The International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) recently issued an invitation to the Communist Party of Ireland to attend the 3rd Communist Party Leaders Delegation of North American, Oceanian and Nordic Countries across three venues in Guangdong Province, Guizhou Province and Beijing City.
CPI General Secretary Jimmy Corcoran and National Political Committee Member Cde Gearóid Ó Machail were appointed to represent the CPI, who were joined by delegates from the CPs of Britain, Finland, Sweden, Norway, USA, Canada, Denmark and Australia, as well as representatives from other Parties and the Friends of Socialist China group.
The delegation was welcomed upon arrival at Guangzhou Airport by IDCPC officials and embarked on a busy schedule of activities beginning with a visit on Day One to Guangdong Local Chronicles Museum where they were received and offered a guided tour by Curator Chen Hongliang. The Chronicles Museum was notable for the detailed exhibition on the economic and social development of Guangdong Province, the pilot region for the ‘Reform and Opening Up’ policy adopted by the CPC in December 1978. During the tour of the museum and in the subsequent presentation and Q&A at Guangdong Academy of Social Science (GASS), delegates learned about the details of “socialism with Chinese characteristics” and “the socialist market economy”, concepts formulated in large part by Deng Xiaoping, who is often credited as the “General Architect” of economic and social reform in China.
President Wang Tinghui of the GASS provided a comprehensive presentation on the ‘economic and technological miracle’ experienced by Guangdong Province since the initiation of the reforms. The deployment of outside foreign capital and investment to build up the productive capacity of the local economy under the supervision of the CPC was explained in terms of the need to bring Chinese living standards into line with neighbouring countries in SE Asia. The explosion of financial wealth generated by the ‘socialist market economy’ is being socially invested to the benefit of the entire population of the ‘South Gate of China’ and is also being invested in neighbouring regions to improve general living standards across south-east China.
Delegates then visited a leading medical diagnostic firm, King Med Diagnosis. Founded in 2003 in Guangzhou, KingMed Diagnostics is a third-party medical laboratory group, engaging in four major businesses including medical testing, clinical trials, food and hygiene testing, and scientific research service in 31 cities providing medical test outsourcing services for over 16,000 medical institutions in 27 provinces. The CPC has direct representation on the company’s Board of Directors and delegates met with CPC officials located within the company who informed us that there are over 1,300 CPC comrades organised within the 14,000 workforce.
A further visit was arranged to the Chinese state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Motors). The impressive company was ranked 189th among the world’s top 500 enterprises in 2019. Adhering to the enterprise concept of “Humanity, Credibility, Creativity”, GAC had manufactured 18.3 million cars and 16.8 million motorcycles by 2020. In 2022, GAC’s production and sales both exceeded 2.4 million vehicles.
Day two of the visit commenced with a guided visit to the Thirteen Hongs Museum, filled with stunning artefacts reflecting the rich trading and cultural history of Guangdong Province since the earliest days of the maritime silk road and before. We were received by museum curator Wang Zhen before being treated to a guided tour of the museum’s facilities and fascinating collections.
International Communist Party delegates then proceeded to a meeting with Cde Wang Ruijun, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Committee, accompanied by Party Officials from the Guangdong Foreign Affairs Office, the Communist Youth League Guangdong Community and Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences. A fraternal discussion before delegates followed between Cde Wang and leader of the International Communist Delegation Robert Griffiths, Communist Party of Britain.
Delegates were collected at Guiyang airport and transferred to the CPC Guizhou Provincial Party School where they were to be based for the following three days. The School is a specialist and well equipped training academy for emerging talent and cadres within the CPC. During the first day of their stay in Guizhou, the international delegation of communists experienced a spectacular and rich cultural performance at Guiyang Theatre and were invited onto the stage to meet with a performing cast from many of Guizhou Province’s ethnic minority communities.
On the second day, comrades were greeted by Wu Gangping, Executive Vice President of the Guizhou Provincial Party School and Di Huishen, Counsellor of the Bureau for North American, Oceanic and Nordic Affairs, IDCPC. Both comrades provided comprehensive reports on the aims and work of the Party School, which is the largest of its kind in China.
Presentations followed on economic development and national and social governance and security. Primary level social governance was a key theme of the lecture by Professor Qiu Zhonghui, Director of Teaching and Researching Department of Public Management and comrades learned of the Chinese approach to grassroots social governance as a science based on dialectical and historical materialism. The lectures were a prelude to a visit to the model community of Jinyuan – a primary level Party building demonstration area – where delegates witnessed the efforts of the CPC to enact social governance theory and Party building in a real-life community environment.
This was followed by a further visit to the impressive National Big Data Exhibition Centre. As the country’s first national big-data comprehensive pilot zone, Guizhou Province has been promoting the big-data industry as a backbone of its high-quality social and economic development. According to the local government’s plans, the total output value of the province’s big-data and electronic information industry will exceed 350 billion yuan (about $52.5 billion) by 2025, with the digital economy accounting for around half of its GDP.
The next day saw the delegates shuttled by high speed bullet train to the city of Zunyi, famous for being the location of the Zunyi Conference in 1935, where Mao Zedong was first elected to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party during the Long March. Delegates visited the impressive Zunyi Conference Memorial Museum located in Honghuagang District before returning to the Party School.
The final day in Guizhou provided an opportunity for a cultural visit to Qingyan Ancient Town, a famous historical and cultural town in the southern suburb of Guiyang. Qingyan Town was originally built in 1378 and is an attractive destination for numerous domestic and foreign tourists. Religious culture here is also quite rich, including Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, and Christianity.
The first engagement in Beijing was a visit to the impressive central offices of the International Department of the CPC where delegates had discussions on ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ and the global geopolitical situation with Director General Zhou Rongguo, Comrade Wang Yingchun, and young members of the Bureau for North American, Oceanian and Nordic Affairs. The international delegates were then guests of honour at a dual ceremony presided over by Minister Liu Jianchao, Vice Minister Guo Yezhou, Vice Minister Li Mingxiang and Assistant Minister Zhu Rui of IDCPC.
The IDCPC presented commemorative medals to senior CPC comrades with over 50 years membership, followed by an oath-swearing ceremony by a number of new CPC comrades before all members present renewed their oaths to The Party and all attendees sang The Internationale. Delegates then met with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou before a conference and Q&A with the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. The busy afternoon concluded with a meeting and Q&A with the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).
A definite highlight of the ten-day trip came the following day, on the 102nd birthday of the CPC, as comrades embarked on a visit to the highly impressive Museum of the CPC before visiting and climbing a section of the Great Wall of China. Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, and after nearly 1,000 days of construction, the Museum of the CPC, a site devoted to permanent and comprehensive exhibitions of the Party’s history, was inaugurated on June 18 2021, with its first visitors, including Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. A total of 276 exhibits tells the story of the CPC’s 100-year struggle for the well-being of the Chinese people and national rejuvenation.
The penultimate day of the trip began with a briefing to the visiting delegation by Professor Guo Qiang, Deputy Director for Teaching and Research of Scientific Socialism at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, on Chinese Modernisation and the Establishment of Xiong’an New Area a new city development aimed at improving life quality, easing traffic congestion, relieving housing pressures and reducing environmental pollution in the capital city of Beijing.
So ended the 3rd Communist Party Leaders Delegation of North American, Oceanian and Nordic Countries, organised by the International Department of the Communist Party of China. The IDCPC urged delegates to report back to their national Parties on the facts pertaining to the ‘Modernisation of China’, the evolution of ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ and China’s role in promoting international peace, the pursuit of common prosperity, global civilisation and economic and social progress in developing countries.
The CPI extends our greatest gratitude to the IDCPC for the opportunity to witness their country’s remarkable progress and achievements and wishes our comrades in the Communist Party of China continued success in leading the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realise the Party’s Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation.
In the words of International Delegation Leader, Robert Griffiths (Communist Party of Britain):
“You have shown us a tantalising glimpse of the future and what a peaceful, modern socialist world will look like. Long live the Chinese Revolution! Long live the CPC! Long live the international communist movement!”
– G. Ó Machail, CPI International Newsletter, Vol. 1 2023
