Re-birth of a Great Nation – The Rise of China

China - the workshop of the world

by John Maryon

Millions of workers were inspired during first half of the 20th Century by the unprecedented growth of the world's first workers’ state. Under the leaderships of Lenin and Stalin the Soviet Union made many historic achievements.
    Revisionism ultimately destroyed the USSR, but the Red Banner is today carried forward by People's China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. I would like to examine the impact of the dramatic rise of China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its role in the world today.
    The new people's governments in both Russia and China faced similar challenges with peasants and an emerging working class living in near feudal conditions with mass poverty. Each applied Marxism, adapted to their own specific conditions, to build socialism. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC and chairman of the Central Military Commission, was re-elected as President of the People's Republic of China for a further five years at the 2023 National People's Congress. Xi, who comes from a humble background, has remained a man of the people and is well respected in his homeland.
    At the 2023 National Congress, Xi Jinping spoke of the challenges facing the nation and the objectives for the current development period. He said that China would unswervingly advance high quality development on the journey of building a great modern socialist country. The President called for innovation and open development that was green and would benefit everyone. Whilst rural poverty had been eliminated, further efforts were still needed to advance rural revitalisation. He also spoke of the need for self-reliance in the face of US sanctions and called for protecting the nation's security with “A Great Wall of Steel”. He stressed that Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were integral parts of People's China.
    China's GDP grew by three per cent during the last year to 121 trillion Yuan and is planned to rise by 5.2 per cent in the current year as the country emerges from its strict Covid restriction measures. In size its GDP is second only to that of the USA. China will soon surpass the USA, but when population is taken into consideration its per capita value is much less.
    The USA, alarmed at what they see as a challenge to their world domination, have done much to try to undermine China's economy. They have applied sanctions, disrupted supply chains and imposed selfish trade restrictions. No doubt they hoped that companies such as Huawei would be bankrupted, but the company has responded with an ambitious programme of research and development.
    It in the field of space research that China has been able to demonstrate its rapid advance in science and technology. Soil samples have been returned from the Moon and a rover vehicle soft-landed on Mars. Being banned by the USA from the so-called ‘International Space Station’ has not been a problem. They have built their own and are looking forward to working with other nations in its laboratories. Ambitious plans for the near future include the construction of a manned research station, in co-operation with Russia, at the lunar South Pole.
    China’s military expenditure is set to rise by 7.2 per cent in 2023. By comparison, Japan's rise will be over 20 per cent and Germany 17 per cent. China's defence spending remains at 1.5 per cent of GDP compared with four per cent for the USA.
    The Chinese military is being strengthened and modified to meet increased threats of US aggression. The current US spend is 855 billion dollars compared with China's 225 billion dollars. Xi Jinping said last year that China does not want war but that the era of being bullied was over.
    Unlike the USA, China accepts the fact that we live in a multi-polar world. Its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is designed to promote mutually beneficial co-operation and bring peoples together with investment projects that foster trade and development.
    China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, described the BRI as a “high quality public good initiated by China and jointly built by all partners, whose benefits are shared with the world”. The BRI has provided vital infrastructure, created over 420,000 jobs in countries along the route and helped to lift 40 million people out of poverty. The BRI is the world's broadest and largest platform for international co-operation and offers colossal business opportunities on a win–win basis.
    One of the great achievements of the CPC has been to lift billions out of poverty. Life expectancy in its rural regions, including Tibet and Xinjiang, has more than doubled since people's power was established in 1949. After the eradication of absolute poverty in 2020 China has continued to revitalise its rural areas, which have been left far behind the big cities. Residents of rural areas have less disposable income than urban dwellers. As called for by the People's Congress, the building of new rural homes is being accelerated and greater investment in agriculture, rural infrastructure, education, health and social care are being stepped up. Greater efforts are being made to provide greater opportunities for young people to stay in their home villages.
    The USA is stepping up its efforts to cause trouble and create tensions throughout the globe, in order to provoke wars and conflicts that support its own hegemonic ambitions.
    China on the other hand has emerged to become a powerful force for peace and diplomacy. Two important recent examples were as follows.
    Firstly, Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to establish diplomatic relations following a conference hosted by China. This will be a major setback for US imperialism.
    Secondly, China's peace proposals for Ukraine contained in a 12-point peace plan for the Ukraine conflict. China has called for respecting sovereignty, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities and resuming peace talks. It has also called for resolving the humanitarian crisis, protecting civilians and prisoners of war, keeping nuclear power stations safe, reducing strategic risks, facilitating grain exports and the stopping of all unilateral sanctions while keeping supply chains stable. And as you would expect from China, the promotion of post-conflict reconstruction.
    China's progress in building up its infrastructure has been amazing and has become symbolic of its modernisation. Investments in civil engineering projects, the power network and expansion of the transport network, including rail, air and roads, have been impressive. The total length of China's railways now exceeds 155,000 km, of which 42,000 km are high-speed.
    A further 2,500 km of high-speed links will be added this year. The China–Laos railway, which opened at the end of 2021, has brought economic benefits to both countries, increased trade and encouraged an increase in people-to-people contacts. Regular freight services now operate between China and Europe.
    China is forging new relationships with the multi-polar world. Xi Jinping made an important speech at the recent Dialogue with World Political Party's High-Level Meeting. He called for respect for the diversity of civilizations, underlining the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness. Stressing the importance of the common values of humanity, Xi said: “Peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom are the common aspirations of all people.”
    The president urged countries to keep an open mind in appreciating the perception of values by different civilizations. He called for more people-to-people international exchanges to promote mutual understanding and friendship. He discussed China's path of modernisation and peaceful development that was at variance to the crooked path taken by others in their pursuit of hegemony in a uni-polar world.
    In People's China a great nation has been re-born. A dynamic new political force has emerged, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, which seeks to unite all people and nations to create a beautiful, new multi-polar world. A respectful, peaceful new society based upon Marxism and equal, shared values.