Reflections of a Great Silk Road

by John Maryon

East—west trade routes were first established between Europe and China during the Han Dynasty in the second century BC. Columns of camels, ideally suited to the formidable terrain, carried silk, spices, tea, silver, gold, salt and sugar along the 4,350 mile road.  Trading posts and markets were established which enabled trade between diverse cultures.  The Silk Road remained in existence for over 1,500 years linking the civilisations of Europe and China. 
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China's President Xi Jinping in the autumn of 2013.  Within 10 years it has grown into the largest infrastructure and Investment project ever undertaken.  A total of 172 countries and international organisations have signed over 200 co-operation agreements with China.  Sour grapes claims by Western leaders that it is running out of steam, is a debt trap and allows China to dominate others have been debunked as over 2,500 delegates including presidents, prime ministers, bankers, technical experts and government officials arrived in Beijing for the Third Forum of BRI.  It was a dramatic demonstration of the building of a new multipolar world order based upon mutual cooperation. It will enable smaller and weaker nations to resist US hegemony while forming a platform for green, sustainable development. 
December 2021 saw completion of the China - Laos 1,035 km. High Speed Railway (HSR) connecting Kunming in south west China with the Laotian capital city of Vientiane. The flagship project was fully in line with the policy of Laos to develop from a land locked country to a land linked one.  Since it opened it has carried some 3, 270, 000 passengers and each day moves 8230 tonnes of freight.  The previous 4 day journey has been cut from 4 days to just 10 hours. Increased employment and entrepreneurial opportunities have been created for residents along the line.  Tourism has increased rapidly and many opportunities created for people to people contact.  Such projects are essentially long term  investment ventures and the route is expected to make a profit in 20 years. 
BRI for land locked central Asian republics is creating important opportunities through infrastructure projects. Roads, rail links, pipelines and power grids act a catalyst for further developments that boost trade and economic development.  China has been able to use the expertise gained, from lifting 800,000 of its own people out of severe poverty, to enable others also to enjoy increased prosperity.  As poverty is eliminated the attraction of violent extremism becomes reduced. The regions’ new long distance railways facilitate trade between Europe and Asia - a new Silk Road is being created for today.
BRI extends into South East Asia.  Indonesian President Joko Widodo's arrival at the Forum coincided with the first passenger services on the Chinese built Jakarta - Banding HSR.  The 147 km line links the capital with the country's financial centre. 
BRI dovetails with Mongolia's Steppe Road programme.  One objective being to upgrade the Trans-Mongolian rail corridor in association with its neighbours.  Proposals have been made for pipelines that would not only transfer Russian gas to China but enable Mongolia to develop it's own oil and gas resources.  New highways are being built and facilities created to speed up custom clearance. New opportunities are being created to boost exports of minerals, cashmere, meat, wool and coal. As with all BRI it's partners China abides with local laws and customs. 
Speaking in 2022 Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi encouraged Afghanistan and Pakistan to jointly build the BRI.  He said China and those two countries should advance cooperation on economic and political development, counter terrorism and security issues. An  important project in Pakistan is the Karot Hydropower Station that will play an important role in ensuring the country's energy security.  A new road is being built between China and Pakistan that will form part of the China - Pakistan Corridor.  
The spread of BRI far exceeds the limits of the original Silk Road as it spreads worldwide.  Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, attended the Bejing Forum and had talks with his Chinese counterpart.  He was the only EU leader to attend the milestone event.  Hungary was the first European country to sign a BRI cooperation agreement with China. Current projects in Hungary include the construction of the 350 km railway linking the cities of Budapest and the Serbian capital Belgrade.  China is to build a huge car plant that will produce electric vehicles in Hungary.  The country's positive approach is in sharp contrast to the collapsing and dysfunctional EU whose weak leaders have been led into a dependence trap by the US. 
Many world leaders attended the BRI Forum in Beijing.  President Putin of Russia was the guest of honour at the celebration event.  In his speech he spoke of forming closer links with the Eurasian  countries and outlined railway developments linking his vast country with the world.  He said that the world today is experiencing revolutionary changes as more countries seek to build a new architecture of international relations that is fairer and based upon mutual respect and mutual benefit. 
Smiles all round as Putin was warmly greeted by Xi Jinping when the two leaders met at the Forum.  Cooperation between the two great nations has never been better.  Cross border infrastructure projects such as the Tongjiang river bridge will help boost trade further. Work is underway to connect China's Northeastern rail network with Russia's Siberian railways. Emphasis was placed on work to link BRI with the Eurasian Economic Union. 
The involvement of BRI in Africa and the Middle East has seen remarkable progress.  A total of 62 States in the region have joined the initiative , most of which have low income and are eager to escape the poverty trap.  A number of key construction projects are starting to have a positive impact.  Five years ago only 40 per cent of Africans had access to electricity and only 33 per cent paved roads. BRI is starting to change all that. The main focus of Chinese investment has been  transport and energy. It is estimated that 10,000 Chinese firms operate  in the region. A typical project is the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway linking landlocked Ethiopia to the sea. To the north, in the Middle East, Syria is joining to participate in creating a corridor linking it to Iran via Iraq.  The opportunity exists to bring prosperity and hope to a whole region destroyed by US imperialism. 
In 2015  NATO member, Turkey, signed a Memorandum of Understanding.  Trade with China is expanding and work is underway to construct rail links to Central Asia and beyond. 
To Washington’s dismay, 21other states in the Americas have joined BRI.  In Argentina the 1310 MW Santa Cruz River Hydroelectric Station is being built with 70 per cent finance from China.  Construction will allow local workers to acquire new skills.  On completion 5,000 direct jobs with a further 15,000 in associated industries will be created.  Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, is not a member but cooperation grows stronger each passing day.  China and Cuba have vowed to deepen practical cooperation.  Joint trade and development initiatives are being pursued in the telecommunications, mining and energy sectors. The successful growth of BRI takes place as US influence declines. 

The East is Red!

by J Sykes

 
The East is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century Carlos Martinez, Praxis Press Glasgow 2023, 238 pp £17:00

The book begins by acknowledging that there is a great deal of ignorance and confusion, especially in the imperialist countries, about People’s China. Martinez writes, “Even among socialists and communists, there are misconceptions and important gaps in understanding.” He addresses these issues head on.
The first chapter focuses on the continuities of the revolution in China, from the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1921 until today. Martinez gives an overview of the history of the Chinese revolution and defends that legacy of Mao Zedong, while giving a balanced account of Mao’s more controversial initiatives, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
For example, while acknowledging that the turmoil and disruption of the Cultural Revolution significantly impeded China’s development, he also points out that it “had a more directly useful outcome” in terms of preventing the “ideological decay that was taking place in the Soviet Union.” Martinez says it “set the parameters of how far Reform and Opening Up could go” and “laid the groundwork for Deng Xiaoping’s Four Cardinal Principles, which the CPC continues to observe today: 1) We must keep to the socialist road; 2) We must uphold the people’s democratic dictatorship; 3) We must uphold the leadership of the Communist Party; 4) We must uphold Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.
Furthermore, he explains that the movement to send young intellectuals down to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution “was a crucial factor in the development of a new generation of young intellectuals with a close understanding of the needs of the peasantry and the situation in the countryside.” It is noteworthy that Chinese President Xi Jinping was himself sent to the countryside as part of this movement.
Looking at the post-1978 Reform and Opening Up period initiated by Deng Xiaoping, Martinez recognises that many see this period as “a turning point in the wrong direction” but argues against this view. Instead, Martinez notes, “Deng Xiaoping’s strong belief was that, unless the government delivered on a significant improvement in people’s standard of living, the entire socialist project would lose its legitimacy and therefore be in peril.”
This is a point that Martinez returns to later arguing that the combination of economic stagnation and ideological decay in the Soviet Union led to the collapse of socialism in the USSR.
This point should be made clearer. Indeed, while the material basis of Soviet revisionism was rooted in the economic reforms of the Khrushchev period, which emphasised market reforms, profitability, material incentives, and so on, a deciding factor was the question of the class struggle in the superstructure and the abandonment of Marxism-Leninism by the Soviet leadership. Contrast China’s Four Cardinal Principles with Khrushchev’s revisionist theses of the “state of the whole people” and “party of the whole people,” negating the class character of the USSR and Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and it is easy to see the gulf that stands between the two approaches.
Martinez rightly notes that the CPC’s reform period took a “grass-roots” approach that was “patient, incremental, and results-oriented” while the Gorbachev “reforms” that brought about the final restoration of capitalism in the USSR in 1991, were undemocratically imposed on the Soviet people, rather than leveraging the creativity of the Soviet masses.
Martinez explains “although China’s reform process served to introduce market forces into the economy, the whole process was carried out under the tight control of the government and took place within the context of a planned economy.” Indeed, the commanding heights of the Chinese economy remain state owned, with state owned enterprises making up 60 per cent of the economy; and most of the value created by the working class in China is socially distributed, going towards the betterment of society. And while the revisionists in the Soviet Union attacked the history of the USSR and spent 30 years dismantling the rule of the proletariat and its party, the opposite has taken place in China, where the CPC maintains its central, leading role, based on the scientific application of Marxism to Chinese conditions. In fact, when rightists in the CPC led by Zhao Ziyang tried to restore capitalism in 1989, the CPC stood firm in its commitment to the socialist road.
A highlight of the book is a careful and thorough analysis of China’s long war against poverty. China has eradicated extreme poverty. What does this mean? 
“At the start of the targeted poverty alleviation programme in 2014,” Martinez writes, “just under 100 million people were identified as living below the poverty line; seven years later, the number was zero.” The Chinese government defines extreme poverty alleviation in terms of what it calls the “two assurances and three guarantees.” As Martinez explains, “The two assurances are for adequate food and clothing; the three guarantees are for access to medical services, safe housing with drinking water and electricity, and at least nine years of free education.” He contrasts this to the advanced capitalist countries, where nothing is promised, where profit is more important than people, and where poverty and inequality are on the rise.
Likewise, the book highlights China’s commitment to ecological development. Martinez writes that “Over the last decade in particular, China has emerged as the undisputed leader in the fight against climate breakdown, and the results of this leadership are reverberating globally.”
Against the charge from some, even on the Left, that China is imperialist, Martinez argues that “imperialism doesn’t look like this.” He explains the Leninist theory of imperialism as monopoly capitalism. According to Lenin, imperialism is based on the concentration of capital into monopolies, whereby the economy becomes dominated by a “financial oligarchy.” The export of capital takes centRE stage, and monopolist capitalist associations share the world among themselves, leading to the total division of the world among the imperialist powers. The October Revolution in 1917 ruptured this imperialist chain, and the other socialist countries, including China, followed suit.
Against the claim that China is imperialist, The East is Still Red emphasizes that China’s role in the developing world is qualitatively different from that of the imperialist countries. It acknowledges that imperialism has the function of locking in underdevelopment, while China’s role encourages development while respecting sovereignty. The book discusses this issue in terms of China’s role in “building a multipolar world.” The concept of “multipolarity” doesn’t really get to the heart of the issue, however, as Martinez himself acknowledges by saying that “the multipolar narrative doesn’t make explicit reference to anti-imperialism.”
Indeed, it would be clearer to understand the place of China in relation to the four fundamental contradictions operating on a world scale: the contradiction between the working class and the capitalists, the contradiction between the imperialist powers, the contradiction between the imperialists and the oppressed nations, and the contradiction between the imperialists and the socialist countries. Of these, the contradiction between the imperialists and the oppressed nations is primary, meaning it is the contradiction that is driving things on a world scale. What China is doing is providing aid to the countries of the developing world that allows them to avoid the liberalisation, privatisation, domination and plunder that are central to the neo-colonialist approach of the imperialist countries. While this development isn’t sufficient to bring socialism to those countries, it does serve to further weaken imperialism.
Importantly, Martinez also discusses the growing drive for war against China from the imperialist powers, especially the United States. He explains how the US attempts to manufacture consent for aggression against China, and answers the propaganda with facts. Against the “Third Camp” Trotskyites who say “Neither a Washington nor Beijing,” Martinez is clear that they are, in fact, playing right into the hands of the imperialists.
The bulk of Chapter Five is devoted to debunking the imperialist accusations that China is committing human rights abuses against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. The book refutes the lie that the Chinese government is committing “cultural genocide” and is operating “concentration camps”. Similarly, it exposes the role of the U.S. in attempting to destabilize Xinjiang.
The book ends with a call to “unite to oppose the U.S.-led New Cold War on China,” and says that “All those that oppose imperialism must resolutely and consistently oppose the U.S.-led New Cold War in all its manifold forms.” This is certainly true, and this book makes a great contribution towards that effort.
Fightback News (USA)

 

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.

China’s immense achievements

by Dilip Barua
General Secretary, Communist Party of Bangladesh (ML)

The Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded on 23rd July 1921, in Shanghai. The birth of the Chinese communist party has now given a message to the world community that the historical mission of the founding of the CPC has succeeded for humanity. Following the ceaseless struggles and sacrifices of the Chinese people, the New China stood up on the 1st October 1949, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China led by Comrade Mao Zedong.
    History shows us that the CPC had a deep-rooted connection with the people, and the leaders were firm and committed to their causes and objectives. The party made some mistakes during the struggle but today’s leaders, having taken lessons from the mistakes of the past, have moved forward in a determined way. The outstanding quality of the CPC leadership is that they can feel accurately the pulse of the time, social development and the international situation. After the founding of New China, the leadership led the country in proper way and gradually transformed China into a modern, advanced and technologically developed country.
    After the collapse of the Soviet Union and in other socialist countries, the world communist movement was at a low ebb. The leadership of the CPC gathered experience from the collapse of the different socialist countries, subsequently formulating objective policies based on creative Marxism in localised form and upholding the banner of Marxism and Leninism. People’s China has now become the centre of the international communist movement.
    The western countries tried their best to transform the colour of China in the name of neo-liberalism, but western political scientists failed totally in this. The country is developing rapidly with its own model. The COVID-19 pandemic has also exposed deep flaws in the western systems. China’s achievement in its COVID-19 fight is a comprehensive manifestation of the capacity and capability of the people’s government. US political scientists now regard China as an ideological enemy. This perspective will continue to exist for a much longer period.
    The CPC, led by Comrade Xi Jinping, is upholding the banner of socialism. The Chinese government is continuing to run the administration, covering every aspect of social development, on this principle. Based on Comrade Xi Jinping’s farsightedness and thoughtfulness, the Chinese government has succeeded in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The coronavirus has so far caused huge casualties and economic devastation throughout the world and even in China. But the CPC under the leadership of Comrade Xi was giving priority to protect lives, minimising the number of deaths, concentrating all their efforts on containing the onslaught of the coronavirus and finally to winning the battle. The Chinese government and the CPC also sent enormous support and materials needed to control the pandemic to different countries and political parties, including Bangladesh. This is the ethos of fraternal assistance. For this reason, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the People of China, the Chinese Government and the CPC for their solidarity with us.
    The Chinese government has focused objectively on the economic problems of the country, accelerating the momentum of economic growth. At the same time, they took into account the COVID-19 pandemic that has put the entire world economy into severe recession, disrupted industrial supply chains, and caused a contraction in international trade and investment, and volatility in commodity markets.
    Furthermore, the Chinese government has identified small and medium businesses that face growing difficulties as well as the pressure on employment that has risen significantly. To gear up the economic momentum, the Chinese government has taken pragmatic decisions such as supporting with stimulus packages. The people of the world are now witnessing China’s all-out success in controlling COVID-19 and creating a faster economic pace. On the other hand, the western countries and their followers are lagging behind in all respects, and still suffering from the devastating effects of COVID-19 as well as economic depression.
    In the prevailing world order, the Chinese people are relatively much better in all respects and are moving forward to build up a prosperous and harmonious world. The Chinese government has reformed its policies over time and has been proven capable of leading the people to brave difficulties to win victory after victory in the revolution, reforms and economic emancipation.
    Since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on 1st October 1949, the Chinese people have done everything in their own way and developed their own model on the basis of their own national interest. The Chinese government has developed the basic foundation of industrial growth, continuing the reform process and technical innovation whilst improving the cultural conditions of the people.
    China has risen from being a semi-feudal, semi-colonial and culturally backward country, to become the second largest economy in the world. This is the glorious achievement of the CPC, and in this process the party will lead China to achieve its goal to become the number one economic giant.
    After the founding of the PRC production was low. Socio-economic conditions were backwards, and poverty was an integral part of the-then social systems. Poverty was gradually reduced but total alleviation of poverty has not been possible so far. In 2015, after becoming the General Secretary of the CPC, Comrade Xi said that poverty was the barrier that prevented China from transforming into a developed nation. He introduced stimulus packages and by the end of 2017 China’s rural population in poverty dropped from 98.99 million to 30.46 million – an impressive reduction rate of 70 per cent! Moreover, thanks to Comrade Xi’s party work at the end of the 1980s, Ningde prefecture, which was primarily a backward rural area in Fujian province, developed into to a modern and prosperous region. Since then, Comrade Xi has tirelessly worked to eradicate poverty entirely in People’s China.
    Under his able leadership, China will become a poverty-free society by the end of 2020. This will be earth-shattering news, particularly for western political scientists.
    Based on the Chinese model, the PRC has mobilised to eradicate poverty in a revolutionary drive to end the legacy of thousands of years of feudal society.
    Only the CPC could do it. Upholding the banner of Marxism and Leninism and continuing to develop the ideology from time to time with Chinese characteristics by Comrade Mao, Comrade Deng and Comrade Xi.
    Today the CPC under the leadership of Comrade Xi Jinping upholds the banner of socialism and faces all difficulties to make China one of the most modern, prosperous and harmonious countries in the world.

Meeting to tackle global poverty

by New Worker correspondent

 NCP leader Andy Brooks went online to take part in a seminar on how political parties could help poverty eradication, which kicked off on Monday in Eastern China's Fujian province.
    Ambassadors to China from more than 30 countries, including Pakistan, Egypt and Argentina, joined in the seminar in Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian, whilst delegates from more than 100 political parties worldwide attended via video link.
    The seminar, organised by the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Fujian Party provincial committee, was attended online or offline by nearly 400 participants from more than 100 countries, including representatives of political parties, diplomatic envoys to China, representatives of international organisations in China, media representatives of developing countries, and think-tank scholars.
    `Heads of some foreign countries expressed via video or in writing their appreciation of China's historical achievements in poverty reduction and emphasised the necessity for political parties to play a leading role in building a consensus and promoting co-operation in global poverty eradication.
    Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a message of congratulations to the seminar calling on the international community, including political parties in all countries, to work together to accelerate the process of global poverty reduction because difficulties and challenges in this regard are still severe.
    Xi was a communist leader in Fujian in the past and he elaborated his thoughts on poverty eradication through his experiences in the province. Practices in Fujian such as officials being stationed in villages, sending technicians to poor areas, targeted measures and close monitoring to avoid returning to poverty were subsequently adopted nationwide.
International delegates learned about the poverty eradication experience of Fujian, and shared challenges and efforts of their own countries as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which falls on Saturday this year, approaches. Attendees said this forum was timely in exchanging ideas and practices on poverty alleviation, especially at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic makes the task even more difficult.
    “To eliminate poverty, to improve people's livelihoods and achieve common prosperity are the essential requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics and important missions of the CPC," Xi said.
    Xi, who is also the General Secretary of the CPC, said that since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China has made poverty eradication a key task in achieving its first centenary goal, and it has made a series of major plans and arrangements to fully launch the poverty reduction battle. The issue of absolute poverty, which has plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years, is about to be solved historically.
    “China has the confidence and ability to resolutely win the battle against poverty and realize the poverty reduction goals of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule,” said Xi.
    “Global poverty alleviation efforts have scored huge progress, but the difficulties and challenges are still severe,” he said, calling on the international community, including political parties of all countries, to build a consensus and work together to uphold multilateralism, and maintain peace and stability.
    “It is hoped that through sharing experience and summarising rules, seminar participants can discuss ways to advance the cause of global poverty reduction, enhance confidence in fighting poverty, and contribute to the realisation of the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” the Chinese leader said.