•The government does not need to form an alliance with any group, as long as it treats all groups equally.
•The question whether the Chinese Miracle is replicable in other developing nations does not have a straight answer. There are several factors one should consider in following these footsteps.
Image: Reuters
July 1, 2021, will mark the 100th founding anniversary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).
Very few countries, if any can boast of such political stability in the world. Politics in many countries is characterized by constant bickering and upheavals during transition from one regime to another due to competing economic and political interests. Not even America, the longest running democracy, has been spared this malaise.
By July 2019, CPC had 90.59 million members, making it the largest political party in the country. Indeed, it is fair to say that CPC is the largest political party in the world. More importantly, this party is also strong, because it governs a country of 1.4 billion people.
Starting June 1, 2019, CPC launched a new mantra in order to maintain its leadership role for another century and beyond: “Remain True to Our Original Aspiration & Keep Our Mission Firmly in Mind.” This campaign is based on the following planks:
- Strengthening the political party building process through continuous education
- Push for innovation in theory
- Implement the eight-point austerity rules to stem wastage in public resources
- Adhering to the right approach in selecting people for important positions
- Continue the tough anti-corruption campaign
- Strengthening Building of Party Charters and Party Discipline
According to American political scientist and China watcher Michel Oksenberg, the country's current system defies encapsulation in a single short phrase. Such previous depictions as "totalitarianism", a "Leninist party state", "fragmented authoritarianism", "soft authoritarianism" or "bureaucratic pluralism" miss the complexity of China's state structure today.
The reason why China has achieved miraculous development in the past 30 years is fundamentally because the CPC-led Chinese government made decisions based on its own national conditions, emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and advancing with the times. The ruling party in China is not a rigid ideological party, but a truth-seeking and pragmatic party.
People wonder how the CPC has managed to keep power for that long with no opposition to its rule. Observers give the following three reasons for the status quo:
- First, the Chinese government is a government that pursues the long-term interests of society.
- Second, the Chinese government is a "disinterestedness government": a government that does not favour certain social groups for a long time. "Disinterestedness" means "not bring personal feelings when observing things", which suggests a characteristic of neutral government.
- Third, a “neutral government” is easy to establish in an equal society, that is, there is no situation in which one group dominates other groups.
Therefore, the government does not need to form an alliance with any group, as long as it treats all groups equally, it can maintain its rule. China has also avoided the influence or pursuit of a Western-style political and democratic system, and has kept off extreme ideologies and values.
In the practices of leading and promoting governance in the new era since the 19th CPC National Congress, Xi has made a series of important expositions and put forward major concepts and ideas with the aim of enriching and developing the Party's theoretical innovations.
Image: Reuters
The third volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" records the practices of the CPC Central Committee in uniting and leading the CPC and Chinese people to make continuing progress in various undertakings of the party and country since the 19th CPC National Congress.
The question whether the Chinese Miracle is replicable in other developing nations does not have a straight answer. There are several factors one should consider in following these footsteps.
In China, there are over 30 provinces and the development mold in each province is different. In a developing world, some of the unique experiences or elements need to be adapted to the local scenario, whereas other experiences are universal.
Different cultures and civilisations differ from each other. Therefore, the degree of assimilation depends on its capacity, conditions and historical civilisation. CPC was chosen by history and the Chinese people. China has also learned from and adopted different approaches other nations.
Ultimately, however, each case should be taken by its own merit. For any country to develop, it needs to apply the principles of self-reliance and determination. Self-guidance and confidence of a country is the first step of the long journey towards development.