Press conference: CPC's united front and international relations
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 23, 2017
Guo Weimin:
Thank you, Mr. Zhang. I now give the floor to Mr. Guo Yezhou.
Guo Yezhou:
Good morning, everyone. I am pleased to meet you all. Just now, I heard a journalist from a TV station introducing the IDCPC to the audience, saying that "this is a department with which you may not be familiar." I'd like to thank the press center of the 19th CPC National Congress for this opportunity to introduce the CPC's foreign relations work. The IDCPC, a functional organ directly under the CPC Central Committee, is responsible for interactions and exchanges between the CPC and political parties and political organizations from other countries. In the past few days, we've been conscientiously studying, discussing and seeking to comprehend the report to the 19th CPC National Congress delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping on behalf of the 18th CPC Central Committee. In that report, he made a systematic review of the extraordinary undertakings and historic changes made by the Party in the past five years, as well as the country's overall diplomacy.
General Secretary Xi Jinping described the Party's foreign relations work as "one of the important fronts of the Party and an important integral part of the country's overall diplomacy." This dual role seems to be a logical starting point for my introduction of the CPC's foreign relations work, which has made extraordinary strides and achieved historic shifts in the past five years.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and thanks to the full support and broad participation of the entire Party membership as well as the various localities and all the central Party and government departments, the IDCPC has pressed ahead with its work under the principle of "independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs." It has constantly sought to deepen exchanges with political parties and political organizations from other countries. In the past five years, this can be summed up in the following five aspects.
First, we have deepened inter-party exchanges and promoted communication and understanding of each other's central ideas.
Political parties play an important role in the political life of most countries. Dialogues between political parties facilitate deeper consensus in terms of values and developmental orientation, and strengthen political power for developing international relations.
This is quite true.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, our Party has been constantly deepening bilateral and multilateral exchanges with all walks of life in various countries as well as with fraternal political parties.
During the process, the CPC has not only emphasized exchanges with political parties from other countries with similar ideas and concepts, but also those differing from us. To date, the CPC has maintained regular exchanges with over 400 political parties and organizations in more than 160 countries. A new omni-dimensional, wide-ranging and multi-channel framework for exchanges between political parties has now been established.
One thing I want to emphasize is how General Secretary Xi Jinping and other leaders of the CPC Central Committee and the central government meet personally with the leaders of political parties from other countries and engage in exchanges and communication with them, which facilitates strategic mutual understanding and political guidance.
Second, it is very important to tell stories well to win more understanding and support.
The CPC forms the core of the leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. To understand China, one needs first to know the CPC. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the international community has been paying closer attention to China, the CPC, and General Secretary Xi Jinping's new thoughts on the governance of China.
To respond to this closer attention from the international community, we have worked hard to tell stories of the CPC and interpret the major policies of the Party as well as General Secretary Xi Jinping's new thoughts on the governance of China.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have always hosted themed briefings and seminars, not only after the conclusion of the 18th CPC National Congress but also every plenary session, to provide a comprehensive introduction to foreign friends showing interest in these events. After the end of the 19th CPC National Congress, we will host a themed briefing in Beijing to which we will invite several experts, document drafters and heads of related departments of the CPC to discuss the overall guiding principles of the Congress. Moreover, we will also send delegations abroad to provide similar introductions. I can say that the footprints of CPC delegations now cover the five continents.
Those events are designed mainly to introduce General Secretary Xi Jinping's new thoughts on the governance of China. The 19th CPC National Congress has introduced a new concept, that is, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We are actively introducing the Party's governance concept, sharing its governing experience, and deepening international understanding and support for these new explorations and new practices of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Third, our activities serve to promote the overall diplomacy and safeguard national interests.
Safeguarding national interests is a vital part of all kinds of external interactions and exchanges. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out on many occasions that the biggest feature and the primary task of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics is to uphold the CPC's centralized and unified leadership in foreign relations work, its ruling party status and the overall political security of the country. This is also the most important task for our external interactions.
In the past five years, we have focused on the country's major diplomatic agenda to safeguard national sovereignty, security and overall development interests.
From the Hangzhou G20 Summit to the Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation, and to the recent BRICS Xiamen Summit, the Party's diplomatic work has been most active. Many international partners have offered strong support for the Party in those events, which has made us believe more than ever in the saying that one's "virtues will bring a wide circle of friends."
Fourth, there is a strong emphasis on promoting people-to-people connectivity and consolidating the social foundation for international relations.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized many times: "Friendship, which derives from close contact between the people, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations." Keeping close contact with the public is a good tradition of the Party. Therefore, when engaging in communication with political parties from other countries, we not only need to interact and make friends with political figures and leaders of those parties, but also enhance public diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy.
I will only offer one example: after the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward, the IDCPC has supported related think tanks to build an alliance for the initiative, which includes major national research institutions as well as 100 foreign organizations that cover mainstream think tanks in the Belt and Road countries. As the ruling party, the CPC also strongly supports domestic social organizations in their drive to go global and get involved in international events held by NGOs. We also support domestic social institutions and groups to cooperate with their counterparts in the Belt and Road countries, and thus promote people-to-people connectivity, deepen friendship and drive cooperation in the promotion of individual livelihood.
Fifth, we desire to make friends worldwide and work together for peace and development.
China's peace and development needs understanding and support from various circles. Similarly, the great cause of peace and development for the entire human race calls for wide participation and efforts.
As a department responsible for external interactions, the IDCPC has long been dedicated to the mission of making friends worldwide and working together for peace and development. In our specific work, we not only make friends with the ruling, participating and even non-ruling political parties and political organizations in various countries, but also maintain exchanges with friends from various sectors of society including think tanks, media and civil society groups.
If you keep up with the news, you will notice that there are political parties and political figures, including heads of state and heads of government, as well as some heads of organizations worldwide sending congratulatory messages every day to the CPC on holding the present congress since it opened. They have expressed good wishes for the CPC and also provided many good suggestions for international relations and inter-party communications in the future. We can say that the CPC has a wide circle of international friends that incorporates both ruling and non-ruling parties as well as State organizations and the civil society.
During his report to the 19th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping said: "The Communist Party of China strives for both the wellbeing of the Chinese people and human progress. To make new and greater contributions for mankind is our Party's abiding mission."
A party with such a lofty aim is bound to have more friends.
Dear friends, General Secretary Xi Jinping said in his report that the CPC will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with political parties and organizations from other countries. The amendment to the Party Constitution also requires that we should develop relations with the communist parties as well as other political parties in various countries in accordance to the principle of "independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs."
As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era and embarks on a new journey, we will, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, study hard and implement the guiding principles of the 19th CPC National Congress, make more progress in our work for external interactions, and make new and bigger contributions to carrying out our great struggle, developing our great project, promoting our great cause and achieving our great dream.
Thank You.
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