BUILDING A NEW TYPE OF PARTY-TO-PARTY RELATIONS AND CREATING A BETTER WORLD

SONG TAO

Minister, International Department, CPC Central Committee

At the opening ceremony of the CPC in Dialogue with the World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important keynote speech titled Join Hands in Creating a Better World, in which he called for political parties of various countries to enhance mutual understanding, strengthen communication, close ranks with one another in coordination and build a new type of party to party relations featuring seeking common ground while shelving differences, mutual respect and mutual learning on top of exploring for a new type of international relations.

This initiative, once made, was immediately given positive responses by the delegates from various political parties at the high-level meeting and the international community. It is a general view that this initiative rides on the development trend of the times, sets foot on the conditions of world political parties and helps build consensus, rally forces and promote cooperation, bearing important practical significance for building a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly creating a better world.

To build a new type of party-to-party relations further enriches the basic guideline of promoting a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind.It is a fresh theoretical innovation progressing with the time on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era, an important thinking whose scientific connotations and practical value must be grasped on profound level and taken for guidance as we continue to advance the international work of the Party in the new era.

To build a new type of party-to-party relations provides a basic line to go by in developing party-to-party exchange and cooperation under the new situation.Party politics is a basic mode of operation for modern politics. For long,owing to differences in ideology, value orientation and policy choice, it has been problematic for various types of parties to live with one another, resulting in political polarization in quite a few countries.

To build a new type of party-to-party relations featuring seeking common ground while shelving differences, mutual respect and mutual learning points to direction and route for the solution.To seek common ground while shelving differences means to transcend variations and differences in ideology,ethnicity, culture, belief and locality in search for a maximumcommon denominator. Mutual respect means that all parties big or small should be equal, should not interfere with internal affairs of one another, should respect interests and concerns of one another and should respect the way of thinking and choice of path by one another. Mutual learning is to put into practice the teaching of ancient Chinese sage Confucius that “when I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers”, to learn from other’s strong points to make up one’s deficiencies through comparing notes with one another in making common progress, rather than imposing one’s will and views on others,and neither should one export its own system and model nor ask others to reproduce what it practices.

Among the above, seeking common ground while shelving differences is the premise, mutual respect is the key and mutual learning is the end, all three complimenting each other, forming an organic unity and contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind and creating a better world.They are the governing principles and a guide to actions for handling party-to-party relations.

General Secretary Xi Jinping of the Communist Party of China attended the CPC in Dialogue with the World Political Parties High-Level Meeting and delivered a keynote speech at the Opening Ceremony in Beijing, December 1st, 2017.

To build a new type of party-to-party relations carries forward and build on the four principles governing party-toparty relations.In the early 1980s, concerning its relations with other political parties in the world, the CPC established the four principles of “independence,equality, mutual respect and non-interference with each other’s internal affairs” to govern party-to-party relations on the basis of summing up experience and lessons of the past. Since then, the theoretic connotations and scope of applicability of the four principles have continued to develop and become the basic principles for our Party to go by in developing party-to-party ties over the years. Into the newly revised Constitution of Communist Party of China, they are so written again.

To build a new type of party-to-party relations is consistent in spirit and logic with the four principles governing party-to-party ties. It enriches and improves the four principles. Not only does it carry forward “mutual respect”,the core thinking of the latter, it also sets foot on practical conditions of all countries being interrelated and interdependent with highly intertwined interest between them and emphasizes on mutual learning that embodies the spirit of being open and inclusive for win-win cooperation. It goes beyond the boundary of bilateral ties between the CPC and political parties of other countries, providing a “CPC proposal” and public goods for exchange and cooperation of political parties the world over.

Wang Huning,member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee collectively, met with the foreign party leaders attending the CPC in Dialogue with the World Political Parties High-Level Meeting on December 2nd 2017, Beijing.

To build a new type of party-to-party relations is in line with constructing a new type of international relations, both of which complement each other. The key to both of them is mutual respect based on the principle of equality. However, between them the positioning and role may not be exactly the same. On the one hand, nation-states remain the main players of international relations and as basic political organizations within nation-states, it is necessary for partyto-party relations to be influenced and conditioned by state-to-state relations.Building a new type of party-to-party relations cannot be separated from constructing a new type of international relations. It is worth noting that constructing a new type of international relations is the basis for building a new type of party-to-party relations. On the other, political parties are sources of policy making, being representatives of popular will and leaders of public opinions and playing an important role in political life of a country.They are also important forces for progress of human civilization.

In constructing a new type of international relations, it is necessary to allow the full play to political leading role of political parties. It is necessary for political parties to aspire for high and grand, dare to pick up the mantle of leadership, keep in view their countries and the world in overall and long-term perspectives and conscientiously take up the historical mission of constructing a new type of international relations. In order to achieve this, it is of special importance to build a new type of party-toparty relations. If political parties cannot seek common ground while shelving differences, mutually respect and learn from one another but rather go all out to undercut one another, being dragged into the quagmire of disputes and unable to reach consensus on important issues, the toxicity will necessarily have spillover effects on the development of state-to-state relations. In the long-term perspective, only by moving together or meeting one another halfway, can the construction of both types of relations help gather strong forces to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

To build a new type of party-to-party relations is a “CPC proposal” made in light of a changed pattern of political parties, and also a “Chinese proposal” in light of a changed international pattern.We should take the important thinking of General Secretary Xi Jinping on building a new type of party-to-party relations for guidance, do solid work, be enterprising and innovative and continue to optimize the layout of the Party’s international work. We should deepen exchanges with political parties of various countries, share experience on government and party governance, conduct dialogue between civilizations and build on mutual strategic trust. We should painstakingly forge an institutionalized platform of the CPC in dialogue with the world political parties high-level meeting, try to build an international network of party-to-party exchange and cooperation in multiple forms and on multiple levels and make new contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind and creating a better world by working together with political parties and the people of the world.