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Parties
and Organizations the CPC Has Relations With
The CPC has developed party-to-party relations with different kinds
of political parties and organizations. However, due to varied tasks
and different eras, party-to-party relations have covered political
bodies and individuals and this is a common practice found in other
parties' history.
Out of the need of its tasks, also by reality and the international
situation, the CPC had relations with different parties and
organizations in different periods of history, with different key
objects. Generally speaking, the parties and organizations it has
associated with have become more and extensive.
The relations during the revolutionary war years: mostly with the
Communist International and other advanced forces
In 1930s and 1940s, the CPC had contacts with the Communist parties
of Vietnam and North Korea, and some political parties in Japan and
Southeast Asia. In February 1930, Ho Chi Minh, in the capacity of a
representative from the Communist International, organized the
Communist Party of Vietnam (in October that year, the party changed
its name to "Indochina Communist Party" ). In 1938, Ho Chi Minh came
to Yan'an to begin contacts with CPC leaders. The CPC gave the
Vietnamese Anti-French and later Anti-US struggles, led by the
Vietnamese Communist Party, both material and spiritual support. The
founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kim II Sung,
for many years, did Anti-Japanese activities in China's Northeast.
He joined the CPC in 1931, and after he returned to his country, he
founded the North Korea Communist Party, and maintained a very close
relation with the CPC. The long-standing friendship between the two
parties has lasted until now.
Major tasks of the CPC during its early years were to grow quickly,
gain international assistance, support and sympathy from advanced
forces worldwide. Due to the class nature of the CPC, Kuomintang's
blockage and limited information, the parties the CPC associated
with were limited to the Communist International and the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union. Hoping to see a stronger Communist party
in other countries, the Communist International was willing to
assist and placed much hope on the CPC. Beginning from the set-up of
the Communist International until it was dissolved in 1943, the CPC
made it and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union its major
objects to have relations with. Mao Zedong commented on the 23-year
relations between the Communist International and the CPC by the
following, "Good beginning and the end, but poor in middle years.
'Good' didn't mean problem-free, and 'poor' was not without any
merit."
By the September 18 Incident, Japan began its all-round invasion
firstly against China, then Asia and the whole Pacific areas. At
this life-or-death moment, Chinese nation's major enemy was Japan.
In this situation, China no longer limited its relations to the
Communist International and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,
but expanded them to a wider range. The Political Bureau Meeting of
the CPC held in Wayaobao in December 1935, said the following: "The
party should adopt a flexible policy for foreign relations, reach
more understanding, compromise if necessary, for the purpose of
establishing relations or signing alliance treaties with all
countries, parties and individuals so long they are willing to fight
Japanese imperialism, its runners and traitors to their own
nations."
In spite of Kuomintang's blockage, the CPC made active efforts in
establishing relations with international friends and organizations.
It invited many foreign journalists, army officers, writers, even
missionaries over to Yan'an, the home of CPC Central Committee, and
other anti-Japanese bases in the country. After his visit to Yan'an,
American journalist Edgar Snow wrote about what he had seen in his
famous book Red Star over China. By his faithful description, the
international society began to understand the CPC. Doctor Henry
Norman Bethune was sent over by American and Canadian Communist
parties to help Chinese anti-Japanese war. He gave up his life to
it. The CPC office in Kuomintang area and the Hong Kong office of
the Eighth Route Army were very active in developing international
relations. The CPC South-China Bureau in Chongqing set up a foreign
relations office to be led by Zhou Enlai for the relations with
foreign friends and institutes. They publicized CPC principles and
policies, and through their efforts increased the influence of the
CPC and Chinese revolution.
After the break-out of World War Two, at the change on international
situation caused by German, Italian and Japanese invasions, the CPC
realized the significance of the US, Britain and the Soviet Union to
Chinese anti-Japanese war. The CPC quickly expanded its relations to
cover the US and Britain. In June 1941, the CPC Central Committee
said in "Decision on the International Anti-Fascist United Front,"
"In order to fight common enemies, we need to unite all American and
British people who are against German, Italian and Japanese
Fascists." In another document issued in December that year, the CPC
emphasized the importance of Chinese nation and the CPC to the US
and UK united front, saying, "On every occasion, for the purposes of
increasing their strength and improving the situation in Chinese
theater, the CPC should enter sincere and active cooperation with
Britain and the US."
CPC's principles for the relations with UK and the US were paid off
to some extent. In July and August 1944, two groups of military
observers from the US government, 18 members, came to Yan'an.
Patrick Hurley, the special envoy from the US president also came.
By direct contacts and field study, both the US and British
governments changed. Out of a fairly objective perspective, they
began to provide some assistance to CPC troops. However, beginning
from 1945, the relations between the CPC and the US government
deteriorated due to the latter's policy of "assisting Chiang
Kai-shek and against the CPC".
The relations in early years of New China: mostly with foreign
Communist and workers' parties
After the founding of the PRC, facing the isolation and blockage by
Western hostile forces, the CPC, for safeguarding nation's
independence and sovereignty, "sided firmly with socialist
countries." During this period of time, its party-to-party relations
covered only the Communist parties, workers' parties and left-wing
organizations in Socialist or non-socialist countries. CPC's foreign
relations, Mao Zedong and other top CPC leaders said repeatedly,
"mean to unite dozens of Communist parties and the Soviet Union
First." While the founding of the PRC strengthened the socialist
camp, foreign Communist parties and advanced organizations, willing
to learn more about Chinese revolution and the CPC, asked to set up
and develop relations with it. It was possible, also necessary, for
the CPC to take foreign Communist and workers' parties as major
objects to associate with. It was also out of the need of the then
foreign diplomacy and world political party situation. In January
1951, the CPC Central Committee decided to set up the International
Department to take charge its liaison work with foreign parties.
The CPC successfully established good relations and cooperation of
various kinds with most foreign Communist and workers' parties and
left-wing organizations between the founding of the PRC and late
1950s. Foreign delegations of Communist and workers' parties from 56
countries attended the 8th CPC National Congress in 1956. Mao Zedong
said proudly at the meeting, "We are not feeling isolated, ...so many
foreign delegations have traveled a long distance to our country, to
attend our congress with genuine friendship, and this is a great
support and encouragement to us." In the political report, Liu Shaoqi gave a part to CPC foreign relations, saying, "The CPC will
continue to strengthen the unity with other Communist and workers'
parties," and "continue to treat fraternal parties with warmth and
modesty." In 1959, on the 10th anniversary of the PRC, party
delegations and representatives from 61 countries came to attend the
celebration.
While developing relations with the Communist and workers' parties
in 1950s, the CPC had contacts with nationalist political parties in
Indonesia, India, Burma, Guatemala, Chile, the United Arab Republic
and Guinea. In 1960s, a great interest in China rose in Africa.
Among others, delegations from South Africa African National
Congress and Algerian National Liberation Front successively visited
China.
While developing relations with Communist and workers' parties in
capitalist countries, the CPC didn't refuse contacts with their
parties of other kinds. Between 1950s and 1960s, the British Labor
Party, Italian Socialist Party, the United Socialist Party of
Iceland, Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, Socialist Party and
Komei Party sent their delegations to China, all warmly received by
Mao Zedong and other top leaders. Although the CPC did not have
cooperation with Western European Socialist Party, both sides had
fruitful discussions about international situation and peaceful
co-existence of the countries with different social systems. Through
these meetings, the CPC established a nice international image of
safeguarding world peace and upholding justice. Its work on major
Japanese parties was very helpful to the normalization of
Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations.
To the end of 1950s, the relations between the CPC and the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union began to worsen. The international
Communist movements were locked in serious debates and split. Out of
the need to oppose party chauvinism and hegemony, the CPC adjusted
its policy, limiting its relations only to the likely minded. During
the Cultural Revolution, due to the influence from "ultra-left"
thinking, the relations among socialist countries getting more
complicated, and the disputes intensified inside the international
Communist movements. The relations of the CPC with many foreign
parties stopped. The number of parties the CPC had contacts with
decreased considerably. The CPC foreign relation work was at an
all-time low.
Relations after the beginning of the reform and opening-up:
expanded to cover foreign political parties of different kinds
After the Third Session of the 11th Party Central Committee, with
the working focus shifted to economic construction, Chinese
socialist modern construction entered a brand-new era of reform and
opening-up, so did CPC's party-to-party relation work into a period
of "setting things right and pioneering." Following the changes of
era, international situation and the party's work, the CPC broke the
bondage of old thinking of "identical ideology and social system go
before anything." By the four party-to-party principles, the CPC
established relations with more foreign parties than ever before.
Josip Borz Tito, Chairman of the Communist Union of Yugoslavia, came
to visit China in August 1977. CPC top leaders exchanged ideas with
him about the relations between the two countries and two parties.
Both sides agreed to put past disputes aside and to restore
relations between the two parties. His visit made a prelude to a
trend of restoring relations with Communist parties in socialist
countries. In 1980, with successive visiting groups of Italian,
Spanish and Greek Communist parties, China resumed its contacts with
the Communist parties in capitalist countries.
"On the basis of Marxism," The 12th CPC National Congress held in
1982 emphasized, "the CPC will develop the relations with foreign
Communist parties and other political parties of the working class
by the principle of independence, equality, mutual respect and
non-interference in other's internal affairs." These words defined
the objects to have contacts with as "Communist parties and other
political parties of the working class." This was because, from the
beginning of the reform and opening-up until 1981, the CPC's
party-to-party contacts were mostly with foreign Communist parties.
That definition corrected the past practice during the Cultural
Revolution, "categorizing foreign Communist parties as either
Marxist and Leninist, or revisionist," and limited contacts only
with those similar minded. By the new definition, any Communist
party or a party of the working class, no matter how its relations
with the CPC had been in the past, or were at present, the CPC was
willing to develop the relations on the four principles. This was a
significant change after the beginning of the reform and opening-up.
After the 12th CPC National Congress, international situation had a
significant change. China's reform and opening-up continued to
develop and China's influence grew bigger in international society.
The governing principles and policies of the CPC caught much
attention from foreign political parties. Many of them were willing
to establish contacts with the CPC. To better serve the reform,
opening-up and China's socialist construction, also to safeguard
world peace and stability, the CPC needed to have relations with
more foreign parties.
As early as December 1978, the CPC decided to increase its contacts
with nationalist political parties in Africa. Gradually, exchanges
and cooperation in multiple forms with the ruling parties in Latin
America, Africa and Asia were established. In February 1981, the
French Socialist Party leader Mitterrand led a delegation to China.
Taking this visit as a nice opportunity, the CPC began, step by step
and following a spirit of transcending ideological difference and
seeking understanding and cooperation, established relations with
them. Beginning from mid 1980s, to facilitate a stable progress on
the state-to-state relations with developed countries, the CPC took
active efforts in contacts with traditional central or right-wing
political parties in Western Europe.
After summarizing the experience since the 13th CPC National
Congress, by the fact that CPC's relations were no longer limited to
Communist and workers parties but extended to parties of other
kinds, in 1987, the CPC defined foreign parties to have relations
with as "foreign Communist parties and political parties of other
kinds". This expression inherited the spirit in concern from the
12th CPC National Congress, but had something new. Inheritance was
seen on "foreign Communist parties", while "political parties of
other kinds" were new.
At the abrupt change in 1990s in the Soviet Union and the Eastern
Europe, and the trend of multi-party practices seen in Africa, the
CPC conducted systematic contacts with old and new political parties
in former Soviet Union, Eastern European and African countries. In
1992, the 14th CPC National Congress made a new description about
its party-to-party relations, which included "the CPC values the
relations with political parties in all countries," "The CPC will
continue to follow the principles of independence, equality, mutual
respect and non-interference in other's internal affairs in
establishing and developing friendly relations with all of them."
The description had a noticeable change, referring not only to
"foreign Communist parties," but including all political parties
from all countries. This description showed CPC's relations were to
cover all political parties. And there was more: all the parties, in
relations with the CPC, were equal and to the CPC, there was no
difference in nature or size. This was a big breakthrough on CPC's
international theory after the reform and opening-up.
The 15th CPC National Congress held in 1997 carried on the
description from the 14th CPC National Congress, defining the
objects of relations as "every foreign political party that is
willing to have contacts with the CPC." This means, every political
party, disregarding its kind and nature, so long it was willing to,
the CPC would develop new party-to-party relations and cooperation
with it.
Relations at the turn of centuries: all political parties,
organizations and groups were included
With the faster pace of globalization, the role of political parties
of different kinds was bigger and bigger in international political
life. NGOs became very active. Apart from the work on old and new
foreign political parties, the CPC increased its effort on
establishing relations with other political organizations. In 1980s,
the CPC began contacts with the Socialist International. Both sides
sent delegations to visit each other. Following this, the CPC
established relations with Christian Democratic International and
other international or regional parties. After the relations
established with European Parliament Party and its member parties,
the CPC sent people to attend the Forum of Saint Paul and the
International Conference of Asian Political Parties. In the year of
2002, the 16th CPC National Congress pointed out, "The CPC will
continue to go by the principles of independence, complete equality,
mutual respect and non-interference in other's internal affairs
while developing relations with political parties and groups of
other countries." "Political groups" were a new expression, which
meant the CPC once again expanded its objects of international
relations.
By August 2007, the CPC had established relations with about 400
political parties and organizations in over 160 countries and
regions. The domain of foreign relations was quickly enlarged, with
more parties and organizations on the list. Among them, some were in
power, some were not, and some were coalition parties. Some of them
were important parties though not in office, and some in the
countries that had no diplomatic relations with China. They were in
different kinds, Communist parties, workers' parties, socialist
parties, labor parties, liberal parties, people's parties and
conservative parties, some in developed countries like Japan and
European ones, some in developing countries in Asia, Africa and
Latin America. The CPC international relations were seen all over
the world.
Source: International Relations of the
Communist Party of China, edited by Zhong Lianyan, Beijing:
China Intercontinental Press, 2007.10
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