restart the economy, and safeguard world stability, the international community has made strenuous efforts. Political parties in various countries have also exhibited a strong sense of responsibility by making active explorations. Meanwhile, in some places, wars and conflicts are still raging, famine and diseases remain prevalent, and estrangement and confrontation grow even deeper. The call for a better life from people of all countries is becoming all the more loud and clear.
Today, human society has once again found itself at a historic crossroads. It is about hostile confrontation or mutual respect, seclusiveness and decoupling or openness and cooperation, zero-sum game or win-win results. The choice is in our hands and the responsibility falls on our shoulders.
The human race is an integral community and the planet Earth its homeland. In the face of common challenges, no person or country can remain insulated. The only way out is to work together in harmony with one accord. Political parties, as an important force behind human progress, need to set the right course forward and shoulder their historic responsibility to ensure the people's wellbeing and pursue human progress. In my view, political parties need to work even harder on the following:
First, we need to shoulder the responsibility to steer the course by seizing and shaping the shared future for mankind. People aspire to affluence and contentment. They yearn for fairness and justice. Great times call for grand architecture, and grand architecture calls for great vision. Viewed from the perspective of "my own country first", the world is a cramped and crowded place perpetuated in fierce competition. Viewed from the perspective of "a global community with a shared future", the world is a vast and broad place full of cooperation opportunities. We need to heed the voices of the people, follow the trend of the times and strengthen coordination and cooperation. By doing so, the interests of the people of one country will be kept in line with those of all others and humanity will move forward towards a shared future.
Second, we need to shoulder the responsibility to build consensus by upholding and promoting the common values of humanity. Despite differences among countries in history, culture, institution and level of development, their peoples do subscribe to the common values of humanity for peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. With a strong sense of responsibility for the future of all mankind, we need to champion the common values of humanity, foster broad-minded tolerance toward the understanding of values by different civilisations, and respect the explorations of different peoples to turn values into reality. By doing so, the common values of humanity will be translated into the practice of individual countries to serve the interests of their own people in a concrete and realistic way.
Third, we need to shoulder the responsibility to promote development by bringing greater benefits to all peoples in a fairer manner. Development holds the key to the people's wellbeing. On the road to the wellbeing of all mankind, no country or nation should be left behind. All countries and nations are equally entitled to development opportunities and rights to development. We need to face squarely up to major problems such as wealth gap and development divide, with particular attention and care given to underdeveloped countries and regions, and impoverished people so that hope prevails in every corner of the world. As an ancient Chinese adage goes, "Those who only seek comfort for themselves will ultimately be rejected and those who sacrifice their own interests for the success of others will be supported". Development is the right of all countries, rather than an exclusive privilege of the few. We need to enable all countries to step up development cooperation, and see to it that the fruits of development are shared by all. We need to bring greater equity, higher efficiency and stronger synergy to global development, and jointly oppose the practice of seeking technology blockade and divide as well as decoupling. I believe that, in the final analysis, any political manipulation for the purpose of sabotaging the development of other countries and undercutting the livelihood of other peoples will receive little support and prove to be futile.
Fourth, we need to shoulder the responsibility to enhance cooperation by working together to address global risks and challenges. In the face of the on-going COVID-19, we need to continue with a science-based response approach and advocate solidarity and cooperation so as to close the "immunization gap". We must oppose the practice of politicising the pandemic or attaching a geographical label to the virus. We need to work together to build a global community of health for all. In the face of terrorism and other common enemies of mankind, we need to pursue security and stability through cooperation so as to tighten the security fences together. In the face of the fragile ecological environment, we need to respect Mother Nature, follow the laws of Nature and protect her so as to build a green homeland together. In the face of the severe challenges to human existence and development brought about by climate change, we need to be brave enough to take responsibilities and work as one to find a way of harmonious co-existence between man and Nature.
Fifth, we need to shoulder the responsibility to improve governance by enhancing our capacity to ensure the people's wellbeing. There are different pathways toward wellbeing. People of all countries are entitled to choose their own development paths and institutional models. This, in itself, is what wellbeing entails. In the same vein, democracy is the right of all peoples, rather than an exclusive privilege of the few. There are multiple ways and means to realise democracy, instead of a single stereotype. The judgment on whether a country is democratic or not should be made by their people, not by the handful of others. To advance political democracy in a way that suits the national conditions of a country, we need to strengthen exchanges and mutual-learning, improve mechanisms for communication, be fully aware of the public opinion, put into place well-fledged institutions and enhance our governance capacity. By doing so, our capacity and efficacy to ensure the people's wellbeing will be elevated continuously.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Working for the people's wellbeing has been the original aspiration the Communist Party of China cherishes all the way. With the goal of moderate prosperity in all respects achieved, China has embarked on a new journey towards building a modern socialist country. The Chinese people are brimming with a greater sense of fulfillment, happiness and security with each passing day. It is the unswerving goal of the CPC to run our own house well, ensure a happy life for the 1.4 billion plus Chinese people, and advance the lofty cause of promoting peace and development of all mankind. The CPC will continue to uphold the people-centred development philosophy, reflect upon the overarching issues of national rejuvenation and human progress in the greater context of time and space and lead the entire Chinese people in creating an even better tomorrow through ceaseless pursuit and in an enterprising spirit.
As history has taught us, we can only embrace the future when we embrace the world, and can only travel safe and sound when we walk together. The CPC stands ready to work with world political parties to live our dreams and act to create a better future. Let us always be builders of world peace, advocates for global development, and guardians of the international order.
--The CPC will unite and lead the Chinese people in pressing ahead with the Chinese-style modernisation to make new contributions to humanity's search for ways to modernise. Proceeding from reality in all it does, the CPC has led the Chinese people in finding, through trial and error, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. History and practice have proven and will continue to prove that this is not only the correct path that works, but also the sure path that pays off. We will unswervingly follow the path leading to a bright future to ensure that development is pursued for both our own good and the benefit of the world. There doesn't exist a fixed model for the path to modernisation, and the one that suits you well will serve you well. Cutting one's feet to fit the shoes will lead nowhere. All efforts of individual countries to independently explore the path to modernisation in light of their specific national conditions are worthy of respect. The CPC is willing to share with political parties of all countries modernisation experience to enrich each other's toolbox to modernisation for better ensuring the wellbeing of their own people and all other peoples.
--The CPC will unite and lead the Chinese people in taking comprehensive steps to deepen reform and opening up to make new contributions to shared development and prosperity of all countries of the world. Currently, economic globalisation, despite facing considerable headwinds, has in storage even greater impetus to move forward. On the whole, the impetus prevails over the headwinds and the trend towards opening-up and cooperation in all countries remains unchanged, and will not change. The CPC is ready to enhance communication with world political parties in steering economic globalisation towards greater openness, inclusiveness, balance and win-win results. We stand ready to work with the international community to improve global connectivity and further promote high quality Belt and Road cooperation, so that more countries and peoples will be able to share the fruits of development.
--The CPC will shoulder its responsibilities as a major political party in a major country to make new contributions to improving the wellbeing of mankind. The eradication of poverty has been a common aspiration of people of all countries and an important objective that all political parties strive to achieve. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, all the 98.99 million rural residents living below the current poverty line in China have been lifted out of poverty, enabling China to meet the poverty reduction target set out in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. The CPC is willing to contribute more Chinese solutions and Chinese strength to the poverty reduction process worldwide. It will spare no effort to support international cooperation against COVID-19 and to enhance the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries. China will make extremely arduous efforts in delivering its promise of achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality and contribute more to the global fight against climate change. China is going to host the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, where parties will consult with one another on new strategies for biodiversity and embark on a new journey of global biodiversity governance.
--The CPC will actively improve global governance to make new contributions to humanity's joint response to common challenges. Multilateralism has been the core concept of the current international system and order. The better multilateralism is practiced, the faster humanity’s common problems will be resolved. International rules should be based on universally-recognised norms rather than rules of the few. Cooperation among countries should aim at serving all mankind instead of seeking hegemony by way of group politics. We should stand opposed to the practice of unilateralism disguised as multilateralism and say no to hegemony and power politics. Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, China is of the view that matters concerning all shall be handled through joint consultation so that the international order and system will be more just and equitable. I wish to reiterate that China will always be a member of the developing world, and is committed to enhancing their representation and voice in the global governance system. China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence. The CPC will work with political parties of all countries to promote state-to-state coordination and cooperation through party-to-party consultation and cooperation and bring into better play the due role of political parties in global governance.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Our journey ahead will be a long and arduous one. But as long as we press ahead with a sense of perseverance, there will be much to expect. There will be twists and turns down the road, but hopes abound. The CPC stands ready to continue to work with political parties and political organisations of all countries to stand on the right side of history and the progressive side of mankind. Let us make even greater contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and that of a better world!
I thank you all.
