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Innovation and development from a historical new starting point |
Wang Jiarui, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, talks about the Party's external work in 2009
In 2009, the CPC's external work has made new achievements in promoting state relations: the pattern of institutionalized interactions has preliminarily formed; contacts with the ruling parties of socialist countries have been consolidated; contacts with the parties in developing countries have made new progress.
In 2009, the world paid more attention to China and the CPC. The international community was also very concerned about the increasingly active foreign exchanges of the CPC. As 2009 is coming to an end, journalist of People's Daily interviewed Wang Jiarui, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of the CPC Central Committee, in this regard.
People's Daily: Could you introduce the overall situation of the Party's external work this year?
Wang Jiarui: 2009 has been an extraordinary year for China and the world. The international financial crisis spread all over the world. The rebuilding of international systems was accelerated. And the idea blending and the policy competition became increasingly active among parties of different nations. What's more, 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China. Over the past 60 years, China has made brilliant achievements in its development; as a result, the Chinese model and the Chinese path have aroused extensive interests across the world.
Facing the changes in conditions of the world, the nation and the party and standing at a new starting point, the Party's external work has adopted the latest achievements in studying and practicing the scientific concept of development, stuck to reform and innovation and accurately identified the entry point and the focal point in the country's overall diplomatic arrangements. Meanwhile, we have actively explored new opportunities, new methods and new mechanisms of carrying out work in new situation. Through these efforts, our foreign exchanges have become more purposeful, flexible and substantial. And our ability of handling international affairs has been dramatically enhanced.
Throughout the past year, our institutionalized exchanges with big countries and big parties have further developed. Our political trust and pragmatic cooperation with parties in socialist countries, neighboring countries and developing countries have been strengthened. Our contacts with international and regional political parties have been further expanded. In a number of hot and sensitive issues, we have played a more constructive role. In a word, the external work has made notable contributions to the maintenance of our sovereignty, security and development interests, the promotion of long-term, healthy and stable development of state relations, and the establishment of a good international image of the CPC.
People's Daily: Serving the core tasks of the Party and the country has always been the fundamental work of the International Department of the Communist Party of the CPC Central Committee. In 2009, all the work has been carried out centering how to cope with the international financial crisis. Could you tell us what contributions the International Department has done in this regard?
Wang Jiarui: To provide information and suggestions for the decision making of the CPC Central Committee based on a broad vision of the world and a scientific judgment of the international situation is our important job responsibility. This year, we have conducted research into the trend and impacts of the international financial crisis, and made a series of relevant topics the important content of our inter-party exchanges. These topics included where the crisis was going, how the crisis came about, how we could conquer the crisis and what lessons we could get.
The fifth theoretical seminar of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), in December was just held under the theme of theory and practice on coping with the international financial crisis. Theorists of the two parties had in-depth discussions and brought about a lot of useful suggestions on the topic. Owing to the effective measures taken by the Chinese government, China has taken the lead in economic recovery. It becomes more prominent that it has played the role of stabilizer of the world economy. Other countries are paying a flood of attention to the Chinese economy, curious about its mode and its future. We have introduced our measures and the corresponding results to parties of other countries during the exchanges, replied to the questions that they were concerned with or confused about. All we did has strengthened the international community's confidence in cooperation with us.
Jointly coping with the crisis and seeking development strategy has been the masterstroke of the high-level inter-party exchanges this year. Our state leaders, for instance, President Hu Jintao has attached great importance to the external work of the Party. He met with a lot of visiting foreign party leaders and politicians on the international financial crisis, exchanged views on the crisis with them, and discuss countermeasures and cooperation plans with them. Other leaders including Li Changchun, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang visited quite a number of countries. They communicated with the party and government leaders and had extensive contact with people of all sectors there. Their visits have not only consolidated the political mutual trust, but also directly led to solutions of a number of major economic and trade issues.
Using inter-party exchanges as a bridge to promote economic and trade cooperation is another highlight of our work this year. Activities including the Second Session of the Forum on Sino-Russian Political Parties, China-Arab/Africa Medium and Small Businesses Cooperation Forum and South African Tourism and Trade Seminar have proven fruitful in helping domestic enterprises to conquer the crisis and promoting our economic and trade cooperation with relevant countries and regions.
Especially at the eve of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to China, we held the Second Session of the Forum on Sino-Russian Political Parties jointly with the Russian United Party in Suifenhe City, Heilongjiang Province. The theme of the forum was promoting the economic cooperation in the China-Russian border area.
More than 100 officials and entrepreneurs from both sides participated in the forum. They discussed the development plan, the outstanding problems and promoting economic cooperation through legislation and institutional innovation in China-Russian border areas. The participating entrepreneurs had commercial activities during the Forum and reached a number of economic and trade cooperation intentions. This year, we have also organized economic and trade activities during the visits abroad of the CPC delegations led by local party committee leaders. These activities have effectively promoted the cooperation of China's western provinces and autonomous regions with relevant countries in agriculture and other key local economic fields.
People's Daily: The Party's external work has always played an important role of booster and stabilizer of state relations. In this regard, more achievements have been made this year. Could you tell us more about this?
Wang Jiarui: This year, new explorations have been carried out in the promotion of state relations and new progress has been made.
Firstly, the pattern of institutionalized interactions has preliminarily formed. This year, we attached more importance to the role of the ruling parties while dealing with bilateral relations with big countries and promoted the institutionalized interactions with a number of big parties in big countries. The dialogue between the Chinese and Russian ruling parties was officially launched. We signed new cooperation agreement and memorandum of understanding with the Russian United Party, which greatly promoted the overall development of relations between China and Russia.
In the first half of this year, we held the fourth meeting between the Chinese and Japanese ruling parties together with Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito Party. The meeting explored how to deepen Sino-Japanese relations in the new situation. In the second half of last year, the new ruling Democratic Party of Japan also co-organized the third meeting between the Democratic Party of Japan and the Communist Party of China together with us, having consolidated the good momentum of Sino-Japanese relations after it took office. Not long before, Ichiro Ozawa, Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Japan led a delegation of more than 140 parliamentarians to visit China. President Hu Jintao met with him. His visit further promoted relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, our relations with major parties in major European countries and in the European Parliament kept growing. In September, the third forum of Sino-British young politicians was held in Britain. Through this forum, we strengthened institutionalized exchanges with the three main parties in Britain and consolidated their consensus cooperation with China. In October, the delegation of the Union for a Popular Movement visited China and signed a memorandum of exchange and cooperation, seeking healthy development of Sino-French relations.
The second achievement was our exchanges with ruling parties in socialist countries kept deepening. Our exchanges of visit with Vietnam, DPRK, Laos and Cuba were quite frequent, featuring richer contents of bilateral cooperation, deeper exchanges of experience in managing state affairs and higher level of bilateral relations. Choummaly Sayasone, General Secretary of the Lao People Revolutionary Party and State President, visited China and enhanced the Sino-Laotian relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
The third achievement was the consolidation of relations with parties in neighboring countries. This year, we continued to strengthen exchanges of group visits and with major political parties in Republic of Korea, Mongolia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other neighboring countries. We have strengthened good-neighborly friendship, deepened pragmatic cooperation and promoted the development of bilateral relations with them.
The fourth is the new expansion of contacts with parties in developing countries. This year is the "wrap up" year for the implementation of the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Sino-African inter-party contacts served as a major driving force for the new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa. In addition, Sino-Latin American exchanges developed well, with more attention paid to pragmatic cooperation. Our exchanges with parties in Eastern European countries highlighted increasing trust, eliminating suspicion and strengthening mutual trust. Explorations were also seen in contacts with the Baltic States. Those explorations have also added new impetus to the development of our relations with them.
What's more, this year we highlighted "people first" in inter-party exchanges. Under this guideline, we expanded channels and adopted more innovative ways of making friends. Thus we have made a large number of friends in foreign parties, who knew about China and were friendly to China. They are resources of maintaining friendly relations and long-term development of state relations with China.
People's Daily: Could you comment on the role of the Party's external work in the solution of sensitive issues, international hot issues and difficult issues in bilateral relations concerning China?
Wang Jiarui: First of all, we conducted preventive diplomacy in the inter-party exchanges. At the beginning of this year, with the 50th anniversary of democratic reforms in Tibet, we have carried out various activities including sending the delegations of Party members abroad, organizing photo exhibition, making production videos, as well as inviting major political parties and media of major countries to visit China. Through these activities we elaborated our stance on the Tibet issue directly to the overseas parties, politicians, media and non-governmental organizations, and thus promoted understanding and support of relevant states with us.
After the July 5 riot happened in Urumqi, we immediately contacted hundreds of parties, politicians and many non-governmental organizations abroad, elaborating the Party's ethnic and religious policies, reporting the truth and clarifying the facts with letters and e-mails. Our efforts created positive impacts.
What's more, we have played a constructive role in the solution of a number of regional and international hot issues. To name it, they included climate change, DPRK's nuclear issue, Iran nuclear issue, the Darfur issue, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, India-Pakistan relations, the situation in Myanmar and the situation in Nepal. We conducted various forms of in-depth communications with parties in relevant countries and international organizations of parties to exchange information, elaborate stances of all those concerned and seek common interests among them. We played a unique role in promoting the solution of the above issues.
In addition, we targeted on a number of difficult problems in bilateral relations, striving to resolve the negative factors, and thus promoted the healthy development of our relations with the countries concerned.
People's Daily: We noticed many new measures were taken to establish a good image of the Party at the international stage this year. Could you introduce more on this?
Wang Jiarui: This year, the mutual understanding between the CPC and the outside world was further deepened, and the Party's international influence has significantly enhanced. Over the past year, the external work of the Party has actively responded to the international community's concerns with China in all kinds of bilateral and multi-lateral activities. Thus we have presented a good image of the Party to the world, featuring serving the public, governing for the people, democracy, progress, openness and innovation.
On one hand, we strived to establish a three-dimensional platform for external information dissemination. This year, some units directly under the CPC Central Committee had face-to-face communications with foreign parties and political leaders. They had in-depth dialogues on various key topics that were attached great concern on the CPC. Meanwhile, local party committees also actively participated in external exchanges, demonstrating the work performance and work style of the officials and the ordinary members of the CPC and presenting a live CPC to the world.
On the other hand, we explored new channels of external information dissemination. After the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee held media briefings with relevant authorities respectively, elaborating to the foreign diplomatic envoys and foreign media on their main concerns. Good results were achieved.
We invited the Arab diplomatic envoys in China to see the new village building in suburban Beijing, enabling them to get a direct knowledge through talking with the grass-roots party members and visiting the villagers' house.
In addition, we have also invited the South Korean KBS, Japan's NHK television stations to make TV series including "The Changing Communist Party of China" and so on, which have received positive feedbacks after broadcasting. This year, our Party has further expanded exchanges with international and regional political parties. During the multi-lateral activities, we promoted the Party's governing philosophy and governing success, and expanded its international influence.
People's Daily: Could you tell us what is the main idea of the Party's external work next year?
Wang Jiarui：2010 is the last year of the 11th five-year plan and an important year of formulating the 12th five-year plan. The new situation, new task and new expectation the international community holds on the CPC all set higher requirements for the Party's external work.
We will follow the scientific concept of development, coordinate the domestic and international situations, and continuously improve the Party's communication ability. In this way, we strive to truly make the external work a platform through which the Party could observe the world, know the world and go to the world; an intellectual support with which the Party could acquire scientific assessment of the international situation and strengthen the Party building; a window through which the Party could show its good image to the international community; and a front of the state's overall diplomatic service.
We believe under the direct leadership and care of the CPC Central Committee, the Party's external work will make new contributions to the state's overall diplomacy and the development of the Party's causes.
By People's Daily Online
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Introduction to CELAJ
Teaching Ideas
