July 1 is not only the anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is also the anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The West somehow harbors a lot of “fear” of the CPC. American politicians often highlight the CPC in their speeches to strengthen the impact of their message of the “China threat”. For example, Foreign Minister Wang Yi is sometimes called the foreign minister of the CPC, but there is no such position in the ranks of the CPC. Wang is the foreign minister of the People’s Republic of China. As part of their scaremongering maneuvers, anti-China Western politicians have been peddling myths about China, including one suggesting that the communists will wage a revolution to convert the entire world to communism. This is simply untrue.
China expressly insists that no country should interfere in the political affairs of another country and that every country should respect the sovereignty of other countries. China respects diversity, equality and inclusion. This means that we must respect the different political systems of other countries, respect other countries as equals, and embrace multilateralism. Since its reform and opening-up process started in 1979, China has remained consistent. A distinct characteristic of the CPC is its embrace of the scientific outlook of development. This means that China is ready to adopt any policy that works in serving the people and the interests of the “shared destiny of humanity” or the “community of common destiny for mankind”. It also means that the CPC must learn from its own mistakes and must keep changing for the better.
The slogan of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was “One Dream, One World”. China is a civilizational state, and Chinese sincerely subscribe to the adages handed down from ancient times such as: “Under heaven, we are all a family”; and “Within the four seas, we are all brothers (and sisters).” China, under the leadership of the CPC, now vows to protect private property. The Property Law of the People’s Republic of China was adopted at the fifth session of the 10th National People’s Congress and took effect on Oct 1, 2007. On April 30, 2025, the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress passed the Private Sector Promotion Law, which took effect on May 20, 2025. China is today a mixed economy with privately owned firms operating alongside State-owned enterprises. The architect of the “one country, two systems” principle, and one of the drivers of the new China after reform and opening-up, Deng Xiaoping, wisely advised: “Never mind the color of the cat. As long as it catches rats, it is a good cat.” Thus the only “ideology” of the CPC is “serving the people”. It ignores whether a policy has socialist roots or capitalist roots.
Based on China’s own conditions, we have found that the CPC-led governance system serves the country well. This is based on China’s unique situation, including cultural heritage, education level, the legal system, and internal governance mechanisms
China’s political system indeed is different from the multiparty system practiced in many countries. However, it does enjoy peaceful transition of leadership. The CPC had more than 100.27 million members at the end of 2024. These members come from all walks of life. All Chinese citizens, unless they have lost the right because of criminal offenses, enjoy equal rights of political participation. We can say that the government under the leadership of the CPC is a government for the people, from the people, and of the people. Although it is not a government that comes into power through elections, it is a government that is there “for the people”. It is a government that consists of people from all walks of life who rise to leadership competitively based on their caliber and track record. It is performing so well that the vast majority of the people are so pleased with the CPC that they happily trust it and call it their Party. This is not propaganda by the CPC but is reported in the Western press based on Western surveys, including the Democracy Perception Index report of the Alliance of Democracies and the Edelman Trust Barometer report.
According to statistics released by the CPC, 28.1 million new members have joined since the 2012 18th CPC National Congress. In addition, over 21.4 million have applied for CPC membership. Admission is not automatic and is based on a number of criteria including performance during an observation period. Stricter admission criteria have been in effect since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, stressing the importance of high-quality members rather than sheer numbers.
I have repeatedly called for a revision of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In particular, the declaration incorrectly named universal suffrage based on the secret ballot to elect the leadership of a country as a human right. This is confusing the ends with the means and lacks wisdom. While people should all enjoy equal political rights, the best method to select the leadership must be scientifically established for every country. Based on China’s own conditions, we have found that the CPC-led governance system serves the country well. This is based on China’s unique situation, including cultural heritage, education level, the legal system, and internal governance mechanisms. The CPC has recognized that corruption in the Party could be a problem and has established effective checks and balances. Effective governance to prevent abuses of power is necessary to ensure that the system works well.
The author is an honorary research fellow at Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University, and an adjunct professor at the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, the Education University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
